Suy Niệm Lễ Đức Mẹ Guadalupe 12/12

Suy Niệm Lễ Đức Mẹ Guadalupe 12/12

Hầu hết chúng ta nghĩ Đức Mẹ Guadalupe cũng chỉ là một hình ảnh như các hình ảnh Đức Mẹ khác đã hiện ra ở những nơi khác ở Âu châu. Nhưng đối với xứ Mexico Đức Mẹ Guadalupe là một phần tâm thức dân tộc. Đức Mẹ Guadalupe là một biểu tượng quốc gia nói lên tất cả người Công giáo cũng như không Công giáo. Điều này được như vậy là bởi vì ở đây Đức Maria không giống như những lần hiện ra khác, Đức Mẹ Guadalupe hiện ra ở đây như là một người Mỹ gốc Mexico, người bản xứ. Ngoại hình của Đức mẹ có nhiều tính năng mang các đức tính biểu tượng cho văn hóa địa phương, và đây là lý do tại sao Đức Mẹ  đã trở thành một hình ảnh rất sống động và linh thiêng của xứ này.

           Trong vũ trụ học, người Aztec (bản xứ) đã cho rằng mặt trời và mặt trăng có cuộc cuộc xung đột với nhau bởi vì họ (mặt trời và mặt trăng là anh em cùng cha khác mẹ). Theo truyền thuyết thần bầu trời nam và thần bầu trời nữ là cha mẹ của mặt trăng và các vì sao, nhưng thần bầu trời nam đã ngoại tình với nữ thần trái đất và họ đã sinh ra mặt trời. Do đó, ánh nắng mặt trời và mặt trăng giống như  anh chị em cùng cha khác mẹ không thể hòa hợp và không thể ở gần lại với nhau. Điều này giải thích ngày và đêm. Tuy nhiên, Đức Trinh Nữ Guadalupe mặc một chiếc váy màu hồng trang trí bằng hoa, tượng trưng cho trái đất, và trên đó Người lại mặc một chiếc áo choàng màu xanh với các ngôi sao. Trái đất và các ngôi sao từng được coi là thù nghịch vì có cuộc cuộc xung đột, nhưng tại sao ở đây trái đất và các ngôi sao lại được tập hợp với nhau nơi Đức Trinh Nữ Maria? Trong nền văn hóa đó, chiếc vòng đeo tay chỉ được đeo cho người  trinh nữ, và một cái khăn "sạt" màu đen là phần trang điểm của phụ nữ mang thai. Tuy nhiên, sự xuất hiện của Đức Trinh Nữ  có cả hai thứ. Đức mẹ  là một trinh nữ và đang mang thai.

            Sau cùng, Đức Trinh Nữ có các tính năng thể chất của người Aztec, ngoại trừ bàn Tay và ngón tay rất dài, giống như những người phụ nữ châu Âu. Đức Mẹ Guadalupe là một người phụ nữ hòa giải các đối lập, giao hoà giải quyết các cuộc xung đột, và mang lại sự hiệp nhất cho nền văn hoá của dân tộc bản xứ. Vì thế không có xa lạ, khi Đức Mẹ đã trở thành một biểu tượng quan trọng như vậy ở Mexico. Nơi Đức Mẹ tất cả những xung đột trong văn hóa của họ đã tan biến, và mở đầu cho một quốc gia có Chúa, với sự cầu bầu của Đức Trinh Nữ. Sau khi Đức mẹ hiện ra ở đây,  Công Giáo ở xứ này đã phát triển thât nhanh. Đức Mẹ Guadalupe không những được tôn vinh làm quan thầy nước Mexico nhưng còn được tôn vinh làm quan thầy của cả Mỹ Châu, kẻ cả Hoa Kỳ..
            Mùa Vọng là một món quà dâng lên Chúa Giêsu khi Ngài đến lần thứ nhất của như một em bé trong máng cỏ, nhưng đó cũng là một chuẩn bị cho Chúa Kitô đến lần thứ hai, khi Vương Quốc của Thiên Chúa sẽ được hiện diện trong sự trọn vẹn. Vào thời điểm đó, tất cả các cuộc xung đột sẽ được giải quyết, tình yêu, lòng thương xót, và công lý sẽ ngự nơi tối cao. Không còn chiến tranh, không còn chính trị, không còn ghen ghét thù hận nữa. Chỉ có tình yêu. Đức Mẹ Guadalupe nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng vương quốc này sẽ đến.  nhưng đó cũng là nhiệm vụ của chúng ta. Đối với những nơi nào có tình yêu, có tha thứ và  vị tha, thì vương quốc đó hiện diện. Mong rằng với Mùa Vọng này có thể là thời gian để chúng ta cùng nhau giúp xây dựng Nước Thiên Chúa, ở bất cứ nơi nào và không cần biết chúng ta là những ai, và ở trong bất cứ hoàn cảnh nào trong cuộc sống của chúng ta..
 
REFLECTION
To most of us Our Lady of Guadalupe is just another Marian image, but in Mexico she is part of the national consciousness. She is a national symbol that speaks to all, Catholics and non-Catholics. This is so because unlike other apparitions of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared as a Mexican/native American. Her physical appearance had features that were symbolic in the native culture, and this is why she became a very powerful image.
            In the Aztec cosmology, for example, the sun and the moon are in conflict because they are half-siblings. The sky god and the sky goddess are the parents of the moon and the stars, but the sky god had an affair with the earth goddess and they gave birth to the sun. Thus the sun and the moon are like half-siblings who do not get along and cannot stay together. This explains night and day. Yet the Virgin of Guadalupe wears a pink dress decorated with flowers, symbolizing the earth, and over it is a blue mantle with stars. The earth and the stars are supposed to be in conflict, but why are they together in the Virgin? In that culture, bracelets are worn only by virgins, and a black sash by pregnant women. Yet the Virgin wears both. She is a virgin who is pregnant.
            Finally, the Virgin has Aztec physical features, except for the hands and fingers that are very long, like those of European women.  Our Lady of Guadalupe is a woman who reconciles opposites, resolves conflicts, and brings unity. No wonder she became such a powerful symbol in Mexico. In her all the conflicts in their culture melted away, paving the way for one nation under God, with the intercession of the Virgin.
            Advent is a making present of the first coming of Jesus as a baby in a manger, but it is also an anticipation of Christ's second coming, when the Kingdom of God will become present in its fullness. At that time, all conflicts will be resolved; love, mercy, and justice shall reign supreme. No more war, no more politics, no more hatred. Only love. Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us of this kingdom that is to come, but which is also our task. For wherever there is selfless love, the kingdom is present. May Advent be a time for us to help build the Kingdom of God, wherever and whoever we are, whatever our circumstances in life.

 

Dec 12- Our Lady of Guadalupe—USA Feast

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Luke 1:30–31

Of all the saints throughout the ages, none has proved to be as powerful an evangelist as the Mother of God. While on Earth, she lived a mostly hidden life, demonstrating the perfection of virtue to those closest to her. As a young mother, she cared daily for the needs of her divine Son, constantly pondering the mystery of His Incarnation as it unfolded before her eyes. Her love for her Son, lived out during Jesus’ earthly life, overflowed from her Immaculate Heart and continues to do so today.

After being assumed body and soul into Heaven, her work did not cease. As Queen of Heaven and Earth, she continues to intercede for her spiritual children, mediating the grace we need to grow in holiness. Throughout history, many Marian apparitions have been reported. While numerous reports have not been formally approved, some have, including the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 to Saint Juan Diego.

Following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 by Hernán Cortés, the capital was rebuilt into what became Mexico City. Despite the cruelty some Spanish settlers inflicted on the Indigenous people, the Catholic Church, through missionaries and leaders, including Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, sought to protect their rights and dignity while evangelizing them. Many of the Indigenous were understandably suspicious of the missionaries, yet some converted, including a man named Cuauhtlatoatzin, who took the Christian name Juan Diego after his baptism, and his wife, who took the name María Lucía.

On December 9, 1531, while walking to Mass and catechism class, Juan Diego passed Tepeyac Hill, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him. She spoke to him in his native language, revealed herself as the Mother of God, and asked for a chapel to be built in her honor on that very spot. When Juan took the message to Bishop Zumárraga, the bishop asked for a sign.

On December 12, Juan’s uncle fell seriously ill. While hurrying to find a priest for the Last Rites, Juan took a different route to avoid delaying his journey, but the Mother of God appeared again. She assured him that his uncle was already healed and provided the promised sign for the bishop. She instructed Juan to pick roses blooming unseasonably on the hill; when he brought them to the bishop in his tilma, an image of the Virgin, just as Juan had seen her, appeared on his cloak. Juan Diego’s tilma now hangs in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, fulfilling the Blessed Mother’s request.

While the miraculous image was awe-inspiring, what followed was even more astounding. Over the next decade, millions of Indigenous people embraced the Christian faith, marking one of the most remarkable mass conversions in Church history—all due to the Blessed Mother’s evangelization and intervention. Her love for the Indigenous people and her desire for their salvation brought her to them personally, confirming the truth of the Gospel preached by the Church.

As we honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, reflect today on the tender love of the Mother of God. She deeply desired the salvation of the Indigenous people, just as she desires the salvation of all. Pray for her intercession so that millions more around the world may hear and accept God’s saving message.

Most loving Virgin of Guadalupe, as you looked down from Heaven upon the struggles and suffering of the conquered people of the Aztec Empire, your Immaculate Heart overflowed with compassion for them. As a result, you went to them personally to share the saving message of Your Son. Please pray for me, for the Americas, and for all your children, that we all will be guided to Your Son and come to know His gift of salvation. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Dec 12- Our Lady of Guadalupe—USA Feast

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, I proclaim your greatness and my spirit rejoices in you as my God and Savior. You have done great things for me, and holy is your name. Your mercy is everlasting. You humble the arrogant, the mighty, and prideful, and lift up the lowly. Lift me up in your mercy today to share more fully in your divine life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Maternal Closeness: On Monday, we meditated on Mary as the Immaculate Conception, using the first part of the Church’s most recent document on Mary’s titles and her cooperation in the work of salvation. Mary, the document affirmed, has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church. Mary intercedes for us in heaven and is a motherly sign of the Lord’s mercy. In this way, the Lord gives his merciful action in us a maternal face and dimension. “The various Marian invocations, images, and shrines show Mary’s true motherhood, which draws near to the lives of her children. An example of this can be seen in how she appeared to Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill and addressed him with the tender words of a mother: ‘My dearest and youngest son, Juan.’ When Saint Juan Diego expressed his difficulties in carrying out the mission entrusted to him, Mary showed him the strength of her motherhood: ‘Am I not here, who am your mother?... Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?’” (Mater Populi Fidelis, 43).

2. Motherly Intercession: “That experience of Mary’s maternal affection, which Saint Juan Diego lived, is the personal experience of all Christians who receive Mary’s affection and place ‘their daily necessities’ into her hands, trustfully opening ‘their hearts to implore her motherly intercession and obtain her reassuring protection’ (John Paul II, August 13, 1997). Beyond the extraordinary manifestations of her closeness, there are constant and daily expressions of her motherhood in the lives of all her children. Even when we do not request her intercession, she shows herself near to us as a Mother to help us recognize the Father’s love, to contemplate Christ’s saving self-gift, and to receive the Spirit’s sanctifying action” (Mater Populi Fidelis, 44). Mary is our Mother in the order of grace because she helps us prepare ourselves to receive the life of divine grace that only the Lord can pour into us (see Mater Populi Fidelis, 45). In bestowing the gift of grace, God fulfills our Mother’s desire. “As at Cana, Mary does not tell Christ what he should do. Instead, she intercedes by presenting him with our deficiencies, needs, and sufferings so that he may act with his divine power” (Mater Populi Fidelis, 49). Mary listens, decides, and acts to help us open our lives to Christ and to his grace.

3. Imitating our Mother: Mary intercedes for us, her children, and is close to us and invites us to open our hearts to God’s grace. As believers, we can imitate Mary’s preparatory role when we cooperate with God in his communication of grace. There are certain actions that we can do that prepare the reception of God’s sanctifying grace, such as preaching, teaching, and acts of charity and mercy (Mater Populi Fidelis, 57 and 59). We can help enkindle the faith of others through the proclamation of God’s Word, through our prayers, and through our works of love. “Works of love toward one’s neighbor — even daily labors or efforts to change this world — can then become a channel for cooperating with Christ’s saving work” (Mater Populi Fidelis, 62). When Mary intercedes for us, she implores God to grant us those internal impulses of the Holy Spirit, the divine aids that prepare sinners for justification and encourage those already justified by grace to grow in holiness. In this way, she is truly “Mother of grace.” “She humbly cooperates so that we may open our hearts to the Lord, who alone can justify us through the action of sanctifying grace: that is, when God pours his Trinitarian life into us, dwells in us as a Friend, and makes us sharers in his divine life” (Mater Populi Fidelis, 69). These aids that come from God have a maternal dimension and are filled with the tenderness and closeness of our spiritual Mother.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your mother cares for me just as she cared for you. Listen to her intercession as she tells you what I most need. Bring her humble petitions before the throne of your heavenly Father.

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe—Dec 12

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”  Luke 1:30–31

Today we celebrate five successive apparitions of our Blessed Mother to Juan Diego, who was an Indian convert to the faith. Early in the morning of December 9, 1531, Juan was traveling to the town of Tlatelolco where he intended to attend a catechism class and the holy Mass. However, on his way, as he passed by the Tepeyac Hill, he was gifted by the vision of a bright light and heavenly music. As he gazed upward with wonder and awe, he heard a beautiful voice calling him. As he moved toward the voice, he saw the glorious Mother of God standing in youthful appearance in heavenly splendor. She said to him, “I am your merciful Mother…” She further revealed to him that she wanted a church built on that spot and that Juan was to go and tell this to the Bishop of Mexico City.

Juan did as our Lady asked, but the bishop was reluctant to believe. But once again, the Mother of God appeared to Juan and asked him to return to the bishop with her request. This time the bishop asked for a sign, and Juan reported this to the Mother of God. She said a sign would be provided, but Juan was prevented from receiving that sign, since he needed to attend to his sick uncle.

However, after two days, on December 12, 1531, Juan was once again traveling to the church in Tlatelolco to ask the priest to come and attend to his dying uncle. But this time Juan had taken a different route so as to avoid delay from his heavenly visitor. But this time our Blessed Mother came to him and said, “It is well, littlest and dearest of my sons, but now listen to me. Do not let anything afflict you and be not afraid of illness or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need? Do not fear, for your uncle is not going to die. Be assured…he is already well.”

As soon as Juan heard this from his heavenly visitor, he was overjoyed and asked for a sign to give to the bishop. The Mother of God directed him to the top of the hill where he would find many flowers that were in bloom completely out of season. Juan did as she said, and upon finding the flowers, he cut them and filled his outer cloak, his tilma, with them so he could bring them to the bishop as the sign requested.

Juan then made his way back to Bishop Fray Juan de Zumarraga, the Bishop of Mexico City, to present him with the flowers. To the surprise of all, as he opened his tilma to pour forth the flowers, there appeared on his tilma the image of the very woman who had appeared to him. The image was not painted; rather, every thread of this simple and coarse cloak had changed color to create the beautiful image. That same day, our Blessed Mother had also appeared to Juan’s uncle and miraculously cured him. 

Though these miraculous events have become embedded into the fabric of Mexican culture, the message is far more than cultural in significance. “I am your merciful mother,” she said! It is our Blessed Mother’s deepest desire that all of us come to know her as our mother. She wants to walk with us through the joys and sorrows of life as any loving mother would. She wants to teach us, lead us and reveal to us the merciful love of her divine Son.

Reflect, today, upon the miraculous actions of the Mother of God. But reflect, especially, upon her motherly love. Her love is a pure mercy, a gift of the deepest care and compassion. Her only desire is our holiness. Speak to her this day and invite her to come to you as your merciful mother.

My most merciful mother, I love you and invite you to pour forth upon me your love. I turn to you, this day, in my need, and I trust that you will bring me the abundant grace of your Son, Jesus. Mother Mary, O Virgin of Guadalupe, pray for us who turn to you in our need.  Saint Juan Diego, pray for us.  Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Dec 12- Our Lady of Guadalupe—USA Feast

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you prepared Mary to be your new Ark. She is a covenantal sign of your merciful love among all nations. You blessed her with your grace, and she responded perfectly. Like her, my soul proclaims your greatness. Like her, my spirit rejoices in you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Revelation of the Ark of the New Covenant: One of the mysteries of the world regards the fate of the Ark of the Covenant. Scripture says, in 2 Maccabees, that Jeremiah hid the ark somewhere on Mount Nebo, when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple. When the people tried to mark the path to the ark, the prophet reproved them and declared: “The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy. Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord and the cloud will be seen” (2 Maccabees 2:7-8). Jeremiah prophesies that one day, the lost Ark would reappear. In the Book of Revelation, John narrates how this occurs. The true Ark is no longer on earth but is in heaven and is associated with the sign of the woman clothed with the sun. Mary is the new Ark because her body was the dwelling place of God on earth (see Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, 60-63).

2. A Great Sign Appeared: The great sign John saw in heaven was that of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. The sun, the moon, and the twelve stars refer back to a vision Joseph had in Genesis 37:9-10. There, Joseph dreamt that his father, Jacob (the sun), his mother, Rachel (the moon), and his eleven brothers (eleven stars) bowed down to him. In the Book of Revelation, the sign of the woman indicates that she is greater than the sun, for it clothes her and she stands in front of it, that she is greater than the moon, for it is beneath her feet, and that she is greater than the stars, for they are her crown. The twelve stars in Revelation symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel. “Seen in this light, the woman clothed with the sun is nothing less than the queen of the people of God, with her crown representing ‘a share in Christ’s kingship’” (see Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, 87).

3. The Sign of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Much of the image on the tilma of Juan Diego has a miraculous character to it.  The miraculous image of Mary as a pregnant native princess, along with the additions of the crown, sun, moon, and angel, was a powerful evangelizing and catechetical tool. Like many other ancient peoples, the Mesoamericans worshipped the sun and moon as gods. By standing in front of the sun and on top of the moon, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe shows that she announces the God who is greater than their blood-thirsty sun god and that she herself is more powerful than the moon goddess of darkness. The apparition of Mary in 1531 led to the Mesoamericans being set free in Christ through the waters of Baptism. They no longer had to serve and feed the sun god, Huitzilopochtli, who demanded human sacrifice. By appearing to them, Mary reassured them that she would care for them tenderly as their Queen Mother.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your mother cares for me just as she cared for you. Listen to her intercession as she tells you what I most need. Bring her petitions to your heavenly Father.