About Today
Friday 12 December 2025
Friday of the 2nd week of Advent or Our Lady of Guadalupe
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near Mexico City, is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in North America. On December 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Indian convert, Juan Diego, and left with him a picture of herself impressed upon his cloak. Devotion to Mary under this title has continually increased, and today she is the Patroness of the Americas.
See also the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
Other saints: Saint Finian of Clonard (470 - 549)
Ireland
He founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath, and the Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him. See the article in Wikipedia.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19
At that time: Jesus said to the crowd: ‘To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to their playmates,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”
‘For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe is associated with a series of five Marian apparitions to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, which occurred in December 1531. At the same time an image of Our Lady miraculously appeared on St. Juan Diego’s tilma (poncho) in the same year. Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) granted the image a decree of Canonical Coronation on 8 February 1887. The basilica in Mexico City is one of the most-visited Catholic shrines in the world.
It was on 12 December 1531, during her last apparition, that Our Lady left her image on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), which was made of cactus fibre. She bore in mind the local beliefs of the Aztec people. This led to a precious image of Our Lady that is full of symbols that were meant to teach the Aztec people about who she was and highlight her love for the local population. Firstly her skin complexion appears to be that of the local indigenous people. More specifically she is portrayed as mestizo (a combination of Mexican and Spanish), indicating that she is for all people. Her eyes are cast downwards, indicating to them that she was not a god and symbolising her humility.
Our Lady wears a rose-tinted tunic (rose being symbolic for a ‘new dawn’) with four-petaled flowers imprinted on it, symbolising the four seasons. Wrapped around her is a bluish-turquoise cloak with stars upon it. This is the colour of both royalty and the heavens. She may not be a god, but she is certainly in Heaven. The circle medallion around her neck encloses an image engraved with a cross. This symbolises her consecration to her son Jesus Christ. Behind her are rays of sunlight. This has been interpreted by some to convey that Mary is greater than the Aztec sun god. Similarly, she stands upon the moon, showing possibly her superiority to the Aztec moon god and that she is greater than the night. Of course the sun and moon stand for so much different artistic symbolic richness. Not one interpretation alone needs to be chosen.
Our painting from 1656 features a copy of the main, famous image in the middle. Other scenes depict apparitions to Juan Diego, culminating in the bottom right, where Juan Diego opens his cloak, revealing the image Our Lady imprinted on his tilma.
Image and Apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Painted by José Juárez (1617-1661),
Painted in 1656,
Oil on canvas
© Monasterio de Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda, Soria, Spain
Friday of the 2nd week of Advent or Our Lady of Guadalupe
Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near Mexico City, is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in North America. On December 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Indian convert, Juan Diego, and left with him a picture of herself impressed upon his cloak. Devotion to Mary under this title has continually increased, and today she is the Patroness of the Americas.
See also the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
Other saints: Saint Finian of Clonard (470 - 549)
Ireland
He founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath, and the Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him. See the article in Wikipedia.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19
At that time: Jesus said to the crowd: ‘To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to their playmates,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.”
‘For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.’
Reflection on the painting
Today we celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe is associated with a series of five Marian apparitions to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego and his uncle, Juan Bernardino, which occurred in December 1531. At the same time an image of Our Lady miraculously appeared on St. Juan Diego’s tilma (poncho) in the same year. Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) granted the image a decree of Canonical Coronation on 8 February 1887. The basilica in Mexico City is one of the most-visited Catholic shrines in the world.
It was on 12 December 1531, during her last apparition, that Our Lady left her image on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), which was made of cactus fibre. She bore in mind the local beliefs of the Aztec people. This led to a precious image of Our Lady that is full of symbols that were meant to teach the Aztec people about who she was and highlight her love for the local population. Firstly her skin complexion appears to be that of the local indigenous people. More specifically she is portrayed as mestizo (a combination of Mexican and Spanish), indicating that she is for all people. Her eyes are cast downwards, indicating to them that she was not a god and symbolising her humility.
Our Lady wears a rose-tinted tunic (rose being symbolic for a ‘new dawn’) with four-petaled flowers imprinted on it, symbolising the four seasons. Wrapped around her is a bluish-turquoise cloak with stars upon it. This is the colour of both royalty and the heavens. She may not be a god, but she is certainly in Heaven. The circle medallion around her neck encloses an image engraved with a cross. This symbolises her consecration to her son Jesus Christ. Behind her are rays of sunlight. This has been interpreted by some to convey that Mary is greater than the Aztec sun god. Similarly, she stands upon the moon, showing possibly her superiority to the Aztec moon god and that she is greater than the night. Of course the sun and moon stand for so much different artistic symbolic richness. Not one interpretation alone needs to be chosen.
Our painting from 1656 features a copy of the main, famous image in the middle. Other scenes depict apparitions to Juan Diego, culminating in the bottom right, where Juan Diego opens his cloak, revealing the image Our Lady imprinted on his tilma.
Image and Apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Painted by José Juárez (1617-1661),
Painted in 1656,
Oil on canvas
© Monasterio de Sor María de Jesús de Ágreda, Soria, Spain