Today is the Feast of Our Most Beloved Lady's apparition in the Americas near what is now the capital of Mexico.
In her apparitions, she consoles St. Juan Diego by telling him:
“I am your merciful mother and the mother of all the nations that live on this earth who would love me, who would speak with me, would search for me, and who would place their confidence in me. There I will hear their laments and remedy and cure all their miseries, misfortunes, and sorrow.” – vv. 24-25, Nican Mophua
So what is so special that Her image left on the tilma attracts millions upon millions of pilgrams every year.
One cannot discuss the image without taking into account the historical situation in which she appears. The Marian apparition known as La Virgen de Guadalupe could not have appeared at a more crucial time in Mexico’s history. Looking at her apparition, we find Mexico emerging from the final battles of the Spanish Inquisition. The indigenous lost their homes, their lives, the women, their gold, but most importantly, they lost their soul and their identity. As Europe “killed” their gods and converted them into a Christianity that, at that time in history, was rooted in the extreme harshness of God, La Reina Negra appears. She shows the Aztecs love and affection (the true Christian God). It is admist these two opposing cultures that Lady appears to set in motion an evolving synthesis and ecumenism (scary word I know....worry not, I am not a charisimaniac...using the word in a correct way where all become Catholic). Bl John Paul II thought she was the greatest model of evangelization. My discussion will rest on two sources: the Nican Mopohua (found here) and the actual miraculous image itself.
I will attempt to categorize this discussion in three groups: moment, place, and cultural imagery or iconography. Looking at the moment of the Marian apparition, the Nahua people connected with the date when the miracle occurred. According to the Aztec calendar, La Virgen de Guadalupe appeared on the eve of the winter solstice. For the Aztecs, this meant the birth of a new sun and life that would emerge. It occurred exactly 4 Aztec centuries after the foundation of Tenochtitlan. Therefore, amidst the horror previous conquest, the Aztecs had hope of a new sun being born. The Spaniards, on the other hand, were battling reformation and corruption. They struggled with evangelization and saw in the Nican Mopohua, a message of their much needed reconversion into the love of God instead of their fear of God.
The Aztecs believed that they were living in the era of the Fifth and last Epoch, the Sun of the Earthquake, which began in 1507. According to Aztec belief, there was a constant struggle between the Sun God (Tonatium) and the God of Night (Xiuhtecutl) who fought all through the night. As a sign of their great anger, both gods dressed themselves up with the Xiucoatls, mythic celestial serpents for this cosmic battle. It was believed there was only a limited supply of energy in the cosmos.This brings us to the first point regarding the image:
The place where the event occurred had very deep meaning for the Aztecs as well. The mount of Tepeyac was a sacred mountain for their Aztec ancestors. On this mount is where they had worshiped Tonantzin or Mother Earth. Guadalupe appeared as one of the people of Earth while at the same time divine and appeared to the Aztecs as a “baptized” Tonantzin. For the Spaniards, the place of Tepeyac provided a sense of familiarity. As most Marian apparitions have occurred, she appears nearby but away from the central focus of power. She comes on periphery of the Spaniards and holds the key to evangelizing the two seemingly opposite societies.
The constant reference to the "top of the hill" is vital for this evangelization: Our Lady serves as a contrast to the pyramid-temple where the old priests ascended to offer their human sacrifices; now San Juan Diego ascends to find 'beatiful flowers and heavenly music'; a true Divine encounter. "As I was arriving at the top of the hill, my eyes became fixed: it was the Flowering Earth!" (v. 105) This term of Flowering Earth is a Nahuatl term for the location where the ultimate truth resides.
The poem and image itself are full of rich Nahuatl imagery. The poem is just that – a poem. In Aztec culture, poetry was the language of the gods for the Aztecs. The beautiful expression was the best form of capturing the beauty that was the gods. Continuing on with Aztec Thought, the Guadalupe encounter occurred in the upmost beautiful way for the Aztecs – flor y canto. The Aztec culture was a culture in love with Earth (Tonantzin being Mother Earth) and a trust that their emotions and sensations were divine inspirations. They referred to divine revelation in terms of flor y canto. “Human discourse was never sufficient to communicate about the divine… for through beauty of image and the melodious sounds, the divine could be gradually experienced.” (Eilzondo, Guadalupe, 34) She came speaking poetic Nahuatl, amidst the singing of birds, and bearing the beauty of flowers, the sun, and love. “This is the ultimate truth of flor y canto (flower and song), the truth that is experienced through all the sense, through every fiber of one’s being and in the deepest recesses of one’s soul. The beautiful flowers that gave forth the heavenly perfume complete the revelation initiated by the singing of the birds. Now the truth of God is complete” - Guadalupe, pg. 76
Similarly for the Spaniards, she uses the same flor to convince the Bishop of Mexico of her mission and authority. She claims her divine authority as the Ever-Virgin Mother of God
“I am your merciful mother and the mother of all the nations that live on this earth who would love me, who would speak with me, would search for me, and who would place their confidence in me. There I will hear their laments and remedy and cure all their miseries, misfortunes, and sorrow.” – (vv. 24-25)
Here, she presents herself to the Christians in a way that is comprehendible to them. She is the Virgin Mary whose soul magnifies the Lord. The Nican Mopohua is a rich text that appeals to both opposing forces, as the perfect example of evangelization, brings both into the “light” and love of God.
Beyond the beauty of the flor y canto Our Lady left us her living image miraculously painted on the Juan Diego’s tilma. The image is inadequately described in human words – it is simply miraculous and divine. Aside from the various scientific puzzles of the image (ever-lasting tilma, colors, stroke-less, celestial arrangement…etc), Our Lady provides imagery (flor) that appeal to both the natives and the Christians. She bears a message to both the Christians and the Aztecs
On to the Image!!!
The virgin's clothing was shining like the sun, and the crag on which she stood seemed to give out rays of light. The earth seemed to shine with the brilliance of a rainbow, the mesquites, cactus and other scrubby plants seemed to glow like emeralds, their leaves like turquoise, and their thorns shining like gold (NM).
A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth (Revelation 12:1-2).
Her clothes also spoke to the Aztecs. She reveals her divine authority for she is dressed in the blue-green of divinity. But she also reveals that she is of the earth, for her dress is the color of the earth. In the apparition, the Virgin is seen at the center of creation surrounded by the sun, the stars and the moon. To the Indian mind the apparition of the Virgin signaled the day of the birth of the New Sun, the dawning of a new era. It is often said that she is blotting out the sun, proving that the Aztec worship of the sun god was over. This is only partially true.
Tonantzin is commonly associated with the snake goddess Coatlicue who can be seen as a type of Eve. Coatlicue, also known as Teteoinan "The Mother of Gods", is the Aztec serpant goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. She is also known as Toci ("our grandmother") and Cihuacoatl ("the lady of the serpent"), the patron of women who die in childbirth. The word "Coatlicue" is Nahuatl for "the one with the skirt of serpents". Both were worshipped at the Winter Solstice celebrations which is when she appears.
It has been suggested that the name 'Guadalupe' is actually a corruption of a Nahuatl name, 'Coatlaxopeuh'. To the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was, as his name indicates, a feathered serpent, a flying reptile (much like a dragon), who was a boundary maker (and transgressor) between earth and sky. He was also a creator deity having contributed essentially to the creation of Mankind. He was a chief God and serpant God whose name has been translated as 'Who Crushes the Serpent'. In this interpretation, the serpent is Quetzalcoatl, one of the chief Aztec gods, whom 'the Virgin Mary' crushed by inspiring the conversion of the natives to Catholicism. Of course we know that in Genesis, the offspring of the woman will crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
Mary transfigured their understanding of the sun god. She radiated Christ to them - in the many delicate gold designs of her tunic, in the glow of her aureole, or mandorla, a halo of golden rays that surrounds her, and she stands on a crescent moon which is supported by a winged angel, God's messenger.
Her hands are placed together in the form of common Aztec greeting. The Spaniards saw the Virgin's hands in a position of prayer or intercession.
She is standing (not sitting) and looks down at Juan Diego (all her children), calling the lowly to rise from their stooped humiliation. She bears an aura of love and upon his first encounter, Juan Diego is not fearful. In this is evident the most striking message; the equal and shared dignity. To a culture that once violently and regularly offered sacrifices to the gods; to a people that have been enslaved and humbled - Our Lady lifts them up and gives him the duty and message. She stresses that is important that he, and not one of the noble Spaniards as Juan Diego begs, carry the message to the Bishop.
For the Christians, she is pregnant but remains the Ever-Virgin Mary, indicated by her hair. She is supported by her angel. And her hands, while they greet the Aztecs calling them to rise up from their humiliation, call the Christians to a need of prayer in the Church. For the Spaniards she appears with the sun magnifying her glory behind her; it is her soul that magnifies the Lord and it is she that bring people to her Son. The first thing she does after the Annunciation is run to Elizabeth. She appears conquering the evil, dark moon. Like most Marian apparitions, she is calling us to a deeper prayer with her. We must go through her to receive the light of Christ for she is the mediator whose soul magnifies the Lord. And she still is beckoning her children to follow her Son and enter into his love (light).
Of course the stars on her mantle match up, exactly, to the constellation as they appeared that day. The colors are way out of the capacity in those times; they could not have been produced. The tilma itself should have disintegrated after a mere 20 years due to its poor and rough quality. The image it self has been bombed and once burned with Nitric Acid in the top right corner but over the years that burn has been healing itself.
And most miraculously, is the image in her eyes. This recent article explains it well but essentially, if I were to take a picture of you know, I would, if i zoomed into your eyes, be able to see my reflection. In her eyes, one can see the reflection of all who were gathered around when Juan Diego revealed his tilma. This, of course, was way out the possibilities of a poor Aztec in that time to finely draw that in.
Ok...there is a random stream of thoughts...I must get back to finals. Let us grow in Love and devotion to Our Most Blessed Mother who loves us so dearly
