Growing up with my grandmother, our outings often included a stop at the San Francisco Flower Mart to gather fresh roses as an offering to the Virgin Mary. The ritual was simple, yet steeped in devotion. My grandmother picked up an empty vase on a rack outside of Saint Patrick Church, trim the stems, and arranged the roses, placing them before the image of Our Lady. She did this often as a quiet act of love. It was a grandmother’s way of passing on the faith to her grandson.

Out of all titles given to the Virgin Mary, perhaps the most striking for me is Mother. More than a Pillar of Ivory, Morning Star, or even Queen, the most provocative title is rooted in her motherhood.

Today, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe gives emphasis to this noble title. I visited her shrine in Mexico City on two occasions. Each visit gave me this deep sense of honoring a mother blessed among all women.

In 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego at Tepeyac. She spoke to him in his own native language, Nahuatl. Her features were those of the indigenous people of the area. Appearing in this way showed her compassion and solidarity with the people, helping move them to conversion and acceptance of the Gospel. 

To Juan Diego, she gave this message:

I will give Him to the people in all my personal love, in my compassion, in my help, in my protection: because I am truly your merciful Mother, yours and all the people who live united in this land and of all the other people of different ancestries, my lovers, who love me, those who seek me, those who trust in me.

She is a mother at prayer. With her prayer hands, she looks down on us with eyes of tenderness and concern.

As we celebrate her feast day today, we will hear the Gospel account of the Annunciation. We see this posture of a mother at prayer. In the Angel’s greeting, she “considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29). The word consider derives from the Greek root for dialogue. She teaches us to enter into an interior dialogue with the Word. She shows us how to speak to the Word and let the Word speak to her. She is always praying and pondering this Word in her. She will give flesh and blood to this Word.

The Virgin Mary is a fearless woman and a master of a rich interiority. In recounting the Annunciation event, Pope Benedict XVI said,

She does not remain locked in her initial troubled state at the proximity of God in his angel, but she seeks to understand. So Mary appears as a fearless woman, one how remains composed even in the presence of something utterly unprecedented. At the same time she stands before us as a woman of great interiority, who holds heart and mind in harmony and seeks to understand the context, the overall significance of God’s message. – The Infancy Narratives, 33

In honor of our Lady of Guadalupe, here is a recording of the parish youth and young adult choir singing Biebl’s Ave Maria. This was a time in my life when I was the Music Director of a wonderful parish in Vacaville. As I stood before this choir, directly behind them was the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was a special moment when I felt her tender, motherly love. It was a moment that I was able to offer roses to the Virgin Mary as my grandmother taught me.

Happy Feast Day everyone!