Our Lady of Guadalupe

 "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Rev 19a

One of the great lessons of Advent and in the lives of the saints is that God comes to the humble.  St. Juan Diego described himself to Our Lady of Guadalupe as, "a nobody, .. small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf."  How he wondered would a bishop believe that Mary sent him to request that a church be built in her honor?  After all, by his own account, he was merely a subsistence farmer, a nobody.

Hearing Juan Diego's anxiety and fear, Mary assured him that if he took the flowers she gave him which were growing on the top of hill in frozen soil, the bishop would listen to her through him.  Indeed, when he brought the flowers to the bishop as proof of his own integrity and Mary's promise, the cloak with which he was carrying the flowers had an image of the woman who appeared to him. Startled, the bishop's skepticism melted away, and he ordered that a church be built in Mary's honor and gave Juan Diego permission to receive the Eucharist three times a week. A singular privilege at that time, receiving the Eucharist was a burden as well. The nearest church was a fifteen mile walk from his home!

Today, ask God for the faith to see yourself as God sees you.

Do you have a favorite Marian feast?

Take my Yoke Upon You

  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of hear." Mt 11:29

Thinking of Jesus as meek is counter intuitive. Because the Lord never seems afraid of the leaders of his day, we don't think of him as submissive to anyone or anything except his Father. At the same time, obedience and the submissiveness it implies is the key to the Gospel. Acknowledging and accepting our total dependence on God frees us not to worry or fret about success, but to trust that God will have God's way in the world.

When Jesus encourages us to take the yoke of his obedience upon our shoulders, he is assuring us that we will never be alone. Like a pair of oxen, Jesus and each of us, will work together to bear the weight of every burden and pull the wagon of God's message to the world. 

Today, help someone who seems heavy burdened to accept their yoke.

When have you felt most burdened by life, but supported by your faith?

Overcoming Weariness

  "The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny."

Weariness afflicts us all from time to time. An adult child can't find a job or worse, a path of peace to walk. A marriage has become drudgery or a friend seems always to be needy, and no matter how often we try to stay positive, our energy seeps away and life becomes an unending series of tasks to complete, not an adventure. We smile thinly when friends ask how we are, but the best part of the day is getting in bed and going to sleep. Some of our struggles come to everyone, but others seem never ending and we wonder where God is in all that is happening within and around us.

How good it is to hear Isaiah tells us that God never grows weary and is always ready to walk with us even when the road seems endless. We can be sure that God will always be as faithful to us as he was to the Jews of old. While we might grow weary and seek solace in places and people that offer only temporary relief, God will not abandon us, and Jesus' coming among us is the proof.

Today, take a few moments to remember how faithful God has been to you in "exile."

What circumstances in life make you most tired and doubtful?

Humility

   "Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Mt 11:11

Authentic humility, as demonstrated by John the Baptist, demands that Christians see themselves as part of something much greater than their accomplishments. This message, like so many others that John offers us, is counter intuitive. While most people bow to humility as a value, few wear the clothes of humility, especially in the United States. 

While wealth and power are by products of a successful life in the United States, this is not the goal of those who profess to live a Gospel life. Gospel success is measured, not in what it produces, but in the seeds of hope that it plants. Never far from the realization that all life is a gift, and all worldly success is temporary, Christians believe that our "success" is an integrated and other centered life, and this is no easy task.

Today, don't say something you are thinking. Listen first to others.

Have you had an experience of humility that changed your life?