As the only person in history to have been gifted by Mary with her portrait, Juan Diego is a reminder that God's love transcends class, power and economics.

CALLED TO BE GOD'S MESSENGER

Living the Guadalupe Story

    I can still see him in my heart's eye: the proud 6-year-old big brother wanting to "read" a bedtime book to his youngest sibling, Michelle. Old enough to have her eyes open at the sound of his voice, Michelle laid silently across his skinny jean-clad legs, crossed to form a perfect human manger for her.
     I was content to watch Christopher and Michelle from the next room, afraid that I'd break the wonder of the moment. As Christopher began to tell the story, I realized that he had picked one of his favorite books to share with his new baby sister, "The Lady of Guadalupe," written and illustrated by Tomie de Paola.
     It is a simple and well-known story of a humble Aztec Indian named Juan Diego to whom the Mother of God appeared in 1531 on the hill of Tepeyac, outside what is now Mexico City. On a Saturday morning, on his way to church, Juan Diego heard a voice that called him by name and spoke to him in his native Nahuatl language. The Lady told him to go to the bishop of Mexico and tell him that the Virgin Mary, mother of the True Divinity, wanted a church built at that site.
     Faithfully, Juan Diego went to the bishop, but twice the bishop turned him away. Embarrassed by his failure, Juan Diego returned to tell the Lady that he had failed. The bishop had not believed him, and perhaps she should send somebody more important than he.
     But the beautiful Lady smiled and, instead, told Juan Diego to gather roses in his tilma, his cloak, and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego opened his cloak, everyone was shocked to see a miraculous image of a young woman standing upon a half-moon. The bishop knelt at the sight, finally convinced, and a shrine was built on the site.
     As I watched my young son describe the beautiful pictures and read the words to Michelle, my heart smiled at the realization that Christopher was living his own personal version of the Guadalupe story.
     There is nothing coincidental about that apparition. Like Bernadette in Lourdes or the shepherds in Fatima, Juan Diego was a powerless nobody, in a worldly sense, chosen to bring the good news of Mary's Son to a class-conscious society. As the only person in history to have been gifted by Mary with her portrait, Juan Diego is a reminder that God's love transcends class, power and economics. God wants dignity for all of His children.
     The Guadalupe story becomes a reminder that God, the creator of all, can and does call even the least likely person – like me – to live the Good News and the message of hope in my daily world. Juan Diego was called, and he faithfully and obediently responded, even though he knew there were many more powerful, smarter, more efficient than he.
     And it is also a reminder that God loves and desires dignity and respect for each of his children. If I open my heart to the truth of the Guadalupe story, I will recognize that I encounter many modern versions of Juan Diego every day: in each of my children; in the person interrupting my day with a phone call; in the elderly neighbor who stops me just to "chat" on my way to the store.

    Yet with loving and faith-filled awareness, my young son was living this truth already. By his words, but above all with his actions, he was passing on the love, respect and admiration we hear in Mary's words to Juan Diego: "My beloved son, I have many messengers I could send, but it is you I need and want for this purpose. . . . Do you believe that I would neglect someone I love so much?"
     To this day, Christopher acknowledges that when he thinks of Mary, he envisions the image of the olive-skinned Blessed Virgin as it miraculously appeared on Juan Diego's tilma.
     May he also forever hear in his heart Our Lady's words to Juan Diego and to all of God's children: "Do you believe that I would neglect someone I love so much?"