Unlocking the mystery of Our Lady of Guadalupe [ CATHOLIC CAUCUS ]

Catholic Culture ^ | September 15, 2016 | Jeff Mirus

[NYer]

Earlier this year, Ignatius Press brought out an English edition of a remarkable coffee-table book entitled Guadalupe Mysteries: Deciphering the Code. Authored by film director Grszegorz Górny and photographer Janusz Rosikoń, the 280-page oversize hardback book is printed in full color on high-gloss paper, complete with photographs, paintings, maps and charts to supplement the text on every page.

Guadalupe Mysteries retells the history of Mary’s appearance to St. Juan Diego in 1531 in Mexico, the miraculous image she left on his tilma, the importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the conversion of Mexico, and the extraordinary details of the image which continue to provide irrefutable evidence of its supernatural origin.

This beautiful book is divided into eight sections which cover the following information in detail:

1. The events leading up to, including and stemming from the apparition itself
2. The character of the miraculous image as both an Indian pictograph and a Christian symbol, with huge consequences for the history of Latin America
3. The history of the Aztecs with their bloodthirsty gods—an empire founded on human sacrifice
4. The extraordinary conquest of the Aztec empire by a few hundred Spaniards, and the work of Catholic missionaries in Mexico
5. The subsequent history of Mexico, with its conflict between secularists and Catholics under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe
6. The mathematical, geographical, astronomical and musical data within the image which has stunned modern scientists
7. The amazing images reflected in Our Lady’s eyes, which were not discovered until 1929 and are far too small to have been painted within the 5/16” irises, and which can be studied only with advanced optical equipment
8. The mystery of the indestructible tilma, made from loosely-woven agave, which normally disintegrates with extraordinary rapidity.

If you don’t know the story behind Mary’s apparition as Our Lady of Guadalupe, this book provides an excellent presentation of the background, the horrors of Aztec religion, the efforts of the Spanish, the critical intervention of Our Lady, and the immediate results. It also demonstrates the importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe throughout the rest of Mexico’s history, as deeply committed Catholics strive to live their Faith despite the disadvantages imposed on it by the ruling class.

But the best part of the book is the final three chapters, which provide the immense evidence that the tilma of the poor Indian on which Mary imprinted her special image is, in reality, a continuing miracle even in our own time. Fresh discoveries of the wonders contained in the image have been made more or less continuously from the 1600s into the 2000s, and an institute of scholars continues to study the image today, using ever-improving techniques.

Here we have a piece of old cloth with an image which shows the exact location of the major star patterns over the episcopal office in Mexico at the precise moment when Juan Diego showed his tilma to his bishop. We have an image which contains numerous pictographs, a means of communication used by the Indians in those days, which they understood how to interpret—along with intensive Christian elements. We have an image with decorative elements which match the locations of the major landmarks of Mexico, when overlaid by a highly-accurate modern map.

But wait, there’s more:

• An image in which key markings can be used to create perfect harmonic music
• An image organized around geometrical principles related to the Golden Mean
• An image whose small eyes contain astonishing reflections, far too small to paint and visible only under magnification, of those present when the tilma was revealed to the bishop
• And an image on a piece of native cloth which should have disintegrated over four hundred years ago, yet could not be harmed even by an accidental spill of nitric acid.

This is a naturally beautiful book which makes a stunning supernatural gift.

[NYer]

CATHOLIC CAUCUS

[NYer]

While this article is intended to stir interest in a new book, I chose to post it because of the insightful information it covers. For example, it mentions: "An image organized around geometrical principles related to the Golden Mean". If you, like me, have not heard of this connection, you may find it interesting to discover just what that means.

The famous Fibonacci sequence has captivated mathematicians, artists, designers, and scientists for centuries. Also known as the Golden Ratio, its ubiquity and astounding functionality in nature suggests its importance as a fundamental characteristic of the Universe.

The number of petals in a flower consistently follows the Fibonacci sequence. Famous examples include the lily, which has three petals, buttercups, which have five (pictured at left), the chicory's 21, the daisy's 34, and so on. Phi appears in petals on account of the ideal packing arrangement as selected by Darwinian processes; each petal is placed at 0.618034 per turn (out of a 360° circle) allowing for the best possible exposure to sunlight and other factors.

15 Uncanny Examples of the Golden Ratio in Nature

There is an excellent video that delves into the symbols on the tilma. Introduction to Our Lady of Guadalupe: Part Three (Parts 1 & 2 available at that link).

[HerrBlucher]

Sounds like a great book, thanks for posting! I have the “handbook of guadalupe”, which is very informative, but I think I will purchase this one too. Coffee table books are great conversation starters......

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[Mrs. Don-o]

I love the Mexican men in our parish who wear images of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the back of their denim or leather jackets. It seems very “manly” to reverently carry this wonderful Lady around with them wherever they go!

[xkaydet65]

My late wife felt the real sacredness of Our Lady of Guadalupe was her appearing to Juan Diego in Aztec garb, dramatic proof of the Universality of the Holy Church.

[Salvation]

Sounds like a wonderful, simple book.

[Tax-chick]

I agree. One buys these garments, along with tiny Juan Diego suits for toddlers and extravagant tulle-and-sequins princess gowns, for very reasonable prices at flea market stalls.

[HerrBlucher]

Yup!

[HerrBlucher]

A man in my parish has this tatoo...

[Mrs. Don-o]

Please post again, pic didn't come through.

I'd like to see that tattoo!

BTW, my "general" view of tattoos is expressed the tagline.

[HerrBlucher]

[wardaddy]

Fascinating

I’ve never heard of this sequence

And I like the way it honestly describes the Aztecs

[Mrs. Don-o]

I want to remember to look at that video.

[FamiliarFace]

Use tinypic.com to get the code format for your photo.

[HerrBlucher]

Sorry Mrs Don o the URL seems to work at first then it stops working. I will figure out another way.

[HerrBlucher]

hopefully this will work and stay that way. ">

[Mrs. Don-o]

That man is fully “armed”!