Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
(Zechariah 2:14-17; Luke 1:26-38)
Humans do not initiate Christian repentance. It is a divine undertaking. For this reason, both John the Baptist and
Jesus preached, "The Kingdom of God is near," before calling people
to repent. They urged people to seize the opportunity to meet God on good
terms. This dynamic was also at play at
Tepeyac with the Virgin of Guadalupe.
When the Virgen met the indigenous Juan Diego, she
introduced herself as the “mother of God.” She represented God to Mexico’s
native people. After Juan Diego carried
out her orders, his tilma showed her image, and the Spanish bishop of Mexico recognized
the Virgin’s glory. More significantly,
the event resulted in the massive conversion of the Mexican people.
We have heard John the Baptist’s call on the Second Sunday
of Advent. Now is the time to repent. We may be reluctant to accept the invitation. When the world goes to celebrate, should we
go to confession? Yes, we should. The whole point of Jesus’ coming was to save
us from sin and death. The process will
be completed with the Easter events. Let
us repent and believe, the sooner the better.
