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Our Lady of Guadlupe

Our Lady of Guadlalupe

The Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe The only true picture of the Mother of God To the Aztecs a message To the Spaniards a picture color, lines, stars, designs, rays, moon. all have meaning  Flowers and Songs Mary appeared on Tepeyac, the hill was covered with flowers, surrounded by songs of the most beautiful birds meaning: flowers and songs mean the full truth  DESCRIPTION Image Size of the image: 6 1/2' X 3 1/2' Mary adolescent, around 15, oval face, Mexican clear dark face, a little mother Angel as a caryatid, wings half open, sustain Our Lady red, white, blue in color the angel is holding both: the pink dress represents earth; the blue mantle represents heaven meaning: Heaven and earth are witnesses to the truth of the apparition message Stars Brightest gold - finest - royalty: as if woven, as if they would fall at touch 48 stars, 8 points; 22 on right, 26 on left show constellations that were in the sky at the time of the apparition 10:30 am December 12, 1531 pattern: The stars on one side represent the northern constellations, the others represent the southern constellations. Can see Venus the morning star, Virgo would fall on the hands, Leo on the womb, crown of stars on the head. Dress in Nahuatl the designs of gold thread as embroidered flowers of 8 petals represent mountains; the only 4-petal flower on womb just below sash in the center means life and movement Sash tied around the waist; symbol of pregnancy Central part of dress bulging - means She is with child Cuffs End of dress rolled back over the sleeves white fur means nobility - dressed in Jewish nobility - nothing Indian about it Hands joined in prayer of supplication, therefore not a goddess; there is someone greater than Her Moon stands on moon, horns up - Rev. 12:1 moon pagan god of night, providence, youth, war She is greater than the moon Sun mighty god; Our Lady blocks the sun behind Her She is brighter than the sun god Rays rays bright near body, fade out away from body 129 rays - 62 on right, 67 on left equidistant alternating forms: 1) straight like swords 2) undulating flames Red Border because of rising sun - new life Cloud surrounding the entire image

[Salvation]

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadlupe

Have any of you visited this?

The images are not coming up.........so click on the link to view them. Sorry.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

 Map of the Shrine

 

1. Chapel of Tepeyac	6. Carillon
2. Old Basilica	7. Chapel of the Indians
3. New Basilica with Baptistry	8. Chapel of the Well
4. Plaza of the Americas 5. Capuchin Chapel	9. Galleon

 

 1. Chapel of Tepeyac - On this site once stood the Aztec temple to Tonantzin, our venerated mother, mother of the gods. It is here that the true Mother of God chose to appear to Juan Diego and supplant the idolatrous worship of the indigenous peoples with worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit. In this chapel the holy image initially was venerated, cared for by Juna Diego, who lived on the premises. Today only a replica hangs here, the original image is in the modern basilica.

 2. Old Basilica - begun in 1695 and finished in 1709 this basilica succeeded the Chapel of Tepeyac as the shrine of the Image. However, because Mexico (City) is built on a lake bed the basilica has both settled and been subject to the ravages of the earthquakes experienced by the city. Today it is leaning considerably and has been closed for the safety of the public.

2a. Statue - Standing adjacent to the Basilica, between the old and new one,  is a statue of Pope John Paul II, dedicated in 1981 to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the apparitions and the first anniversary of the Pope's initial visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

 3. New Basilica, with its round Baptistry (3a)- dedicated in 1976 the new basilica can hold 20,000 people and gives an unobstructed view of the Image and the altar to all. There are 1000 subterranean pillars to support the structure, but no internal ones. Between the altar and the wall upon which the Image hangs is a space where the people can pass on a conveyor belt system to view the Image above. Each day from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Holy Mass is celebrated each half hour for the sake of the pilgrims.  

An attempt in the '20s to blow up the Image bent this candlestick. The Image, only a few feet away, was unharmed.

The Image as seen from the altar area

The vault door leading to the Image from behind.

 

4. Plaza of the Americas - a great open plaza permits the attendance of many hundreds of thousands beyond those who can enter the Basilica. On such occasions the front walls of the Basilica can be rolled aside permitting a view of the interior from the Plaza. Here often can be seen various peoples singing, dancing and exhibiting the culture and costumes of their regions for visitors - a testimony to the unity of the various indigenous peoples in the Catholic faith which has been accomplished by the Virgin of Guadalupe. Here also, as at other religious shrines in Latin countries, can be seen penitents completing the last stage of their journey to Our Lady on their knees.

 

 5. Capuchin Chapel - the parish church of the region, it has also suffered from sinking. It is believed that Juan Diego is buried on the site.

Old Basilica and Capuchin Chapel

  6. Carillon - Completed in 1991 this bell and clock tower shows computerized images representing the four apparitions of Our Lady to Juan Diego, as a means of catechesis. Standing 76.5 feet tall, it can play 38 different chimes and 23 melodies.

7. Chapel of the Indians - this first church on the site is a especially frequented by native Americans.

 

8. Chapel of the Well - dedicated in 1777 this chapel is built over a sulphurous spring from pre-Columbian times, one that is   reputed to have medicinal properties.

 9. Galleon - the masts of a ship were carried to the site in the 1700s, in fulfillment of a vow to build a shrine on Tepeyac if Our Lady would save the ship's crew from a tropical storm. The masts were carried on the backs of the sailors from Vera Cruz on the coast to Tepeyac and today are encased within the modern monument. 

 

 

[Salvation]

American Catholic’s Saint of the Day

December 12, 2006

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. Chronicles of that period tell us the story.

A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.

He was walking by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music like the warbling of birds. A radiant cloud appeared and within it a young Native American maiden dressed like an Aztec princess. The lady spoke to him in his own language and sent him to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop was to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.

Eventually the bishop told Juan Diego to have the lady give him a sign. About this same time Juan Diego’s uncle became seriously ill. This led poor Diego to try to avoid the lady. The lady found Diego, nevertheless, assured him that his uncle would recover and provided roses for Juan to carry to the bishop in his cape or tilma.

When Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, the roses fell to the ground and the bishop sank to his knees. On Juan Diego’s tilma appeared an image of Mary as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac. It was December 12, 1531.

Comment:

Mary's appearance to Juan Diego as one of his people is a powerful reminder that Mary and the God who sent her accept all peoples. In the context of the sometimes rude and cruel treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards, the apparition was a rebuke to the Spaniards and an event of vast significance for Native Americans. While a number of them had converted before this incident, they now came in droves. According to a contemporary chronicler, nine million Indians became Catholic in a very short time. In these days when we hear so much about God's preferential option for the poor, Our Lady of Guadalupe cries out to us that God's love for and identification with the poor is an age-old truth that stems from the Gospel itself.

Quote:

Mary to Juan Diego: “My dearest son, I am the eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, Author of Life, Creator of all and Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth...and it is my desire that a church be built here in this place for me, where, as your most merciful Mother and that of all your people, I may show my loving clemency and the compassion that I bear to the Indians, and to those who love and seek me...” (from an ancient chronicle).

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