Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us!

O Mother! You know the paths followed by the first evangelizers of the New World, from Guanahani Island and Hispaniola to the Amazon forests and the Andean peaks, reaching to Tierra del Fuego in the south and to the Great Lakes and mountains of the north. Accompany the Church which is working in the nations of America, so that she may always preach the Gospel and renew her missionary spirit. Encourage all who devote their lives to the cause of Jesus and the spread of his kingdom. O gentle Lady of Tepeyac, Mother of indigenous peoples and Afro-Americans, for immigrants and refugees, for the young deprived of opportunity, for the old, for those who suffer any kind of poverty or marginalization.

…Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Peace! Save the nations and peoples of this continent. Teach everyone, political leaders and citizens, to live in true freedom and to act according to the requirements of justice and respect for human rights, so that peace may thus be established once and for all.

To you, O Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, belong all the love, honor, glory and endless praise of your American sons and daughters!

                -Homily of Blessed John Paul II, Apostolic Journey to America, 1999

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the model for the New Evangelization! As the Church celebrates her feast today, ask for her intercession during this Year of Faith, especially as American church leaders conclude their Ecclesia in America conference in Rome. 

Drawn By Your Holiness: The Second Sunday of Advent

Every day when we pray the Angelus, we repeat three times: "And the Word was made flesh". During the season of Advent, these evangelical words assume a more intense meaning because the liturgy makes us relive the atmosphere of the expectation of the Incarnation of the Word.

For this reason, Advent is the ideal season for the Solemnity of Mary Immaculate. The humble young woman of Nazareth, who with her "yes' to the angel changed the course of history, was preserved from every stain of sin from the moment of her conception. In fact, Mary was the first one to benefit by the salvation brought about by Christ, chosen from all eternity to be his Mother.

For this reason, today we focus our attention on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, while our heart opens to a heartfelt hymn of thanksgiving. The liturgy celebrates the wonders that God has accomplished through her: "The joy that Eve took from us, you give to us in your Son, and you open the way to the Kingdom of heaven" (hymn of Lauds).

"Splendor Of An Entirely Unique Holiness"

Today the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a feast very near and dear to Blessed John Paul II’s heart. What exactly are we celebrating on this Holy Day of Obligation? Let us look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which defines what the Immaculate Conception is and what it means for the Church:

490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role."¹³² The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".¹³³ In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.

491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,¹³⁴ was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:

The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.¹³⁵

A Gift From Our Church Leaders

On this feast of St. Nicholas, perhaps we should reflect on one of the many gifts we have received from our Church leaders during this Year of Faith. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prepared a list of recommendations for Christians who would like to dive deeper into their Catholic faith during this time of growth.

In November 1985, Blessed John Paul II said:

Faith is the principal foundation, it is the cornerstone... From faith comes custom, the style of life and practical direction in every circumstance.

How appropriate is it then, for us to grow in our faith as we direct our hearts toward the coming Lord?

Defend the Real Kingdom

Last week, the Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, encouraged fellow Christians to be strong in defending the faith in the public square. He said:

Knowledge of Christ the King will help us to avoid confusing his kingdom with any social regime, and it will also help us to be aware of our dignity and our commitments as living members of that Kingdom that Christ Jesus came to establish two thousand years ago.

…As subjects of Christ the King, we should take up the torch of the Gospel in our hands and witness with our lives to the truth proclaimed by Jesus.

But we Christians should be listeners of the Gospel before becoming its spokesmen, as Jesus Himself reminds us: 'He who is of the truth hears my voice.'

As the Church prepares for the coming of Christ, let us join together in our search for Christ’s truth and let us be strong for each other in defending it.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us!

O Come, O Come Emmanuel: The First Sunday of Advent

Today, with the First Sunday of Advent we begin a new liturgical year. The God of the covenant revealed himself in history and in history the Church celebrates the mystery of salvation: the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way, the journey of believers is continually renewed, extending between what Christ has "already" realized and the "not yet" of his full revelation.

God is the future of the human person and of the world. If humanity loses the meaning of God, it will close itself to the future and inevitably lose the perspective of its pilgrim journey in time. Why birth, why death? Why sacrifice, why suffering?

To these questions, Christianity offers a satisfying answer. For this reason, Christ is the hope of humanity. He is the true meaning of our present, because he is our sure future.

Advent reminds us that he has come, and that he will come. The life of believers is a continuous and vigilant waiting for his coming. 

-Blessed John Paul II, Angelus December 1, 2002

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

The responsorial psalm for today gives a sense of what’s coming tomorrow—Advent! Let us prepare our hearts for this time of hope and anticipation.

R. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

R. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!