The Virgin of Guadalupe – Patron Saint of the Americas and her miraculous image – #1
Our Lady of Guadalupe, original in the Basilica of Mexico City - Image Source
Presentation
All over the world, there are many reports of apparitions of Our Lady. Marian apparitions throughout the History of the Church are historical facts that the Ecclesiastical authorities officially recognize and approve after a rigorous and prolonged investigative examination.
These events are factors in the intensification and increase of Christian worship of the Mother of God: liturgical festivals, Marian shrines, specific prayers and invocations, etc. These phenomena manifest God's perennial saving action on Earth through Jesus Christ and His Most Holy Mother.
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe surprises even the most advanced sciences of the third millennium. We face an accumulation of permanent miracles with singular characteristics contradicting the natural order, leaving scientists astonished. To understand the magnitude of this story, you need to read all the articles in the series that have now begun.
The apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe
It is essential to understand the historical context: ten years after the conquest of Mexico City, the war came to an end, and although peace was established between the people and the Christian faith emerged, there was still a lot of resentment among the Aztecs against the Spanish colonizers, due to to the atrocities committed by a number of these against indigenous people. (Although the Church preached compassion towards the Indians, at this time, many of the conquering captains were men of little faith and were more interested in material wealth, disregarding God's commandments.)
Faithful portrait of the venerable Saint Juan Diego walking with the tilma tied to his shoulder. His Indian name (Speaks like an eagle) denoted high authority, painting by Miguel Cabrera, 1752 - Image Source
The first of these apparitions occurred in Mexico in 1531 on a Saturday morning when the Blessed Virgin appeared to a poor Aztec Indian named Juan Diego on top of a Tepeyacac mountain.
The narratives about the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe are constantly inspired by the Nican Mopohua, or Huei Tlamahuitzoltica, written in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, by the Indian scholar Antônio Valeriano in the 16th century. Unfortunately, the original of this work has been lost. Fortunately, a copy was published in Nahuatl by Luis Lasso de la Vega in 1649, in which the following account is based as faithfully as possible.
The First appearance
It was a Saturday in the interior of Mexico in 1531; at dawn, Juan Diego was on his way, following his divine worship and committed to his task.
Upon arriving via the tortuous trail to the top of the mountain known as Tepeyacac, the day dawned, and he heard the singing of several beautiful birds. A very smooth and delightful sound. Every now and then, the voices stopped, and it seemed as if the mountain was responding to them.
Juan Diego stopped, looked, and thought, "Am I perhaps worthy of what I hear? Will it be a dream? Am I sleeping standing up? Where am I? Am I now in an earthly paradise that our elders tell us about? Or maybe I'm in heaven?"
He was looking toward the east, above the mountain, where the precious heavenly song was coming from, and suddenly, there was silence.
Then he heard a voice from above the mountain saying:
– “Juanito, Juan Dieguito.” He courageously went where they were calling him; he wasn't the least bit afraid; on the contrary, he was encouraged and went up the mountain to see."
When he reached the top, he saw a Lady who was standing still and told him to come closer. In her presence, he marveled at her superhuman greatness.
His dress was radiant like the sun; the cliff where his feet stood penetrated with radiance resembled a bracelet of precious stones, and the earth sparkled like a rainbow.
Our Lady of Guadalupe led to the mass conversion of indigenous people, with 15,000 baptized in a single day. - Virgin of Guadalupe painting by anonymous author possibly from 1779, Denver Art Museum. - Image Source
The plants that grew there, and other weeds, looked like emeralds, their foliage like turquoise, and their branches and thorns shone like gold. He bowed before her and listened to her words, soft and courteous, like someone who enchants and captivates enormously.
She told him:
– "Juanito, the most humble of my children, where are you going?"
He replied:
– "My Lady and Girl, I have to arrive at Your church in Mexico to follow the divine things which our priests, delegates of Our Lord, give and teach us."
She then said to him:
– "Know and understand, you are the humblest of my children, I, the Ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of the Living God by whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and earth. I wish that a temple would be built here quickly; then, I will be able to show all my love, compassion, help, and protection because I am your pious Mother and of all the inhabitants of this earth and of all others who love, invoke and trust in me. I hear all your laments and remedy all your miseries, afflictions, and pains.
And to accomplish what my clemency intends, go to the palace of the Bishop of Mexico and tell him that I express my great desire, that here in this place a temple be built for me. You will say exactly everything you saw, admired, and heard. Rest assured that I will be very grateful and will reward you. I will make you very happy and worthy of my reward because of the effort and fatigue you must fulfill what I command and entrust to you. You have heard my command, my humble son; go and put in all your effort."
At this point, he bowed before Her and said: "My Lady, I am going to carry out Your order; I now take leave of You, Your humble servant." Soon, he got off to do his task and headed straight to Mexico City.
to be continued...
Don't miss the following chapters soon!
Bibliography; A Virgem de Guadalupe - Nican Mopuhua / O Mistério da Virgem de Guadalupe, by J. J. Benitez.
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