(1474-1548) Visionary |
||
Visionary chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe Patron of Faithful Laity |
 |
|
|
On July 2002 Juan Diego was canonized a saint. He was a member of the lowest and largest class in the Aztec Empire. When talking to Our Lady he refers to himself as "a nobody" as the source of his lack of credibility before the Bishop. Juan Diego worked hard and was a very devoted, religious man, even before his conversion. He was a solitary, mystical character, prone to spells of silence and frequent penance and used to walk from his village to Mexico City, 14 miles away, to receive religious instruction and to go to church departing early morning, before dawn. He walked on naked feet, as all the people of his class, the macehualli. During one of these 3 1/2 hour walks to Tenochtitlan, the First apparition occurred. The Blessed Virgin Mary called him "Juanito, Juan Dieguito", "the most humble of my sons", "my son the least", "my little dear". He was 57 years old, certainly an old age in a time and place where the male life expectancy was barely above 40. After the miracle of Guadalupe, Juan Diego moved to a room attached to the chapel that housed the sacred image, after having given his business and property to his uncle; and he spent the rest of his life propagating the account of the apparitions to his countrymen. He died on May 30, 1548, at the age of 74. Juan Diego deeply loved the Holy Eucharist, and by special permission of the Bishop he received Holy Communion three times a week, a highly unusual occurrence in those times. Pope John Paul II praised Juan Diego for his simple faith and presents him to us as a model of humility. St. Juan Diego's feast day is December 9th. During an apparition on December 9, 1531, Our Lady told Juan Diego, "Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything." We pray to St. Juan Diego that we will always be under Our Lady of Guadalupe's protection and that through humility, we may be confident in finding God's will in all we do to fight the Culture of Death. You who were chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe as an instrument to show your people and the world that the way of Christianity is one of love, compassion, understanding, values, sacrifices, repentance of our sins, appreciation and respect for God's creation, and most of all one of HUMILITY and obedience. You who we know is now in the Kingdom of the Lord and close to our Mother, be our angel and protect us, stay with us as we struggle in this modern life not knowing most of the time where to set our priorities. Help us to pray to our God to obtain the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them for the good of humanity and the good of our Church, through the Heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Heart of Jesus. Amen. |
||