“Mary instructed Juan Diego to visit his bishop and ask that a temple be built on the site of her appearance, so that she will have a place to hear petitions and to heal the suffering of the Mexican people. ‘Now go and put forth your best effort,’ Our Lady instructed.” ~ Excerpt from Catholic Online
Today, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. One thing is certain. Each time Mary appeared to people throughout the ages, she always had a request. Her request generally boiled down to prayer. Prayer for the conversion of Russia. Prayer for the world to repent. Prayer that God’s people would draw closer to her Son, Jesus. She always brought up her Son. She knew, in the grand scheme of things, that she was not the important one. She was merely a vessel through whom God spoke to His people.
We are to be the same. Too often we think that we are the ones that count, that we are the ones that matter. It’s not true. The ones who count are the ones to whom we have been called to serve. Does that mean that we have no value? Not at all. As we are called to serve others, someone has been called to serve us. God takes care of all of His people. It’s just that Jesus, being truly human, knows that we often learn better through others. If we show love to someone, that person is more open to the love of God as well.
As we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe, we ask God to give us the grace to accept His will for our lives and to get out of His way so that He may shine through in our words and deeds. We pray, as well, for the people of North and South America as we honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas.
FAITH ACTION: Choose to speak a word of encouragement to and to perform good works for others today.