On December 9, 1531, on the Hill of Tepeyac, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared for the first time to an Aztec peasant by the name of Juan Diego. She spoke to him in his native tongue, identified herself as the Mother of God, and asked that a church be built on the site. Juan Diego told the local archbishop of his encounter and the Blessed Mother’s request, but the archbishop asked for a miraculous sign before he would agree.
On December 12, the Virgin again appeared before Juan Diego, and told him to gather flowers on the top of the hill. Even though the hill was cold and barren in December, Juan Diego found roses blooming there and gathered them in his cloak. When he opened his cloak before the Archbishop that same day, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric of Juan Diego’s cloak was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Today she is venerated as the patroness of all the Americas.
Once again, God chose a poor peasant as his messenger to remind us of God’s favor for the poor. By appearing as an Aztec woman, Mary cooperated once again with God to bring an entire race to the true God and Father of us all. That choice changed the lives of more than ten million people in a few short decades. The Virgin’s appearance to the Aztec peasant changed the Aztec culture from that of a warring people who sacrificed human beings to their Aztec god to a peace-loving and God-fearing people who replaced human sacrifice with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The choice of the poor peasant Juan Diego reminds us of the choice of a humble girl from Nazareth to become the Mother of his Son. God’s choices confound the powerful and mighty and lifts up the lowly. “See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord.” Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego was one that, in essence, repeated this prophetic message. Her own life was a participation in the fulfillment of it. For Christ had indeed come among us, dwelling within her first. And as the first tabernacle of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary draws our attention to this same Christ who now dwells within each one of us. When we see her, we see the glory of God she bore. This is Mary, our Mother. This is the Blessed Virgin. This is Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator