A Walk with Our Lady of Guadalupe

Having made a wonderful pilgrimage to Our Lady’s shrine in Guadalupe, Mexico recently, I have been praying about the amazing experience of being in the presence of her miraculous image that appeared on the tilma (outer garment) of St. Juan Diego.  This experience drove home for me that she accompanies me every step I take in my life. My pilgrimage with a group of about forty other pilgrims took place the week before Holy Week.  Every place we went was abuzz with preparations for the greatest week in the Church’s calendar.  The churches were being readied for the celebration of the sacred liturgies of these solemn days. Palms were being fashioned in very elaborate and beautiful decorations for Palm Sunday.  In Mexico during Holy Week processions with the images of Our Lord suffering His Passion and His most Sorrowful Mother uniting herself with His sacrifice provide a powerful way for the faithful to journey through these holy days. But, I must say, it was at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe that the sense of Our Lady accompanying us was most clearly experienced. 

As I walked into the basilica and gazed up upon the image of Our Mother, I was amazed by its vibrancy and life-like quality that shone forth from it.  Yes, I had seen photos of this image many times before, even authenticated representations of the original.  But, gazing upon the image that is on a cactus fiber garment that should have disintegrated in twenty years and yet is present some 493 years later, I was convinced of her presence.  After all, it is miraculous. No evidence of pigment or painting was ever found on this original image. It simply appeared when St. Juan Diego unfurled his tilma to allow the roses fall to the floor.  These roses were miraculously growing on Tepeyac Hill and arranged in his garment by Our Lady herself.  He thought that the roses were the sign that Bishop Zumarrgara requested to verify that it was the Mother of God who was appearing.  Rather, it was the Lady’s image that proved to be the enduring sign. 

I felt united to the Mexican people who come year round in great numbers to kneel before the image of their Mother, really before their Mother herself.  In the way of grace, she is present. The power of her intercession for her people is felt there time and again.  O sure, there will be sceptics and disbelievers who will chalk the faith of people in the presence of the Blessed Virgin to delusion, exaggerated piety, or superstition.  However, talk to the people who come on their knees praying for so many needs in their families, their Church, their cities, and their nation.  See the joy and confidence on their faces as they look up to the image of their Mother that looks as fresh and new as it did on December 12, 1531.  Hear about the history of the people who come – a history of brutal persecution for their faith, of martyrdom and of poverty.  Listen to their stories of miracles in their families, in their own lives, through the intercession of the humble Virgin who is the Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and crowned with stars as Queen of Heaven.  She never abandons them and they know it.  Her words spoken to St. Juan Diego ring clearly in their hearts, “Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?”

Holy Week is a powerful time to contemplate the gift of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  For it is during Holy Week that the Church gazes deeply into the Mystery of Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection and sees the Woman who accompanies Him every step of the way and unites herself with His saving work of redemption for us all.  We believe that she is present when we gather before the altar for the Eucharistic Sacrifice of her Son.  She stands at the foot of the Cross and teaches us how to stand there and unite ourselves, our lives, our suffering and sorrow with His great deed of mercy.  She walks with us every step of life’s journey, praying for us, protecting us from evil, and teaching us how to have hope and to love as her Son did.  In this Easter Season, we encounter that same Mother who rejoices at the empty tomb of her Son.  She who shares our sorrows also bid us rejoice in her Son’s Victory over death.

We hear the words that she spoke to St. Juan Diego echoing in our hearts and in our lives.  “I am your merciful Mother.  The merciful Motherof all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all who love me.  Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities, and misfortunes.  Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest and dearest son, that the thing that frightens you, the thing that afflicts you, is nothing: do not let it disturb you.”

Our Lady came to Guadalupe when a culture of death reigned, when few people knew and believed in her Son as true God and true man.  She came to be present to the people, to be close to them and to aid them.  She remains there and does the same for people who come to her shrine.  Our Lady also accompanies us and walks with us wherever we go.  For her Son gave her to us as He hung upon the Cross to be our own Mother.  How could we ever thank Him enough for this great gift?

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh