Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization

by Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, D.D., J.C.D.
National Director of the Marian Catechist Apostolate

From December 9 - 16, 2001, I was privileged to lead a pilgrimage, of more than one hundred faithful, to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City. We were blessed to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on December 12, at the Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe; participating in both the Midnight Mass to salute Our Lady, at the beginning of her feast day, and also the Mass of the Roses, which was celebrated by Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico City.

Our pilgrim group was also blessed to celebrate Mass in the Church of the Holy Family, in which Blessed Miguel Pro is buried. Blessed Father Pro, who carried out heroically his priestly ministry during the time of a fierce persecution in the 1920's, left inscribed upon his prison wall two exclamations of prayer: Viva Cristo Rey! Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! Long Live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe. Blessed Father Pro was martyred for the faith on November 23, 1927.

We also celebrated Mass at the Church of the Fifth Apparition, built on the site of the home of Juan Bernardino, uncle of Juan Diego, to whom Our Lady appeared when he was gravely ill and expected to die. Our Lady cured him, revealing to him her name of Guadalupe. Finally, we celebrated Mass in the Chapel on the top of Tepeyac Hill, the site of the first apparitions and the place where Juan Diego gathered the most beautiful and miraculous roses to present to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga as a sign of the truth of Our Lady’s apparitions, and of her desire of a chapel or shrine from which she could show forth God’s mercy, to the American continent and the world.

Several of the pilgrims were members of the Association of Marian Catechists of the Diocese of La Crosse, and of other parts of our nation. In the course of my daily conferences to the pilgrims, I had occasion to explain, in some detail, the Apostolate of the Marian Catechists as founded by the late, beloved Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The interest in the Apostolate of the Marian Catechists among the pilgrims was great. Several asked me to send them a copy of the Marian Catechist Manual. It is my hope that many will become Marian Catechists through the program of spiritual and doctrinal formation developed by Father Hardon. Surely, for those who are already Marian Catechists, the pilgrimage confirmed them in the apostolate of catechesis, and enriched them with the special graces which come from making pilgrimage to a sacred place.

It is not surprising that a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe would inspire an interest in catechesis among the pilgrims. After all, Our Lady explained to Blessed Juan Diego (to be canonized a saint in July of this year) that the purpose of her apparitions, and of her request that a chapel be built in her honor, was so that she could manifest God and His infinite mercy to all of the people of that place, the nation, and our American continent. For over 470 years, Our Blessed Mother has been faithfully present to her children of America, in the chapel which she requested to be built, and which has been replaced in our time by the new Basilica, completed in 1976. Through Mary, through the encounter with Our Lady of the Guadalupe, we are drawn to Christ her Son and to the salvation which He alone has won for us.

It is not by chance that our Holy Father Pope John Paul II has given to Our Lady of Guadalupe the title, Star of the New Evangelization. In other words, just as Mary brought Christ to our brothers and sisters in 1531, she brings Christ to us today. In 1531, through her message of God’s mercy, many of the native Americans were converted to the faith. They put an end to human sacrifice, a central practice of their pagan religion. The respect for the dignity of every human life was restored and cultivated among all of the people, especially the explorers and settlers who were failing in respect for their native American brothers and sisters.

Today, through Our Lady of Guadalupe’s message of God’s mercy, an end will be brought to the constant and brutal attack on human life through procured abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and embryonic stem-cell research. The Mother of God bids us to come to her today, in the misery of the culture of death, to know God’s mercy and to practice it.

Our Lady’s message at Tepeyac was, as it always is, the message of the Redemptive Incarnation; of the Coming of the Divine Son of God into the world; of our salvation through His Passion, Death and Resurrection; and of His abiding presence with us in the Church. Through the encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, thousands upon thousands were drawn to Christ, and came to life in Christ, through the Sacrament of Baptism. Through the encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe, her sons and daughters were led to a deeper knowledge of their Catholic faith, and to a more fervent practice of the faith. We pray that the encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe, today, will help us to transform the culture of death, into the civilization of love intended for us by God the Father.

The encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe, is as real today as it was in 1531, for her apparition on the tilma, or mantle, of Blessed Juan Diego remains with us. From the tilma, Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to gaze compassionately and lovingly upon all of her children of America, and to lead them to the mercy of God, in her Son, Jesus Christ. It is the desire of our Holy Father, and of the Church, that today, as much as in 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe bring us and our world to the mercy of God, to repentance for our sins, and to a more fervent life in Christ, Who alone is our salvation.

Let us confide our apostolate as Marian Catechists, whether we are active catechists, or contemplatives assisting the active catechists by our prayers and sacrifices, to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Let us seek the help of her prayers, that we, like Our Lady, may draw those whom we catechize to an ever deeper knowledge of God’s mercy in Christ, Who abides with us, always, in the Church.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is, indeed, the Star of the New Evangelization. From the tilma of Blessed Juan Diego, she gazes with special affection upon catechists. The light from her eyes, and the love of her Son and of His Church, which fills her heart, will inspire and help us to be faithful and generous catechists. As we gaze into the eyes of the Mother of God, on the tilma of Blessed Juan Diego, she gazes upon us, and invites us, to an ever deeper love of her Son, through the spiritual disciplines of the Marian Catechists, and to an ever deeper knowledge of Christ, through the home-study programs developed by Father Hardon. She will not fail to intercede for us and show us the way to be, with her, heralds and instruments of God’s loving mercy, for all of His children, especially His children of America.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization, pray for us.