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| Saint Juan Diego's tilma with the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, miraculously embedded on the fibers of the cloak and preserved through time, exposure and an attempted bombing in 1921. Photo by Joaquin Martinez Rosado |
History
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, God’s
special gift to the Americas. When the Spanish conquistadors first came to Mexico, they didn’t
do a very good job teaching the native Mexicans about Jesus…especially because
they made the native people their slaves instead of treating them like brothers
and sisters. After 20 years, only a few hundred natives had become Christians.
Then, as we learned last Monday, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Juan
Diego dressed as a native princess. This appearance to a native by the mother of
our Lord dressed as a native and speaking native language convinced the Mexican
people that Christianity was true and it belonged to them, not just the European
who took over their country. In a very short amount of time, 6,000,000 native
Mexicans had been baptized Christians, and Catholicism remains a main religion
there and throughout Central America.
Activity
Throughout
Mexico and all the Americas, people are celebrating the appearance of Our Lady
of Guadalupe today. Why not bake (or purchase) a Mexican chocolate cake for
dessert tonight? Here’s an easy recipe.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
More reading for parents:
Sancta (Tons of information on this site!)
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