On The Hidden Mercy of the Tilma of Guadalupe

On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it is a chance for us to rejoice in the great mercy of our divine Lord and our blessed Lady. I am drawn to mediate on the miraculous quality of our Lady’s eyes on the tilma.

As many of you know, recent discoveries using modern magnification and ophthalmological equipment have shown the seemingly miraculous reflection of as many as a dozen persons in her eyes. How such tiny and accurate reflections could occur in both eyes at just the angles that human stereoscopic sight requires is mysterious to say the least. Even more, there are claims from eye specialists who have had the opportunity to look into our Lady’s eyes on the tilma that they have an iridescence that make the eyes seem almost alive.

I do not propose to write an article here on all the findings and evidence. You can read more our Lady’s eyes HERE and HERE and also in the video below. Rather I propose a short and simple reflection on two merciful facts.

First that [our] this image demonstrates, in effect that God’s people are the “apple of Mary’s eyes.” Seen there are Juan Diego, the bishop and an assistant, an indigenous family, a woman from Africa and several others. Remarkable; in her own self-portrait, our Lady includes us. In the book of Psalms the cry goes up to God,

Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.

Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings (Psalm 17:7-8)

He found Israel in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled them, he cared for them, he kept them as the apple of his eye. (Dt 32:10)

And by his Grace, our Lord has often dispatched his mother to us. She finds un in difficult days, and in difficult places, speaking to us in love and sometimes in motherly warning. But, by the grace of God we are the apple of her eye too.

She came to Guadalupe at difficult time, to summon the Mexicans from the fearsome religious bondage of their ancient and often bloody religions, to Christ, their true and only Savior. The image on the tilma shows so many reflected in her eyes, reflected in love. They were the apple of her eye.

May our Lord be pleased to continue to send Mother Mary to us and remind us that we are loved and that heaven knows our struggles and is concerned for us. May none of us every forget that we are still reflected in Mary’s eyes and in the eyes of God to whom she intercedes for us. What a beautiful mercy.

And the second mercy is that images in her eyes, unknown for centuries in any detail seem to have been put there for us, who live now, to later discover. The same can be said for the Shroud of Turin. It is as if, knowing of cynical and unbelieving times where the physical sciences are almost idolized, Our Lord and our Lady left images that both speak to science and also confound it. How were the image made? How do they have three dimensional effects and display scientific knowledge or techniques unknown in their time?

Both the shroud and the tilma stand up to rigorous scientific investigation. The amazing truths about both images are backed up by science but also defy simple scientific or technical answers. Many of the “imponderable” mysteries were largely unknown in previous eras without photographic and scientific procedures and techniques. It is almost as if they were hidden there, waiting for us.

And that may in fact be the case. It is a love letter to a scientific but often unbelieving time. Despite our sometimes cynical demands for evidence, to our Lord and our Lady, we are still the apple of their eye. They look to us from afar, from an ancient shroud and very old tilma and they seem to say, “I am here for you to see. And I see you, you whom I love. You are the apple of my eye.”

They converted to Roman Catholicism.

They traded one false belief system for another.

There is a difference between Roman Catholicism and Christianity.

Below is from Gotquestions.org

Question: "Who is the Lady of Guadalupe? Were the apparitions of Mary at Guadalupe real?"

Answer: In Catholicism, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico, pictured as a woman in a blue mantle. Her hands are folded, her eyes are cast downward, and she is surrounded by a radiant glow. She is standing on a crescent moon supported by an angel underneath. This image is based on a series of five supposed appearances of the Virgin Mary in Mexico in the sixteenth century.

There are many different accounts of the Lady of Guadalupe, but what follows are the aspects of the story that appear most consistently. On December 9, 1531, a man named Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, was walking on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City when he saw an apparition. Before him was a young Aztec girl. In the native Nahuatl language, the girl requested that a church be built on that hill in her honor. According to Diego, the girl was the Virgin Mary. When Diego told his story to the archbishop of Mexico City, Diego was instructed to return to the hill and ask for a sign to prove that she was indeed the Blessed Virgin.

When Diego returned to the place, the same girl appeared again and instructed him to gather flowers from the hill. The hill was normally barren, but at this time Diego found Castilian roses, which are not native to Mexico. The girl took the roses and placed them in Juan Diego’s cloak. When Diego returned to the archbishop and opened his cloak, the flowers fell to the ground. To their amazement, the inside of the cloak bore an image of the girl. Diego claimed he was visited by the girl three more times. She is now known as the Virgin of Guadalupe. The image imprinted in Diego’s cloak is on display now in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is widespread. Various popes since 1531 have declared her the patroness of not only Mexico but of all Latin America and then of all the Americas. Every year millions of faithful Catholics visit the basilica in Guadalupe to view her image enshrined there. Her feast is on December 12.

The apparitions seen by Diego have been questioned many times throughout history because of the lack of any documentation of the event prior to 1648. Critics also point out that the archbishop who spoke with Juan Diego failed to mention the accounts in his writings.

Catholic tradition relays many accounts of Mary, angels, or saints appearing to people. It is possible that some of these people did in fact witness supernatural events. It is the true source of these visions that is in question.

It is important to note that just because an apparition is authentic does not mean it brings a message from God. Having a genuine spiritual encounter does not mean the entity encountered was actually Mary, an angel, or a saint. Demons are called “lying spirits” (1 Kings 22:23), and one thing they do well is lie. Second Corinthians 11:14–15 says, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” A possible explanation for apparitions of Mary, such as the young woman Juan Diego saw, is satanic deception.

We also know that a genuine message from God would not contradict the Word of God. Did the Lady of Guadalupe say anything that was inconsistent with the Bible? We have no exact quotes. However, one thing is sure—the Lady of Guadalupe asked for a church to be built in her honor.

Here is our evaluation of the apparition:

• Juan Diego said that the young girl looked as if she was of Aztec descent. Mary was Jewish, from the line of David.

• Many accounts claim that the girl said, “I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God.” Catholics believe Mary to have an exalted place in heaven, with the most direct access to Jesus and God the Father. They also believe Mary was a perpetual virgin. Such a concept is nowhere taught in Scripture. Also, the Bible never calls Mary the “mother of God.”

• The young girl that Diego saw asked for a shrine to be built in her honor. The biblical Mary would never ask for anything to be done in her honor. Rather, she would instruct people to honor and worship God (see Luke 1:46).

• In some accounts of the story, the lady says she would answer prayer. This is also unbiblical. God alone answers prayer.

Did something supernatural occur on Tepeyac Hill and witnessed by Juan Diego? Yes, probably. Did Mary actually appear to him? No. Was the message from God? Based on its disagreements with the Word of God, no.

https://www.gotquestions.org/Lady-of-Guadalupe.html

The Fifteen Promises of the Rosary compared to the Word of God.

The astute reader will note the contradictions of the claims of the apparition claiming to be Mary with the Word.

15 Promises of the Rosary	Comparison to the New Testament
1) Whoever shall faithfully serve Me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces..	4“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5“You shall not worship them or serve them ; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Ex 20¨4-6 NASB
2. I promise My special protection and the greatest graces to all who shall recite the Rosary.	11“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12“He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” John 10:11-18 NASB
3) The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin, and dispel heresy..	10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17 NASB
4. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.	8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 NASB
5) Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.	16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life . 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:16-18 NASB
6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.	7“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8“So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 9“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] 14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Matthew 6:7-14 NASB
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.	16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB
8. Those who are faithful in reciting the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.	37But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 NASB
9) I shall deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary..	27And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 9:27-28
10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.	28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 NASB
11) What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.	14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15 NASB 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NASB
12. All those who propagate the holy Rosary shall be aided by Me in their necessities.	6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5: 6-11NASB
13. I have obtained from My Divine Son, that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors, the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.	26In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 NASB
14. All who recite the Rosary are My sons, and brothers of My only son Jesus Christ.	14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:14-17 NASB
15. Devotion to My Rosary is a great sign of predestination.	29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. Romans 8:29-30 NASB

Bible quotes from NASB

RCC position on Mary from https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya4.htm

All Catholics believe that Christ is their Lord and Savior. Therefore all Catholics are saved.

You forget all of the other stuff Roman Catholics have to believe to have salvation. Anytime you add to faith in Christ for salvation....it's not Christianity.

Are you really saying that being a Catholic Christian is no better than being an aztec?

They have a better moral code than what they used to have. For example, Mormons are very nice people. They make great neighbors due to their high moral code. However, that isn't what saves you. The Aztecs traded worship of one false system for another.

Are you saying that Mexico is no closer to God now than it was when it didn’t know of Jesus and was a pagan nation?

Mexico is basically a narco-run state now. It doubtful they are closer to God now than before. Again, they've traded one false system for another.

You’ve already conceded that I’m going to heaven even though I pray to Mary and other saints in heaven. Why doesn’t this apply to all Catholics?

No...I think I've said in past I don't know where you are from a salvation perspective. You're all over the place.

Christianity doesn't teach what Roman Catholicism teaches.

If you saw my post comparing the 15 promises by the apparition claiming to be Mary with the Word you might begin to see why I wrote what I did regarding this topic.

The Mary we see in the NT would not make the contradictory statements made by the apparitions.

Would Mary have said to build a shrine in my honor as the apparition claiming to be Mary did?

No.

That Roman Catholicism continues to advance belief in that, among other false beliefs, is a very strong proof that Roman Catholicism is not Christianity.

Arguments against the title “Theotokos” or “Mother of God” have to be clear about what motherhood is. Otherwise they may end up in straw man territory, arguing against what is not asserted.

Actually there needs to be a clear definition of Who God is.

The original intent I believe is something different than what has manifested itself in Roman Catholicism and the overwhelming worship of Mary.

If Mary is the "mother of God" then by implication she is the mother of the Spirit and the Father.

It could be further argued this elevates Mary above all three in that a mother has to exist before the offspring.

There is currently an appeal among some Roman Catholics to have a fifth Marian dogma.

The proclamation of the Dogma of Mary Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate by the Holy Father will enable the Mother of Jesus to shower the world with a historic outpouring of grace, redemption, and peace in a new and dynamic way—an event which Marian apparitions like Fatima refer to as the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

http://www.fifthmariandogma.com/

It seems the birth, death and resurrection of Christ is somehow insufficient for Roman Catholicism.

I really think this whole issue of Jesus' deity and humanity could have been resolved by an appeal to John 1.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. The Witness John 6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. The Word Made Flesh 14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-14 NASB

The standard account of the Trinity is that while each person is God, each person is NOT one of the others.

You could say that in Trinitarian thought “is” is not commutative. The Son is God, but God is not the Son ... kinda like that.

So if the Chalcedonian formula and the Nicene formula are taken together, it does not follow that Mary is the mother of the other “persons.”
...

The Incarnation is about the eternal entering temporality. God is not before or after. He is. It's risky but I think of him surrounding or “comprehending” time.

So, the problem of a mother having to pre-exist the child is not a difficulty. It IS a wonder. Our Advent Marian hymn, Alma Redemptoris Mater riffs on the wonder:

..., tu quæ genuísti,
Natúra miránte, tuum sanctum Genitórem ...

You who “generated”, nature marveling, your holy “Generator.”

(Hey, I don't write this stuff ... Srsly, we don't have a good English word for “genitor.”)

So, especially if you think of eternity not as time extending infinitely forward and backward but as outside of time, there is not a huge problem with reconciling the way Mary is “before” Jesus and the way she cannot be thought of as “before” God. The Incarnation is God entering the realm he made, the realm of time and change and therefore of before and after.

And there are good reasons for thinking of eternity that way, having to do with the changelessness of God. Time is “the measure of change.” So until there's something that changes, it is hard to imagine what time would be. Yet there would be God. etc., etc., yatta, yatta.

As to coredemptrix and all, it seems to me that every good dogma has the possibility of starting erroneous trains of thought, and parsing out in what way humans are channels of redemption and in what way they can't be has to be left for another time if we're going to pick apart “Mother of God.”

But now I have to go prepare a class on ... the Rosary! LOL!

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