Today, December 12, is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Here’s an excerpt from a reflection written by Friar Arturo Felix – ‘The Beauty of God’s Creation: Our Lady of Guadalupe’ –
The apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, along with its image, is one of the central characteristics of Mexican Catholicism. It’s unique in that it is associated with a text, named the Nican Mopohua, which is a serious attempt to recount the events of the apparition to Juan Diego. The text was written in the native language of the Nahuatl people.
The apparition, along with its text, occurred during the acquisition of the New World by the Spanish monarchy. During this time, missionaries, primarily Franciscans, were sent with the explorers to convert the native people of the New Continent. It was in this context that the Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego, a Nahuatl native, while he was traveling to Mexico City to learn about God from the Franciscans.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, through this apparition, becomes the bridge of these two cultural worlds, and she helps each to understand the true meaning of God’s revelatory plan of salvation. She aids in God’s plan to unite all people into the Sonship of Christ, her Son; she is the bearer of Good News (Gospel) to both the Nahuatl and the Franciscan missionaries.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has given a deeper understanding of the human experience, which is expressed in culture. She shows us how to rightly accept the good, or graces, from cultures and utilize them to sanctify the culture from within. She is the one who unites the graces and bridges the distance. Truly, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Mediatrix of cultural graces.
– friar Arturo Felix OFM Conv.
