“An Apparition of Love” by Colleen O’Sullivan
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. (Zechariah 2:14)
And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior." (Luke 1:46-47)
Piety
Mary, as you held your infant Son Jesus in your arms, so you reach out to all of us with love and compassion. May we, in turn, reach out to others with the love of God in our hearts.
Study
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| Virgin of Guadalupe, 16th-century engraving, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons |
At one point in the early 16th century, the Aztec Empire stretched from central Mexico to what is now the border of Guatemala. But in 1519, the Spanish showed up and by 1521, the once proud and mighty Aztec Empire had been conquered. In their heyday, the Aztecs had erected a temple to their mother goddess Tonantzin at Tepeyac, outside Mexico City. The Spanish forces destroyed this and, in its place, erected a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Juan Diego, an Indian who had converted to Catholicism, won over the Spanish bishop of the area by his faithfulness and by the way he spoke of and regarded Mary with the greatest respect. As you might imagine, the conquered Aztecs were not held in high esteem by their new rulers. But Juan Diego persisted in studying his new faith. He had to walk by the hill at Tepeyac on his way to and from religious instruction.
Juan Diego knew that as an Aztec he was not held in high regard. However, Mary does not discriminate. She loves all God’s children, whether rulers or ruled. In December of 1531, she revealed herself to this humble man, Juan Diego, and told him to ask the bishop to build a church in her honor. St. Juan Diego dutifully carried her request to the bishop, who wanted some time to reflect on this. The same day, the Virgin appeared again and was disappointed that Juan Diego hadn’t succeeded in convincing the bishop to do her bidding.
Finally, the bishop told Juan Diego to bring him some sign that this was really a request from our Lady. Juan Diego, serving as the go-between at this point, asked the Virgin Mary for a sign, which she said would be forthcoming. In the meantime, Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill and he was unable to meet Mary at the appointed time and place. You can’t hide from our Lady, however, and she finally met up with Juan Diego. I love her response when he explained about his sick uncle. She said: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” Our Lady reassured him that his uncle was recovered, and she asked him to go up on the hill and find the flowers she had left there. This was in December, but he found the flowers just as Mary had promised. He took them straight to the bishop, who noticed the image of the Virgin imprinted on Juan Diego’s clothing when he opened his cloak to release the flowers he had collected.
The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego as an Aztec. Her skin and features resembled his. She identified with him. Mary, even in our Gospel reading for today, is a humble person. No one is too lowly for her notice. If our Gospel for today had gone a few verses further and contained the entire Magnificat, we would have heard the wonder in Mary’s song that God had come to her in her lowliness, and because of that, she would be called blessed throughout the ages.
Action
When we take time to pray today, we might take a few minutes to consider how like Mary we are. Are we people of faith? If God asks something difficult of us, do we generally say yes? Do we seek out the poor and lowly, or as Pope Francis has said, have the smell of the sheep on us? Or do we turn away from the homeless, the hungry, and the stranger?
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