Our Blessed Mother's clothing...

Go on over to Elena-Maria's new blog "Fountain of Elias" to read some interesting points about the clothing of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Happy feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

"The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.
A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

He was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared and within it a young Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan Diego to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Diego to try to avoid the lady. The lady found Diego, nevertheless, assured him that his uncle would recover and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

When Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground and the bishop sank to his knees. On Juan Diego’s tilma appeared an image of Mary as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac. It was December 12, 1531." (From Saint A Day)

Our Lady of Guadalupe

"Hear me and understand well, my son the least, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is 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."

— Our Lady to Juan Diego


"In the winter of 1531, a poor, 57-year-old Aztec Indian living five miles outside of Mexico City encountered a miraculous happening on his way to morning Mass. First he heard strange music coming from Tepeyac Hill, and then he heard a woman's voice calling his name. Juan Diego climbed the hill and encountered a young woman, appearing to be of his own people in physical appearance and dress. The woman identified herself as the Virgin Mary, and told Juan Diego to ask the bishop of Mexico City to build a church on the hill to assist in the conversion of the nation and be a source of consolation to the people.

Juan Diego obeyed the request, but the bishop was skeptical regarding the message, even though he perceived that Juan was a humble, and well meaning Catholic. Juan reported the bishop's doubt to Our Lady at Tepeyac Hill, and she asked him to return to the bishop once again, bearing the same message. The bishop once again heard the story, and told Juan Diego to ask Our Lady for a sign that it was indeed herself that wished for the church to be built.

When he returned to the hill, Mary gave Juan Diego such a sign. Miraculously, roses appeared on the hill in the middle of winter, and Juan gathered them in his tilma, or cloak. Our Lady arranged the roses in his tilma with her own hands, and Juan returned to the bishop's presence. When Juan released the tilma, allowing the flowers to fall to the floor, it was revealed that a miraculous image of Our Lady had imprinted itself on his tilma (see above).

The bishop immediately fell to his knees, and came to believe in Juan Diego's message. A church was built on the spot of the apparition, as Mary had requested, and 8 million people converted to Catholicism in a short period of time upon hearing of or viewing the miraculous image of Our Lady.

The tilma of Juan Diego has been the subject of much modern research. The tilma, woven out of coarse cactus fiber, should have disintegrated after 20 years, but although over 500 years have passed the tilma is still in perfect condition. The pupils of Mary in the picture reflect the Indians and clergy present at the time of the first revelation of the image. No paint was used, and chemical analysis has not been able to identify the color imprint. Additionally, studies have revealed that the stars on Mary's mantle match exactly what a Mexican would have seen in the sky in December of 1531." (from Catholic Culture)

Happy Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

God of power and mercy,
you blessed the Americas at Tepeyac
with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
May her prayers help all men and women
to accept each other as brothers and sisters.
Through your justice present in our hearts
may your peace reign in the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

(opening Mass prayer, feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe)

PLEASE PRAY TODAY FOR THE UNBORN AND FOR THE MOTHERS WHO ARE TODAY CONTEMPLATING ABORTION.

PLEASE DEAR LORD HELP US! PLEASE DEAR LADY OF GUADALUPE, SPARE THESE INNOCENT CHILDREN FROM MURDER! HELP THEIR MOTHERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE HOLDING WITHIN THEIR BODIES A PRECIOUS LIFE! AMEN.


I will be back later to post more about this beautiful feast!

I have an article in the latest Canticle magazine

I have an article about Our Lady of Guadalupe and one of my babies in the November/December Canticle magazine.

Friends on Friday: "To the arms of my Mother"

Our mother friend, Sarah at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering has shared her sentiments about her pregnancy with us...

The Worries, the Comfort, the Hope

At 19 weeks, I realize I should be a lot bigger than I am. I wasn't with my daughter, but everyone says that things are different with subsequent pregnancies. And things are different this time around. For one thing, I'm not sick. I have headaches here and there, but none of the hanging nausea that enveloped all nine months of my first pregnancy. From what my midwife says, things are going normally, great, fabulous.

I have to trust her.

But really, I have to trust God. I have to leave Him there in the driver's seat, even though I've been assailed, lately, with worries of a scary nature. I have to stand at the foot of the cross and thank God for putting me there. None of it's in my control, and really, would I want it to be?

The image of Mary that has spoken to me for quite some time now is Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I first felt drawn to this image, I didn't realize she was pregnant. There was just something about it that pulled me in. During my first pregnancy, I turned to Guadalupe a lot, and I asked her just to help me. Here's someone who understands fears, trials, hurdles. Here's a woman who has been there, done that.

So as people joke with me (and I know it's just joking) about how small I am, I try to remind myself that I'm a pretty small person anyway. I normally eat like a bird (meaning three times my weight) and burn it off flying around. I should be huge even without being pregnant. It's that metabolism I inherited from my mother (and my father too, I think). When I look for the belly, as I feel the tiny flutters and patterings that indicate a live person down there, and I have trouble finding it, I am sometimes tempted to cry (and, last week, in the shower, I did). I can't help but ask myself, "What if something's wrong? What if my baby is the one they're going to write inspirational articles about? What if I'm the one who's going to have to be strong and faithful and trusting?"

We've been praying for a healthy baby. Boy, girl - doesn't matter. All we pray for in our family is healthy. The heartbeat is strong, movements are good, and the ultrasound next week will probably reveal a normal little person in exactly the right stage of development.

And if not...if not, then we'll thank God for giving us a cross we're strong enough to carry, and we'll thank him for the love that will surround us and get us through it.

Easy to type here with a cheerful face. But I'm scared. I really am. I hear that's normal in pregnancy. And I can't help but think of the stories I've read lately, as I've been catching up on various blogs, about spiritual attacks. Maybe this is how my demons are getting me, planting ideas and nightmares in my hormone-induced mind.

So I turn, as I so often do, to the arms of my Mother, and I ask her to pray for me to her Son. I see her there, standing on the snake and full of life herself in the image of Guadalupe, and I know that I can do it, whatever "it" is, whatever is being asked.

*********************************************************************

Dear Sarah,

Thank you for sharing your beautiful heartfelt words with all of us about your little baby stirring in your womb and your mother's heart which yearns for protection and good health for the precious gift that God has blessed your family with.

May God bless you, your unborn baby, and your family with much love and peace. May Our Lady of Guadalupe watch over you with Her tender care as only She can.

God bless!