Friday, December 12, 2003
Our Lady of Guadalupe

1st Reading: Zec 2:14-17
Gospel: Lk 2:15-19

When the angels had left them and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go as far as Bethlehem and see what the Lord has made known to us." So they came hurriedly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in the manger. On seeing this they related what they had been told about the child, and all were astonished on hearing the shepherds. As for Mary, she treasured all these messages and continually pondered over them.

Commentary

The Latin American continent is honored by the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. According to the tradition, on December 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a simple Indian convert, Juan Diego at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City. She instructed him to tell the bishop to build a Church on the site. Three days later she appeared again and told Juan Diego to take some flowers to the bishop. When he presented them, roses fell out of his cloak, and beneath them the picture of Mary was impressed upon his cloak. Our Lady of Guadalupe is Patroness of the Americas. (from the Weekday Missal)

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