Tuesday, January 24th, Devout Heart will meet at St. Gianna Parish from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Please be sure to bring a pen as well as your Rosary as we continue the sessions on the Theological & Cardinal Virtues. This program is for Confirmed Young-Adults or soon-to-be-Confirmed Young-Adults. To view information on Devout Heart or to access Devout Heart materials you can visit the Devout Heart website at devoutheart.com

During a recent business trip to Mexico City I was able to devote three hours to making a mini-pilgrimage to see the miraculous tilma of St. Juan Diego which is displayed at their Basilica; the appearance of Our Lady there to Juan Diego is referred to as “Our Lady of Guadalupe” and is one of the most significant events in Salvation history to occur on our fair continent due to the sheer number of converts within such a short period of time.

For anyone completely unfamiliar with Our Lady of Guadalupe I refer you to Wikipedia for a basic background to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe. Or possibly if you might be interested in digging a little deeper regarding the event I refer you to Carl Anderson’s book: Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love.

HISTORY

In more than 30 years after Spain had came to the area (and after rightly and soundly defeating the Aztecs) there were very few converts to the Catholic faith from among the indigenous people; this was due largely to the fact that many of the Spaniards in places of authority were oppressing the natives. I can only imagine some decent and well-meaning monk spending many months learning the local language in a genuine attempt to share the gospel and then his fellow country-men come along abusing villagers and taking “volunteers” for mining purposes – good luck with the growth of the Kingdom of God. Since these many men were doing their very best to thwart the Kingdom, God had to take matters into His own pierced hands – so He sent His Mother to intercede.

Mary appeared to Juan Diego in December of 1531 to instruct the local bishop to build a particular Church in a particular location. The bishop didn’t exactly believe Juan Diego, so he asked for a sign – in the form of out of season flowers – but didn’t tell Juan Diego what the sign was – the bishop thought that Mary would reveal it, if this was indeed genuine. Mary told Juan Diego to gather some flowers, which were growing in an area which would have been miraculous by itself, let alone the fact that it was during the month of December. Juan Diego put the flowers into his cloak (a.k.a. tilma) and carefully delivered them to the bishop; when the flowers were shown to the bishop he was convinced. However, on the inside of the tilma there was an image of Mary which was the real sign and miracle.

From the limited accounts I have read, regarding Juan Diego, he seemed like a decent and likeable person even before his conversion to the Church; however, after the miraculous events, associated with the apparition of Mary and gift of the tilma, he became a saint drawing many of his family and friends to the conclusion that God must have acted profoundly in his life. Juan Diego ended up witnessing to countless of his country-men in person as he recounted the story probably more than a thousand times; and was rewarded by being able to live next to the tilma at the Church built in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

TRIP

The previous day I had been ushered all over Mexico City – attending five business meetings in eleven hours – by a gentleman who referred to himself as more of a bull-fighter than a chauffeur named Jorge. When I mentioned my intention about visiting the Basilica and the tilma, the local person in charge of my trip suggested I use Jorge and proceeded to pull out a prayer card of Our Lady of Guadalupe encouraging me to draw close to Mary, letting me know that the Mother of our Lord cares for me – it was really great being able to discuss Catholic devotion openly. Fortunately, Jorge was willing to drive me and we arranged for a time to meet the next morning.

Little did I know that Jorge was more than just a bull-fighting chauffeur, he was an apt and able guide of the entire area around the Basilica; in fact, he had been married 50 years earlier in the chapel where Juan Diego had spent the remaining years of his life. Jorge took me to all the various highpoints and explained the significance of them in great detail; unfortunately, my memory to recall most of them has already receded, but there are two impressions that still stand out:

On an Escalator Under the Tilma

The image which has survived almost 500 years of age and attacks of war continues to be the biggest pilgrimage point in all the Church; I think the reason is fairly simple, we all want an encounter with the miraculous with the hope of being touched by God and thus changed – converted again to Christ.

So it was understandable, but also a little odd and disappointing when I finally proceeded into area housing the tilma (which is both under and behind the main alter) I found that a four-piece horizontal escalator system ran almost directly under the securely framed tilma; three of the escalators ran to the right and the other one, for the return trip, ran back to the left. They moved slowly enough for someone to be able to make a quick video or take two or three quick photos, but not enough time to really relish being that close to a genuine miracle. Obviously, for security reasons, the tilma will need to remain in the fashion it is currently in, I only wish I had been able to get closer and spend some substantial time in silent prayer while looking at it. Perhaps under different circumstances I would have been able to take several hours to spend at the main Church area in the front pews to really pray, but as with everything great in life we do not usually get to dictate those events. And I am thankful for being able to make several passes before I felt socially obligated to move on, to keep my guide from waiting (and charging) excessively.

Nevertheless, my time on the escalators was filled with genuine excitement and hopefully the memory will last a lifetime.

Outside, a Woman Crawling on her Knees

The best conversion story is one that has a visible and discernable incarnational aspect to it; for example, when you have a previous person who lived a very sinful life and is then suddenly and shockingly knocked off their horse by the power of Jesus of Nazareth. They repent, and then endlessly speak of the power of Christ to save; this kind of conversion confirms faith within families and never fails to influence friends and acquaintances too – you can almost see the light of Christ reflecting off of this kind of convert.

So when my guide felt socially awkward enough to explain the fact of an obviously repentant woman crawling on her knees outside of the Basilica as an example of possibly over-zealous piety, I knew that I had to clarify something for him. I told him that I too had been radically converted to the Lord and His Church, and would without a doubt be considered a fanatic by most of my family and friends. God has convicted me many times of the depths of my sinfulness, and many times my responses to that purifying light was not nearly as dignified as the repentant woman crawling on her knees.

The thought that many people have possibly encountered the greatest miracle of the Christian faith – the repentance and conversion of sinners – by their trip to view the tilma, is for me a very strong witness to the authenticity of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. When we get close to God we should recognize our ungratefulness and complete dependence upon His mercy; this repentant woman was witnessing in one of the most genuine ways imaginable, and I imagine a very fulfilling way too.

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt I am very grateful for being able to make the mini-pilgrimage and was spiritually uplifted by the experience. There are tour companies specifically founded for visiting the tilma and I think that it would be best to contact one if you were thinking of ever traveling to the Basilica to view it.

The photos I took were with an iPhone 3G, so their quality is not the best but I am glad to share them.