The Guadalupe Event

Saint John Paul II's trips to Mexico are featured in our exhibit. 

With the celebration of the feast of Saint Juan Diego yesterday, and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, this is a big week for the Church in Mexico.

Saint John Paul II canonized Juan Diego when he was on his 2002 pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. In his homily for the canonization, the Holy Father said:

“The Guadalupe Event,” as the Mexican Episcopate has pointed out, “meant the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ's message, through his Mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the definitive sense of salvation.” Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization. 

Let us pray with St. John Paul II, that “The Guadalupe Event” continues to feed the New Evangelization in Mexico.

St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us!

Prayer On The Immaculate Conception

“Hail Mary, full of grace!”

Immaculate Virgin, here I am at your feet once again,

full of devotion and gratitude….

In you, “humble and highest of creatures,”

divine grace had the full victory over evil.

You are for us, pilgrims on the paths of the world,

the bright model of evangelical fidelity

and the ever-living pledge of sure hope.

Virgin Mother…

Watch over families especially: 

may love sealed by the Sacrament ever reign between spouses,

may children walk on the paths of goodness and true freedom,

may the elderly feel surrounded by attention and affection.

Inspire, Mary, in so many young hearts,

generous replies to the “call for the mission...”

Blessed Virgin, Queen of Apostles!

Assist those who through study

and prayer are preparing to labor

on the many frontiers of the new evangelization.

Waiting And Patience

In his biography of Saint John Paul II, Witness to Hope, George Weigel describes how Cardinal Wojtyła kept in touch with old friends throughout his episcopate in Kraków, and how he continued to accompany them on their journeys of faith.

In his book, Weigel includes what Cardinal Wojtyła wrote in response to a letter from a friend and mother of two-year-old twins. He wrote:

I sense tiredness in your letter, which is easy to understand, knowing your character and your nervous system. On top of this, you always wanted to plan and do everything rationally. And here is the kingdom of irrationality, where normal activity and energy aren’t enough; you need to wait things out, some time to do nothing, and, simply, patience—especially since there are two. I realized that, on the one hand, there is always a price we pay for love. On the other, thanks to God, love is returned in that price. 

Just like this mother of twins, many of us like to “plan and do everything rationally.” Advent reminds us that God is not subject to our plans, but rather, He is the plan. St. John Paul II’s letter can remind us that we are called to be patient and wait for His coming, for the return of love.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Letter from George Weigel’s Witness to Hope (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999; 215).

Trust In The Lord Forever

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah:

“A strong city have we;

he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.

Open up the gates

to let in a nation that is just,

one that keeps faith.

A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;

in peace, for its trust in you.”

Trust in the LORD forever!

For the LORD is an eternal Rock.

He humbles those in high places,

and the lofty city he brings down;

He tumbles it to the ground,

levels it with the dust.

It is trampled underfoot by the needy,

by the footsteps of the poor.

-Isaiah 26:1-6

Papal Intentions For December

During the month of December, Pope Francis asks us to pray that, “the birth of the Redeemer may bring peace and hope to all people of good will.” He also asks us to pray that, “parents may be true evangelizers, passing on to their children the precious gift of faith.”

Let us pray with the Holy Father this month: for peace, for hope, and for a spirit of evangelization in the hearts of all parents.  

And So He Comes

Yesterday the Church entered into the liturgical season of Advent. The first Sunday of Advent is also the first Sunday of the “Holiday Season” in our culture. It is the first Sunday of listening to Christmas music, of gift-wrapping, and cookie making.

In order to stay in touch with the spiritual gift of Advent, we've decided to reflect upon one of the first series of General Audiences that Saint John Paul II delivered. During his first season of Advent as Pope, our beloved Holy Father taught the faithful how this time of waiting should be understood.

Advent, quite simply, means “coming,” John Paul II said. It is Jesus who comes, and He comes for us, for all men. In essence, the whole of Christianity is “Advent.” The late Holy Father said:

Christianity lives the mystery of God's real coming to man, and throbs and pulsates constantly with this reality. It is simply the very life of Christianity. It is a question of a reality that is at once deep and simple, that is near the understanding and sensitiveness of every man and especially of those who, on the occasion of Christmas night, are able to become children.

Like excited children who cannot sleep the night before Christmas, man waits for the coming of the Lord, whether he knows it or not. God made man for Him and in His image, St. John Paul II reminded his listeners, and so each person has a “dimension of expectation” in him, through which he can “welcome” God.

The Scriptures are filled with this expectation, this anticipation of a Savior who will help man to welcome God back into their hearts. Throughout Advent we hear the words of Isaiah and others, yearning for their desires to be fulfilled.