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John Paul II on the Immaculate Conception
Father Pat, Father Schulte and Father Streveler at
Guadalupe
On the
December 8, 1531, 10 years after the conquer of Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, a native
called Juan Diego was walking across a hill called Tepeyac. He was going to Tlatelolco to
attend the catechism. Juan Diego was listening to the beautiful singing of the birds, when
the Mother of God appeared. She wanted a temple to be built in that place and she
instructed Juan Diego to go and tell the first bishop of the Region. The bishop and his
assistants did not believe the story told by the native.
He returned to the Tepeyac with the idea of giving up the task. However, the Virgin appeared again and repeated the assignment to Juan Diego, in spite of his humble protest. The native obeyed Her and went to see the bishop again but he was not successful either. Nevertheless, he was so insistent that the bishop told him to ask the Holy Lady to prove Her presence with some kind of evidence. Then, the bishop ordered his servants to follow Juan Diego so as to corroborate the native's story. When Juan Diego arrived at the Tepeyac he inexplicably disappeared and the Spaniards lost sight of him. The Virgin talked to Juan Diego again and told him to come back the following day to give him the proof for Zumárraga.
The native lived with his uncle Bernardino who
was very ill at the time. For that reason, on December 12, at dawn, Juan Diego preferred
to go and look for a priest who could give spiritual comfort to his uncle. Although he
tried to avoid the lady, she found him and gave him a message of faith and hope. She
ratified her heavenly origin and confirmed Her petition of a temple which would symbolize
a message of peace and help to the whole world. Then, she asked him to go up the hill and
told him that she would give him the proof Zumárraga had asked for. On the top of the
hill, Juan Diego surprisingly found flowers, in spite of the winter frost. He picked them
up and put them inside his cloak. After the Virgin had touched the flowers, he went to the
bishop's house to give him the flowers. Once in the Bishop's house, the precious image of
the Virgin of Guadalupe was revealed, impressed on the tough cloth. Simultaneously, the
Virgin appeared to uncle Bernardino, in the same figure which appeared on Juan Diego's
cloak. She cured Bernardino immediately. She told him that She was Guadalupe, the Perfect
One, the forever Virgin, Mother of the True God, because of whom we all live.
Our photo of the true image that appeared
on
Juan Diego's cloak in 1531!
Nowadays, the original image, complete and intact, is in the Tepeyac Shrine, where millions of pilgrims from the whole world visit Her to pray and beg favors from our Heavenly Father. Her message confers her the power of being the first and most important evangelist in the New World.
Here I am, on the roadway that leads to an
older Basilica. The oldest remaining
Church is upper right. The picture
of Fr. Dan is taken from there.
A visit to Guadalupe can be a little
chaotic, with
lots of
people and activity. The oldest Church is at the top of
Tepeyac hill, where Mary appeared.. You can see the
old and new Basilicas in the background, and my
Dominican friend, Fr. Dan (in the checked shirt)
trying to peek through the crowd of pilgrims.
Mexico City is in the background.
Member Helga's experience of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Incredible 2002 Trip to Guadalupe
La Basílica Virtual, en Español
http://www.guad.org
the "Culture of Death" can
be replaced by the "Culture of Life!"
Our
Lady of Guadalupe Shrine
being built in our Diocese!
Make a donation to the Shrine in our Diocese
Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Guide to the New Millennium
Our
Lady of Guadalupe/Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Member Robin lives 3 miles
from Guadalupe ... here is her Page!
en la Página Web de Robin, que vive cerca de Guadalupe
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE
CONCEPTION
Pope John
Paul II on 08 December 2003
VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 2003 (VIS) – "Today the Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary," said the Pope before thousands of pilgrims who gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus. The Holy Father said that "Mary, chosen to be the Mother of the Word Incarnate, is at the same time the primacy of His work of redemption. The grace of Christ, Redeemer operated in her in anticipation, preserving her from original sin and any contamination of sin."
"Therefore," he continued, "Mary is 'full of grace,' as the angel affirms when he announces her divine motherhood. The human mind cannot pretend to understand such a great marvel and mystery. It is the faith which reveals to us that the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is a sign of salvation for every human creature, pilgrim on the earth. It is also the faith that reminds us that Mary, in light of her unique condition, is our steadfast support in the difficult fight against sin and its consequences."
John Paul II invited the faithful to join him in paying homage to Our Lady this afternoon in Piazza di Spagna. "With this pilgrimage," he said, "we enter into the 150th anniversary of that solemn act of the magisterium of the Church" when Blessed Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, 1854 and imposed an image of Our Lady on a column in commemoration of the event.
At 5 p.m., the Pope arrived at Piazza di Spagna in the popemobile for the traditional crowning of Our Lady. After blessing a crown of roses which was placed at the foot of the column of Our Lady, he made some brief remarks.
"Queen of peace, pray for us!" exclaimed the Pope. "Our gaze is directed toward you in great fear, to you do we turn with ever-more insistent faith in these times marked by many uncertainties and fears for the present and future of our planet. Together we lift our confident and sorrowful petition to you, the first fruit of humanity redeemed by Christ, finally freed from the slavery of evil and sin: hear the cry of the pain of victims of war and so many forms of violence that bloody the earth. Clear away the darkness of sorrow and worry, of hate and vengeance. Open up our minds and hearts to faith and forgiveness!"
John Paul II asked the "Mother of mercy and hope" to give the men and women of the third millenium "the precious gift of peace: peace in our hearts and in families, in communities and among peoples; especially in those nations where fighting and death continues to occur every day. Help every human being of every race and culture to find and embrace Jesus, who came to earth in the mystery of Christmas to give us ‘His’ peace. Mary,
Queen of peace, give us Christ, true peace in the world!"
JPII-IMMACULATE CONCEPTION/…/… VIS 031209 (500)
Our Lady of Guadalupe is patroness of the Americas and also of the unborn.
Visit our "Life is Precious" page, too!
|
This appears on the Web Site of Father Pat's Place. Visit more of our more of my Site at http://frpat.com/ You are visitor Immaculate Conception text reproduced with permission of the Vatican. |
