At 5:00 AM this morning our church was filled with moms and dads and grandparents and teenagers and lots of little children who had come on Mary's feast to greet her with roses and song and dancing and praying the rosary and a festive breakfast before the adults went to work and the children went to school.
For almost 500 years people have loved and honored the Mother of God in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Conquistadors had come to the New World with their culture and their religion; but the evangelization of the New World was going very slowly as could be expected of invaders. Then between Dec. 9th and December 12th, 1531 Mary appeared to Juan Diego and gave the famous proof of her appearance through her image on the tilma (or cloak) that Juan Diego used to carry roses to the bishop to prove that his apparition was true indeed. Within a few years millions of Indians rushed to join the Church and embrace Christianity willingly and enthusiastically, and with an undying love for La Morenita, the Little Brown One. (For Mary had appeared to Juan Diego as a brown skinned Indian.)
The love for Mary is palpable. Thank God for these devout souls whose children come at 5:00 AM without a complaint and fill our church with love and devotion. This love could melt the coldest heart.
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