The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe
These photos are from the "Seranata" on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where members of St. Brigid's parish acted out the story of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego.
The story begins with Juan Diego, a humble Mexican peasant at his uncle's house. They are discussing their faith in Jesus -- a faith not shared by many in Mexico at the time.
A neighbor visits and debates the value of believing in the "white man's God" -- the natives have been so badly treated by the conquistadors that their belief in the "Christ" was hard to accept.
The religious conflict escalates as Juan's uncle is wounded for being a Christian. While he is not killed outright, his wound looks fatal and he is near death. He sends Juan Diego to fetch the priest for last rites.
As he heads through the desert in search of a priest,
Juan is met by Mary, who appears to him in the garb of a native Aztec princess. She tells him to go to the bishop to tell him to build a church in her honor which can be a place for her children (the poor of Mexico).
At the Spanish bishop's residence, Juan is made to wait and when he finally has a chance to tell his story, he is told to come back another day.
Our Lady appears to Juan again and he tells her that the Bishop was reluctant to accept her message. Basically the bishop wouldn't believe the message of an uneducated peasant. She tells his to return to the bishop to repeat the request.
The bishop demands some proof that Juan has indeed been visited by Our Lady.
Juan returns home to find his uncle near death...
Our Lady appears to Juan's uncle and he is healed.
Mary tells Juan that she will provide the proof he needs for the bishop. Even though it is winter, Juan found summer-blooming flowers which he picked and Mary arranged in his mantle (or "tilma"). She told him to bring the flowers to the bishop.
Meanwhile, Juan's uncle shows up at the bishop's residence to tell of his healing encounter with Our Lady.
Juan also arrives and upon opening his tolma, the roses fall out and an image of our Lady of Guadalupe appears on his tilma.
Ultimately the bishop believes, but more importantly the native people of Mexico believe in this Lady who is one like them and who loves them as a Holy Mother. They revere the humble peasant, Juan Diego, for his courageand faith. He is later canonized by the church as a saint. The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe was credited for the growth of Christianity throughout the Americas. She is the patroness of all the Americas -- including ours!
The Feast continued with music, food and traditional dances in honor of Our Lady.
