Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Many of us see this as an ethnic, largely Mexican, festival. However, it has broader implications. According to the story, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Christianity on December 12, 19531. He went to the local bishop, who, of course did not believe this indigenous man.
Juan Diego returned to the bishop, opening his cloak which revealed the image of the Virgin, at which point the bishop believed and had a basilica constructed on Teyepac Hill. The real point of the story is that God appears in places where we least expect, to the poor and the outcast, as Juan Diego, as an Aztec, was.
In this Third Week of Advent, we need to remember the poor and outcast, the hungry and the homeless, and reflect God’s mercy and justice to them, for they are the faces of God in today’s world.
Prayer for the Day
You come to us in the most unexpected places, O God,
In the faces of the poor and homeless, not where we want you;
We really want you where we are comfortable, O Lord,
But you keep breaking into our lives disturbing us.
Bring us, O Holy One, into places where live the despairing,
So we may share your beneficence with all.
In the name of the One who gave his all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Service is the rent we pay for living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.
- Marian Wright Edelman, activist for children
Our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to go where there is brokenness, loneliness and human need. If the church has a future, it has a future with the poor, in whatever form.
- Henri Nouwen, theologian and teacher (1932-1996)
Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.
Give me understanding that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
Turn my heart to your decrees and not to selfish gain.
Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.
Confirm to your servant your promise, which is for those who fear you.
Psalm 119: 33-38