Guadalupe

Nancy as High School teacher traveled to Mexico as a chaperone for students, there she discovered Our Lady of Guadalupe, the only apparition of the Blessed Mother in the Americas recognized by the Vatican. Nancy is Protestant, mainly Episcopalian and has only grudging –if that – respect for Catholic imagery and dogma. Somehow though, she became enamored with the Guadalupe apparition. Was it her maternal warmth, her unconditional compassion, or how her inspiration led to hundreds of thousands converts and has ever since united Mexico. Hispanic culture in Central and South America would not be what it is today without her. Maybe it is hard to pin down the precise appeal for Nancy, nonetheless the appeal was there. Why ask why?

It’s a remarkable story. The peasant Juan Diego saw a vision of a young girl of fifteen or sixteen, surrounded by light, on a Hill outside of Mexico City. She spoke in the local language, Nahuatl – not conquistador Spanish – and asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor. Diego recognized her as the mother of Jesus Christ. He told his story to the Spanish Archbishop, who instructed him to return and ask the Lady for a miraculous sign to prove her claim. The Virgin told Juan Diego to gather some flowers from the top of the Hill – this was in December, when no flowers bloomed, but of course, on the hilltop he found flowers. He brought them to the Virgin who arranged them in his cloak. He brought the cloak to the Archbishop, the flowers fell to the floor, and in their place was the Virgin of Guadalupe, miraculously imprinted on the fabric. That’s the story, anyway.

Nancy and I went o the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 14th street. Behind the altar is a triptych, on side showing Juan and his vision and the other side, the basilica that was built and the bequest of the mother of Jesus. In the center, the apparition hovers, above her a crown is suspended. The colors and symbols of the image are said to relate to the native people cultures at the time – and to all the tribes, which unified the country. I took these pictures last week there. I remember it as a good day with Nancy here, even though somebody stole her sunglasses. She had a broken foot and was hobbling around. It was a winter visit. Guadalupe shimmers in the sky, a blanket made of stars, pleased with adoration and willing to help those in need, an eternal vision of love.