Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her. LK 1:26-38

As Mary is in deep contemplation (prayer) with God the Father almighty, the angel Gabriel appears to her. Mary had a deep and profound prayer life in which she adored God. This is the only way she could be so humble and willing to do whatever God called her to do. At this moment, the Annunciation, Mary consecrates herself totally and completely to God. She is our perfect model for saying yes to God. It is what we all should be striving for. Mary did not know the full weight of her decision, but she trusted God with her whole heart. If God sent an angel to us to carry out a much smaller task than bringing His only Son into the world, would we be ready? Do we take time each day to sit in silence and listen to what God is asking of us? Do we meditate (reflect on) the Scriptures and ask God what His will is for our day? God still wants us to bring His Son into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit through us. Do you reflect Christ in your prayer and deeds throughout the day? I have a lot of work to do, too! With the grace of God and His love for us, through the awesome YES modeled by Mary, we can open ourselves up to God’s love and mirror Jesus in our daily prayer and actions. Today, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Church uses the readings of the Annunciation because Mary appears to Juan Diego with child. 5 million Catholics had left the Church in Europe due to the Protestant Reformation, 9 million Catholics joined the Church in Mexico after this apparition of Mary. Trust God, He is in control.

Archbishop Barron says,

“Though Franciscan missionaries had been laboring in Mexico for twenty years, they had made little progress. But within ten years of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe practically the entire Mexican people, nine million strong, had converted to Christianity. La Morena had proved a more effective evangelist than Peter, Paul, St. Patrick, and St. Francis Xavier combined! And with that great national conversion, the Aztec practice of human sacrifice came to an end. She had done battle with fallen spirits and had won a culture-changing victory for the God of love.”

Today’s challenge: Put your rosary on your pillow so you don’t forget to pray it asking Mary to walk you through her life with Jesus.

“No one can live continually in sin and continue to say the Rosary: either they will give up sin or they will give up the Rosary”~Bishop Hugh Doyle

Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO