Joining millions of other fellow Christian Catholics around the Americas, SJTB held it's second celebration on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Wednesday, December 12th.  Led in sacred song by guest musicians from Mariachi Mi Tiera, various church ministries, as well as individuals, presented petitions to Our Blessed Mother at an altar decorated with roses, candles and zarapes.  In his homily, Fr. David retold the story of the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother to the humble Mexican peasant, Juan Diego.  Juan Diego experienced a vision of a young woman at a place called the Hill of Tepeyac.  The young woman spoke to Juan Diego in his native language of Nahutl.  Our Blessed Mother asked that a church be built on the site of the apparation.  Click here for a more detailed account of the history of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  At the completion of the Mass, Fr. David thanked everyone for their part in such a beautiful celebration to honor Our Blessed Mother and asked that this be one of the traditions SJTB continues as we grow our young faith community.  For more pictures of our celebration click here.

Taken from an article from the Francisan Media web site, "St. of the Day for December 12th" detailing the history of the apparation of Our Blessed Mother to Juan Diego.

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The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.

A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower, and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

Juan was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared, and within it stood an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan, assured him that his uncle would recover, and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. On the tilma where the roses had been appeared an image of Mary exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac.

Reflection

Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the indigenous population. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. In these days when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of:

The Americas
Mexico