Signposts On The Way

Signposts Along the Way?  She Serves as the Signpost!

Today we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe, in some places with greater tradition than others.  Please let me share with you why this series of Mary’s apparitions continues to take my breath away. 

Two peoples had been at war until one totally vanquished the other, ruling with a strong hand, endeavoring to obliterate the others’ freedom & culture & religion, denying their humanity, enslaving many, and continuing to kill them at will.  And the conquerors were doing this in the name of their own God and country.  We know from their own poetry that the vanquished, facing this version of being conquered, wanted to die off totally rather than continue in this type of half-life.

Mary appeared to both cultures – through a member of the vanquished people.  Through her words, how she was dressed, the choices she made, and her claim as their mother, she brought to the vanquished people hope where there had been none.  Her appearance, captured on the mantle of the indigenous man whom she chose to work through, spoke simultaneously and powerfully to the conquerors.  They were impelled to respect her presence, recognize her choices, and fulfill her request.

Although these two peoples had no way to understand each other – and no inclination to do so – they received Mary’s message at the same time.  Her appearance itself, full of imagery and implications from both cultures, got through to both cultures.  Her words showed a path forward that included both cultures.  Was healing immediate?  Not at all.  But the path to walk, which continues to this day, continues to include ALL cultures, all peoples.

In our strife-torn U.S. culture today, I think the fullness and genius of Our Lady of Guadalupe are tremendously important.  How can each of us, in our encounters with others, be a beacon of hope and a consistent indication of an inclusive path forward?