Ember Week in Advent: Wednesday

Words of wisdom from a priest correspondent:

Tomorrow (December 19, 2012) is Wednesday in Ember Week of Advent.

On the Wednesday of Ember week in Advent, the mystery of the Annunciation is commemorated by many churches. The Mass is sung early in the morning. That Mass is sometimes called the Golden Mass, Rorate Mass, or Messias Mass. On that occasion the church is illuminated, as a token that the world was still in darkness when the Light of the world appeared.

The Mass is called the Golden Mass possibly because in the Middle Ages the whole of the  Mass propers - or at least the initial letters - were written in gold on vellum or parchment, or on account of the golden magnificence of the solemnity, or more probably on account of the special, great, "golden" grace which, at that time, is obtained by the numerous prayers.

It is called Rorate Mass after the first words of the introit of the Mass: Rorate Coeli; and Messias Mass because the Church, like our Lady, expresses on that day her longing for the arrival of the Messias.

The Ember Fasts

At the beginning of the four seasons of the ecclesiastical year, the Ember Days were instituted by the Church to thank God for blessings obtained during the past year and to implore further graces for the new season. Their importance in the church was formerly very great.

They are fixed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday:

• after the first Sunday of Lent for spring,
• after Pentecost Sunday for summer,
• after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (Sep 14) for autumn,
• after the third Sunday of Advent for winter.

They were intended, too, to consecrate to God the various seasons in nature, and to prepare by penance those who were about to be ordained. Ordinations generally took place on the Saturday of Ember Week. The Faithful ought to pray on these days for good priests; in our Diocese, to pray for vocations to the priesthood. Until 1960 the Ember Days were fast days of obligation.

I encourage you to spend Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of this week in fasting and abstinence in a manner that accords with your age and state in life.

Are You Ready? Advent Reflection

I posted this last year about this time, but it seems to be just as suitable this year – if not more so.

It’s Gaudete Sunday – we are joyful! The Lord is coming, and He is getting nearer! In our secular lives, we may be thinking, “Christmas is coming. It’s getting closer. Am I ready?” And maybe we are happy because Christmas is closer, or maybe we start to panic over the presents we haven’t bought yet. Too often, I think, we keep our devotional life from touching our secular life. We don’t let the joy of the nearness of the Christ Child overcome the anxiety of “Christmas stuff” – the decorating, the parties, the gift-giving.

The joy we feel at the thought of the first coming of Jesus, when he arrived as a little baby in the manger, is different from the joy we feel at the thought of the second coming. When the Lord comes again, it will be a time for awe and some trepidation. “Am I ready?” we must ask ourselves again. Am I truly ready to receive the Lord, to stand before the Just One who sees all my sins?

The following is from a homily of Origen on the Gospel of Luke; it’s not on this Sunday’s gospel reading, but I thought it was an interesting meditation, given all the indications that persecution of Christians, and especially Catholics, is on the increase in this country. Are we ready for that? Are we ready to stand strong for the Lord, even when our very livelihood is threatened by those who want to outlaw Catholic thought and teaching?

Origen says this [my emphases]:

“I suggest that the faithful are like a heap of unsifted grain, and that the wind represents the temptations which assail them and show up the wheat and chaff among them. When your soul is overcome by some temptation, it is not the temptation that turns you into chaff; the temptation simply discloses the stuff you are made of. On the other hand, when you endure temptations bravely it is not the temptation that makes you faithful and patient; temptation merely brings to light the hidden virtues of patience and fortitude that have been present in you all along. Do you think I had any other purpose in speaking to you, said the Lord to Job, than to reveal our virtue? In another text he declares, I humbled you and made you feel the pangs of hunger in order to find out what was in your heart.

“In the same way, a storm will not allow a house to stand firm if it is built upon sand. If you wish to build a house, you must build it upon rock. Then any storms that arise will not demolish your handiwork, whereas the house built upon sand will totter, proving thereby that it is not well founded.

“So while all is yet quiet, before the storm gathers, before the squalls begin to bluster or the waves to swell, let us concentrate all our efforts on the foundations of our building and construct our house with the many strong, interlocking bricks of God’s commandments. Then when cruel persecution is unleashed like some fearful tornado against Christians we shall be able to show that our house is built upon Christ Jesus our rock.

“Far be it from us to deny Christ when that time comes. But if anyone should do so, let that person realize that it was not at the moment of his public denial that his apostasy took place. Its seeds and root had been hidden within him for a long time; persecution only brought into the open and made public what was already there. Let us pray to the Lord then that we may be firm and solid buildings that no storm can overthrow, founded on the rock of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.”

(Selection from Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels, Year C, edited by Edith Barnecut, OSB; emphases added)

Are you ready?

Cardinal Raymond Burke at Clear Creek Monastery

Liturgy done well! For more information about Clear Creek Monastery, go here.

Gaudete Sunday and Gregorian Chant: Fr. Andersen

A homily by Fr. Eric Andersen,  Sacred Heart-St. Louis in Gervais, OR

Dec 16th, 2012 
Dominica Adventus III, Anno C

“Gaudete in Domino semper! Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again, rejoice!”

St. Paul exhorts us in these words and these words greet us in the beginning of this Mass. We call this day “Gaudete Sunday” based upon the opening words of the Entrance chant. We have been wearing violet, or purple during Advent as a reminder of the ancient penitential season in the Church. Violet is the color of the night sky at this darkest time of the year. The darkness rules the day in these last days of the year. But just before the dawn, the sky lightens with the color of Rose and it is a sign of hope for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. Rose is the color of this Sunday as a reminder that the dawn from on high shall break upon us at Christmas. You may recall that for weeks we have reflected on the second coming of Christ, on the Last Judgment, then on God’s promise of deliverance. Now the color Rose in our vestments is a sign of joy and hope that the time is almost here. From here on out, the readings in the liturgy become more and more filled with lightness and hope and joy. Therefore, Praise O daughter Zion. Sing joyfully, Israel. Iubilate, Israel!

  

Sing joyfully. There is a reason why music is such an important part of Advent and Christmas. Music expresses something deep in the soul. And music projects that expression of the soul far more powerfully than merely speaking. For instance, I can say to you, “rejoice in the Lord always!” or I can exhort you in song: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. . . In antiquity, it was unheard of that one would read sacred texts such as the scriptures or liturgical texts. These texts deserved to be elevated above common speech. They were too sacred to be spoken out loud so they were either whispered or chanted. Jewish rabbis were taught to chant the scriptures. The early Church did the same. The psalms of the Divine Office and the Mass and the Gospel were all chanted according to ancient tones that had been handed down, first from the Synagogue, then from the apostles who went out to all nations. Singing is a form of rejoicing. And so St. Paul says “gaudete!” Rejoice.

Another word that the Church has used historically for this is iubilate. The word iubilate appears in the first reading. Iubilate, Israel. St. Augustine writes about this word, iubilate. It is the root of the word, Jubilation. Augustine uses the word Jubilus to describe an expression of the Holy Spirit: “a man bursts forth in a certain voice of exultation without words. . . because [he] is filled with too much joy, he cannot explain in words what it is in which he delights.” St. Augustine is referring here to speaking in tongues. Those of you who are involved with the charismatic movement in the Church may have the gift of tongues, or maybe you have heard someone speaking in tongues. This is a gift from God that does not belong to the individual but to the Church. In the most ancient days of the Church, the gift of tongues was manifested and employed in the sacred liturgy through music. This particular type of music is called “melisma”.

Melisma refers to a piece of music in which the words are sung to God so that He hears the praise, but those who are listening do not necessarily discern the words being sung. The words are important in that they are sung to God, but the words are not the point of the music for those listening. This melismatic Jubilus is normally sung in the Alleluia. But let me clarify this statement. The Alleluia of which I speak is not the same as that which we normally sing here at Mass. The Alleluia I refer to is not in our missalettes. When I refer to the Alleluia, I am referring to the Church’s official music for the Mass which comes to us from Rome. The official music is sung at the Pope’s Masses. It is called Gregorian chant. There are different categories of Gregorian Chant. There is the type we sing such as the Kyrie Eleison in Greek, or the Sanctus or Agnus Dei in Latin. Those are simple chants that anyone can sing.

 

But there is another category of chant that is little known and it is called Melisma. Most of you have probably never heard melisma before. We normally do not hear melisma sung at Mass because melisma is an art form that takes a lot of practice, a lot of prayer, and a great sensitivity on the part of the cantor. This is what it sounds like: (priest sings the Alleluia as an example from the Graduale Romanum). The congregation is not meant to sing along because this melisma is an expression of the Holy Spirit filling the room for us as a preparation for us to hear the proclamation of the Gospel. Those who listen must allow the Holy Spirit to speak to their souls without worrying about the few words that are the conduit for this holy utterance. The Holy Spirit gives the gift of understanding. This is the Jubilus of which St. Augustine writes.

Melisma is truly the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues through the ancient Church. It is an art, a gift, and a discipline that has been given by God and cultivated and handed down from generation to generation. It was done for centuries without music being written down. Every ancient culture has a version of it. All 24 liturgical rites within the Catholic Church have their own versions of this type of chant. Only after several centuries did this particular type of music begin to be written down and codified. It became codified or official under Pope St. Gregory the Great. He did not compose it, but it takes his name because he collected it together and he made each piece of music “official” in the Mass and the Divine Office. His name is honored by us calling this music “Gregorian Chant”.

So the Church has passed down to us an ancient memory of those apostolic utterances of the Holy Spirit. We can compare this to iconography. Iconography is not painting. An icon is not painted. It is written. It is not art, but rather a window into heaven. Those who write an icon are not writing it. They are praying and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide their hands. If they paint it, then it is not an icon. So it is with melismatic chant. Those who sing it are not singing it. They are chanting it. If they sing it, it is not a prayer. If they sing it, it is not speaking in tongues. But if they truly chant it, then they are speaking in tongues. When this happens they are emptying themselves and allowing themselves to be instruments through which the Holy Spirit utters. How humble that is! It draws no attention to the one who chants. The cantor disappears and the melisma draws attention only to the creator of music who is God.

As we are preparing for Christmas we are meditating on the mystery of the incarnation. The incarnation is the gift of the spirit entering into the flesh. We see this in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Spirit enters into the flesh of a piece of bread. Through the spiritual food, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, our spiritual food and our spiritual drink. We can say that the Holy Spirit also incarnates through one who sings the words of the Holy Spirit, uttering the melisma of the Church’s music.

This is different from singing hymns or singing good Christian music. It is important that we sing hymns and good Christian music. We do that at Mass here. Singing good and holy music reminds us of holy things, and it lifts our hearts and minds to holy things, but it is not the same as speaking in tongues. There are young people here in this parish who will be called upon by God to give their lives for this divine art. You know who you are. If God has given you the gift of music, offer yourself to Him so that you may be an instrument of the Holy Spirit through the singing of Gregorian Chant. God will demand much from you in prayer, humility, and discipline, and you will be a sign of contradiction in a world that rejects that which is sacred. But for you it will be a window to heaven through which you have Communion with the angels in the heavenly choirs who sing before the throne of God. As we prepare for Christmas, gazing upon the rose color of the winter sky before the dawn, let us be mindful of the angels who are preparing to sing the Gloria in Excelsis when dawn breaks on Christmas Day. Let us join our hearts and minds and voices with all of creation in adoration of the Christ Child on that great day. 

Advent Mini-Retreat II: Fr. Andersen

Because I was away on retreat, I was not able to post this “mini-retreat” at the appropriate time. But, for your retrospective pleasure, here it is now!

Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Sacred Heart-St. Louis in Gervais

Dec 8th, 2012  Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

Advent Mini-Retreat #2

Today’s gospel recounts the great moment of the conception of Jesus Christ. The Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will conceive and give birth to a Son. But this conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary is not the Immaculate Conception which we celebrate this day. The Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother St. Anne.

According to the tradition that has been passed down to us, Joachim and Anna, called “noble branches of the family of David”, were married for “twenty years without offspring and made a vow to the Lord that if he granted them a child, they would dedicate it to the service of God” (Voragine 152). One day, an angel appeared to Joachim and reminded him about all the instances of barren women in the scriptures who gave birth to the great patriarchs. He then announced that Anna would conceive and bear a daughter named Mary. The angel said: “As you have vowed, she will be consecrated to the Lord from infancy and filled with the Holy Spirit from her mother’s womb. She will not live outside among the common people but will abide in the Temple at all times. And, as she will be born of an unfruitful mother, so, miraculously, the Son of the Most High will be born from her. His name will be Jesus, and through him all nations will be saved. And let this be a sign to you: when you arrive at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, Anna your wife will be there waiting for you.

Meanwhile the angel appeared to Anna and announced the same, telling her to meet her husband at the Golden Gate. The meeting at the Golden Gate is a famous theme in religious iconography and art. Mary was naturally conceived in the womb of Anna according to God’s plan for married couples. But this conception was unlike any other conception ever before or since. Joachim and Anna were not immaculate, but for God’s purposes, God made Mary immaculate from the first moment of her conception. …“at the very instant when God united the soul of Mary, which He had created, to the body which it was to animate, this ever-blessed soul, did not only not contract the stain, which at the same instant defiles every human soul, but was filled with an immeasurable grace which rendered her, from that moment, the mirror of the sanctity of God Himself, as far as this is possible to a creature” (Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, Vol. I., p. 378).

Soon after Mary was born, her parents brought her to the Temple to be presented, and then at the age of three, Mary was brought to live in the Temple precincts with the other virgins who lived there. She was dedicated to God. By tradition, we know that when she was betrothed to St. Joseph, they had an understanding that she would remain a virgin because she was vowed to God and to no other. So, now the angel Gabriel greets her. “Hail full of grace.” Full of grace is her title. Gratia plena. Isn’t that a beautiful name? Gratia plena. Grace can be defined as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His sevenfold gifts. In Mary’s case, she is not merely the recipient of grace as we all are at baptism, but her very being overflows with grace because she is immaculate. There is nothing to diminish grace in her because she never sinned.

We can say the Christ Himself is the fullness of grace, since He is God. The Holy Spirit is the giver of life and the communicator of grace. The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from the Father and the Son. So the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to Mary and she is full of grace. But her fullness is analogous to the fullness of grace in Jesus Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas describes it this way: “Whereas the Blessed Virgin Mary received such a fullness of grace that she was nearest of all to the Author of grace; so that she received within her Him who is full of all grace; and, by bringing Him forth, she in a manner dispensed grace to all” (ST IIIa, q. 27, a. 5 ad 1).

St. Bernard of Clairveaux says writes: “In the Acts of the Apostles we read that Stephen was full of grace and that the apostles were filled with the Holy Ghost, but in a far different way from that of Mary. In another way, neither in him (Stephen) did the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily, in the way it did in Mary, nor did they conceived of the Holy Ghost, in the way that Mary did” (Hom. super Missus est, III, 2; PL CLXXXIII, 72). St. Peter Chrysologus writes: “Thou hast found grace. How much? As much as he had said previously: to fullness. Indeed, a fullness of grace which emptied itself in a heavy shower and flooded the whole creature” (Sermo 142; PL, LII, 579).

What differentiates us from Mary is that we are given sanctifying grace through baptism. Mary was given sanctifying grace at the moment of her conception in the womb. We lose sanctifying grace when we sin. If we commit a mortal sin, the Holy Spirit departs and will not dwell in us. God does not abandon us, but the Holy Spirit will not dwell in a defiled temple. So, in order to receive the Holy Spirit back as a guest in our soul, we must cleanse the temple of our body. We do this by going to Confession. At that point, we are absolved of our sins and the Holy Spirit fills us again. Grace grows in us when we pray, when we do penance, and when we avoid sin, detach ourselves from sin and grow closer in union with Jesus Christ. But Mary is different. She never lost sanctifying grace because she never sinned. The Holy Spirit continually filled her from the first moment of her conception and sanctifying grace continued to increase in her until she died. So she was singularly and uniquely full of grace among all created beings.

Not only is Mary full of grace, but she is the mediatrix of grace. She mediates grace to us. earlier I mentioned that St. Thomas Aquinas said: “she received within her Him who is full of all grace; and, by bringing Him forth, she in a manner dispensed grace to all.” Because Christ came to us through Mary, therefore she dispenses the gifts of God to us by giving us Christ. She is a creature, but she dispenses the gifts of God, including gifts of grace.

When Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830 in the chapel on the Rue de Bac in Paris, she announced to St. Catherine that she was the Immaculate Conception. She ordered Catherine to have a medal struck which came to be known as the Miraculous Medal. It is formally called the Medal of the Immaculate Conception. The medal is a sign of Mary’s promise to dispense graces to those who wear the medal and ask for the abundance of God’s grace which He wishes to give us through her.

This medal of the Immaculate Conception raised the awareness of a disputed doctrine in the Church. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception had never been formally defined. So, Pope Pius IX began to circulate a request that all bishops in the world consult with each other and the people to come to a definitive doctrine on this point. The doctrine was not doubted, but the details had not been defined. On December 8, 1854, the dogma was proclaimed: “The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.”

It is said that because Mary is Immaculate, the devil cannot see her. She is invisible to him, therefore he is terrified of her. She is the woman whose seed crushes the serpent’s head. This Solemnity celebrates the crushing of the serpent’s head. In fact, every time Mass is offered, the serpent is crushed. Every time a sinner receives absolution in the Confessional, the serpent is crushed. Every time someone genuflects before the tabernacle; or calls upon the name of Mary, or prays the Rosary, or wears a scapular or Miraculous Medal, the serpent is weakened. Jesus Christ is always the victor. And He keeps his Mother at his right side. If we venerate her Immaculate Heart, pray to her for her intercession, ask her to dispense God’s graces to us, God will listen to her. She will shower us with the graces of heaven and protect us under her mantle. God preserved her from the beginning and with her Immaculate help, we will never be parted from Him. 

Advent Mini-Retreat III: Fr. Andersen

An Advent “Mini-Retreat” by Fr. Eric M. Andersen, St. Louis in St. Louis, OR.

Dec 15, 2012  2nd Saturday in Advent: Mini-Retreat #3

Joseph has no idea that Mary is born Immaculate and without sin. Joseph is betrothed to this beautiful and holy young woman, and he knows that she is holy, and he now knows that there is trouble ahead, but he has no idea what blessings God has in store for him. What he does know is that which every Christian man knows: that his vocation is to protect and guard the purity and reputation of all women, especially those entrusted to his care; whether a mother, a sister, a wife, or a daughter. In this case, Joseph is betrothed to Mary. This means that he is entrusted by God with her temporal well-being, and to guard and protect her reputation and the purity of her soul and body.

He tenderly loves his spouse and he blesses God for having entrusted such a treasure to his keeping. Little does he know that the angels crowd around the house in which she lives. Little does he know that she has been visited by the Archangel Gabriel and that she is bearing within her womb the Incarnate God of all Creation. Dom Prosper Gueranger writes that “God has decreed to visit (this family) with a heavy trial, in order that He may give an occasion to Mary to exercise heroic patience, and to Joseph an occasion of meriting by his exquisite prudence” (The Liturgical Year, Vol. I: Advent, pg. 30).

Mary is patient. She had to be patient because God allowed her to suffer so many sorrows and trials in her life. In her revelations, St. Bridget of Sweden recalls that an angel said to her: “As a rose grows up among thorns, so did the Blessed Virgin grow up among tribulations.” But St. Teresa of Avila writes: “Those who embrace the cross do not feel it…Once we have made up our minds to suffer, there is no more pain” (cf. St. Alphonsus de Liguori, The Glories of Mary, p. 354-355).

St. Bonaventure writes: “See how God permits His servants to be afflicted and sorely tried, that they may so receive their crown. . . . Now Joseph did look many times on Mary, and grief and trouble of heart fell upon him, and his displeasure was seen in his face, and he turned his eyes away from her as one that was guilty of that which he. . . suspected” (Gueranger, 31).

Let us consider Mary. She did not reveal anything to Joseph. She did not tell anyone, neither her cousin Elizabeth, nor her betrothed husband, about the Annunciation of the Angel: “Better did it seem unto her that evil should be thought of her than that she should reveal the divine mystery, and say aught of herself which would come nigh to boasting. Therefore did she beseech our Lord that Himself would right this matter, and make pass this grief from Joseph and herself” (31-32).

St. Alphonsus says that it is characteristic of humility to conceal heavenly gifts. Mary wished to conceal from Saint Joseph the favor which made her the Mother of God. At the same time it seemed necessary to reveal the secret to him, if only to remove from his mind any suspicions as to her virtue which he might have entertained on seeing her pregnant. Saint Joseph, on the one hand, did not wish to doubt Mary’s chastity; and yet on the other hand, being unaware of the mystery, he was minded to have her put away privately” (The Glories of Mary, 330).

Then God answered her prayer and the angel appeared also to Joseph in a dream. Mary did not have to boast to him, but was able to preserve the virtue of modesty in her soul. In this is an example of how God allows us to experience trials for the good of our soul. We know that after this, Mary and Joseph experienced many trials, including traveling to Bethlehem in the winter, not finding a place to stay and giving birth in a cave; fleeing to Egypt and many other trials that became swords of sorrow in their hearts.

When we consider the character of St. Joseph, we might ask how he endured such trials. We know that Mary was Immaculate and therefore she suffered no concupiscence. In other words, she was never even tempted to sin. But what about Joseph? He was not immaculately conceived. Joseph’s state of soul has not been formally defined by the Church. It is defined that St. John the Baptist was sanctified in his mother’s womb and born without original sin. St. John the Baptist was not immaculately conceived, but he was given the gift of the Holy Spirit in the womb. Therefore he enjoyed the gifts of the baptism without needing to be baptized. This was a privilege given to him for the purpose of preparing the way of the Lord.

It has been said that St. Joseph experienced a similar gift from God. This is not defined by the Church, and we cannot claim that it is Catholic doctrine either, but it is a consideration of the Theologians. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that “those whom God elects and designs for some great work, He also prepares and disposes so as to fit them for its performance”; and the Angelic Doctor adds that God gives to each grace proportioned to the office which he is chosen to fill. St. Bernardine of Siena lays down the same doctrine, and he then proceeds to say that this was verifed in the person of St. Joseph, who was the reputed father of Jesus, the true spouse of the Queen of the world and Lady of angels, and was elected by the Eternal Father to be the faithful guardian of His two greatest treasures. If, then, Joseph was elected to such an office, which, after the divine maternity, has none to equal it in Heaven or on earth, he must have received of God for its discharge a fullness of corresponding grace, superior to that vouchsafed to any other saint” (The Glories of Mary, 40).

Following this line of thought, there were theologians in history who have proposed that St. Joseph was also sanctified in his mother’s womb, and thus like St. John the Baptist born without Original Sin. This would help explain how St. Joseph was so courageous and pure in living out a virginal marriage with Mary. Joseph is said to have the purity of a holy angel. Giovanni di Caragena, preaching in the 16th century, devoted 13 homilies to honor St. Joseph. He wrote that “the office of the angels …is the guardianship of men; but to Joseph was committed a far higher and more excellent office, since he was chosen to be the guardian, not of a simple man, but of Christ the Lord, God and Man, and to be the most faithful spouse of His Mother” (Thompson, The Life and Glories of Saint Joseph, 48).

So we reflect today on the patience, the humility, and the purity of Mary and Joseph during the time of expectancy. They experienced great trials and also great joys. Although Christmas is a joyful season, the Cross is present in it from the very beginning. We must remember that God came to us because we need a Savior. This is not cause for shame. It is cause to rejoice that God would love us so much that He would condescend to come down to us in such a humble manner. Let us be vigilant as we approach this last week of Advent. Let us prepare our souls with the virtues of patience, humility, and purity for the coming of God.

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Fr. Andersen

A homily by Fr. Eric M. Andersen, Sacred Heart in Gervais, Oregon

Dec 12th, 2012 The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

In 1505, when Montezuma II ascended the throne of the Aztec Empire, the capital of which was at Mexico City. His sister, Papantzin, governed the people of a nearby city. In 1509, she died and was buried in a cave in her garden. But after she was placed in the tomb, “she had an incredible experience. She found herself standing on the shore of a great sea. In her mind was the compulsion to reach the other side. When Papantzin was about to leap in, a beautiful young man with wings of exquisitely colored feathers and attired in a long snow-white robe stepped in front of her. On his forehead he had a sign - a cross. The young man spoke to her and said: ‘Stop, Papantzin! It is not yet time for you to cross this water. Do not fear. I have been sent by the true invisible God to give you a message. He loves you although you do not know him’ (Behrens, Helen. The Virgin and the Serpent God. p. 29).

“While the Angel was speaking, Papantzin saw a number of galleons sailing on the water. The men on the galleons were not Indians; they had white skin. They were wearing helmets and holding banners on which she saw the same sign as the Angel had on his forehead - a cross” (29-30).

The Angel continued: “The men whom you see will come from the other side of the great water. By the force of their arms they will conquer all this land, and with them (you) will come to the knowledge of the True God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. Give this message to your brother. God wants you to live so that when the great change has taken place and peace is again established in the land, you, Papantzin, will be the first to receive the water that heals and washes away sin. Guide the inhabitants of this land to do likewise.”

“When the vision had faded away, Princess Papantzin became conscious and found herself enclosed in a tomb. She was unable to get out, but feeling strong and well she shouted loudly until servants came early in the morning and released her” (30).

“After some days had passed, Montezuma asked his sister to make a drawing of the vision. She complied with his request, and the court artists then made copies of her drawings. The Emperor sent the copies to his people along the coast with orders to notify him as soon as such ships made their appearance” (31).

Ten years later, in 1519, Hernan Cortez headed an expedition to Mexico. “One of the Spanish soldiers was wearing a gilded helmet …of the same shape as those worn by the white men in Papantzin’s vision. The Governor told Cortez that he wished to send the helmet to the Emperor” (39). Montezuma recalled the vision and proceeded cautiously.

The serpent god, named Quetzalcoatl, was the primary god worshipped by all of Mexico and possibly by all of Meso-America (cf. Behrens 13). This serpent god was identified with the morning star and the evening star, and is thought to have originally been identified with a comet that appeared at the time of Moses and Joshua, 1450 years before Christ (15). It was a common practice among the various tribes of Mexico to offer human sacrifice. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1519, 20,000 humans were sacrificed each year by the Aztec nation alone (18).

Cortez begged Montezuma to cease offering human sacrifice. He and his soldiers went into the Temple area and cleaned up one of the rooms, scraping human blood off the walls and pavements where it had dried (Behrens, 100). They constructed an altar and placed a Crucifix and a small statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon it (47).

This act enraged the Aztecs and they determined to exterminate the Spaniards. Montezuma warned Cortez that he must take his men and escape in order to save their lives. A few years of wars and political intrigue followed, but Cortez managed to remain alive and in command. Montezuma relinquished his kingdom to the King of Spain, and the King of Spain sent twelve Franciscan missionaries in 1524 to Mexico. Cortez and a group of native nobles and chiefs went on horseback to meet the missionaries. The natives were dressed in beautiful native costumes. But the missionaries arrived on foot, barefoot, and dressed in rough brown habits. Cortez in his finery dismounted, took off his cap, knelt down and kissed the hem of the superior’s habit. All of those with him then did the same. The natives were astonished that such poor-looking men should receive such honor and determined that the missionaries were “superior and more perfect than the rest of mortal men” (147).

After 6 years of laboring, the missionaries met with little success and were becoming disheartened. Among the few whom they had baptized were a man who took the name of Juan Diego, his wife Maria Lucia, and his uncle who took the name Juan Bernardino. Meanwhile the bishop elect, His Excellency John Zumárraga, was troubled because the Spanish who had come to govern in Mexico were not virtuous men and did not treat the Indians well. He protested and “they planned to have him removed or killed…he suffered persecution, insults and false accusations, (but) continued faithfully in his pastoral duties” (Behrens 152). The Spanish governors intercepted his mail that he sent to the Emperor in Spain. So, the bishop began to hide his letters in a hollow cross that he sent to Spain. When the Emperor found out the trouble he was having, he removed the governors and sent a new team of virtuous men to Mexico in their place. But the Indians were not appeased, and the bishop felt like the whole venture was gravely threatened. The bishop prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help and he asked her for a sign. Within days a native Mexican man named Juan Diego came to see him asking him to build a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill. Was this the sign? His Excellency had asked the Blessed Mother for a sign. The bishop was hopeful, but cautious.

Now, who was this man and why did he come to the bishop? St. Juan Diego was a native Mexican. He was not a poor man. He owned land. He belonged to the middle class and had been educated, but he lived very humbly. He had “offered himself for instruction and baptism only two years after the first Franciscans had landed in Mexico” (Johnston, The Wonder of Guadalupe, 24). In 1529 his wife died. He was alone and childless and decided to move to Tolpetlac to live near his uncle. On the morning of December 9th, 1531, the 57-year-old Juan Diego set out early in the morning for his 9-mile walk to attend Mass on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. “As he passed Tepeyac Hill, a blanket of warmth and peace overtook him. He could hear the sound of sweet angelic voices singing above him, coming from the top of the hill. …He was overcome by the angelic melody. After a short while there was silence again. Then one single voice rang out to him like a bell (Bob and Penny Lord, The Many Faces of Mary: A Love Story. p. 25).

“Little Juan, Juan Dieguito.”

“He darted up the hill as quickly as his legs would carry him. The sight he beheld filled his heart with such joy, he thought it would burst. But the dazzling beauty of what he saw made him freeze on the spot. He couldn’t catch his breath (Lord, 25-26).

She spoke: “Be it known and understood by you, the smallest of my children, that I am the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God…the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

“I ardently desire that a temple be built for me here, where I can show and offer all my love, compassion, help, and protection, for I am your Merciful Mother. …and in order to carry out what my mercy seeks, you must go to the bishop’s palace in Mexico and tell him that I sent you to make it clear how very much I desire that he build a temple for me here on this place” (26).

Juan visited the bishop. The bishop was cautious, but kind. He invited Juan to come back again and tell him the rest of the details. Juan returned the very next day and the bishop was not so kind this time, but while listening to Juan, His Excellency was in awe. How could this simple man, a new Catholic, have such a profound knowledge of our Lady if this story were not true? The bishop asked Juan many questions about the apparition and then he sent Juan away asking for a sign. He also sent a couple of servants to follow Juan and spy on him.

It was two days later that Juan, after having tried to avoid our Lady, was greeted by her and given the sign. She gave him roses in wintertime and instructed him to hold them in his tilma and not to show them to anyone until he presented them to the bishop.

Upon arriving at the bishop’s palace, guards refused him entry. The servants tried to get Juan to show them the contents of his tilma, but he would not. They harassed him and he finally showed them just one rose. They were surprised to see a rose and grabbed at it. “It disappeared and turned into a painting on the tilma” (Lord, 35). Finally their curiosity got the best of them and they ran to tell the bishop, who invited Juan to enter his residence. Juan told his Excellency all about the roses and knelt before him opening the tilma. He said, “Receive them!”

The bishop did not look at the roses, he looked at Juan’s chest. His expression changed from surprise, to awe, to reverence. He fell to his knees before Juan and shed tears. Juan looked down at his chest and he saw an image being painted by angels while they all watched. The image was not there when he first dropped the roses. It was painted by an invisible hand while they watched.

 
The miraculous image brought about 8 million conversions to the Catholic faith in Mexico within the next 7 years. St. Juan Diego lived out the rest of his life as a hermit, in a small room next to the church that was built to house the image. He cared for the shrine and greeted pilgrims until he died in 1548.