Dear Friends,
On this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I am re-sharing a post from three years ago. The lesson is still just as fresh to me, hopefully to you as well...
"Am I not here, your mother?"
Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego, The Text of the Nican Mopohua
A few years ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to study and learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe during a silent retreat in Boise. There were many things that impressed me about the history, the symbolism and the impact of the events of 1531 near Mexico City, but one thing absolutely jumped out at me. Juan Diego, the Christian Indian who witnessed the "brown skinned woman" on the hillside and carried her image on his tilma to the bishop, completely surrendered himself to the miracle. That, to me, was symbolized in one action. When Juan Diego opened his tilma and the roses tumbled out at the bishop's feet, they stared, in awe, at the image of Our Lady left on the tilma. That was the miracle that showed the bishop that Juan was telling the truth, Our Lady was on the hillside, the miracle was real! And then Juan Diego surrendered his tilma; just took it off and gave it to the bishop as proof of the miracle. Juan was a poor man with few possessions, but he literally gave the shirt off his back to the bishop. It was more to him than simply a garment, it was a miracle. It was more than simply a shield from the December chill, it was the Mother of the Poor reaching out to help her children. It was precious to him, and yet, he realized the need to give it up. And the tilma still belongs to the people, is still on display in the Basilica in Mexico City. The lesson for us is that God is still creating miracles in our lives today, everyday we encounter God reaching into our lives. We need to follow the example of Juan Diego: share the miracles with others, surrender ourselves to what our miracles are telling us. And change our immediate world around us by getting ourselves out of the way and letting God be God! Love, heidi
Lovely and inspiring post.
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