December 12 – Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe

St. Mary Catholic Church and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Kavanaugh #54, invite everyone to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, with Mass at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, December 12. Following Mass, the celebration will continue with live Mariachi music, churros and Mexican hot chocolate in the Lyceum (313 Duke Street)! ALSO, be sure to check out the new Our Lady of Guadalupe image displayed on the wall in the Sacred Heart transept to the right of the church sanctuary. According to the earliest reliable account, Juan Diego, a poor Aztec Indian and Christian convert, was walking in the hills near what is now Mexico City. He encountered an apparition of a beautiful lady who identified herself as the ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God. She said a church should be built in that place and instructed Juan Diego to tell the bishop. The bishop asked for proof of what Juan Diego said he had seen and heard. The poor man returned to the hillside spot and again saw the Virgin. She told him to climb to the top of the hill and gather flowers for the bishop. Once there, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, which were not in season (it was freezing!) and not native to the region. The Blessed Mother arranged the flowers in Juan’s tilma (a simple cloak), admonishing him to open it only in the presence of the bishop. When Juan Diego arrived at the bishop’s residence and opened the cloak, the flowers fell to the floor. Left on the surface of the tilma was the image of Mary that has come to be known as “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” For more on Our Lady of Guadalupe, click here.