Our Lady of Guadalupe
God Loves Ordinary People
In this podcast, I am going to share with you how God calls ordinary people in extraordinary ways. I will share with you the miraculous story of Juan Diego. Let’s start at the beginning.
In December, 1531, in Mexico, Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, a poor humble Aztec Indian. Juan was headed to Mass and saw a glowing figure on the hill. The figure introduced herself as the Mother of God and the mother of all humanity. After she introduced herself, she asked him to go to the local Bishop and tell him to build a church on the exact spot where she appeared. The Blessed Mother promised that if a church was built she would offer all of her love and her compassion to all those who believe.
Being obedient, Juan Diego, did as she asked, but the Bishop asked for proof that this request came from the Blessed Mother. He doubted the message and told Juan he needed to know for sure before moving forward.
Juan set off to get proof, but was unable to climb the hill to visit with the Lady again at their designated time because he was caring for his critically ill uncle. His uncle was at the brink of death so Juan took off to find a priest to administer last rites. It was a cold day, so he wrapped himself in his tilma for his journey to the village. On his way to seek help, he had to climb over part of the hill. Juan was surprised to find that The Blessed Mother was there waiting on him. Juan shared the news of his uncle’s immediate need for help. Our Lady assured him that his uncle would be healed. Not only did Our Lady heal Juan’s uncle, she also appeared to him as well.
During the visit, Juan shared that the Bishop had refused her request for a church until he had solid proof. On December 12, she led Juan to the top of the hill to find the most beautiful roses and told him to gather as many as he could carry. It was a miracle that the roses were there and in full bloom because it was in the middle of winter and the ground was covered in a thick frost. The area where he picked roses was rocky and normally only cactus and weeds grew there. Juan gathered the most beautiful roses in his tilma, which is like a poncho. Our Lady told Juan to present the roses as a proof to the Bishop. When he brought them to the Bishop, the Bishop was amazed at the roses, but was even more amazed at what began to happen to Juan Diego’s tilma. As Juan opened his tilma a miracle took place right before their very eyes. The image of Our Lady appeared on the cloth. The picture of Mary was stunning and the Bishop fell to his knees in awe. The Bishop found the proof he needed and built the church as requested.
That church is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is situated on the very same hill on which she appeared. Over 20 million people visit the shrine each year making it the most visited shrine in the world. People from all over the world come to see Juan’s tilma and the image of the Blessed Mother. The tilma has been studied by scientists for years and there is no explanation as to why it hasn’t deteriorated or why the colors haven’t faded. In fact, scientists agree that its existence is supernatural and means it can only be from God.
Let me tell you a little bit about the history of the area where Our Lady appeared, for some time the Aztecs and the Spainards had been fighting for control of the area. The Spaniards goal was to conquer the Aztec empire but they were mean and cruel to all of the natives they encountered.
The Aztecs culture and religion were very different from the Spaniards. The Aztec Indians worshipped gods, like the sun god, to whom they would offer human sacrifices. It was common for thousands of men, women and children to be sacrificed for their pagan religion.
The Spaniards, who were Catholic, were naturally disgusted by these human sacrifices, but in their attempt to conquer the Aztec empire they didn’t treat the native people kindly. In fact, not only was their behavior horrific and violent, the biggest catastrophe was the spread of smallpox, which the Spainards brought with them to the new world. Thousands and thousands of people died. The Aztecs were desperate and felt the end of the world was at hand.
Mary’s appearance on that December day to a humble, ordinary native changed everything.
There are 3 lessons we can learn from Juan Diego and his obedience to the Blessed Mother.
The first lesson is that God uses ordinary people
to build up his Kingdom on Earth.
Juan was a simple peasant. He lost his wife years before and was caring for his aging uncle. Juan was a devout Catholic and traveled a great distance to attend Mass. Juan didn’t have any special abilities and was simply living his ordinary life when God chose him to literally change the world.
I can only imagine what was going through Juan’s mind when the Blessed Mother appeared. He probably had thoughts like
Why me?
I am not good enough, holy enough, or smart enough.
Someone else would be more worthy.
I’m not strong enough.
What if I am a disappointment?
Have you had these thoughts before?
Do you have them on a regular basis?
Do you doubt yourself and where you are called to serve? Do you find yourself wanting to get involved in a church ministry or lead a group but then the self-doubt sneaks in keeping you stuck where you are?
Juan Diego could have done the same thing and allowed his self-doubt to create unbelief. Then we would have missed out on this beautiful miracle of God’s love.
Instead, Juan’s commitment to his Catholic faith allowed him to act in obedience. His heart was opened to the Blessed Mother’s message because of his participation in the Sacraments and a devout prayer life. Juan gave God control of his life and allowed him to lead, even if he wasn’t sure where he was going or what the outcome would be. He had Christ in his heart which opened his eyes to see the vision in front of him.
God has given you a unique calling. When you live your authentic God-given calling then you become the body of Christ in your family, your workplace, and your communities. God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. The self-doubt thoughts, the unworthy thoughts, the worries will still be there, but you can confidently step up into the role that God created just for you, knowing that wherever you are lacking, God will provide the strength you need to make a difference in the world.
The second lesson is that God meets us where we are.
When the Blessed Mother appeared to Juan, she didn’t wait for a time when everything was going right in his life. She met him in the midst of his daily struggles. She didn’t wait until he had accumulated a certain amount of wealth or achieved a certain title. She met Juan, a poor, indigenous, humble man in the middle of his day. She knew that he would need courage and faith to see the mission through.
God longs to meet you exactly where you are….right now. He will meet you in your joys, your victories, your celebrations, but also in your pain, your sorrows and your unworthiness. He desires a relationship with you no matter how messy or broken you are.
When Mary appeared to Juan she spoke to him in his Aztec language and was depicted as a young Indian woman. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared dressed like an Aztec princess. The blue color of her garment was the color known to be worn by regal kings and indicated her importance. Her dress was adorned with beautiful flowers which were symbolic of Aztec culture.
The appearance of the Blessed Mother was for all of us, not just Juan. Even though it happened hundreds of years ago, the Blessed Mother still appears and directs you to her Son. Every appearance of Our Lady points directly to the love of her Son. It is never about her, but about Jesus. His love is available to you now. Having an open heart, sharing all of your emotions with God, that means ALL of you...even the self-doubt, fear, unworthiness, and sins will allow you to confidently see the many ways that God is present in your life each and every day. You will be able to “see” with your own eyes the abundant love he pours in your life. God will meet you exactly where you are.
The third lesson is that God is full of miracles.
Our Lady of Guadalupe sent Juan to the top of the Tepyac Hill to pick roses as proof for the Bishop. On that cold, icy day, I wonder if Juan doubted that he would find roses as he climbed to the top of the hill. Not only was it in the middle of winter, but the area he was directed to go to was rocky and unsuitable for flowers.
When Juan arrived at the top of the hill, he found countless roses in full bloom. He picked as many as he could hold in his Tilma and began the journey down the hill to see the Bishop. Juan was in awe at what had just happened but he would soon be surprised as miracles continued to occur.
Do you have an area in your life where you doubt that God can help? An area of disbelief or discouragement where you doubt that a miracle is possible? What about a habit or vice that you want to eliminate, but you aren’t sure that even God can help you?
Where do you need God to plant roses in your life? A broken relationship? A grieving heart? Feelings of unworthiness? Juan found the roses because he was willing to listen to God even when everything around him shouted that it was impossible for roses to be growing on an icy rocky hill. Miracles are available...you only have to be willing to look for God to show up in the “impossible.”
When Juan opened his tilma to place the roses at the Bishop’s feet a more amazing miracle happened. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on the fabric of his tilma. Her image was that of the young indian girl who had been appearing on the hill. All present were moved as they realized the significance of the image. Miracles were happening!
So far three miracles had occurred. The healing of Juan’s uncle, the roses in full bloom on top of the hill and the image of the Lady on the tilma. We have a
God of abundance so these miracles were just the tip of the iceberg.
Juan Diego was canonized a saint in 2002 by St. John Paul. He is the first indigenous saint of the western hemisphere. The story of Juan and Our Lady’s appearance spread like wildfire and triggered the greatest conversion to the Catholic faith in church history. There were 7 million conversions. Priests baptized thousands and thousands of people each day. You could say, there was the world before Our Lady of Guadalupe and the world after Our Lady of Guadalupe.
If you don’t know much about this miraculous appearance of Our Lady, then I recommend you read or watch videos to learn more. Our Lady of Guadalupe may have appeared over 500 years ago, but her message is still relevant today. She may have told Juan, “I am your mother.” but those four words are also for us.
One of my favorite parts of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe are the rays of light surrounding her. Mary is standing in between Juan and the sun. Remember, I told you that it was common for the Aztecs to worship the sun god. Mary’s places herself between Juan and the pagan sun god in order to point us to the One and True God.
She does the same for us today. She continues to come to a broken world full of false idols and worldly desires. Our Lady stands between us and the false “shine” of the world in order to point us to her Son, Jesus.
Let us pray:
Lord, thank you for the gift of our Lady. Thank you for her words of encouragement and hope. Lord, we each have areas of darkness in our lives that need to be brought into the light of your love. We ask that you provide roses for those areas in our lives that seem impossible. Those areas that only you can heal. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
