This image was left on the cloak or tilma of St. Juan Diego. In December 1531, Mexico City, the Mother of God appeared to the converted Aztec Indian, Juan Diego. Roses miraculous bloomed on a barren hilltop as proof that the Lady requesting a church had truly appeared. Upon taking the roses to his bishop (Our Lady having arranged the roses in Juan’s tilma) a portrait of the Lady developed on the tilma. Mass conversions took place, a shrine was built… the tilma is still venerated to this day!
What i love about Our Blessed Mother under Her title Our Lady of Guadalupe is that:
- her image on cactus fiber cloth, which typically disintegrates in 20 years, has lasted for 500+!
- she appeared pregnant with Jesus!
- while the Reformation was going on in Europe and many fell, across the ocean in the New World, 8 million were brought into the fold!
- this is Her face… vera icon, true image not made by human hands—-i mean this is what the Mother of God looks like! She left Her children a real picture of Herself! WOW! In ‘Rosarium Virginis Mariae‘, Pope John Paul II points out the face of Jesus in a real way belongs to Mother Mary! Her features are His features!
- the tenderness and the love on Her face, every time i see Her, fills me with hope and i can almost hear Her words:
“Listen, my son, to what I tell you now: do not be troubled nor disturbed by anything; do not fear illness nor any other distressing occurrence, nor pain. Am I not your mother? Am I not life and health? Have I not placed you on my lap and made you my responsibility? Do you need anything else?”
- she always appears to the humble, the little ones who in the eyes of the world are nothing.
- she is the Protectress of the Unborn.
- that she is the Woman of Revelation 12.
More of the complete story with references–here.
Happy Feastday!