A Model of Humility
On December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, which is near Mexico City today. She sent him to request of Bishop Zumárraga the building of a shrine there, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The bishop asked Juan Diego to present proof of the apparition. On December 12, Our Lady sent Juan Diego to gather roses atop the hill at Tepeyac. Despite the cold of winter, he found roses in bloom and gathered them within his cloak, or tilma. Our Lady arranged the roses and sent them with Juan Diego to the bishop as proof. Opening his tilma, the roses fell to the ground and there remained impressed upon the tilma the image of Our Lady, the apparition at Tepeyac. With the grace of enlightenment, Juan Diego dedicated himself to prayer, as well as the practice of virtue and boundless love of God and neighbor.
Blessed Virgin Mary talked to him in his language, Nahuatl. She called him "Juanito, Juan Dieguito," "the most humble of my sons," "my son the least," "my little dear." Juan Diego said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: "I am a nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf."
After the miracle of Guadalupe and with the Bishop's permission, Juan Diego moved to a room attached to the chapel that housed the sacred image, after having given his business and property to his uncle, spending the rest of his life as a hermit. There he cared for the church and the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus, and propagating the account of the apparitions to his countrymen. He was 57 years old when Our Lady appreared to him, an old age in a time and place where the male life expectancy was barely above 40. He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74.
Juan Diego deeply loved the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence during those times. Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith nourished by catechesis and pictured him as a model of humility for all of us.
Prayer to Saint Juan Diego
You who were chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe as an instrument to show your people and the world that the way of Christianity is one of love, compassion, understanding, values, sacrifices, repentance of our sins, appreciation and respect for God’s creation, and most of all one of humility and obedience; You whom we know is now in the Kingdom of the Lord and close to our Mother; Be our angel and protect us, stay with us as we struggle in this modern life often not knowing where to set our priorities; Help us to pray to our God to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them for the good of humanity and the good of our Church, through the Heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Heart of Jesus. Amen
Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke these words to Juan Diego. She speaks these words to us.
Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of your joy? Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in the cradle of my arms?
Saint Juan Diego, pray for us, for all the little ones and all the names for whom we pray.
December 09, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment