Devotion to Our Lady of Guadelupe

Today we give thanks for the dedicated missionary life of Fr David Arms who will be buried today. As an expert linguist, he helped bring the word of God to many through his translations into local languages. Today, is also the feast of another man who has brought thousands to a deep faith by initiating devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Juan Diego Cuautitlan, was a Mexican peasant who lived from 1474 till 1548. Although facts about his life were disputed, he was recognized as a saint by Pope Juan Paul II in 2002. He and his wife, Maria Lucia, were among the first indigenous people to be baptized in Mexico, as the attempts by Spanish missionaries to impose the catholic religion on the Aztec people were widely rejected. One morning, according to the legend, as Juan was walking past Tepayac hill in December 1531, he received a vision of Mary, who told him to ask the bishop to build a church in her honour. The bishop was sceptical and asked for a sign. Mary told Juan to go to pick flowers on top of the hill, seemingly impossible in mid winter. But Juan went and discovered roses there and took them to the bishop wrapped in his cloak.When he opened his cloak, the roses fell out and a beautiful painting of Mary appeared.The bishop believed and set about building the first basilica of Guadalupe. It is reported that devotion spread rapidly and soon 9 million indigenous Mexicans were converted. Today Guadalupe and the Basilica of Maria Aparecida in Brasil receive more pilgrims annually than Lourdes and Fatima. May Our Lady of Guadalupe accompany Fr David on his final journey today.