Ou r Lady of Guadalupe Patron ess of the Americas

Transcription

1 Ou r Lady of Guadalupe Patron ess of the Americas God saw the world fallin g to ru in because of fear and immediately acted to call it back with love. God invited it by grace, preserved it by love, and embraced it with compassion. S t. Pe te r C h ry so log u s Fo ur th Ce nt u ry + Let u s pause and remember that we are in the h oly presence of God. Rise u p, Lord, in defense of You r people. Do n ot h ide You r face from ou r trou bles. You are the Father of the orphan, Wealth of the poor. We find comfort and security in You especially in times of anxiety and pain. T h e title of Ou r Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas is a blending of the devotion to Ou r Lady of Guadalu pe with the title Pope Joh n Paul II gave to the image in Mexico durin g the inau gural celebration of Ecclesia in America. Th e appearance of Mary to the n ative Ju an Diego on the h ill of T epeyac in 1531 h ad a decisive effect on evan gelization. Its influen ce h as moved beyon d the bou n daries of Mexico, spreading to the whole Con tinen t of America, which h istorically h as been, and still is, a melting pot of peoples, h as recogn ized in the mestiza face of the Virgin of T epeyac, in Blessed Mary of Guadalupe, an impressive example of a perfectly incu ltu rated evangelization. Con sequ ently, n ot on ly in Central and Sou th America, bu t in North America as well, the Virgin of Guadalu pe is venerated as Mother of all America.

2 HYMN T h ey h ave come to sing in you r h on or From the desert and th e forest, From the valleys deep in th e mou n tain s; T h ey make a joyfu l ch oru s. T h e have brou ght th eir dru ms and their dances, An cient ways their paren ts taugh t them. O Mother dark and lovely, Hear the poor who come with their son g; Lead them into Jesu s Kingdom Wh ere they tru ly do belon g. T h ey dan ce to sh ow they love you, Ou t of faith and deep emotion, T h ey offer flowers and candles As a sigh of their devotion. T h e ch ildren ru n an d are lau ghin g All are su re that you still love them, Wh ile paren ts weep ou t of gladness, For you r picture is there above them. GALAT IAN S 4 :4-5 Bu t when th e time h ad fu lly come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born u n der the law, to redeem those u n der th e law, that we might receive the fu ll rights of son s and daughters. T h e Lord God the Most High h as bless ed you, O Mary, above all the women on the earth. Let u s celebrate in joy this day in memory of Ou r Lady of Guadalupe. May sh e intercede for u s with h er Divine Son. You, O Mary, are the glory of Jeru sal em, the joy of Israel; you are the fairest h on or of ou r race. T h rou gh you, sinless Virgin, the life we h ad lost was restored to u s; from h eaven you received a Child, and you gave birth to the Savior of the world.

3 REFLECT ION Arturo Perez Wh ere are you goin g? asks Mary of Ju an Diego. He is stopped in h is tracks. He leaves h is important plan s and becomes h er messenger. Bu ild a church where the cries of the poor and the oppressed will be h eard. Mary asked for a change of direction in moving from the statu s quo operation s of the day to bu ilding u p a place wh ere th e prayers, the cries, the h eartbreak of the people can be h eard. Th is is symb olic of the age-old faithful word of God: to b e with the people. Ou r Lady of Guadalupe s appearance is both word and symbol. Sh e provides the answers to the prayers of h er faithfu l people: God is with you! Her very appearance, as on e of the poor, aligns h er with them. Sh e proclaims God s option for the poor. REFLECT ION T HE CHU RC H IN T HE M ODE RN W ORL D VAT IC AN ii T h e joy and h ope, the grief and angu ish of the people of ou r time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in an y way are the joy and h ope, the grief and angu ish of the followers of Ch rist as well. Nothing that is genu inely hu man fails to find an echo in th eir h earts. For theirs is a commu n ity composed of h u man beings who, u n ited in Ch rist and guided by the Holy Spirit, press on wards towards the kingdom of the Father and are the bearers of a mess age of salvation intended for all. T h at is why Ch ristians cherish a feelin g of deep solidarity with the h u man race and its h istory. Ave Maria Dios te salve, Maria. Llena eres de gracia: El Senor es con tigo. Bendita tu eres entre todas las mu jeres. Y bendito es el fru to de tu Vientre: Jesu s. Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, ru ega por n osotros pecadores, Ah ora y en la h ora de n uestra mu erte. Amen. Ou r Lady of Guadalupe, Obedient Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Etern al Word and Spou se of the Holy Spirit, h elp th ose who invoke you in their n ecessities, and obtain for u s from you r H oly and Divine Son the grace of keepin g ou r faith in the midst of the trou bles of life. Watch over all the peoples of the Americas especially the most poor and disenfranch ised. Let all the cou ntries of the Americas realize the dignity we sh are as the dau ghters and son s of God and work for the good of on e another. Mary, lead u s to you r Son. Amen.

4 PSA LM146 Praise the LORD, my sou l; I sh all praise the LORD all my life, sing praise to my God while I live. I put n o tru st in prin ces, in mere mortals powerless to save. Wh en they breathe th eir last, they return to the earth; that day all th eir plann ing comes to n othin g. Happy those whose h elp is Jacob's G od, whose h ope is in the LORD, their God, T h e maker of h eaven an d earth, the seas and all that is in them, Wh o keeps faith forever, secures ju stice for the oppressed, gives food to the h u n gry. Th e LORD sets prison ers free; the LORD gives sight to the blind. T he LOR D raises u p those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteou s. T h e LORD protects the stranger, su stains the orphan and the widow, bu t thwarts the way of the wicked. T h e LORD sh all reign forever, you r God, Zion, throu gh all generation s! Hallelujah! INT ERCESSI ONS O God, throu gh Mary, ou r Mother, You revealed You r compassion to the poor; Bless all people with th e awareness of You r tender mercy. O God, You chose the anawim of the world to con fou nd the migh ty. Give u s tru e h u mility of spirit and deep faith in You. T h e image of the Mother and You r So n was imprinted on th e tun ic of Ju an Diego with featu res of h is race; Imprint with in u s a fearless acceptance of all races and peoples.

5 In Jesu s, the Incarn ate Word, You h ave sh owed u s that You are always close to u s; Have mercy on the downtrodden, the abu sed, and the n eglected of this world. T h rou gh Ju an Diego, You sh owed You r love for the simple and the h u mble; Forgive u s for the inju stices imposed u pon n ative peoples of the earth an d redress the wron gs they have su ffered. Remember, 0 mo st graciou s Virgin of Guadalu pe, that in you r apparition on th e Mou n t of T epeyac, you promised to sh ow you r compass ion and pity towards all who, love and tru st in you, seek you r h elp and call upon you in their n ecessities and affliction s; also to h earken to ou r su pplication s, to dry ou r tears and to give u s con solation and relief. Inspired with th is con fiden ce we come before you r h oly presence, certain th at you will beg you r Divine Son to fu lfill you r mercifu l promises. We are fu ll of h ope that, standing beneath you r motherly protection n othing will trou ble or afflict u s. You, O Mary, h ave desired to remain with u s throu gh you r admirable image, you who are ou r Mother, ou r h ealth an d ou r life. Amen. + Saint Joh n Baptist de La Salle, Help u s to h ave a great devotion to the Mother of ou r Savior. Live Jesu s in ou r h earts. Forever!