Hundreds celebrate 'Mananitas' Mass honoring Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Daily News, Los Angeles ^ | 12/12/07 | Tony Castro

[Haddit]

Cardinal Roger Mahony Wednesday called on Roman Catholics to stand in solidarity with immigrants as "one Church, one community, one people of God" as he celebrated the traditional "Mananitas" Mass in honor of the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mahony also reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. bishops to just and human comprehensive reform.

"The raids, divisions of families, insecurity in the workplace, lack of drivers' licenses, the stigma of being label 'illegal' without rights - these are injustices faced by our immigrant community crying out for God's intervention," Mahony said in Spanish to a crowd of some 2,000 Latinos at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

"We cannot stand idly by and do nothing. That is why today on behalf of my brother bishops, I ask all of you to join us in continuing the mission that the Virgin of Guadalupe, 'La Morenita' gave to Juan Diego to build one Church, one community, one people of God." snip... http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_7696522

[Haddit]

The early morning ceremonies began at 4:40 a.m. with a troupe of Aztec dancers accompanying a procession of the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe through the cathedral plaza.

[raybbr]

American as the day is long.

[Prokopton]

As a Catholic I can say, Cardinal Roger Mahony is a fool.

[Red_Devil 232]

Gee I wonder what the Aztecs had to do with the Virgen de Guadalupe?

[ga medic]

“Gee I wonder what the Aztecs had to do with the Virgen de Guadalupe”

I can’t tell if you are kidding or not.

Just for the heck of it. The natives of Mexico were descendants of the Aztecs, and had similar pagan beliefs. The Spanish missionaries had difficulty convincing the natives to convert to Christianity because the Natives distrusted them. (due to the enslavement of others) Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego dressed as an Aztec princess. They built a Catholic Church on the spot she suggested, and within the next 100 years, over 6,000,000 converted to Christianity.

There is a lot more symbolism than that, but those are the basic facts.

[Bratch]