December 12, 2014

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Zechariah 2: 14-17

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord.

Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

The Lord will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved. http://www.usccb.org/bible/approved-translations

Building the Kingdom

Today we observe the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. She appeared to a man who saw himself as someone without importance, asking him to do something larger than his own self-worth. Isn’t that sometimes the story of our own lives? Haven’t there been moments where we’ve felt unworthy of something great, not smart enough for something complex, or lacking in strength for something challenging?

The yearning affection of Our Lady is embodied through the image left on Juan Diego’s tilma, or cape. This image endows a reminder that her Son is faith, hope, and love for all and in all, belonging to all people of skill, schooling, and skin color. And just as she asked a small and meek man from Mexico to prepare the way for the building of a church, so too La Virgen asks us to ready ourselves for the building of her Son’s Kingdom on earth.

—Damian Torres-Botello, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic currently studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.  

Prayer

Lord, when I am prideful, grant me humility. When I am blind, grant me sight. When I am troubled, grant me peace; When I am afraid, help me be brave. All this so my expectant heart can give birth to joy when you arrive.

Amen.