Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe: December 12, 2013

Read It:
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

Reflect on It: Today, is the Feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego and asked him to build her a Church. After some resistance from the Church authority at the time, Mary instructed Juan Diego to go to the top of a mountain and pick some flowers for her. While this was improbable, because of the winter, Juan Diego still did so and when he took them as a sign to the bishop, he took the flowers out of his cloak and on it appeared the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Regardless of how she appears, Mary is always out to serve her son. As we can see from today's Gospel, Mary is always willing to do what is asked of her by the Lord and to do it with great love. Juan Diego did the same, followed with great love, what the Lord asks of us. Let both of them be our example today!

Pray about It: Mary, help me to always see what it is that the Lord is asking me to do. Let me do it with a joyful heart.

Live It! Challenge: Today, look up the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe and see why she is the Patronness of the Unborn.