Our Lady of Guadalupe

Let us ask Saint Juan Diego, to inspire us with a true devotion to our Mother of Heaven, for "Mary's compassion extends to all those who appeal to her, even when this appeal is nothing more than a simple 'Hail, Mary'" (Saint Alphonsus de Liguori ) and especially if we have fallen into serious sin, she who is Mother of Mercy will obtain for us the Mercy of God.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on 12 December.
Feast of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on 9 December.
 

On 9 December, 1531 a radiant cloud appeared and within Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess appeared to humble Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin at Tepeyac, a hill northwest currently Mexico City. She made herself known as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. She told Juan Diego of her love for the people of Mexico, and requested him to ask the local Bishop-elect, Juan de Zumárraga, a Franciscan from Spain to build chapel (a place to show her love) in her dedication at the place she appeared. After being told about Our Lady’s request by Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, requested for sign from heaven in order to comply. On the next day, Our Lady had promised a sign that would convince the bishop, but when he returned to his village he found his uncle seriously ill and dying. On the next morning, Juan Diego on his way to Mexico to get a priest to give his uncle his Last Sacrament, Our Lady appeared again. She told him that his uncle has recovered and will not die. Calling herself as Our Lady of Guadalupe she asked him to go again to the bishop and without any hesitation with joy he asked for the sign for the Bishop.

 

 

She told him to go up the hill and gather roses. Even knowing that it was barren and dry and only suitable for cactus, not for roses, he went and found the roses foreign to Mexico as said by Our Lady. Juan Diego picked and placed the roses into the lap of his tilma (a long cloak used by Mexican Indians). Our Lady arranged the roses in his tilma and instructed him to keep them untouched and unseen till he reaches the Bishop.

 

 

On 12 December, 1531 upon reaching the Bishop, Juan Diego offered the sign by unfolding his cloak the roses fell out, and he was startled to see the bishop and his assistants kneeling before him. There was life size figure of the Virgin Mother, just as Juan Diego had described her during her initial appearance and was glowing on the tilma.

 

 

 

 

Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born. The miraculous image, Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is supported by an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be "born" again among the peoples of the New World, and is a message as relevant to the "New World" today as it was during the lifetime of Juan Diego.

Juan Diego died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was beatified on 6 May, 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City. St. Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 31 July, 2002.

Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe #1

O our Lady of Guadalupe,
mystical rose,
make intercession for Holy Church,
protect the Sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke thee in their necessities,
and since thou art the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from thy most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life,
burning charity and the precious gift of final perseverance.

AMEN.

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Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe #2

Dearest Lady,
fruitful Mother of Holiness,
teach me Your ways of gentleness and strength.
Hear my prayer,
offered with deep felt confidence to beg this favor...

(State your prayer request here.)

O Mary,
conceived without sin,
I come to your throne of grace
to share the fervent devotion
of your faithful Mexican children
who call to Thee under the glorious title "Guadalupe" -
the Virgin who crushed the serpent.

Queen of Martyrs,
whose Immaculate Heart was pierced
by seven swords of grief,
help me to walk valiantly
amid the sharp thorns strewn across my path.
Invoke the Holy Spirit of Wisdom
to fortify my will to frequent the Sacraments so that,
thus enlightened and strengthened,
I may prefer God to all creatures
and shun every occasion of sin.

Help me,
as a living branch of the Vine
that is Jesus Christ,
to exemplify His divine charity
always seeking the good of others.
Queen of Apostles,
aid me to win souls
for the Sacred Heart of my Savior.
Keep my apostolate fearless,
dynamic, and articulate,
to proclaim the loving solitude of Our Father in Heaven
so that the wayward may heed His pleading
and obtain pardon,
through the merits of Your Merciful Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN.

 

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John Paul II’s Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe  

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of the true God and Mother of the Church!, who from this place reveal your clemency and your pity to all those who ask for your protection, hear the prayer that we address to you with filial trust, and present it to your Son Jesus, our sole Redeemer. Mother of Mercy, Teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We also dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities and our sorrows. Grant peace, justice and prosperity to our peoples; for we entrust to your care all that we have and all that we are, our Lady and Mother. We wish to be entirely yours and to walk with you along the way of complete faithfulness to Jesus Christ in His Church; hold us always with your loving hand. Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we pray to you for all the Bishops, that they may lead the faithful along paths of intense Christian life, of love and humble service of God and souls. Contemplate this immense harvest, and intercede with the Lord that He may instill a hunger for holiness in the whole people of God, and grant abundant vocations of priests and religious, strong in the faith and zealous dispensers of God’s mysteries. Grant to our homes the grace of loving and respecting life in its beginnings, with the same love with which you conceived in your womb the life of the Son of God. Blessed Virgin Mary, protect our families, so that they may always be united, and bless the upbringing of our children. Our hope, look upon us with compassion, teach us to go continually to Jesus and, if we fall, help us to rise again, to return to Him, by means of the confession of our faults and sins in the Sacrament of Penance, which gives peace to the soul. We beg you to grant us a great love for all the holy Sacraments, which are, as it were, the signs that your Son left us on earth. Thus, Most Holy Mother, with the peace of God in our conscience, with our hearts free from evil and hatred, we will be able to bring to all true joy and true peace, which come to us from your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. AMEN.

His Holiness John Paul II
Visiting Her Basilica during his first foreign trip as Pope. Mexico, January 1979.     @ @ @ @ @ @      Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe  

Holy Mary, who under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe are invoked as Mother by the men and women of Mexico and of Latin America, encouraged by the love that you inspire in us, we once again place our life in your motherly hands.
May you, who are present in these Vatican Gardens, hold sway in the hearts of all the mothers of the world and in our own heart. With great hope, we turn to you and trust in you.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Pray for us.
 

His Holiness Benedict XVI Prayer before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Vatican gardens. May 11, 2005.