May It Be Done to Me

December 12, 2009

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. Zechariah 2:14-15

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

Piety

Cursillo Leaders' Prayer

Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.

My God, give us a spirit of self sacrifice so that we may offer everything for your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary.

Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination which in spite of failures assures victory.

Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.

Help us to maintain at a high level a meaningful supernatural and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference the most humble tasks and will rejoice at the good performed by others so that all our spirits united in a common purpose will have one single sprit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen

St. Paul, Patron of Cursillo - Pray for us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patron of the Americas - Pray for us.

Study

We started the week (OK, it was Tuesday. Anything before Wednesday is at the start.) with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and now we bookend this second week of Advent with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Before the Lord could dwell with us, he needed a plan that took into account both the biological transition from being God to being human. Only then could he work to increase our understanding and obedience to his way.

That is where Mary comes in. Mary’s choice to offer herself in all humility and obedience to God’s plan becomes the turning point in salvation history. She recognizes her relationship to God and then acts upon it. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

God chose Mary to lead us to Jesus. Mary agreed to have a role in that work. With that miracle of the Nativity, God then could reestablish his relationship with a covenant people who had turned away from him and his commandments and were waiting for his return.

Our Lady of Guadalupe continues this lesson of relationship, humility and obedience. European missionaries working in Mexico “had little success in the beginning. After nearly a generation, only a few hundred Native Mexicans had converted to the Christian faith. Whether they simply did not understand what the missionaries had to offer or whether they resented these people who made them slaves, Christianity was not popular among the native people,” according to the summary on www.catholic.org Saints and Angels page.

Mary did not appear to Juan Diego in the year 1531 as we often portray her with flowing blue robes, pale skin and blond hair. She appeared as an Aztec princess speaking his native Aztec language. Within a decade, more than 9 million people in Mexico had become Christian following this visitation and the miracles which followed it. Today, Mary continues to lead people to Jesus as pilgrims travel to the Basilica built on that hillside in Tepeyac where Our Lady of Guadalupe asked Juan to build a church.

When Juan Diego first told his bishop about the vision of Mary, the bishop was skeptical. Yet through the miraculous sign of roses and the image on Juan Diego’s “tilma,” the Bishop also shared in the vision.

Action

“Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.” (Words of Our Lady to Juan Diego)

If Mary appeared to you today, what would she ask of you? Our history is filled with stories of people asked to build or repair the church from St. Peter to St. Francis to Juan Diego. Might God also be asking you to build the church? What wish of yours would she fulfill?

You don’t need bricks and mortar, wood and steel, or glass and marble to be a builder. You don’t need to be a carpenter, engineer, or skilled in any craft. We can build the church through our actions with others.