The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe dates back to the 16th century!
Hello, John! Today is the feast of Our Lady Guadalupe! Read how her feast day has become a recognized day to celebrate. |
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego is a powerful reminder that Mary—and the God who sent her—accepts all peoples. In the context of the sometimes cruel treatment of Native Americans by the Spanish, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for the Indigenous population. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indigenous people became Catholic in a very short time. In these times, when we hear so much about God’s preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God’s love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself. |
"Given that Our Lady of Guadalupe has mestizo—a combination of European and Indigenous—features, and that she chose to appear to an Indigenous person have long held an important place in the Mexican identity. She also reportedly spoke to Juan Diego in his native tongue, Nahuatl. Outside of Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe is honored by millions in the United States, other countries in Latin America, and beyond. In Los Angeles, for example, an annual procession honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe has taken place since 1931. In cities and towns across the United States, more and more festivities and processions are popping up each year. So although this feast is thoroughly rooted in Mexico, it’s no surprise that Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas."—Daniel Imwalle |
Once considering leaving Christianity behind, it was in part through his reading of Franciscan Media resources and publications like Eager to Love and The Soul of Christmas that invited him “into deeper reading and the resurrection of his faith through the Franciscan tradition.” Years later, Stephen is now sharing his faith through Pause+Pray and hoping to have an impact on others. There are many more people like Stephen in our world waiting for help. Will you now respond? As we face unprecedented challenges, the need for faithful people like you has never been more critical. |
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In Mission of Grace, Sister Fran Gangloff tells the inspiring story of a woman committed to serving on the island of Molokai with those stricken with Hansen’s disease, known then as leprosy, with love, compassion, respect, and grace, often in the face of both hardship and resistance from authorities blind to their needs. At her canonization in 2012, St. Marianne was called the “beloved mother of outcasts.” "Sister Mary Laurence writes of Mother Marianne as a quiet woman with quiet purposefulness, a private person with external serenity and peace, and with a pure spirit of humility and deep spirituality."—Fran Gangloff, OSF |
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