(optional) Memorial of Saint Juan Diego of Cuauhtlatloatzin
(Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15)
Today the Church, especially in Mexico,
celebrates the feast of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatloatzin. He was the humble indigenous man who received
the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Under orders of the Virgin, he reluctantly visited the bishop of
Mexico. He told the hierarch to build a
church for the indigenous on the hill where many lived. This simple man can be compared and
contrasted to John the Baptist in today’s gospel.
Juan Diego had none of the force of
John. After their first encounter, he
tried to avoid meeting the Virgin. He
also served in the church that was eventually constructed on the site of the
Virgin’s appearance. Juan Diego was one
of “’the least in the Kingdom…greater than John.’” Like John the Baptist, Juan Diego completed
his mission of announcing the coming of the Lord. The Virgin should be taken as sign that the
Lord is near. Indeed, one of the
characteristics of Our Lady of Guadalupe is that she wears a ribbon of
pregnancy around her waist.
Humility becomes anyone. All of us must become humble if we are to enter
the Kingdom of God. The world of
“selfies” and Instagram will take issue with this truth. But we know that John humbled himself before
Jesus. We too must dwell less on
ourselves and more on the Lord.
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