" N don’t be afraid. Nam I not here, I who am your mother? am I not
the source of your joy? "Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe evokes in me a deep, overflowing joy. The cluster of roses she causes to bloom in the heart of winter, which will burst forth from the tilma of Juan Diego, are a sign that divine grace surpasses all expectation, all human logic, to give itself with boundless generosity. Mary is also pregnant—as revealed by the black ribbon she wears at her waist according to Aztec tradition—and she is depicted with a mixed-race face. She is the gentleness of a mother come to reconcile two peoples wounded by conquest. But perhaps the most moving aspect remains her choice: she does not manifest herself to the powerful or the learned, but to a humble and quiet man. It is in this distinctly evangelical preference for the poor and humble that the mystery of Guadalupe unfolds. May the wreath of flowers radiating on this jewel help you recognize, in your life, the abundance of grace!
Jewel made from stainless steel, resin, and natural flowers.
To keep your jewel looking bright, it’s best to keep it away from water and perfume, and store it in a box out of direct light when you are not wearing it.
According to tradition, in December 1531, ten years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico by Cortés, the Virgin appears to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, a recently baptized Nahua Indigenous person. On the hill of Cerro del Tepeyac, she asks him to build a church so that she can "show and give all her love, her compassion, her support and her protection" to all who come to her. The bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, asks for a sign. On December 12, during winter, Juan Diego finds magnificent Castilian roses. He gathers them in his cloak, the tilma. When he opens his cloak before the bishop, the flowers fall to the ground... and an image of the Virgin is miraculously printed onto the fabric. This is the same tilma that is still preserved today at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
For the Aztec peoples of the era, every detail spoke in a symbolic language: Mary is pregnant. The black ribbon tied above her waist was the traditional sign of a pregnant woman. She therefore carries Christ. The blue-green color of her cloak was reserved for rulers and deities. She appears as the Queen of Heaven. The stars on her cloak seem to match the arrangement of the morning sky on December 12, 1531, as seen from Mexico City, according to some researchers. She is in front of the sun. For the Aztecs, the sun was a major deity. She is larger than it, but she does not overpower it. She rests on a crescent moon. One immediately thinks of Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation: "A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet..." An angel supports her cloak.
Mary does not appear as a Spanish woman, nor as an Aztec princess. She has mixed-race features. Her face becomes a bridge between two worlds that had just clashed in a terrible war. She opens a path to reconciliation. In less than ten years, several million Indigenous Americans will seek baptism.
What strikes me as most profound about Guadalupe is Mary’s choice. She does not appear to a king, a bishop, or a conquistador. She chooses a humble, poor, quiet man.