Who is our Lady?

Season of Remembrance 
The Miracles Continue Today

The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe commemorates the apparitions of the Blessed Mother to a Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531 on a hillside north of Mexico City. The Feast is an invitation for each Catholic to get to know the Mother of Jesus, and through her, to know Christ. While widely embraced in the Hispanic Catholic tradition, the Guadalupe Feast is gaining in popularity among all Catholic ethnicities.

Our Lady appeared to a young indigenous man, now St. Juan Diego, asking him to represent her in going to the Bishop of Mexico City to request that he build a church on that hillside of Tepeyac in honor of our Lord. The Bishop mocked him but challenged Juan to ask Mary for a sign if he was telling the truth.

Now, almost 500 years later, that proof gifted to us by Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to shine as a symbol of faith, unity and love. Bringing Juan Diego to the top of the hill, he gathered roses of all colors in his Tilma (garment) to offer to the Bishop. Later, on letting the roses fall to the floor everyone dropped to their knees as they witnessed her image imprinted on his cloak.

Millions have converted to Catholicism thanks to the intercession and apparition of Our Lady. The miracles continue too, not only in that we all have the opportunity still to witness her image on Juan Diego's Tilma, but in our personal lives deeply connecting us to her loving Son, Jesus Christ.. The miracle continues today.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE AS INTERCESSOR FOR THE HOLY SOULS

When the Our Lady of Guadalupe apparitions happened, the culture was living in an environment of death. Religious worship for the Aztecs meant sacrificing thousands of living humans a year. Half the population had already died of a smallpox epidemic. The Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Guadalupe, comes onto this scene of death with the message of hope and love. She does not only offer this message to her suffering children on earth, but also to her suffering children who have died and await entrance into heaven. We know that Mary is ever pleading for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Through her most powerful intercession, she leads them to heaven before their sentenced time and before the final day of judgement.

Mary’s participation at the foot of the Cross in the work of redemption gives her the ability to intercede for the souls in a special way. St. Faustina had a vision during her postulancy with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in which her Guardian Angel took her to Purgatory. She says, "I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls call her 'The Star of the Sea.' She brings them refreshment”.

The 2020 Guadalupe Torch in a Season of Remembrance will shine in the parishes as a symbol of the impassioned prayer of those who participate in the Diocesan wide mission to pray for our dead in this month of the Holy Souls. The Guadalupe torch light also reminds us that our Lady of Guadalupe is present in these moments of prayer and advocating our requests to her Son Jesus, who we know will never deny her anything.

¡Viva nuestra Señora de Guadalupe!   ¡Viva!

Click here for The “Our Lady of Guadalupe Rosaries for the Dearly Departed “Collection