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| St. Pius the 10th Chapel at the Josephinum. Similar to the image of the Divine Mercy on the opposite side of the chapel, this is my go-to spot for praying the Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe. |
I hope you've heard the story of what happened on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico. On that hill, in 1531 AD, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, showed Herself in one of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen- a miracle that converted an entire nation and strengthened the entire world. Our Lady of Guadalupe truly changed the course of the world by simple actions of Her miracles, culminating in an image of the Immaculata that is well known by Catholics (and even some non-Catholics) throughout the universal Church.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a powerful gift of God to us for our salvation, not by any merits of ours, but by His mercy. And yet, this powerful gift of great responsibility was given to a nobody: a Native American man, just older than middle-aged, of no noteworthy influence: Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. (Cuauhtlatoatzin translates to "the talking eagle.")
St. Juan Diego was a convert to Catholicism, as were many of the Catholics in Mexico at his time. We know very little about his life before December 9, 1531. On that seemingly uneventful morning, St. Juan Diego was walking to morning mass when the Blessed Mother appeared to him, starting him on a mission to convert all of Mexico by the building of a church for Our Lady. I encourage you to read the full short story here in the Vatican approved document, The Nican Mopohua: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65badd40268838c6ef04735e/65f0737956ff96add79bee15_The%20Nican%20Mopohua.docx.pdf
Seriously, give the document a read. It is very short, yet very beautiful. I especially would like to call your attention to the humble, childlike acceptance of the will of God through Mary that St. Juan Diego showed. Our Lady told St. Juan Diego Her message, how She wished for all people to be saved through the building of a church for Her, and then sent Him on mission, saying:
"'Now, my dearest son, you have heard my breath, my word; go, do what you are responsible for doing.' And immediately he prostrated himself in her presence, and he said to her: 'My Lady, My Little Girl, now I will go to make your venerable breath, your venerable word, a reality; for now, I leave you, I, your humble servant.'" -The Nican Mopohua.
St. Juan Diego did not hesitate to fulfill these orders; he wasted no time in finding the Bishop to proclaim Our Lady's message. However, the Bishop was wary of this poor, unknown native who claimed to be given a direct message from Mary, and though the Bishop received him politely, he sent him away doubtfully.
St. Juan Diego then returned immediately to the Queen on the hill, and told Her of the problem. Now, place yourself for a moment in the sandals of St. Juan Diego. What would you say to Our Lady? Perhaps, "Your plan didn't work! I suppose that's that- I give up." Or even, "You tricked me! You embarrassed me in front of the Bishop!" Luckily, that's not what St. Juan Diego said. Instead, after telling the story, he prostrated himself on the ground and said:
"So I beg you, my Lady, my Queen, my little Girl, to have one of the nobles who are held in esteem, one who is known, respected, honored, have him carry on, take your venerable breath, your venerable word, so that he will be believed. Because I am really just a man from the country, I’m the porter’s rope, I’m a back frame, just a tail, a wing; I myself need to be led, carried on someone’s back; there, where you sent me, it is not my place to go or to stay, my little Girl, my littlest Daughter, my Lady, my Girl. Please, excuse me, I will afflict your face, your heart; I will fall into your anger, your displeasure, my Lady Mistress." -The Nican Mopohua.
With what perfect humility did St. Juan Diego speak to his Queen! Not only did he explain how he was a "nobody," but he went as far as to warn Our Lady of his sin- not only was he so weak that he would fail in his mission, but his sins could even anger Mother Mary. Clearly, this is a man with the grace of a childlike heart, who knows he can do nothing of his own power- not the littlest thing, and certainly not an incredible, divine mission. However, those souls with the hearts of children are the souls that Our Lady embraces the most, for it is they who can live out the will of God to the fullest. And so, She responds:
"Listen my youngest son, know for sure that I have no lack of servants, of messengers, to whom I can give the task of carrying my breath, my word, so that they carry out my will; but it is necessary that you, personally, go and plead, that by your intercession, my wish, my will, become a reality. And I beg you, my youngest son, and I strictly order you, to go again tomorrow to see the Bishop. And in my name, make him know, make him hear my wish, my will, so that he will bring into being, he will build, my sacred house that I ask of him. And carefully tell him again how I, personally, the ever Virgin Holy Mary, I, who am the Mother of God, sent you as my messenger." -The Nican Mopohua
St. Juan Diego went on to try again, unsuccessfully to proclaim the message. It was only on the third attempt of faith that Mary gave the miracle of the roses and of the tilma (which you can read about in The Nican Mopohua). After these miracles, the grace of Our Lady of Guadalupe spread throughout Mexico and throughout the world, converting millions of souls. And what happened to St. Juan Diego, the humble, childlike man who immediately entrusted himself to the will of Our Lady? Asking the Bishop to grant him a simple hut near the church of Guadalupe, St. Juan Diego spent the rest of his days as a humble servant and leader of prayer for the pilgrims that came to the shrine where the Immaculata had appeared at years ago. He was canonized by St. John Paul II in 2002.
Every time I see the brokenness of the world around us, and the hearts that are so far from the love of Christ, our situation can often seem hopeless. What use is it for me to serve the poor at a soup kitchen, or try and bring Christ into everyday conversations? Are those in our homes and in our nation too far gone?
Never! Our Lady has been given all graces by God, She is truly Full of Grace. Through Her, all souls can be saved. This is the promised triumph of Her immaculate heart, that souls who have been cut off completely from the love of God can be brought to Jesus through Mary. It is not too late to pray, and it is never too late to pray, until all is brought to fruition in the fruit of Her womb, Jesus. Pray for the salvation of souls! It is your duty as a child of God, as a brother or sister of every soul on Earth! Pray!
On March 12 of this year, 2024, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke began a nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, along with Catholics throughout America. I was blessed to be one of those Catholics, and since then I have been praying the novena consecration prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe every day. I trust that She can save the Americas again, like She did before at Tepeyac. Her Immaculate will Triumph, not just in Mexico, but in the whole world.
Go to https://novena.cardinalburke.com/ to pray the remainder of the nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe with Cardinal Burke and many others.
Let us never cease to pray for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in every soul.
Saint Juan Diego, humble servant of the Blessed Virgin, pray for us!
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