Tomorrow is a HDO (Holy Day of Obligation), celebrating the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Masses at Newman are: 1) Friday, 4:30 Vigil, and 2) Saturday, 12 noon.
As we have been saying about this feast, it celebrates the conception of Mary, not Jesus (his conception is celebrated on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation).
"I desire you to know who I am"
Many GW Catholics have told me they do not know Mary, but want to know more about it her. Mary wants you to know who she is. When she appeared in Mexico in 1521, she said to St. Juan Diego (who represents all of us in the Americas), "I desire you to know who I am". Below is an incredible video about Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the description of her apparition. Get to know Mary!
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mesoamerica, the New World, 1521: The capital city of the Aztec empire
falls under the Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, 9 million of the
inhabitants of the land, who professed for centuries a polytheistic and human
sacrificing religion, are converted to Christianity. What happened in those
times that produced such an incredible and historically unprecedented
conversion? In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
She identified herself as the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth.
She made a request for a church to be built on the site, and submitted her wish to the local Bishop. When the Bishop hesitated, and requested her for a sign, the Mother of God obeyed without delay or question to the Church's local Bishop, and sent her native messenger to the top of the hill in mid-December to gather an assorment of roses for the Bishop.
After complying to the Bishop's request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on the native's tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 480 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.
It apparently even reflects in Her eyes what was in front of her in 1531.
Her message of love and compassion, and her universal promise of help and protection to all mankind, as well as the story of the apparitions, are described in the "Nican Mopohua", a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language.
There is reason to believe that at Tepeyac Mary came in her glorified body, and her actual physical hands rearranged the roses in Juan Diego’s tilma, which makes this apparition very special.
An incredible list of miracles, cures and interventions are attributed to Her. Yearly, between 18 - 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica, making it Christianity's most visited sanctuary.
Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe. His Holiness John Paul II visited her Sanctuary four times: on his first apostolic trip outside Rome as Pope in 1979, and again in 1990, 1999 and 2002.
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12th. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December the 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.
During the same visit Pope John Paul II entrusted the cause of life to her loving protection, and placed under her motherly care the innocent lives of children, especially those who are in danger of not being born.
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