The Woman Clothed with the Sun

[Dawn Marie]

The Woman Clothed with the Sun
 

The Divine Word has for His Mother a love infinitely greater than that which He bears for all of His other creatures. The Immaculata’s honor is infinitely dear to Him, because she is His Mother.


Consider, if you will, the profound truth of this statement about the Immaculata's honor within the context of these modern times. What honor has the institutional Church shown to the Mother of God, who came so often to show us the way to return to God?  What honor has the Church really shown to Our Lady in the past century?  What Vicar of Christ has obeyed her request? 

Pope Pius XII is reported to have said of Our Lady of Guadalupe: “For we are certain, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe.” 

Think about these words as we survey the horrid wreckage of the Faith and Catholic culture throughout the countries on the entire Americas today. If only the pontiff, or even one of his successors complied with Our Lady's wishes, all of this devastation could have been averted. And then, think of how easily we can still obtain the graces necessary to restore the glory of Holy Mother Church by following the simple command of our Lord Jesus Christ to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
 

THE AGE OF APOSTASY

The Age of Apostasy began with the disobedience of Luther, who was Lucifer’s own priest, and whose revolt ripped throughout Christendom in the 16th Century, leaving in its wake an orphan people, bereft of grace, endlessly prating about the dignity of man while assiduously destroying any sign of man’s true dignity which is to be found only in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. For our sole dignity lies is in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Who has first loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. - Apoc. 1,5

In response to this monumental affront, He Who is love, sent the world His greatest love! That is to say, God granted to us His very Own Mother. Even as the foul-mouthed Luther was delivering his despicable blasphemies, Our Lord sent the Blessed Virgin to her children in the New World to grant them the favor of her image, miraculously imprinted on Juan Diego’s cactus cloth tilma. This image displays Our Lady as the “Woman clothed with the Sun” of the Apocalypse. Thus, we see Our Lord counter the vile, hateful disobedience of Luther with loving obedience, and counter what is foul and ugly with what is pure and beautiful - Our Lord counters deceit with Truth.


THE WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN

To this end, the magnificent work of the Mother of God began with her apparitions in Mexico during December of 1531, and followed in succession by her apparitions to Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres at the Conceptionist Convent of Quito, Ecuador in the early 17th Century; just before the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque at the Visitation Convent in Paray-le-Monial, France, that began in December of 1673. These actions of the Divine Mercy were in turn followed by the apparitions at Rue du Bac in1830, where Our Lady granted the Medal of the Immaculate Conception (Miraculous Medal) to her children through St. Catherine Labouré, a nun of the Daughters of Charity. Then, Our Lady’s appearance to Sr. Catherine was quickly followed by three more Divine interventions; at La Salette in September of 1851; at Lourdes from February until March 25th of 1858; and then at Knock in August of 1879. The sequence of these divine interventions reveals a significant development.

The most of which is how they all began with Our Lady’s appearance at Guadalupe in the image of the Immaculata, clothed with the Sun, “she who crushes the serpent’s head” - the challenge of Lucifer’s Martin Luther was met by God’s Virgin Mother. This intervention countered Luther’s attack on souls with the Virgin’s offering of salvation to whole nations who had never known the true God. By this apparition, many millions of souls were saved and a message of obedient trust in Tonantzin (our Sacred Mother) was given for her children.

In those days, Satan had ripped away five million souls from the bosom of the Faith by the Protestant Revolt, but their numbers were more than replaced in just a few years by the intervention of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which gained for the Bride of Christ nearly ten million Aztec converts. In her image, we are directly led to her image in the Apocalypse; for in both images she is clothed with the sun and stands on the new moon. This is highly significant for several reasons, but most relevant for our present time, is its indication that she will come again to conquer that diabolical Masonic sect which has so persecuted Catholics for centuries; and that this will usher in a period of peace.
 

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS

The apparitions of Our Lady of Good Success in the following century gave us a comforting prophecy for our times, the times of an almost total corruption of society; but which is paradoxically the beginning of the “Good Success” of the victory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The extinguished Sanctuary Lamp foretold the disappearance of Christ from a new, man-centered liturgy. And just as our Lord Jesus Christ conquered death by dying only to rise again, so by His will, His most Blessed Mother will conquer the sin infecting the Holy Church. This sin – which is slavery to Satan – is being drawn out, to be seen by all, even the most recalcitrant, in all its horrid ugliness; and it will be soon cast from the Holy Church, by virtue of this "Woman, clothed with the Sun," she who is “conceived without sin.” But those signs were not as widely known in those days, for its message was especially meant for these days.
 

THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Our Lord, Himself, then appeared in the latter 17th Century and promised us great graces for honoring Him in the image of His most Sacred Heart. Although this powerful devotion was rejected by the Kings of France, Our Lord’s command still remains in force to this day, and when at last it is obeyed we shall see a magnificent transformation in the restoration of Christendom. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is united with the Immaculate Heart of His Mother and so the following centuries saw an increase in Marian apparitions which emphasized the Immaculate Conception and called the faithful to amend their lives, pray for sinners, and offer penance in reparation for sin.
 

OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

When Our Lady’s message to Melanie and Maximin was silenced by the powerful Masonic sect both within and without the Church, Our Lady eloquently appeared in a silent tableau at Knock, Ireland to express the suppressed message (warning); her sorrowful tears at La Salette replaced by a cold, driving rain. La Salette’s warning of the great apostasy from the Faith, was enforced by this apocalyptic apparition occurring outside the church of a priest who refused to recognize it. The altar at Knock was stripped bare, but the Sacrificial Lamb gives voice to the now suppressed Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

 
OUR LADY OF LOURDES, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

In between those visits, Our Lady intervened at Lourdes to offer us another sign of her mercy. There, she confirms that she is the Immaculate Conception, and requests penance after granting the faithful a miraculous spring of healing waters. See the progression: a growing emphasis on devotion to her Immaculate Conception, coupled with signs of grace such as the Miraculous Medal and the Holy Water of Lourdes. She nourishes us and defends us, while in her messages she urges us to preserve the true Faith.

 
OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY AT FATIMA

The divine interventions of the 19th Century were crowned by the Queen of all her apparitions at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. These apparitions occurred amidst the bloodiest century in world history, in the exact year which saw the resurgence of the great red dragon as atheistic communism in direct contradiction to the most Blessed Virgin; and this bloody battle is quickly ascending to its terrifying climax. For the House of God has been almost thoroughly eclipsed by the one world church of man. Lucifer is enthroned in the Vatican and even Luther appears to have supplanted the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross.

And now, as we approach the height of the spiritual and material Chastisements, in her visits to Fatima, this same "Woman clothed with the sun" offers us her Rosary, her Scapular, and Total Consecration (that is, a True Devotion to her Immaculate Heart) as our surest, safest means amidst the increasing dark, chaotic confusion; guiding us safely to eternal blessedness to Jesus through Mary - Ad Jesum per Mariam. Without using these means we shall be utterly lost in this dread battle.

For the Church is being crucified today; it is the Passiontide of Christ’s Mystical Body. During Our Lord’s Passion, it appeared that the foulness of the sinful world had covered His beautiful visage; and now the foulness of the ancient enemy by means of that same synagogue appears to obscure that beauty of His Holy Church. However, we shall soon see again Her true splendor.

 
OUR LADY IS THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
 
We treasure in our hearts always the Blessed Virgin’s tender words to Juan Diego:

“Hear me and understand well, my little son, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”

Note that Our Lady’s apparition at Guadalupe was during the Octave of her Immaculate Conception. For, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Immaculate Conception. In this sign, she shall crush the serpent’s head. It is good to honor her especially in these days of her Octave; preferably with Holy Mass, but also, very urgently, to pray her Holy Rosary, for the triumph of her Immaculate Heart; in reparation for the shameless idolatry promoted under the auspices of Pope Bergoglio, and promoted by an apostate, counterfeit religion.

Indeed, Our Lady has already given us the keys to victory with her Rosary and devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Recall how many of the Saints spoke with envy of the chosen souls who were left to defend the Faith, while living in these apostate days. There has never been a better time to take up our Rosary and join our Queen and Mother in her battle! Through her Rosary, she gives us strength against her enemies. 

Vouchsafe that I should praise thee, O Sacred Virgin; and grant me strength against thy enemies! O Immaculate Virgin of Guadalupe, protect our homes, our families, and our country, against the raging tide of apostasy, apathy and moral indifference, against the threatening menace of global socialism. May our nation and all the nations of the Americas acknowledge thee as their Mother and Queen and may all our souls be truly converted to the Sacred Heart of Thy Divine Son. Amen. - Edited, Return to Fatima

[Dawn Marie]

Historical Account of the Apparitions
of Our Lady of Guadalupe

by Sister Gabriel, O.P., 1900


The story of the Apparition of our Lady can not be too often repeated, and it will be better appreciated in the faithful translation of the original Indian narrative by that zealous and devoted client of our Lady of Guadalupe, Rev. Andrew Garriga, who for some years was rector of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Francisco.

In the year of our Lord 1531, ten years after the Conquest, and four months after the end of the war (Clement VI. being Pope, and Charles V. King of Spain), one Saturday morning, before dawn, it being the 9th of December, an Indian--low and poor, humble and candid (one of the newly converted to the Catholic Faith), named Juan Diego, a native of Quatitlan, a town north of and distant from the capital of Mexico four leagues, who was married to another convert, Maria Lucia, then resident in a town nearer to the city, called Tolpetlac--was going to the Church of S. James, in the Barrio of Tlatelolco, to hear Mass and the catechetical instruction that the religious of S. Francis used to impart every morning to the Indians.

At the dawn of the morning, as he had to pass by the slope of a hill near the city, called by the Indians "Tepeyacac," he heard from around a point of projecting rock sweet and harmonious singing, as it seemed to him, of a multitude and variety of birds heretofore unknown to him, which, like choruses, responded to each other in enchanting harmony, and the echoes were redoubled and repeated by the larger hill near by. Raising his eyes to a spot where he thought the singing came from, he saw a white and brilliant cloud surrounded by a rainbow, produced by an excessive light and splendor, as if springing directly from the center of the cloud.

There he stood absorbed, and as if beside himself (in a trance) but without confusion or fear. He had a feeling in his heart of such exquisite pleasure and joy that he said to himself: "What is this that I hear and see? Whereto have I been transported? In what place of the world am I? Perhaps I have been transported to that Paradise of Delights of which our good Fathers have spoken as the origin of our flesh, the Garden of Flowers, or the Celestial World, hidden to the eye of men?" Standing in this suspense and ecstasy, the singing ceased, and he heard some one call him by his name "Juan!"--a sweet and delicate voice, as of a woman, coming out from the splendor of that cloud, and telling him to approach. He immediately obeyed, and ran up the hill with great haste.


FIRST APPARITION.

In the center of that brilliance he saw a most beautiful lady, very much like the one we see in the picture now, according to the verbal description given by the Indian himself before she had appeared in the painting, or to any one else; "whose garments glittered so," said he, "that their light striking the rough rocks which rise on the summit of the hill, appeared to be transparent and polished precious stones, and the leaves and thorns and 'nopals' that grew there, small and poor on account of the dryness of the place, looked like handfuls of emeralds, and their trunks, branches and thorns as they were of brilliant gold. Even the surface of a small plain by the top of the hill seemed to be of jasper mixed with fine and different colors. The lady spoke to him in the Aztec language, and said: "My child, Juan Diego, whom I love as one that is little and delicate (the idiom of the Indian language), "Whither goest thou?" The Indian answered: "I am going, noble lady, to Mexico, to the Barrio of Tlatelolco, to hear the Mass that the ministers of God say for us." The beautiful Lady heard him, and then continued: "Know thou, O my beloved child, that I am the Ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, the Author of Life, Creator of all, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, Who is present everywhere; and it is my desire that a temple be built for me on this very spot, wherein, as a most tender Mother to thee and all thy people, I will show my loving clemency, and the compassion I feel for the natives, and for all of those who love and seek me, and for all who solicit my protection and invoke me in their trouble and afflictions, and wherein I shall hear their prayers and see their tears, and give them consolation and help. And in order that my will be carried out, thou shalt go to the City of Mexico, and to the palace of the Bishop, whom thou shalt tell that I send thee; and that it is my pleasure that he build a temple in this very place. And thou shalt tell him all that thou hast seen and heard. And be sure that I will be most grateful for whatever thou shalt do for me in this, my business, and I will raise thee up and make thee famous as thy reward. Thou hast heard, my son, my desire. Go in peace, and forget not that I will pay thee well for all the trouble and pains thou shalt take in it; and so thou shalt work for it with all thy might."

Prostrate on the ground, the Indian replied: "I will go immediately, my noble Lady, and my possessor, to do your bidding, your humble servant that I am. Wait here. Good-bye!" Having taken leave with a profound reverence, he took the road that leads to the city, descending the hill by the west side. As he had promised, Juan Diego went straight to the City of Mexico, about one league from the hill, and entered the palace of the Bishop, the illustrious Lord Don Fray Juan Zumarraga, the first Bishop of Mexico. He requested the servants to call the Bishop, telling them that he wished to see him and speak to him. They did not obey the request, either because it was too early in the morning, or because they saw the visitor so poor, simple and humble. So he had to wait for a long time. Touched and moved by his tolerance and patience, they admitted him. Once in the presence of the Bishop, he knelt down and delivered his message. "The Mother of God," said he. "whom I saw and spoke to thin morning, sends me," and he then related all he had seen and heard.

The Prelate listened with some admiration to what the Indian said, but he did not give much credit to his message, considering it an imagination or a dream, or an illusion from the devil to a new convert from paganism. And although he put many questions to him and found him true, sensible and consistent in his answers, he dismissed him, saying that he might come to him again some days after; that he wanted to examine and inquire thoroughly into the matter (and, of course, after the character of the messenger) and take his time for deliberation. The poor Indian left the residence of the Bishop sad and disheartened, as much to feel that he had not been believed as to see--that he could not accomplish the wishes of the Lady of whom, he was the messenger.


SECOND APPARITION.

Juan Diego, about sunset of the same day, went back to the town where he lived, which in all probability and tradition was the town of Tolpetlac, that is, in the back and northwest, about one league distant from the hill. Tolpetlac in Aztec means "place of mats of reedmace," because, very probably, it was the only occupation of the old Indians of that town to weave mats of that plant. As soon as the Indian arrived at the summit of the hill where he had seen the lady in the morning, he saw her there again, waiting for the answer to her message. He immediately fell on his knees, and said to her: "My beloved nina, my Queen and exalted Lady, I have done all that thou hast commanded; and although I could not see the Bishop until after long waiting, I saw him and gave him the message in the very same words that thou desired me. He listened to me very calmly and attentively, but, from what I could see in him and from the many questions he put to me, I concluded that he did not believe me. For he told me to come back some other time, so that he could examine the matter more minutely and think of it deliberately. He presumed that the Temple that thou asked to have built for thee was only a fiction or whim of mine, and not thy will. Therefore, I beseech thee to send, instead of me, some other person--one noble, great and worthy of respect and belief; because, as thou seest, my possessor, I am only a low and humble man, a poor Indian, unable and unfit to carry out thy purpose. Forgive, oh my Queen, my boldness, if I have in anything exceeded the honor and respect due to thy Highness, lest, perhaps, I have provoked thy indignation or have been disagreeable with my answer." This colloquy and the others are literally translated from the history written by the natives.

The Blessed Virgin listened to the Indian's answer with a benign face, and as soon as he had finished she said: "Hear, my beloved son. Know thou that I am not in want of servants to command or messengers to send, because I have many that would execute my orders with great joy; but thou must be the one that shall perform and solicit this business: and it is through thy means that this, my wish and desire, must be accomplished. So, I beseech and command thee, my son, to go again tomorrow morning, and see and speak to the Bishop, and tell him to build for me that Temple which I ask; and that she who sends you is the Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God."

Juan Diego replied: "Be not offended at what I have said, my Lady and my Queen, for I will go most willingly and obey thy command with all my heart, and I will carry thy message. I do not excuse myself, nor do I consider the way any trouble; but, perhaps, I will not be well received or listened to. Or, if the Bishop listens to me he may not believe me. However, I shall do what thou orderest me, and tomorrow afternoon, at sunset, I shall wait for thee here, and bring the answer I may receive from him. And so be tranquil, my dear and exalted Lady. God keep you!"

The Indian took leave with profound humility and started for his home. It is not known whether he revealed what happened, to his wife or any other person, for the Indian history says nothing about it. Perhaps, confused and ashamed of his yet unfavorable success, he did not dare to speak of it until he saw the end of the affair.

The next day, Sunday, the 10th of December, Juan came as usual to the Temple of S. James of Tlatelolco to hear Mass and learn his Catechism. After the account that the Padres used to take every day, in every parish, of the natives present at their instructions, he went to the Bishop; and although the servants, treating him as an impertinent person, delayed a long time before announcing him to the prelate, he entered and humbled himself in his presence. With tears and sobs he said: "Be not annoyed or angry with me, my Lord. I have seen that Lady once more, waiting for an answer to her first demand, and she bade me again come to thy presence and tell thee again to build her a temple on that same place, where I first saw and spoke to her; and that I should assure thee that she is the Mother of Jesus Christ, and the ever Virgin Mary, that sends me."

The Bishop heard him with more attention than before, and, to be more certain, asked him several questions and cross-questions, impressing upon him to remember well what he said about the appearance, dress, words, and other signs of the Lady who sent him. Although he began to think that it could hardly be a fiction or dream of the Indian, still, lest it should be considered levity to believe the simple relation of a candid and low Indian convert, he said to him: "What thou sayest is not sufficient to put it into execution, so tell the lady that sent thee to give thee some token by which I may know that it is the Mother of God who sends thee and wishes me to build her Temple." The Indian answered promptly: "What token dost thou want?" The Prelate, seeing the prompt, direct and self-confident answer of the Indian, inviting him to choose himself whatever token he wished, began to take action in the matter. He called two members of his own household, and, speaking to them in Castllian, which the Indian did not understand, he told them to mark the man, and hold themselves in readiness to go and follow him, keeping at a distance, but never losing sight of him, nor letting him suspect that he was followed. They were ordered to watch him carefully as far as the place told by himself, where he said that he had seen the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to notice if he spoke to anybody and with whom. And they were to come back and report their observations. He then dismissed the Indian, and the servants, obeying orders, followed him, without his knowledge.

So soon as Juan Diego arrived near a bridge of the creek that runs by the foot of the hill, he disappeared from the sight of his followers. Although they searched for him carefully all around and over the hill they could not find him. Declaring him an impostor, a liar and a sorcerer they came back full of anger, and informed the Bishop of everything, and requested him not to believe the Indian, but to punish him severely if he should come back with his imposture.



THIRD APPARITION.

As soon as Juan Diego reached the top of Tepeyacac, he again found the Lady waiting for his answer. The Indian humbled himself as before, in her presence and said: "I have fulfilled thy command. I saw the Bishop again and delivered thy message, and after several questions and cross-questions that he put to me, he said that my simple narration was not sufficient to take a determination on so grave a subject, and that I should require of thee a sign (token) by which he might know that it is thou who sendest me, and that it is thy will that he build thee a Temple here.

The Lady, with kind words, expressed her gratitude to him for the interest and pains he was taking, and made him come the next day to the same place and that she would then give him a sign that the Bishop would believe. He promised to come back, and went home.

The next day, Monday, December 11th, passed away, and Juan Diego could not come back, because, when he reached home, he found an uncle of his, named Juan Bernardino, whom he loved very tenderly and held him as his own father, grievously ill of a malignant fever, called by the natives Cocoliztli, so on that account he went for the medicine man to apply some remedy. He came back with the Indian doctor, who gave his uncle some medicine; but the patient became worse and worse. Night came on, and Juan Bernardino, feeling very much fatigued and weak, called his nephew and asked him to start early in the morning, before daybreak, and go to the Convent of S. James of Tlatelolco, and tell one of the Padres to come and administer to him the Holy Sacraments of the Church, for he felt he was going to die.

On the day and hour before mentioned, namely, the early morning of the 12th, Juan Diego went for the priest, and, as the day broke in, he was about to pass the hill by the usual road on the east side, when he remembered that he had not come the day before, according to his promise, and therefore disobeyed the Lady, who must have waited a long time for him to give him the "token." He thought that if he went to the place where he used to meet her, she would scold him and delay his urgent message. Therefore he imagined, in his simplicity, that, taking another road by the other side, she would not see nor detain him; and when his uncle would be attended to he would come back, beg the Lady's pardon, receive humbly her reprimand, and take the "token" to the Lord Bishop. So he did; and as he was passing by a flowing spring of water which flows at the foot of the hill and was turning to the right road, behold! there was the Blessed Virgin again before him.


FOURTH APPARITION.

The Indian saw her descending towards him surrounded with a white cloud, and with the halo and brightness of the first time that she appeared. She said to him: "Whither art thou going, my son, and what road didst thou take today?" The Indian fell on his knees, and, all confused, ashamed and trembling, answered: "My love and my Lady, good morning! How art thou today? Art thou well? Be not displeased at what I say. Know thou, then, my Queen, that thy servant, my uncle, is very sick with a grievous and mortal disease; he is very weak and fatigued, and in great danger, and I am going in great haste to the Temple of Tlatelolco for a priest to prepare him for death; for, as thou well knowest, we are all subject to die. As soon as I have done that, I shall come back to execute thy orders. Forgive me, I beseech thee, my Queen, and have some patience, for I do not refuse to execute thy command to thy humble servant, nor do I feign an excuse. Tomorrow I shall be here, without fail."

The Blessed Virgin listened to his apology with a very amiable countenance and replied to him thus: "Hear, my son, what I tell thee now; be not annoyed nor afflicted at anything; fear not any disease, accident or pain. Am I not here who am thy mother? Art not thou under my shadow and protection? Am I not life and health? Art not thou in my keeping? Am I not responsible for thee? Dost thou want anything else? Be in no trouble or care about the sickness of thy uncle; he shall not die of this disease; but, be assured, he is now already recovered." And so he was, as was found out afterwards.

When Juan Diego heard these words, satisfied and consoled, he replied: "Then, my beloved Queen, send me to the Lord Bishop at once and give me the token that thou hast promised me, so that he may believe." The Blessed Virgin replied to him: "Go up, my darling beloved son, to the top of the hill where thou sawest and spoke to me first, and pick up the roses that thou shalt find there. Collect them in thy cloak, bring them down to me, and I will tell thee what thou shalt do and say." The Indian obeyed without making any remark, although he knew for certain that no flowers or any plant ever grew or would grow on that group of rough rocks. He reached the top and found there a beautiful garden of Castilian Roses, fresh and fragrant and with the morning dew; and gathering them in his tilma or cloak, as the natives used to do, brought them to the Blessed Virgin. She was waiting for him at the foot of a tree that the natives call Quanzabault (which in Indian means "Tree of the Cobwebs"). It is a wild tree, bears no fruit and only produces some white flowers at its proper season. Here the Indian prostrated himself in the presence of the Blessed Virgin, and showed her the roses. She, taking them all in her hand, as if to form a bouquet of them, put them into the cloak which the Indian was keeping open before her, and said to him: "This is the token that thou shalt give to the Bishop and tell him that by this he shall do what I order. And mind, my son, what I tell thee. I place confidence in thee. Show not to anybody in the way what thou bringest, nor do thou open thy cloak till thou art in the presence of the Bishop. Tell him all thou hast seen and heard now, and he will take courage and build my Temple." Having said this, she took leave of him. Glad and happy for the success he now expected from his message, the Indian started for the city, carrying his roses with great care, looking at them now and then on his way and enjoying their beautiful fragrance.


APPARITION OF THE IMAGE.

Juan Diego came with his last message to the episcopal residence, and, though he begged of several of the servants to let him see the Bishop, he could not obtain his request for a long time. The servants, already angry with his importunities, noticed that he carried something in his cloak. They wondered and wanted to find what it was, and although he resisted all he could, they succeeded in opening it somewhat, and saw. that he carried roses. Seeing them so beautiful they tried to seize them, but they caught nothing. They seemed to be only painted or interwoven in the cloak. They told the Bishop about it and the Indian was admitted to his presence. He gave his message faithfully, and added: "There is the token thou wantedst, and which the lady sends to thee"; and letting the lower edge of his cloak loose, down fell the roses, rolling off on the floor, and, behold! the image of the Blessed Virgin was painted on the cloak.

Much surprised and astonished, the Lord Bishop contemplated the prodigy. Roses, fresh, fragrant and wet with dew, as if just cut from the bush, in the midst of winter, and, as stated, from a barren rock, and that wonderful Image on the crude and rough cloth, woven from the rough palm-tree fiber. He called all his household, paid the Image the greatest respect and veneration, untied the two upper corners from behind the Indian's neck, and, placing it in his private chapel for the time being, fell on his knees and gave thanks to God and his glorious Mother.

The Lord Bishop kept the Indian in his residence with honor and deference, and the next day went with him to see the place which the Blessed Virgin had selected for her Temple. Being there, the Indian showed the localities where he had seen and spoken to her, and then begged permission to go home and see his uncle, Juan Bernardino.


FIFTH APPARITION.

When Juan Bernardino saw his nephew coming, accompanied by Spaniards, and the honors they paid to him, he asked the cause of that novelty. Juan Diego told him the progress of his message to the Lord Bishop; how the Blessed Virgin had assured him of his recovery; and, having related the hour about when she had said that he was well, Juan Bernardino assured him that just at that same hour a lady of the same description had appeared to him also; that she had cured him, and said that it was her pleasure that a Temple should be built in the place that his nephew had seen, and, also, that her Image should be called S. Mary of Guadalupe. She had given him no reason why it should be so. The servants of the Lord Bishop heard the two Indians and brought them to his presence immediately. He examined Juan Bernardino very closely about his sickness, how he was cured, how the Lady looked, how she was dressed, and, having verified the truth, took them both into his palace.

The fame of the miracle had already spread all over the neighborhood, and the people came in great crowds from all parts of the city to see and venerate the holy Image. Seeing this, the Lord Bishop took the holy picture and placed it over the main altar of his pro-cathedral, where everybody could honor it, whilst they were building a large church on the spot named by Juan Diego, and where it was afterward brought in procession, and a solemn feast established, and where it is venerated up to the present day.

This is the plain tradition without any ornamentation of words; and it is so true, that any circumstance more or less in addition would be either false or apocryphal; for this is the precise, brief and faithful form in which the most intelligent Indians and the historians of that time write and tell it.

[Dawn Marie]

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

The Story

"And the land was polluted with blood," by idolaters who sacrificed their sons and daughters to devils. (Ps. 105:38) Such was Mexico when Hernando Cortes arrived there in 1519. Some ten million native Nahuatl Indians formed a vast confederation of tribes at this time. These tribes were dominated by the powerful Aztecs who, for all their intelligence, industry, and valor, were equally barbaric, enslaved by an extravagant system of idolatry which placated its numerous gods with gruesome orgies of human sacrifice and cannibalism. For centuries torrents of blood literally flowed from the temple pyramids, with as many as 20,000 humans being sacrificed in one day.

Cortes came and liberated the Nahuatls from their slavery to Satan, but because of the corruption of the Spanish rulers and because of the Aztec's attachment to polygamy and other pagan practices, very few converted to Catholicism in the first decade of Spanish rule. The saintly Juan de Zumarraga, Mexico's first bishop, could do little to convert the Aztecs, but he remained confident in the unfailing help of the Queen of Heaven, to whom he entrusted the future of New Spain.

Juan Diego, a simple and God-fearing man, was one of the few converts in the first 10 years. For 6 years he had devoutly practiced the Faith, walking 6 miles every morning to Mass. On Saturday, December 9, 1531, he began his usual pre-dawn journey. As he reached the hill known as Tepeyac, he heard a very wonderful music descending from the top of the hill. It sounded like the sweetest melody of singing birds. Suddenly the singing stopped and a gentle woman's voice was heard from above the mount saying, "Juanito, Juan Dieguito." When he reached the summit, he saw a Lady standing there who told him to come near. He marveled greatly at her superhuman grandeur. Her garments were shining like the sun and the cliff where she rested her feet was pierced with glitter.

The Lady thus spoke to him: "Know and understand well, you the most humble of my sons, that I am the ever Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for Whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and earth. I wish that a temple be erected here quickly, so I may therein exhibit and give all my love, compassion, help and protection, because I am your merciful mother... Go to the bishop of Mexico and say to him that I manifest my great desire, that here a temple be built to me."

Juan went directly to the bishop and gave him the message. Fray Zumarraga, however, did not seem to believe him and dismissed him after listening to his story. When Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac hill, the Lady appeared again and told him to "go again tomorrow and see the bishop ... and again tell him that I, in person, the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of God, sent you."

Juan visited the bishop's house again the next day and repeated the story. This time the bishop listened more attentively and then asked Juan to bring some sign as a proof of the story. Our Lady told Juan that she would give him a sign for the bishop on the following morning. He failed to return the next day, however, because his uncle Juan Bernardino was gravely ill and by night time asked Juan to summon a priest the next day.

On Tuesday, Juan climbed Tepeyac from a different angle to prevent the Lady from seeing him and deterring his journey to get the priest. She approached him from that side of the hill, however, and, on hearing his mission, replied, "Do not fear this nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I, your Mother, not here? Are you not under my protection? Do not be afflicted by the illness of your uncle; he is now cured."

Juan Bernardino related later that at that very hour a beautiful Lady appeared to him, calling herself "she who crushes the serpent" (see Gen. 3:15). Juan Bernardino felt a profound peace come over his soul and through his limbs a healing wave seemed to roll, filling him with strength and cooling his burning fever. He was cured.

After reassuring Juan Diego, Our Lady told him to gather the flowers at the top of the hill and give them to the bishop for a sign. But how could this be? Flowers in December, the month in which all vegetation is destroyed by freezing? Flowers on a hilltop full of crags, thorns, and thistles? Reaching the top of the hill, Juan was amazed to find many varieties of exquisite roses of Castella (in Spain), hitherto unknown to Mexico. He placed the flowers in his tilma, a coarsely woven cloak of cactus fibers, and set out for the bishop's house.

When Juan Diego reached the bishop's house and was finally admitted, he unfolded the tilma, revealing the gorgeous, sweet scented flowers. Suddenly there appeared on the face of the tilma a precious Image of the Ever-Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of God. The bishop and all others present fell to their knees upon seeing the miraculous image...

The Image

The Image of Our Lady that appeared on the tilma, which can still be seen in Mexico City today, is truly miraculous and has been the wonder of scientists for hundreds of years. All, after exhaustive investigation with sophisticated analytic detectors, have concluded that the work is beyond the power of men to produce.

They were unable to find any trace of paint residue or dye of any sort on the Image. What produced the colors on Juan Diego's cloak or how they were applied remains a total mystery of science. The Image still retains its original colors, even though it was unprotected by any covering during the first 100 years of veneration. The bluish-green color of Our Lady's mantle is unique. It seems to be made of an unearthly shade that as yet no artist has been able exactly to match. Moreover, a painter would be incredibly foolish to choose an Indian's tilma to work on and even more to paint right over the center seam of the cloak. And had the Virgin not turned ever so slightly to the right, the stitch would have divided her face. Just as astonishing is the fact that only the seam still holds the tilma together. The law of gravity does not allow a single flimsy cotton thread to bind two heavier materials of cloth for more than ten years, much less four hundred and fifty! In addition, the coarse weave of the tilma was utilized by the Artist in such a precise manner as to give depth to the face of the Image.

Infrared radiation photography confirmed, besides the lack of paint and brush strokes, no corrections, no underlying sketch, no sizing used to render the surface smooth, no varnish covering the image to protect its surface. According to specialists of the Kodak Corporation in Mexico, the Image bears more resemblance to a color photograph than anything else. Study of photographic enlargements of Our Lady's face have revealed the image of a bearded man, clearly identifiable in the eyes. Rigorous investigations by leading oculists found not only the image of the bearded man but all the optical imaging qualities of a normal human eye, such as light reflection, image positioning and distortion on the cornea.

The Virgin's mantle is covered with stars which stunningly and accurately map out various constellations as might be seen in the Mexican sky. Even more remarkably, this "star map" on the mantle is in reverse: providing a view of the constellations from beyond them, as would be seen looking through them towards the earth. The constellations are consistent with what astronomers believe was in the sky above Mexico City the day the Image was formed, December 12, 1531. The colors of the tunic and mantle are important ones in the Aztec hierarchical structure, ones typically reserved for the emperor.

Recent gynecological studies have also identified signs of pregnancy in the image and a special flower, the Quincunx, over the place where the heart of the unborn child would be. This flower is the Aztec symbol of the Lord of the Universe.

The great majority of the miraculous aspects of the Image were not discovered until the 20th century, when the technology and archaeology made the discoveries possible. This is 400 years from the creation of the Image.

The Result

When Bishop Zumarraga saw the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he commanded that a church be built on Tepeyac hill as Our Lady requested. Thousands of Aztec Indians were present at the translation of the Image to the new chapel. They chanted, "The Virgin is one of us. Our pure Mother, Our Sovereign Lady, is one of us!" In a transport of enthusiasm, one group of young warriors took their bows and sent a pretty volley of arrows through the air. Unfortunately, one of the shafts struck and killed one of the spectators. The poor native was picked up by his sorrowing friends and carried into the chapel, where they placed him at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe. While everyone together prayed for a miracle, suddenly the dead man opened his eyes and rose up fully recovered!

The Bishop placed Juan Diego in charge of the new chapel and the recipient of the apparitions spent the remainder of his life explaining the message and the meaning of the visions to the pilgrims who came there. There already existed good means of communication in that vast country and news of the wonderful events were soon common knowledge everywhere. From 1531 until the present day, a continuous stream of pilgrims has flowed through the doors of the church on Tepeyac hill. It is estimated now that as many as twenty million pilgrims come to see the miraculous tilma every year.

In explaining the apparitions to the pilgrims, Juan laid great stress on the fact that the Mother of the True God has chosen to come to the site of the temple of the pagan mother-goddess Tonantzin to signify that Christianity was to replace the Aztec religion. This startling fact made such an impact on the Mexicans, that for years after the apparitions they referred to the sacred image as the picture of Tonantzin ("Our Mother") or Teonantzin ("God's Mother").

Until 1531, the Sacrament of Baptism had been administered most to infants, as the overwhelming majority of Aztec adults had resisted the advances of the missionaries. However, as the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe began to spread throughout the country, great numbers of all ages and classes began to long for a new moral code based on the example of the Mother of the 'white man's god', who could now only be the Mother of the True God, their "clean Mother", and who had captivated their minds and hearts with her radiant purity, virtue and love.

As a result, the few missionaries in the country were soon increasingly engaged in preaching, instructing and baptizing. The trickle of conversions soon became a river, and that river a flood which is perhaps unprecedented in the history of Christianity. 5,000,000 Catholics were lost to the Church due to the Protestant Revolt in Europe at this time but their numbers were more than replaced in a few years by over 9,000,000 Aztec converts (out of 10 million).

A famous Mexican preacher of the 19th century expressed this tidal wave of conversions as follows:

"It is true that immediately after the conquest (of Cortes), some apostolic men, some zealous missionaries, mild, gentle conquerors who were disposed to shed no blood but their own, ardently devoted themselves to the conversion of the Indians. However, these valiant men, because of their fewness, because of the difficulty of learning various languages, and of the vast extent of our territory, obtained, in spite of their heroic efforts, but few and limited results.

"But scarcely had the Most Holy Virgin of Guadalupe appeared and taken possession of this her inheritance, when the Catholic Faith spread with the rapidity of light from the rising sun, through the wide extent and beyond the bounds of the ancient empire of Mexico. Innumerable multitudes from every tribe, every district, every race, in this immense country . . . who were grossly superstitious, who were ruled by the instincts of cruelty, oppressed by every form of violence, and utterly degraded, returned upon themselves at the credible announcement of the admirably portentous apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, recognized their natural dignity, forgot their misfortunes, put off their instinctive ferocity, and, unable to resist such sweet and tender invitations, came in crowds to cast their grateful hearts at the feet of so loving a Mother, and to mingle their tears of emotion with the regeneration of the waters of Baptism."

The missionaries were all but overwhelmed by the endless multitudes clamoring for instruction and Baptism. Almost everywhere they traveled, entire families would come running out of their village, entreating them with signs to come and pour the water on their heads. When the numbers grew too numerous to cope with individually, the missionaries formed the men and women into two columns behind a cross-bearer. As they filed past the first priest, he briefly imposed on each the Oil of Catechumens. Holding lighted candles and singing a hymn, they would then converge on a second priest who stood beside the baptismal font. The columns would slowly wind back to the first priest where, with hands joined, husbands and wives would pronounce their marriage vows together, receiving the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Several trustworthy contemporary writers note that one missionary, a Flemish Franciscan named Peter of Ghent, baptized with his own hands over 1,000,000 Mexicans! "Who will not recognize the Spirit of God in moving so many millions to enter the kingdom of Christ," wrote Fr. Anticoli, S.J., "and when we consider that there occurred no portent or other supernatural event ... to attract such multitudes, other than the apparitions of the Virgin, we may state with assurance that it was the Vision of the Queen of the Apostles that called the Indians to the Faith."

Conclusion

The miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe is an unquestionable display of God's love and mercy for the Mexican and American people. As She converted the hearts of the Aztec Indians, so let Her convert our modern, worldly hearts to turn to Her and Her Son. Let us ask her help to restore modesty and decency and especially to bring about the end of the modern sacrifice of innocent humans to the altar of self-love, abortion. Foster devotion to this Noble Virgin and Mother in your own life and the lives of others. Contemplating her, remember the following words of a prayer composed by Pope Pius XII, in which he declares the Virgin of Guadalupe the Empress of all the Americas: "For we are certain, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe."

[Michael]

Excellent, thank you for posting.

[Susan Grace]

Amen