by Grace WildeWe all love our Lady of Guadalupe. A bush of roses miraculously appeared in the middle of winter! A picture of Mary appeared out of nowhere on Juan’s cloak! But why did Mary come to Mexico? How were the apparitions effective? Why did she pick the miracle of flowers coming out of winter? What were some of the reasons that our Lady choose Juan? There are so many more questions asked about our Lady of Guadalupe. Every detail means something to us. Every detail is a secret waiting to be discovered. But to tell all the secrets, that would turn this into a book, so let's just go over a few. Mary came to Mexico for a very important reason. During that time most of the people in Mexico were Aztec. Aztecs were Native Americans who practiced human sacrifices. 12 years before, Hernan Cortes and the Spanish had conquered the Aztecs. After many battles and capturing the Aztec king Montezuma, Cortes and his men forcefully tore down every Aztec temple and turned them into churches. This made the Aztecs mad and most of them stuck to their religion even more than before. For the next decade missionaries worked hard to convert Mexico. But, baptisms were rare, until Our Lady came to Mexico. The question that many people ask about Our Lady of Guadalupe is, ”why did Mary come to Juan?” One reason she chose him might be because Juan was not a Catholic from birth but an Aztec convert. So when he became a Catholic, he could understand the culture of both Spain and Mexico. So, he could talk and act with any culture in Mexico in their own language. Mary came dressed in a special way. First of all, Mary always comes dressed as the culture in the area. So she dressed like a native princess. But, her appearance was more than that. She had stars on her dress and was standing on the moon, These were old Aztec symbols of power. This shows us that she is as powerful as the stars and the moon, but she is not God. Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke in a special way as well. She spoke as a mother would to a child. She spoke in the native Aztec language. When Cortez conquered Mexico he forced much of the Aztec people to speak Spanish and Latin. The only people who would speak the Aztec language were, Moms who probably taught their children to keep their native Aztec language by speaking it to them. Another way Mary spoke like a mother is by calling Juan “my son.” So Mary showed us that she is the mother of all people and of the whole world. Mary picked the miracle of flowers coming out of winter as a special sign. It resembled good things coming out of hard things. Winter is a very hard time especially for farmers like Juan. Then all of the sudden at the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe a rose bush sprouts. A rose bush is a joyous, happy sign of spring that was coming out of something bad like winter. Mexico was in a hard time, just like that. After our Lady came to Juan a church was built on the spot she had appeared. But, did she keep her intention of converting the Aztecs? In ten years thousands of Aztecs were Baptized. In one hundred years, human sacrifices were not seen in Mexico, and most of Mexico was converted. I celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe by going to my church where they have a Mariachi band, a play during mass about her, then a procession when we take flowers to a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. After Mass we have cookies and Mexican hot chocolate. It is very fun. This year we went and I was an altar server. I was not supposed to be an altar server on that day. I was just called up because there were not enough altar servers. But, before altar servers were called up to serve I had a feeling that I was needed to be an altar server. Then I was called up, I was amazed. In conclusion, Our Lady of Guadalupe came to show that she came for the conversion of Mexico. She shows us that she is powerful but not God, loving, and the mother of the world. Here is a poem I wrote on Our Lady of Guadalupe, The Rose My Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, you have shown us your secrets. Loving Virgin, you have shown your love for everyone. Powerful Lady, you have shown us your power. Mother of the world be a mother to us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for us. Resources: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456 Saints of the States by Dan Lynch
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On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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