THE FEAST DAY OF GUADALUPE
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” Lk 1:39-47
Today is the feast day of one of my favorite Marian apparitions. Not only because Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas, but because it is a beautiful story of how God exalts the lowliest (in the world’s eyes) to honor him. In 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to humble Indian farmer, Juan Diego, and revealed herself as the Mother of God. She instructs him to build a church on the site and creates an image of herself on his tilma, filling it with roses. The bishop thus believes him, building the Cathedral in what is now the heart of Mexico City. In 2002, Juan Diego was canonized as a saint.
In today’s gospel, Luke tells the powerful story of Mary visiting her cousin after the Angel Gabriel has revealed to Mary that she is going to bear a son and that her cousin, Elizabeth, long thought barren, is also with child (John the Baptist). Once again God has elevated a lowly “nobody” to extreme greatness. Mary’s role, as the God bearer, is to bring her son to us and to bring us to her son – through her love, through the church and through other people. Mary knows and, in all humility, accepts the enormity of this role, thus saying to Elizabeth, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
God blessed me with a loving and faith-filled human mother. Perhaps that is why I have always felt a closeness to Jesus’ mother. My mother too spent her life bringing Christ to others - sharing her faith, taking us to Mass, praying as a family, and modeling fidelity to her faith, especially in humble service to others. Now, as my mother has been diagnosed with fourth stage cancer and dementia, I am honored to care for her in the same way she always cared for me and others. I help her bathe, navigate her health care, prepare meals and laugh and pray with her, and find that she is still drawing me to Christ and him to me. I feel a special closeness to him when I am with her. I believe that the son of God must hold a special place in his heart for his mother, all mothers and those who care for their mothers and in this sorrow, feel my own soul proclaiming the greatness of my Lord.
What “smallness” in your life is God lifting up?
I invite you to listen to: My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord – John Michael Talbot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TEL_7TS5FE
Mary Schimmoller
Photo: Commissioned by Holy Family Church, South Pasadena in 2014 from artist, Lalo Garcia, in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe