HOMILY OF 2ND THURSDAY IN ADVENT — YEAR A
HOMILY OF 2ND THURSDAY IN ADVENT — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: MY CHILDREN DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISTRESS
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
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Today we celebrate the feast that commemorates the series of five apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Hill of Tepeyac which would become part of Villa de Guadalupe in a suburb of Mexico City. She appeared five times from December 9-12, 1531 – four times to Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican peasant, and once to his sick uncle, Bernardino. The image of Our Lady was miraculously imprinted on the tilma or cloak of Juan Diego. It is now enshrined and venerated in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, and the world’s third most visited sacred site.
This Marian feast is very significant to the Philippines, with Our Lady of Guadalupe being its secondary Patroness. It must be noted that the country was at that time under the Diocese of Mexico. And the apparitions took place just ten (10) years after the arrival of the first missionaries in 1521. This miraculous event triggered the greatest number of conversions in such a short period of time ever known in the history of the Church. Definitely, this Marian miracle added great boost to the evangelization efforts of the missionaries in the country. During this Pastoral Year 2021, as we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity of the country, we look back with gratitude at the powerful maternal intervention of Our Lady of Guadalupe in our life as a nation.
Today, let me just point out a few things that make this Marian apparition and devotion truly significant. First, it highlights the heavenly powers of the Blessed Mother. Her image imprinted on the tilma reveals this. It is clearly the image of a ‘Woman Clothed with the Sun’ as described in the Book of Revelation: “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (12:1).
Second, the Blessed Mother appeared to Juan Diego not only as a vision, as in the case of all the other Marian apparitions. Rather, she was physically present. She instructed Juan Diego: “Go up to the top of the hill; cut the flowers that are growing there and bring them to me.” It was in the middle of winter, yet Juan Diego obeyed her. And true enough, he found lots of beautiful Castilian roses on the hilltop. He quickly cut them and carried them in his tilma. He ran back to Mary and she rearranged the roses and tied the lower corners of the tilma behind his neck so that nothing would spill. These roses, personally arranged by the Blessed Mother herself, were the proof presented to the Archbishop.
Third, Mary remarkably showed herself as a loving and tender Mother. On her fourth apparition, Juan Diego was obviously distressed on account of his dying uncle. So, she said to him, “My son, do not be distressed and afraid. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of your joy? Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in the cradle of my arms?”
Fourth, the image of Mary on the tilma is that of a pregnant woman. In other words, she is already carrying in her womb the Incarnate Son of God. Hence, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of the Unborn Children.
And finally, the image itself is miraculous. It has been repeatedly examined by medical and scientific experts, and they all admit that it was not painted by human hands. It is also indestructible, as it has survived a bomb blast, a highly corrosive chemical contamination, and the ravages of time, notwithstanding the low quality of its material.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is, indeed, another clear proof of the Blessed Mother’s heavenly power, maternal affection and protection, and her active presence in our life. After all, she is just following the will of her Son Jesus who, while on the cross, entrusted all of us to her.
Let us listen to the words of St. Basil the Great: “O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all you necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity.”
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