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Our Lady of Guadalupe - Queen of Peace – Patron of the Americas
Our Pastor said yesterday, that if we are not careful, God is in our midst and we do not recognize Him. Our Ministry and Community has brought pilgrims to Medjugorje and unless the Vatican says not to, we will continue to do so. So, this is in no way to belittle what is happening through our Lady of Peace in Medjugorje. But we have a Lady of Peace who is with us, here in our very own continent. She is called our Lady of the Americas, or our Lady of Guadalupe. Although she may not be known as our Lady Queen of Peace, that is very clearly why she came. And she not only came, she stayed. I really believe we, in the Americas need to know and remember that.
When our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, a poor Indian who had recently converted to the faith, Mexico was on the verge of a bloodbath massacre. When we think of Mexico, we think of all the land south of our border. When our Lady appeared, Mexico included much of what is the United States, today. On the eve of Mother Mary's appearance, the Indians were planning to attack and wipe out every vestige of Europeans in their land.
The Indians had greeted Cortez with open arms. He reminded them of the blonde prophet Quetzelcoatl, who had appeared in Chouala in 700 A.D. (Aside: It is believed that possibly this was St. Brendon of Ireland.) It is believed that he taught them a religion very much like Christianity. But not all those who came with him had his focus.
The Indians trusted the Spaniards. The Spaniards wanted their gold and the Indians gladly gave it to them. But gold can be like any obsession, there is never enough, never too much. Once, you taste of it you desire more. It is said, the single greatest cause of break up of Marriages is over finances. When someone dies, families break up over guess what? Right money (gold).
Things went from bad to worse. The Spaniards were afraid of the Indians. They had human sacrifices. The first born of a specially chosen family was raised to be sacrificed to their god. This child was treated specially as he or she was growing up, someone set aside. And then, to appease their god, they offered up this virgin, what they considered spotless sacrifice to the god, so he would not punish them. Sounds like a distortion of the Spotless Lamb, our Lord Who died for the remission of our sins, doesn't it? Now, let us suppose that their blonde god was St. Brendon. And suppose he had taught them about Jesus, how he had been born to die for our sins. Maybe, after he died, the truth got lost and became misinterpreted.
In any event, the Spaniards did not understand; they were afraid. And what do we do when we are afraid? Kill before you are killed. And so, they massacred the Indians. Now, it was the Indians' turn! Annihilate every European in their land. The only problem, our Lady had another idea. After all, they were all her children! And so, on the eve of destruction, she came to an Indian, to Juan Diego. When he questioned her, why she did not pick someone else, a Spaniard, She replied it had to be him!
Our Lady came to the Americas to save her children. Although, I am sure, She was most unhappy the way they (the Europeans) had treated Her in Europe and now how they were treating her poor Indian children, she loved them, and they were about to die horribly! And so, she came! And she not only saved the Europeans, She brought her Indian children into the family of God. We had pentecost every day, over 8 million conversions in 7 years. Never in the history of the Church have we had anything to equal it (up until now)! Because of this one act, a culture developed, a mixture of noble Spanish and Indian blood to form the Mexican family. A people who would be faithful to their Guadalupana from 1531 to today. Ninety-five percent of the Mexican people are Catholic, but 98% are guadalupanos (Pope John Paul II).
Our Lady, for the past 2000 years, has been trying to warn Her children. And so, we get down on our knees, until the crisis is over and then we go back to our lives, concentrating on saving a carcass which we cannot take with us, a house that is falling apart, and a car that is designed to stop running after 3 years.
Why are people flocking to Medjugorje? Why are we going where we believe Mother Mary is appearing? Why do we hunger to read Her every message? Is it curiosity? Maybe, we may start out that way, but I soon think our Lady gets to us, and because the times are so serious and danger so imminent, the Lord, in His Mercy, is showing us signs that we must convert now! At Cana, Mother Mary said: "Listen to my Son. Do whatever He tells you." I believe Jesus is now saying: "Listen to My Mother. Do whatever She tells you."
Just as we were putting this edition of our paper to bed, Father Ken, at Daily Mass, asked us to pray for the Russian people as their has been a coup, an overthrow of Gorbachev and the existing government. I wanted to cry out, pray for all the people of the world. Anger and hate could never be contained to a people or a country. Now, in a matter of hours, it can destroy the entire world.
When my oldest brother went to war, World War II, my mother and all the other mothers in our neighborhood, in Brooklyn, processed on their knees, in the streets, following a statue of the Blessed Mother into the Church. My mother and I bet, a lot of other mothers, struck bargains with the Lord. The boys came home and all the mothers and their families went about surviving in the world. Oh, they continued to pray, but it did not have the urgency. And so, we have had Korea and Vietnam and now Kuwait and Iraq!
When our boys were in danger in the Mid-East, just this year, the churches were packed. And God listened! He sent His Angels to defend them, to put a smoke screen between them and harm. The churches swelled not only with mothers, but fathers, brothers and sisters, and wives! We prayed passionately together and God made us into family. And our loved ones came home!
As we hear about hurricanes, earthquakes, famines, plagues, uprisings, we know the time is now. Now, is the time for prayer, for passionate prayer!
We have a Lord Who listens. He is present at every Holy Mass. He is waiting patiently in the Tabernacle, ready to listen to our prayers. We have a Blessed Mother who is available, an everlasting, loving, compassionate mother who never gives up on us, no matter how many times we turn away from her, or hurt her or her Son.
If you cannot travel to Medjugorje because of the world situation, or because of lack of finances, you have a Lady who is present, who has never left us (her image is their on the tilma where she appeared almost 500 years ago). She is waiting for you. She has, through her intercession, brought about thousands of miracles. We are in a day of miracles. We are in a day that has need of miracles. If you can, go to our Lady of Guadalupe and speak to her; beg her for peace, for peace in our families, in our Church, in our country, in our world. Give her a chance and see what she does.
And if you cannot go to talk to our Lady of Guadalupe, go to your local parish church, or go down on your knees in your home and pray the rosary. She gave that to us as ammunition against the enemy. Now is the time to fight! Go to our general in charge, Mother.
For more information about our Lady of Guadalupe click here
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