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Happy Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
We hope you can join us today for the 9am All School Mass to celebrate together.
Today we remember and celebrate Mary appearing to Juan Diego in 1531. The apparition of Mary to Juan Diego in Mexico, which eventually led to the largest conversion to the Catholic faith. An everyday man, Juan Diego, was handpicked by Mary to be brave and courageous and share his faith with others. He believed so fervently in God that he was willing to risk it all, in a time of Spanish conquest and invasion in his area, to stand up and challenge authority to say-- yes, Mary has given me, an ordinary and poor local, a sign and has asked me to share it all with you. At the time speaking with the Bishop would be like us walking up to the governor's mansion today and just knocking on the door requesting a 1:1. With so many of the church and political hierarchy believing in the concept of manifest destiny (to be chosen by God for the role), it was hard to believe that someone who wasn’t a king/queen, conquistador or commander or religious leader would have been given such a sign. But God brought Mary to Juan Diego to be the hope for all people, especially Juan Diego’s people, who had been ravaged by colonization of the Spanish. Still today, Mary is a sign of hope and a sign of peace. She tells Juan Diego “you have nothing to fear”, just as the angels said to her when she was to behold Jesus. Mary was with Juan Diego every step of the way, never once turning her back on him. Through the Holy Spirit, God is with each of us, every single day. As we conclude this second week of Advent, focused on peace, let us be peace in the world, comfort in the dark, guidance when we are afraid. Let us be brave like Juan Diego and constant like Mary. Let us be willing to listen like the Bishop, and most of all, help us to have the faith in God that we each called by name.
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