On Saturday, December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared at daybreak as a 14 year-old Mexican girl to Juan Diego, a 57 year-old Aztec Indian convert a few miles north of Mexico City. After several conversations with him on subsequent days, Our Lady requested that he convey to the bishop her desire for a chapel to be built. The bishop was skeptical of the apparitions, and requested some indication that they were true. For this purpose, Our Lady had Juan place Castilian roses (found in the winter!) in the fold of his tilma/mantle. When he arrived to see the bishop, he unfolded his tilma, and the picture of Our Lady appeared on it. For Juan’s faithfulness in fulfilling Our Lady’s requests (despite his concern for his ailing uncle), Our Lady cured his uncle, Juan Bernardino, of his illness. The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patronal Festivity of Mexico.
CALL TO ACTION: As Our Lady crushed the head of the serpent by converting a nation, may we turn to her for help in crushing our vices, putting that old wily serpent to flight.
Photo by: Grant Whitty