Our Lady of Guadalupe has done so much for her people and the Americas that an assembly of young men called the squires associated with the Knights of Columbus wanted to give something back to her. [Read More]

God encounters man and has done it through His mother, Holy Mary of Guadalupe, from the 12th to the 19th of December. His message is imprinted in a very beautiful image, which is a love letter for all mankind, for all his children, those who trust in Her, those who place all their sorrows, their troubles, their needs and their suffering into her blessed hands so She can present them to the real God.

The image of Holy Mary of Guadalupe is that of a Virgin and at the same time a Mother. This was clear to the indigenous population since Her image has a dark ribbon on the upper part of her Immaculate womb. That meant she was with child (in Spanish encinta or with ribbon means pregnant ) expecting Jesus Christ, our Lord, and so She is a woman of Advent, an expecting woman, a woman carrying the living and true God.

For natives, truth was symbolized by the union of two realities: 'flowers and song'. That is why when Holy Mary of Guadalupe inculturates the Gospel, she does so, perfectly. The fact that She is presented among songs and flowers, specifically the roses, these extraordinary flowers were the sign She sent through Her faithful messenger St. Juan Diego to the Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. A sign that was perfectly appropriate for the indigenous population.

Holy Mary of Guadalupe is the mother who takes us in Her merciful sight. She is the mother who takes our hearts to God in Her hands. This is most pertinent to Her image since Her blessed hands are joined in a prayerful position. However, if we look at them carefully, especially if we observe them as the natives did, these people being used to codices, we will see that the golden flower on Her gown seems to be between Her hands. This flower has the exact shape of a heart, therefore they understood immediately that She had our hearts in Her hands.

In Holy Mary of Guadalupe’s image we find a true codex. Let us remember Indians did not have a writing system like ours. They had drawings and learned their meanings by heart – that is why oral tradition was so important that they had techniques for accurate memorization. Thus, analyzing what the Spaniards called “arabesques” on the Virgin’s gown, we see a series of drawings, which by comparing them with codices lead us through our reading.

Holy Mary of Guadalupe is an Empress, and the indigenous natives understood it clearly because of the mantle She is wearing. It is greenish-blue, the color that only an emperor could wear. Whose meaning was the infinite sky, and this emperor’s mantle was studded with emeralds, so that it would shine with a wonderful color given to it by this green stone. So, when Juan Diego, like all others, saw Holy Mary of Guadalupe’s mantle, they understood immediately that She was an Empress.

Among the most important and interesting signs on Her gown, Holy Mary of Guadalupe has written with golden drawings a strange flower in two parts, symbolizing a hill and a river. If we think that for Indians, hill and water mean civilization, we will understand that this flower points to a new civilization rooted in the star studded greenish-blue mantle, thus, in the sky (or Heaven), and the hill itself is surrounded by flowers, which mean truth. If we look at the flower from another angle we see it as a heart and arteries.