Three simple things

On Thursday, 12 December, the Pope celebrated Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He invited the faithful to beware of ideological manipulations of the meaning of the Feast Day: the tilma, the rose and the Indigenous man. The following is a translation of the Pope’s homily which he delivered in Spanish.

Gazing upon the image of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, pregnant, announcing the birth of our Saviour, pregnant like a mother.

With what tenderness she said to the Indigenous man, “Do not fear…. Am I not here, I who am your mother?” (Nican Mapohua, 118-119). Mary’s motherhood is revealed. And regarding this mystery of Guadalupe, which unfortunately many ideologies wished to distort in order to gain ideological advantage over the mystery of Guadalupe, — a few things come to mind with regards to this mystery, simple things, but ones that make the message: the tilma (cloak), the Mother and the Rose. Very simple things.

Mary’s motherhood is impressed on this tilma, on this simple cloak. Mary’s motherhood is revealed in the beauty of the roses that the Indigenous man finds and picks, and Mary’s motherhood makes the miracle of bringing faith into the somewhat incredulous hearts of the bishops.

The tilma, the rose and the Indigenous man. Anything else that is said about this mystery of Guadalupe is a lie. It is wanting to use it for ideologies. The mystery of Guadalupe is to venerate her, and to hear her words in our ears: “Am I not here, I who am your mother”. And to listen to it in various moments in life: in life’s difficult moments, in life’s happy moments, in everyday life. “Do not fear…. Am I not here, I who am your mother?”. This is the whole message of Guadalupe. All others are ideologies.

Let us leave with the image of Our Lady impressed on the tilma of the Indigenous man, listening to her voice that repeats to us like a lullaby: “Do not fear… .Am I not here, I who am your mother?”. Amen.