Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today’s Gospel: Luke 1: 26-38
Today, we, the Church, celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe is Patroness of the Americas, and so we invoke her protection and intercession in a particular way today. Celebrating this feast of our Mother Mary does not draw us away from Advent but deepens our adventure as we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Mary, as she appeared at Tepeyac in 1531, spoke these words to Juan Diego:
“Know for certain, least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of heaven and earth. It is my earnest wish that a temple be built here to my honor. Here I will demonstrate, I will exhibit, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you 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 seek me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes.”
Our Mother of Mercy, Our Lady desires each of us to be healed from our suffering and sorrow. Her desire is fulfilled for you and for me when our prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus,” is fulfilled. When the dawn from on high breaks upon us, Christ Jesus comes to wipe away every tear from our eyes. Indeed, Jesus comes to make all things new. Our Lady’s desire expressed in 1531, is the same, and is the same as her desire when she said, “Yes,” to the Angel Gabriel in Nazareth. It is to be the instrument of God as he answers our prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Every day of the season of Advent pray, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Let it be our rallying cry! May it drive our joy and our hope, knowing that God comes to dwell with his people. “Come, Lord Jesus!” It is the prayer that was answered in Bethlehem, and the prayer we make each and everyday: “Come, Lord Jesus, today, into my heart, into my life.” Now is the time to prepare for the arrival of Jesus Christ. Today, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, walk with Our Lady, our Most Merciful Mother from the Annunciation in Nazareth to the Nativity in Bethlehem. And as you pray, “Come, Lord Jesus,” our Mother Mary will bring him to you.
Copyright Fr. Chuck Schwartz
Fr. Chuck Schwartz is priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Ordained in 2013, he is currently the associate pastor at St. Mary – St. Paul Parish in Big Rapids, MI and involved in campus ministry at Ferris State University.