IN THE CROSSING OF HER ARMS

Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Lk 1:26-38

I am presently serving as Vice Rector and Parochial Vicar of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Today is our fiesta.

On December 9, 10, 11, and 12, 1531 the Blessed Mother appeared to an elderly native, Juan Diego, on top of the Tepeyac Hill in Guadalupe, Mexico. She appeared as a woman heavy with child. She attested to the veracity of her appearance by causing her image to be imprinted on the tilma of Juan Diego through the roses she instructed him to gather though it was winter, a time when roses do not normally bloom. She wanted a church to be built on top of the hill and promised special favors to those who would come to that church to pray to her.

Because it is made of a poor local fiver, the tilma should have disintegrated hundreds of years ago. But it remains intact to this day. Sometime in the 1790’s nitric acid was accidentally spilled on the cloth and in the 1920’s a bomb detonated beneath it. Still the tilma remains intact. It underwent various scientific investigations in the 20th century. The conclusion reached is unanimous: the origin of the image came about not with natural paint, brushstrokes or tracing. Moreover, scientific researches claim that the image, though created in 1531, has almost photographic qualities. As in modern photography, the eyes of the Blessed Mother contain images of those standing in the room where and when Juan Diego opened his tilma.

As the tilma remains intact, the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe endures. It is an invitation to trust in the care of the Blessed Mother has for her children and an inspiration to recourse to her maternal affection at all times: “I am your merciful mother, the mother of all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping and their sorrows, and will remedy and alleviate their sufferings, necessities and misfortunes…. Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. AM I NOT HERE WHO AM YOUR MOTHER? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?

Come and visit us at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Makati City. The Blessed Mother waits for you. She longs to embrace you.