Sisters of St. Joseph Associates Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe

This Sunday is not only the Third Sunday of Advent. It's also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Last Thursday was the Feast of Juan Diego. The two really go hand-in-hand. Today two of our CSJ Associates and I had the opportunity to give a morning of reflection about the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. We did it for our Boston CSJ Associates. They really seemed to enjoy it. I've attached a PowerPoint with some of the main componants of our presentation.

This story draws from the presentations of the Benedictine Sisters of Guadalupe who have been our hostesses for our pilgrimages to Mexico. I was surprised yesterday when I counted and realized that I've been to Mexico nine times; once with a program called "GATE" in 1989 and eight times -- mostly with high school students --  with the program offered by Weston Priory in collaboration with the Benedictine Sisters of Guadalupana.

Some other resources include:

• St. Juan Diego: New World Apostle by Virgilio P. Elizondo. This appreared as a feature article in St. Anthony Messenger a few years back when Juan Diego was canonized a saint.
• Guadalupe: Mother of the New Creation This is Elizondo's translation of the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe as recorded in a document called the Nican Mopohua. 
• I also came across a short video that does a nice job of telling the story:  The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico 

The mandala below is what I call the "Tu Madre" mandala. Each time we go to Mexico the people repeatedly ask us to "tell the story" of their reality to those at home. I created this mandala as a way of telling the story. At one point it was printed on note cards. The words around the image are from the Nican Mopohua. They are the words inscribed below the tilma [the cloak with the image] where it is enshrined in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. In English these words mean: "Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Have I not placed you on my lap? Who else do you need? Do not grieve or worry about anything."

Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the Mestizo peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531 on Mount Tepeyac. She came, not to the center of power, but to the periphery of a society which had been oppressed and stripped of their indigenous culture, religion and dignity.

The "Tu Madre" mandala combines indigenous symbols of hope, resurrection and transformation from both the Aztec, "Piedra del Sol" and the Mayan Pyramids of Xochicalco with the traditional image of the tilma of Juan Diego. The Virgin wears the blue-green of divinity and her dress is the color of earth. Her head tilts in a listening contemplative glance that radiates concern and compassion. Her hands are clasped in a gesture of offering. The black band indicates the expectancy of new life for within her dwells hope for salvation 

 

However you celebrate this feast remember that the Guadalupe event marks the beginning of a new era. The story carries a universal message. It is not just for Mexicans but our Mexican sisters and brothers ask that we walk with those whose lives are lived on the periphery. They ask that we be open to their struggle even when it's painful.