by Fr. Rafael Rodriguez-Fuentes
As some of you know, I grew up in Mexico City, a huge city of nearly 9 million inhabitants. Despite living in this sprawling metropolis, I was blessed to have lived just a 15-minute bus ride from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
I have to admit that there was a time in my life in which being “Guadalupano” (a believer in the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe) did not mean much for me. However, I knew that she meant a lot to my mother.
I remember in a very special way the time when my father had a heart attack and needed triple bypass heart surgery. At that time, my mother asked for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe for my dad and family. She offered to visit the basilica every year on the day of the anniversary of my dad’s surgery, if my dad had a successful surgery.
Thanks be to God, the surgery went well, and my dad recovered. Ever since his surgery, my parents honored their promise and visited the basilica every year as an act of thanksgiving until the Lord called them from this earth. The basilica continues to be a special place for my family, as both of my parents’ remains are interred at the basilica.
My family used to go to the basilica and give thanks for her intercession. However, it was later in life that I started to realize the power of her maternal love and intercession.
When I came to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for graduate studies, I found myself in a very different situation than I ever experienced in my life. Not only was the language and culture different, but also I realized that being Catholic made you a minority in this country.
I remember being challenged regarding the traditions and beliefs of the Catholic faith in general, and belief in the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in particular. I quickly realized that as a cultural, nominal devotee I knew very little about Our Lady of Guadalupe. I had to learn more and try to figure out what was so amazing about Guadalupe.
When I was a graduate student, I went to the Newman Center and I found many wonderful students sharing and practicing their faith. I have to admit what started as an intellectual journey led me to deeper prayerful experiences in which I have learned to place my trust in the Blessed Mother’s maternal care and love.
A good friend suggested that I needed to read the story of the apparitions firsthand. For the first time in my life, I was reading the beautiful story of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to San Juan Diego. I quickly realized that this story was not only a “nice story” passed from generation to generation, but a true story in which Our Lady was speaking to me and to all of us.
At the hill of Tepeyac, now located in Mexico City, in the year of 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego. He was a humble man and recent convert to the Catholic faith, whom the Blessed Mother tasked to request that Bishop Zumarraga, the local bishop, build “a sacred little house” for Our Lady on Tepeyac Hill. Our Lady asked Juan Diego to “give [God] to the people in all my personal love, in my compassionate gaze, in my help and my salvation.”
Juan Diego obeyed Our Lady’s command and brought the message to the bishop, but he requested further proof of the desire of Our Lady. In the midst of all this, when Juan Diego returned home he learned that his uncle Juan Bernardino was dying. Juan Diego was to meet with Our Lady, but because he was worried about his uncle who needed the anointing of the sick, he decided to avoid his regular walking route that passed by the place of the apparitions.
To his surprise, Our Lady found him and assured him of her motherhood and promise that his uncle would be healed. Our Lady said to Juan Diego: “Do not be frightened or grieve, or let your heart be troubled, however great the illness may be that you speak of, am I not here, I who am your mother, and is not my help a refuge?”
Our Lady directed Juan Diego to pick beautiful roses, which are not common in December in Mexico City, to give to the bishop as proof of her request. Juan Diego picked the roses and put them in his cloak (tilma), thinking the roses alone would be proof of her request. When he approached the bishop, he opened his tilma, and the roses fell from it, and the beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was imprinted on his tilma.
The tilma is still on display in the Basilica. It is almost 500 years old and made of cactus fiber, and so due to its composition, it should have disintegrated by now. Its very existence is a miracle!
The lesson learned from this story is that I too could go to Our Lady of Guadalupe in prayer, and entrust myself to her in times of trouble. Many times in my life as a graduate student, seminarian, and now as priest, I go back to Our Lady of Guadalupe in times of trouble; when I am afraid or simply life gets complicated, and I ask for her intercession.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, many personal plans have changed, we’ve experienced many frustrations, and life has become more challenging. It is during these difficult moments that we need to hear again the words of Our Lady. She keeps asking us to not be afraid and place our trust in God’s will through her beautiful and powerful intercession. May Our Lady of Guadalupe pray for us and lead us to her son.
The feast of St. Juan Diego is Dec. 9. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is Dec. 12.
