Such a fitting title for Our Blessed Mother ! With today being the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe I thought it would be fitting to talk about the amazing miracle that this beautiful image is.
If you read the story of St. Juan Diego below this post (if you want the whole story), you'll know that the Blessed Mother appeared to Juan at the top of Tepeyac hill. She came with a message for Juan to send back to the bishop to build a church there in her honor. So Juan went back and asked the bishops but they did not believe him that he saw Mary. So for a second time Mary appeared to him, and he let her know that maybe he wasn't the best man for the job, that maybe she should send someone else. Mary then told him that she could have asked anyone she wants but she wants Juan to be the one to do this. So he goes home that evening, and his uncle fell sick. Asking Juan to go to the neighboring city to ask for a priest to hear his last confession. Juan , trying to avoid the path he took before and goes another way. Mary then meets him where he is at, and apologizing, Juan tells Mary he is unable to because his uncle is deathly ill. Mary in response tells him:
"Listen, my son, to what I will tell you: Do not be afflicted about anything, not even with illness or any other harmful things. Am I not here, am I not your Mother? Are you not under my protection and care? Am I not life and health? Are you not in my lap and walk under my care? Do you need anything else? . . . Worry no longer about your uncle’s health, as he will not die now, and have the certainty that he has been cured."
She then asks him to go to the top of the hill and gather roses, which was very unusual for that time of year to bloom since it was winter and not exactly in a spot that roses generally bloomed, and bring them back to her. She arranged the roses on his tilma and he went back to the bishop with the miracle that they wanted from Our Blessed Mother. Juan then opened his tilma and behold, the roses fell and the beautiful image you see up above appeared on his tilma. Right then and there the bishop had the church built at the foot of Tepeyac Hill.
Though this is such an amazingly short and simple story, the beautiful part and amazing part is how Our Blessed Mother used such a simple and humble soul. Juan was an Aztec Indian , he wasn't rich, he wasn't noble, but just a poor man who lived a simple life. He walked 15 miles to Mass each day and She treats him as though as he was the most important person in that time. She talks to him with extraordinary love, encouraging him to continue on with this important mission. Mary also leaves proof that she was there, one of few instances that this has happened.
So you ask , what is so important about this image? What makes it so amazing? Well there are several reasons :
1. This image was left on a tilma made of cactus fibers. This was a very inexpensive way to make a tilma and was not meant to last but maybe no more than 7 to 10 years at the very most. This image has lasted well over 500 years. It was exposed to smoke from church candles, and other natural elements ( such as the rays of the sun, hands of pilgrims that touched it, and saliva from mouths that kissed it, the humid , dusty , salty air around the Basilica, being handled by scientific researchers, ) it has stayed in tact since 1531.
2. Two reproductions of this image have been made by artists using the same fibers that this image was on. They were exposed to the same elements this miraculous image had been exposed to and they found after a couple of decades those reproductions were not able to with stand these elements and they just disintegrated. There was also an attempt to embellish the image by adding a crown , adding gold to the rays of the sun, and the moon with plated silver. These have long worn away and the silver caused the moon to turn black in the image. The colors on the tilma are the same today as they were in 1531.
3. Third Amazing fact. Scientists from NASA cannot explain how the image was imprinted on the tilma. There are no brush marks, no lines, its as its like a photograph. NASA used infared imaging and it comes up with an image behind the drawing like a photograph. Thing was , cameras did NOT exist in 1531. Nor did printing or any of the sort like we have today.
4. Our Lady's eyes are the most amazing. Scientists came across the fact that there were literally microscopic images in the eyes. The eye on the right, of Juan's face , just as she saw it , and in the left eye a group of people , thought of as the bishop and those who witnessed the miracle of the roses and image. Ophthalmologists have studies this and have concluded that it was just as like the eyes were alive and the images in the eye were that of what the normal human eye would replicate from images that are seen.
I could go on and on about some of the amazing things that I have learned about this beautiful image that the Blessed Virgin Mary left behind for all to see .
The best thing to do is to check out more online to learn about what has been found about this miraculous image. I could literally write a really long post on it, but I'd love to share what we did today.
With such a wonderful event to celebrate we decided to enjoy the day since this day is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe with coloring pages and eating some tasty Mexican food.
Maggie catching up on some of the Jessie Tree Ornaments that we got a little behind on.
Mexican Pizza
We decided to go ahead and make our favorite, Mexican Pizza. This is very easy to make and the cost is minimal.
What was used :
Also used was: refried beans and Mexican taco cheese. Be sure to put another tortilla on top, sort of like a sandwich.
We made guacamole dip with tomatoes , sour cream and black olives, but use what you like. We also were sure to top it off with a bit of Tabasco sauce. We like our Mexican food spicy. Also since the Aztec and Mayan Indians were both known for drinking cocoa we topped our food with a glass of wonderful tasting chocolate milk. Yum!
The girls ( along with Maggie's doll Rebecca) joined us for this wonderful feast this evening. Marilyn was at swim practice and work , and dad sadly couldn't join us as he's getting over the winter ick.
2. Two reproductions of this image have been made by artists using the same fibers that this image was on. They were exposed to the same elements this miraculous image had been exposed to and they found after a couple of decades those reproductions were not able to with stand these elements and they just disintegrated. There was also an attempt to embellish the image by adding a crown , adding gold to the rays of the sun, and the moon with plated silver. These have long worn away and the silver caused the moon to turn black in the image. The colors on the tilma are the same today as they were in 1531.
3. Third Amazing fact. Scientists from NASA cannot explain how the image was imprinted on the tilma. There are no brush marks, no lines, its as its like a photograph. NASA used infared imaging and it comes up with an image behind the drawing like a photograph. Thing was , cameras did NOT exist in 1531. Nor did printing or any of the sort like we have today.
4. Our Lady's eyes are the most amazing. Scientists came across the fact that there were literally microscopic images in the eyes. The eye on the right, of Juan's face , just as she saw it , and in the left eye a group of people , thought of as the bishop and those who witnessed the miracle of the roses and image. Ophthalmologists have studies this and have concluded that it was just as like the eyes were alive and the images in the eye were that of what the normal human eye would replicate from images that are seen.
I could go on and on about some of the amazing things that I have learned about this beautiful image that the Blessed Virgin Mary left behind for all to see .
The best thing to do is to check out more online to learn about what has been found about this miraculous image. I could literally write a really long post on it, but I'd love to share what we did today.
With such a wonderful event to celebrate we decided to enjoy the day since this day is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe with coloring pages and eating some tasty Mexican food.
Hannah and Katie working on their Holy Heroes color page
Mexican Pizza
We decided to go ahead and make our favorite, Mexican Pizza. This is very easy to make and the cost is minimal.
What was used :
Tortilla shells. Is this not cool that we have this brand in our area? So fitting for such a special feast day.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cooking time will vary , but I just check on it. When the cheese is melted and the tortillas are a bit on the brownish side, they are done.
The girls putting it together.Sorry for the cloudy spot in the picture. I didn't realize the lens had a finger print on it until after I was done taking most of the pictures.
What it should look like after you cook it. My girls like to cut up like little pizza slices with our pizza cutter, but you can leave it whole and eat with a fork if you'd like.
Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mystical Rose,
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen.
make intercession for holy Church,
protect the sovereign Pontiff,
help all those who invoke you in their necessities,
and since you are the ever Virgin Mary
and Mother of the true God,
obtain for us from your most holy Son
the grace of keeping our faith,
of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life
of burning charity, and the precious gift
of final perseverance.
Amen.
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