Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 12, 2013
Thursday
2nd Week of Advent
Our Lady of Guadalupe
1st Reading: Zec 2:14–17
Gospel: Lk 1:39–47
Mary then set out for a town in the Hills of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life Experience)
A story is told of a mother who was so forgetful that she left her baby inside the cab she was riding. Is this for real? Psalm 49 asks:
“Can a mother forget her baby or a woman the child within her womb?” Should it happen that mothers forget their own babies the same Psalm assures us that God will never forget his people.
Thinking of today’s feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I am tempted to rebut the premise that mothers can forget their babies. Think about the case of the Blessed Virgin. There was never a moment that Mary forgot her baby. One may argue that hers was a special case since her baby was Jesus – the infant no mother can forget any second. But so far she has shown consistency because as Mother of all mankind “it has never been heard that anyone who fled to her protection or sought her intercession was left unaided” (From the Memorare).
Today’s Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe invites us to reflect upon this loving care of the Blessed Virgin. She appeared to Juan Diego at Tepayac Hill in Central Mexico in 1531 as a pregnant woman. The image was miraculously imprinted on Diego’s cape.
Scientific investigations on the image revealed that on the eyes of the Virgin in that image is reflected Juan Diego with whom Mary was in conversation. We see ourselves in that image of Juan Diego in the eyes of the Blessed Virgin. We are always under her watchful care. She always intercedes for us.
Some people doubt about our need for an intercessor and so assail our Marian devotion. Can’t we just deal with God directly and do away with Mary? A similar question can be directed to God: “Why was it, O God, that you hanged on to Mary’s ‘Yes’ at the Annunciation as if your plan depended on her positive response?” If God found Mary indispensable, we should find her even more necessary in our faith journey. In any case, people may have the guts to throw her out of their lives. But Mary never will. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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