Today's feast anticipates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Wednesday,.
St. Juan Diego was born in 1474 in Cuauhtitlan, located 20 kilometers north of
Mexico City.
On December 9, 1531, a native Mexican named Juan Diego rose before dawn to walk
fifteen miles to daily Mass in what is now Mexico City. Juan lived a simple life
as a weaver, farmer, and laborer. That morning, as Juan passed Tepeyac Hill, he
heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow.
A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful
young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and
asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site. She said, "I
vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be
present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most
devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries,
pains, and suffering.
The bishop was kind but skeptical. He asked Juan to bring proof of the Lady's
identity. Before Juan could go back to the Lady, he found out his uncle was
dying. Hurrying to get a priest, Juan missed his meeting with the Lady. The
Lady, however, met him on his path and told him that his uncle had been cured.
She then told Juan to climb to the top of the hill where they first met. Juan
was shocked to find flowers growing in the frozen soil. He gathered them in his
cloak and took them at once to the bishop
Juan told the bishop what had happened and opened his cloak. The flowers that
fell to the ground were Castilian roses (which were not grown in Mexico). But
the bishop's eyes were on the glowing image of the Lady imprinted inside Juan's
cloak.
Soon after, a church was built on the site where our Lady appeared, and
thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the
patroness of the Americas.
Juan Diego deeply loved the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence in those times
He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74
Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith nourished by
catechesis and pictured him (who said to the Blessed Virgin Mary: “I am a
nobody, I am a small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf”) as a model of
humility for all of us
Pope John Paul II's homily
during Juan Diego's canonization
I thank you, Father ... that you have hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was your
gracious will" (Mt 11:25-26).
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
These words
of Jesus in today's Gospel are a special invitation to us to praise and thank
God for the gift of the first indigenous Saint of the American Continent.
With deep joy I have come on pilgrimage to this Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, the Marian heart of Mexico and of America, to proclaim the holiness
of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, the simple, humble Indian who contemplated the
sweet and serene face of Our Lady of Tepeyac, so dear to the people of
Mexico....
Today I address a very affectionate greeting to the many
indigenous people who have come from the different regions of the country,
representing the various ethnic groups and cultures which make up the rich,
multifaceted Mexican reality. The Pope expresses his closeness to them, his deep
respect and admiration, and receives them fraternally in the Lord's name.
What was Juan Diego like? Why did God look upon him? The Book of Sirach,
as we have heard, teaches us that God alone "is mighty; he is glorified by the
humble" (cf. Sir 3:20). Saint Paul's words, also proclaimed at this celebration,
shed light on the divine way of bringing about salvation: "God chose what is low
and despised in the world ... so that no human being might boast in the presence
of God" (1 Cor 1:28,29).
It is moving to read the accounts of Guadalupe,
sensitively written and steeped in tenderness. In them the Virgin Mary, the
handmaid "who glorified the Lord" (Lk 1:46), reveals herself to Juan Diego as
the Mother of the true God. As a sign, she gives him precious roses, and as he
shows them to the Bishop, he discovers the blessed image of Our Lady imprinted
on his tilma.
"The Guadalupe Event," as the Mexican Episcopate has
pointed out, "meant the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that
surpassed all expectations. Christ's message, through his Mother, took up the
central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the
definitive sense of salvation" (14 May 2002, No. 8).
Consequently
Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a
model of perfectly inculturated evangelization.
"The Lord looks down
from heaven, he sees all the sons of men" (Ps 33:13), we recited with the
Psalmist, once again confessing our faith in God, who makes no distinctions of
race or culture.
In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his
indigenous identity, Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new
humanity, in which all are called to be children of God. Thus he facilitated the
fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst for the new Mexican
identity, closely united to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose mestizo face expresses
her spiritual motherhood which embraces all Mexicans.
This is why the
witness of his life must continue to be the inspiration for the building up of
the Mexican nation, encouraging brotherhood among all its children and ever
helping to reconcile Mexico with its origins, values, and traditions.
The noble task of building a better Mexico, with greater justice and
solidarity, demands the cooperation of all. In particular, it is necessary today
to support the indigenous peoples in their legitimate aspirations, respecting
and defending the authentic values of each ethnic group. Mexico needs its
indigenous peoples and these peoples need Mexico!
Beloved bothers and
sisters of every ethnic background of Mexico and America, today, in praising the
Indian Juan Diego, I want to express to all of you the closeness of the Church
and the Pope, embracing you with love and encouraging you to overcome with hope
the difficult times you are going through.
At this decisive moment in
Mexico's history, having already crossed the threshold of the new millennium, I
entrust to the powerful intercession of Saint Juan Diego the joys and hopes, the
fears and anxieties of the beloved Mexican people, whom I carry in my heart.
Blessed Juan Diego, a good, Christian Indian, whom simple people have
always considered a saint! We ask you to accompany the Church on her pilgrimage
in Mexico, so that she may be more evangelizing and more missionary each day.
Encourage the Bishops, support the priests, inspire new and holy vocations, help
all those who give their lives to the cause of Christ and the spread of his
Kingdom.
Happy Juan Diego, true and faithful man! We entrust to you our
lay brothers and sisters so that, feeling the call to holiness, they may imbue
every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel. Bless families,
strengthen spouses in their marriage, sustain the efforts of parents to give
their children a Christian upbringing. Look with favor upon the pain of those
who are suffering in body or in spirit, on those afflicted by poverty,
loneliness, marginalization, or ignorance. May all people, civic leaders and
ordinary citizens, always act in accordance with the demands of justice and with
respect for the dignity of each person, so that in this way peace may be
reinforced.
Beloved Juan Diego, "the talking eagle"! Show us the way
that leads to the "Dark Virgin" of Tepeyac, that she may receive us in the
depths of her heart, for she is the loving, compassionate Mother who guides us
to the true God. Amen
