Monday, December 12, 2011

Advent Reflections: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe


Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab 
Psalm 45:11-12, 14-17 ~ Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have salvation and power come, the reign of our God and the authority of his Anointed One.’” Revelation 12:10

On retreat in Mexico with some co-workers I made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe a few days before this feast day. Thousands of people were making their way – on foot and, as we drew closer, on their knees, to the shrine. As I prayed before the tilma, the cloak of Blessed Juan Diego on which the image of Mary was impressed, my thoughts turned to the missionaries who carried the cloak around the territory in the years after this miracle. They pointed to Mary, depicted in the image as a pregnant mother. But their message, like her eyes in the image, focussed on Jesus, the “hidden child,” Anointed One who is our salvation come into the world. And millions were converted. With our eyes focussed on Jesus we can make the same proclamation today.

Father, use me, as you did the miracle of Tepeyac, to proclaim the coming of salvation and power in Jesus.

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