06 Our Lady of Guadalupe Episode 1

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Mass Readings
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Reading 1 – Zechariah 2:14-17
Or
Reading 1 – Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB
Psalm – Judith 13:18BCDE, 19
Gospel – Luke 1:26-38
Or
Gospel – Luke 1:39-47

Peace be with you on this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Today’s celebration is not just an important religious celebration. For Mexico, it’s a national celebration. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a huge part of Mexican culture and identity. I’m going to break this topic into 3 episodes:

In this episode, we’ll reflect on the religious dimension.
In Part 2, we’ll recount the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In Part 3, we’ll reflect on cultural and political dimension.

Before we get started, why are we celebrating a feast honoring Mary? Ok, let’s clear a few things up.

First, we never worship the saints. We never worship Mary.

Second, the Church does not make saints. All believers in heaven are saints. The Church has a process of lifting some of those saints up – heroes of the faith – to inspire us and to draw us closer to Jesus. I think if you could ask a saint if they wanted to be declared a saint, I suspect they’d say no. They would not want to call attention to themselves.

Third, in the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary asks that a church be built. Ok, why are churches named after saints? Probably for the same reason we name buildings after people. The saints are heroes of the faith, so we name churches for these heroes of Jesus Christ.

Now, what happens in a church? Well, people have many opportunities to have an encounter with Jesus. In the mass for example, during the Liturgy of the Word, we witness the Word made flesh (John 1:14). And during the Eucharist, we do as Jesus commanded us to, see Luke 22:18-20. Jesus doesn’t say, hey, when you get a chance, could you do this? No! He says do this and remember! Remembering is a powerful tool in the Jewish tradition. Rabbi Zaslow tells us that the function of remembering is to make the past come to life. It’s not about letting ideas and emotions float around in your head. Remembering is about connecting with the past in a real way. Why is this important? Because when we participate in the Eucharist, we enter in to that heavenly liturgy described in the Book of Revelation. This mass is a connection with Jesus Christ. So regardless of the name on the door, Jesus Christ the focus.

Ok, there are two possible Gospel readings for today. The first is Luke 1:26-38, which we heard proclaimed on Saturday to celebrate the Immaculate Conception and I discussed in Saturday’s podcast. I invite you to check it out. The other Gospel reading is a continuation of this chapter, Luke 1:39-47. Let’s briefly reflect on that second option. In this reading, Mary visits her cousin, Elizabeth. What happens? The child in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leaps. That must have been some leap, because Elizabeth is moved to tell Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb,” (42).

The example of John the unborn is so inspiring! When we’re in the presence of our Lord and King, what else can we do except leap for joy!

That’s really what the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe all about – spreading the joy of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it amazing that God can put two very different people together, a poor Native American and a bishop, who represents the power and wealth of his time, and use them to build up His kingdom on earth, especially during such a turbulent time in history? But here’s the catch: both Juan Diego and the Bishop had to be open to listening to God through Mary and be willing to respond to God’s call. That remains today like then a great challenge of our faith. Do we trust more in God’s will or in those things we can control?

Homework. There are just two things I suggest we do. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to go to mass today to be nourished by the Jesus in the Word proclaimed and in the Eucharist, but either way ask yourself:

Do I listen to God? In my prayer life, do I do all the talking, or do I spend some time in quiet to give God a chance to speak to me?
Do I discern God’s will for my life? Do I take time to try to prayerfully understand what God is asking of me in consultation with my pastor, my family and my friends?

I think if we do our homework this Advent season, we will be more likely to hear and respond to God’s call in our lives, to that voice crying out from the desert, to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas.

Don’t forget, part 2 in this series tells the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and part 3 reflects on the cultural and political dimensions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As always, you find a copy of today’s podcast and other helpful information on our website. The link will appear in the notes on your podcast player, but here’s the link just in case: https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

I hope you were inspired by today’s podcast. But let me ask you, are you going to do your homework? Well good! Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, may we all come to know and to love Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!