Fr. Michael Newman with Janice Cabrera, and other parishioners celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Every year for as long as I can remember on December 12th, as a church we unite to celebrate during the time of advent, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This celebration commemorates the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico. She had appeared as a pregnant Aztec woman before Juan Diego asking him to request the local bishop to build a temple in her honor where she could receive and console her suffering children. Juan Diego relayed the story to the bishop, and the bishop wanted a sign or her apparitions in order to proceed with the request. Juan Diego returned to the hill of Tepeyac and our Lady had him gather roses in his tilma. When he returned to the bishop, he opened the tilma and when he dropped the roses before the bishop, the inside of his tilma had the image of our Lady of Guadalupe.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a powerful symbol of Mexican identity as well as a representation of faith, strength, and protection. She is the one who supports us, helps us, and protects us. She serves as a mother figure- forgiving and all-loving. Nonetheless, Our Lady symbolizes the consolation of the poor and powerless. Our Lady is sent to us during hardships and appears before us to remind us during these hard times to have no fear.
Omar Garcia as Juan Diego
To prepare for Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration, a small alter is put up for our Lady at our St Mary campus. Several in the congregation gather on a nightly basis for la novena beginning December 3rd. As the Feast Day approaches, a larger temporary alter is put together inside our St Mary campus. The main celebration begins the night prior on December 11th at 10pm. The celebration takes place with the lights off for the majority of the night as we await her appearance. The evening consists of the retelling of the story of our Lady’s appearance before Juan Diego. As the night continues there are tributes made to Our Lady in forms of testimonies, poems, and singing. Shortly after 11pm we begin la novena. La novena is proceeded by las mañanitas- the Mexican happy birthday song- at midnight. During this time, the lights are turned on and those present proceed in a procession to place roses at the alter.
On December 12th the day begins with a parade and procession by those that are joining us in mass where they place roses at the altar. Many of those attending mass are in costumes, dressed as Juan Diego, Our Lady, and so forth. During the preparation of the gifts, a member of our church is dressed as Juan Diego and he drops a dozen roses before our priest with the image of Our Lady on his tilma. Near the end of the mass, religious items with our Lady’s image on them are blessed. This mass is heavily attended and I personally feel overjoyed and overwhelmed with happiness as I experience and witness such a strong devotion alongside other members of our church as we celebrate Our lady of Guadalupe. Mass is followed by a reception with food, music, and Aztec-style dances and performances from young children and adults.
As we celebrate the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, we are reminded that we share the same vocation as our Lady and Juan Diego- and that is bringing Jesus Christ into this world and serving as missionaries and messengers of hope in this seemingly hopeless world.
Long Live Our Lady of Guadalupe!
Janice Cabrera
Parishioner
Holy Family Parish, Adrian, MI
