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December 12, 2003, Friday, Second Week of Advent

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

On December 9, 1511 (10 years after the Spanish conquest), Mary appeared to Juan Diego (a native Aztec recently canonized by Pope John Paul II) along a country trail near present-day Mexico City. The striking thing was that Mary’s features and clothing were Aztec, and she spoke to him in that language. Mary instructed Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site to replace a pagan shrine.

Juan’s efforts to convince the bishop failed. Finally, in her third appearance to Juan, Mary told him to take nearby roses (unusual at that time of year) as a sign. Juan put some in his cloak. When he came to the bishop and unfolded the cloak, imprinted on it was the painting of Mary that has become famous.

Juan Diego’s cloak now hangs in the huge church of Our Lady of Guadalupe built on that site. After nearly 500 years, the picture on the cloak shows no sign of deterioration, and artist have been unable to duplicate the combination of materials used in the paint.

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The feast of St. Juan Diego is celebrated on Dec. 9.

Jesus said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”” (Mt 11:16-19)

The homespun parable of the little children playing in the marketplace describes two groups of youngsters who can’t agree on whether to “play wedding” or “play funeral.”

For centuries, scholars have tried to clarify its exact meaning and application, but parables are sometimes hard to nail down that way.

Many would apply it in this way: The group of children inviting the others to play wedding or funeral represent John and Jesus. The group of children who pout and refuse to join in represent the people who wouldn’t accept either John’s ascetic style or Jesus’ joyful style. These people refuse to be satisfied with either style because they’ve made up their mind not to accept John or Jesus.

One could make an analogous application to parish life today. To be a disciple of the Lord means being part of a group. Always did. Always will.

Being part of a group requires a certain amount of flexibility, adaptability. The bond among parishioners is not ultimately ethnicity, political preference, economic status, or like-mindedness. It is the Lord.

We’ve probably all got something to learn from the homey parable of Jesus.

Spend some quiet time with the Lord.