The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady appeared to the humble Juan Diego at a time when the devil seemed to reign throughout the Aztec culture, where human sacrifices were made to pagan gods. On the very same site, where Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, the Aztec goddess named Tonantzin, which means "Our Mother" was previously worshiped. In 1531, on December 9th Our Lady first appeared, to put an end the human sacrifices and convert tens of millions to the Catholic Faith.
It happened while St. Juan Diego was on his way to worship the Lord, when, at the bottom of the hill known as, Tepeyac, he heard a voice calling him to the top, and there, standing amidst greenery which glistened and appeared like emeralds, he beheld the Blessed Virgin. The Holy Virgin first declared how she is the ‘Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God for whom we live and revealed her desire that a temple should quickly be erected in her name, on the site on which they were standing. She sent her servant, Juan, to the Bishop to ask for her request to be granted, but the Bishop first wanted a sign to confirm these miraculous happenings. The next day, on Sunday, Our Lady reminded Juan that he should return the next day for Our Lady to give him the sign he must take to the Bishop. However, Juan failed to return on Monday, as his Uncle had fallen gravely ill; the next day, on Tuesday he was preoccupied with finding a Priest to give his Uncle the last Rites. As he was journeying to find a Priest, he passed near where Our Lady had appeared. He thought to himself that should Our Lady spot him, he should be deterred from his plans and be made to go straight to the Bishop. Therefore, he rounded the hill, to hide himself from Our Lady. Our Lady who sees all, appeared to him, asking where he was going. He bowed low and recounted to Her the situation of his Uncle. Our Lady’s response is beautiful:
"Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything. Do not be afflicted by the illness of your uncle, who will not die now of it. be assured that he is now cured.”
Indeed, he was. Having been greatly consoled, Juan asked leave to be able to deliver the sign to the Bishop as was originally planned. Our Lady then told him to climb to the top of the hill and there gather an array of flowers, before bringing them back down before her.
At the top of the hill, Juan found beautiful varieties of Rosas de Castilla, which were blooming, even though they were out of season. They were fragrant and covered with dew drops which resembled pearls. Our Lady received the flowers telling Juan to recount all that he had seen and been told by Her to the Bishop before unfolding his mantle (in which he would carry the flowers) to disclose the flowers in his presence. All this would be done to induce the Bishop’s support that a temple be built as Our Lady requested.
Upon his arrival to the Bishop’s Palace in Mexico, he was pestered and ill-treated by some of the Bishop’s servants, who tried to ignore his requests to see the Bishop. They then noticed he was carrying something under his tilma and tried to pull out the flowers, which so dazzled them by their miraculous bloom. The servants were unsuccessful in pulling out the flowers and so went to tell the Bishop what they had seen.
Juan being admitted, he recounted the whole story of Our Lady’s apparitions. Then he unfolded his mantle and as the flowers poured out, a miraculous image appeared of the Mother of God. The Bishop and all that were present fell to their knees in admiration, sorrow, and awe. The Bishop begged forgiveness for not having attended to Our Lady’s wish. The Bishop took the image and had it placed in his chapel.
However, Juan was still concerned about his Uncle, thinking he still needed a Priest to give him the last Rites. The Bishop and others accompanied Juan back to his Uncle’s home, where they found him miraculously cured. Juan told his Uncle of the apparitions of Our Lady and how she had told him that his Uncle would be cured. In hearing this, the Uncle manifested that it was true that Our Lady had then appeared to him and cured him. Our Lady disclosed to the Uncle that she would be known as the Holy Mary of Guadalupe.
The woman of the Apocalypse and the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe reveals her Triumph through Humility and Grace
Our Lady of Guadalupe has been associated with the Woman of the Apocalypse for centuries. Venerable Mary of Agreda unfolds in ‘The Mystical City of God’ the revelations she received concerning Chapter 12 of the book of the Apocalypse. She explains how an image of Our Lady was shown to all the angles in heaven, “in order that seeing it, they might subject their will to the pleasure of the commands of God. They saw it therefore before the good ones chose the good and before the bad ones had turned to evil.”
It was revealed to the angles that they not only should have to obey the Incarnate Word, but also be subject to, conjointly with her Son, the Woman who would bear the God-man. Satan would not accept being inferior to the Mother of God, and saw that having failed to profit by it, he would be crushed by it.
In Chapter 12 we read, ‘Now a great sign appeared in heaven; a Woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown.’
Venerable Mary of Agreda tells how the moon represents the darkness of sin, which is beneath her feet; the sun is symbolic of the light of grace which clothes Our Lady for all eternity. Venerable Mary of Agreda goes on to explain how, because of Satan’s blasphemies against the Holy Mother of God, he saw himself be changed from an exquisite angel into fierce and hideous dragon.
According to the Venerable Mary of Agreda, the image of Our Lady was shown to the Angels before the fall of Satan and was what triggered his rebellion; Our Lady terrifies demons and at the sight of Her they flee. It would make sense that the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is also feared by Satan and his followers, as she is shown ‘clothed with the sun’ an image of grace and hope, embodying how Our Lady is the Queen of Heaven and as St Louis De Montfort puts it, ‘holds absolute sway over sway over angels, men and demons.’
In the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Holy Mother of God is not shown as we might imagine from reading Chapter 12 of the Apocalypse. There is no crown of twelve stars upon Our Lady’s head. We might say, she appears beautiful and majestic but not because of any material features attributable to her; she is shown dressed simply and yet she is illumined by the light of the sun. The fact that she is adorned by the sun indicates her triumph, reiterated from Chapter 12. She is shown as being adorned by God’s grace alone and it is by this that she triumphs over Satan. It is her simpleness and humility, that makes Satan and his followers so detest Our Lady. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe wonderfully embodies her humility and henceforth her triumph, as well as establishing her as an image of grace. The same passage that I have been referring to, recounts again Our Lady’s triumph through grace; ‘but she was given a huge pair of eagle’s wings to fly away from the serpent into the desert, to the place where she was to be looked after…’ Our Lady wins because of God’s power. That fact that the Woman was able to ‘fly away from the serpent’ underlines her simplicity and her humble defeat over evil. God has deigned to use the humble Mary to have victory over Satan, which stings his pride all the more.
Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Our Own Times
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is kept in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The fabric of the tilma disintegrates between 20 to 60 years, yet it shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years!
Numerous Popes have also propagated her veneration, such as Pope Benedict XIV, Pope Pius X, Pope Pius XI and Pope John Paul II. Still, hundreds and thousands of pilgrims visit her shrine every year.
It was St John Paul II who canonised Juan Diego and declared Our Lady as patroness of the Americas. He also entrusted to Her the cause of life, in order to protect the unborn.
The number of babies killed through abortion dwarf the number of the human sacrifices made by the Aztecs. Our Lady is the one to triumph over Satan in his diabolical attacks through abortion. Let us pray to Her for it to end and remember that nothing is too big for Our Lady to handle! We have seen her victories, as in the story I have just recounted and we should pray with faith and hope for her to conquer the most pressing issue of the day, namely, abortion.
Links: