Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Mary is the Mother of God and all His children. She loves us unconditionally, as a perfect parent. She is an advocate for us before the Heavenly Father just like many mothers are advocates for their children. She is a role model for us, showing us how to know, love, and serve God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. She is a servant of God and of us, who works tirelessly and patiently to lead us to a closer relationship with Jesus, her son and our brother. She is a mold, who can shape us into good and faithful servants. She is filled with grace and the Holy Spirit and through her role as His Holy Spouse, she asks for us every spiritual blessing we need in order to thrive as her children. She comforts us when we are sorrowful and will never leave our side, just as she never left Jesus.

Do we give thanks to God for giving us Mary as our spiritual Mother? What can we learn from her life of service and humility? How can we become better children of God, our Father, and Mary, our Mother?

O Lord, we thank you for our Blessed Mother, Mary.

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

You are the highest honor of our race. Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the LORD God, the creator of heaven and earth. 

Mary is blessed among all women and beloved by God. She was kept from sin through the Immaculate Conception and has the highest honor of our race as the Mother of God. Her trust in and faithfulness to Her Heavenly Father are virtues we all should seek to imitate. We also should mirror her openness to God's Will in her life. Like her, we should constantly be saying, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." So, too, she was the perfect disciple of her Beloved Son, Jesus, following his teachings even before he spoke them aloud. The Word of God dwelt in her and though she didn't always understand its meaning, she always treasured each revelation in her heart. Last but not least, she was a constant co-worker with the Holy Spirit, open to His fruitfulness, guidance, and inspirations. This is what sets Mary apart. She made her will one with the Holy Trinity and let her God guide her every thought, word, and work. May we do our best to imitate her in this regard.

Do we honor Mary as we should? Do we seek her help and intercession in our times of need? What can we do to build a closer relationship with her?

O Lord, thank you for giving us such a blessed Heavenly Mother.

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple. A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.

Mary is the Mother of God and all His children. She loves us unconditionally, as a perfect parent. She is an advocate for us before the Heavenly Father just like many mothers are advocates for their children. She is a role model for us, showing us how to know, love, and serve God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. She is a servant of God and of us, who works tirelessly and patiently to lead us to a closer relationship with Jesus, her son and our brother. She is a mold, who can shape us into good and faithful servants. She is filled with grace and the Holy Spirit and through her role as His Holy Spouse, she asks for us every spiritual blessing we need in order to thrive as her children. She comforts us when we are sorrowful and will never leave our side, just as she never left Jesus.

Do we give thanks to God for giving us Mary as our spiritual Mother? What can we learn from her life of service and humility? How can we become better children of God, our Father, and Mary, our Mother?

O Lord, we thank you for our Blessed Mother, Mary.

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed.”

Mary is the mother of our salvation. She is our Blessed Mother and Most Holy Mediator between God and us. She shows us through her Most Immaculate Life how to know, love, and serve God with all our hearts and minds. It was through her humble acceptance of God's Will that God's Saving Power, namely Jesus, came into the world. Her mildness gave birth to the greatest authority of all… the Son of God! This doesn't mean her life wasn't hard. Far from it! She ran into difficulties from the very first moment she accepted the angel's annunciation. However, she did not let her fears, anxieties, and problems keep her from doing God's Will. She found a way to overcome all the obstacles in her way and became the Most Faithful Servant of All. In the same way, we are called to become living vessels of God's Will no matter what stands in our way.

What are we giving birth to in this world? Are we imitating Mary's trust, love, humility, and mildness in our own lives? Do we turn to Mary and her beloved Son, Jesus, when we are trying to be good vessels of God's Love, Mercy, and Grace?

O Lord, may your salvation and power come into the world through us as it did through Mary?

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

Like Mary, our souls should proclaim the greatness of the Lord and our spirits should rejoice in God our savior. Our every thought, word, and work should declare that we are good disciples of Christ. Our faith should guide us through our daily lives. Our hope should sustain us through our trials and tribulations. Our love should be poured out to God and His children. In this way, we will imitate Jesus and Mary in their complete surrender to God’s Will. At the same time, we should be joyful servants no matter what obstacles get in our way or what sufferings we must undergo to do God’s Will. In this way, we imitate and unite ourselves to the passion, crucifixion, and death of Christ, which is the source of our salvation.

Do our words and works proclaim the greatness of the Lord? Do we rejoice in Jesus, Our Savior? How can we learn to be a good and faithful servant like Mary?

O Lord, help us to be more like Mary and live lives that proclaim your greatness.

Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

We are blessed to have a model of holiness in our Holy Mother who shows us how to bear the Word Made Flesh in our daily lives. Mary comes to Elizabeth to help her in her time of need even as she prepares for her own labor of love.  She seeks to be of service to her cousin just as she seeks to be a servant to us. She provides us with an exemplar of what it means to be a servant of others even in the midst of our own trials.

How do we recognize the mother of our Lord in our day to day actions? How do we imitate her servant presence in our own lives? Are we able to put aside our own concerns when someone is in need?

O Lord, make us into loving servants of your Divine Will and help us learn from our Holy Mother how to best make ourselves into eucharistic presences to all whom we meet each day.

Amen.