FIRST DAY
The Words of Our Lady of
Guadalupe spoken to the Indian, Juan Diego, on the hill of Tepeyac, December 9,
1531: "My dear son, whom I love tenderly, know that I am the Virgin Mary,
Mother of the true God, Giver and Maintainer of life, Creator of all things,
Lord of heaven and earth, Who is in all places. I wish a temple to be erected
here where I can manifest the compassion I have for the natives and for all who
solicit my help."
Your words, heavenly
Mother, fill my heart with love and gratitude and with renewed faith and hope
because they were also directed to me. Therefore, I turn to you, confident of
obtaining through your intercession the grace which will enable me to live in
accordance with the teaching of your Divine Son, Jesus, Whom I desire to love
with all my heart. You shared in all that my Savior suffered for me; therefore,
I belong to you, my loving Mother. Do not abandon me in this vale of tears.
Take pity, I beseech you, on my poverty and necessities. Have compassion on my
anxieties and cares. Assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries.
SECOND DAY
The merciful words spoken
on the fourth and last visit to Juan Diego: "Do not let anything afflict
you, and do not be afraid of any illness or accident or pain. Am I not here who
is your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Is there anything
else that you need?"
These words were also
directed to me and they fill my heart with gladness and hope. Turn then, most
gracious Mother, your eyes of mercy towards me; protect me in your love, making
it possible for me to put all my troubles and worries at your feet. I know you
will remember you are my Mother, I am under your shadow and protection, and you
will obtain for me the consolation of which I am so much in need.
THIRD DAY
When you visited Juan
Diego's dying uncle, Juan Bernardino, curing him and telling him your name,
'Immaculate Virgin Mary who crushed the Serpent,' you filled the hearts of the
Indians with joy. This told them they no longer needed to make human sacrifices
to the pagan idols.
Hail Holy Queen, merciful
Mother. Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope! Permit me to join in the
canticles of praise which this whole nation continues sending up to your
throne. Many come long distances to offer you gifts and prayers. Pray for us,
Holy Mother of God. Exterminate the Serpent of Evil from our lives so we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ, your Divine Son.
FOURTH DAY
When the Indians saw the
admirable image you left on Juan Diego's mantle, they recognized it to be a
picture writing containing a celestial message which was directed to them. Your
regal figure in the form of a human being taught them that your dwelling place
at one time must have been on earth. The rays of the sun, the clouds
surrounding your body, the stars on your garment, the crescent under your feet,
the angel transporting you though space -- all denote your present home in
heaven and called their attention to the immortality of the human soul.
O Holy Mary, as your
image on the garment of Juan Diego taught the Indians, so let it teach me never
to forget the immortality of my soul, that Heaven is my goal and my
inheritance. Amid temptations and miseries of this life, let me think always of
this home of peace, glory, and eternal bliss.
FIFTH DAY
For centuries the natives
of Mexico worshipped the Sun, sacrificing countless human beings in its honor.
However, when they beheld your beautiful Image blotting it out so that only its
rays are visible, they understood the lesson it was intended to convey.
After the Indian heard
your message and read the message contained in your Image, they abandoned their
false gods and embraced the loving doctrine of your Divine Son. Never have they
ceased giving thanks for the great mercy Almighty God showered upon them when
He sent you to be their Queen, their Mother and their teacher. O Holy Mary,
through the mystery of the Incarnation of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, wherein our salvation was begun, obtain for us light to understand the
greatness of the benefit which He has bestowed upon us in becoming our Brother
and in giving you, His own venerated Mother, to be our Mother also.
SIXTH DAY
The fires that burned on
the altars of the false gods were extinguished forever after the Indians had
contemplated your Image and seen you attired with the firmament covered with
stars. This showed them that the stars had been created by the Invisible God to
serve mankind and, therefore, could not be deities to whom adoration and
sacrifices were due. Most Holy Mary, through your image stamped by God on the
Indian's garment, you have brought millions of pagans into the light of the
true faith. I beg you to obtain for me the grace of understanding the message
it contains. Shed upon me the light of your countenance; direct and sanctify
all my undertakings.
SEVENTH DAY
The emblem of our
redemption, stamped upon the golden brooch fastened to the tunic, served to
tell the Indians that the religion of their conquerors was the one they were to
embrace. The cross on the banner, of Hernando Cortéz and on the brooch were the
same. When they saw it upon your Image, they flocked around the Spanish
Missionaries eager to know its meaning. They were told about the Savior Who
came from Heaven to redeem the human race through His death on the cross and
that you are the Virgin Mother of the Divine Victim, associated with Him in the
mystery of our redemption.
Happy nation to whom you
did reveal yourself and God. Holy Virgin, Mary of Guadalupe, my Queen and
Mother, more than 450 years have passed since you spoke to Juan Diego. So far
only a few of your children in other lands have become aware of the purpose of
the Image on the altar of your Shrine. Inspire us to see in this, your
miraculous picture, the instrument for the conversion of all to the Catholic
Apostolic Faith, you who are the adorable Queen and Mother of the Apostles and
Missionaries.
EIGHTH DAY
After Juan Diego cut the
roses blooming suddenly on the barren hill of Tepeyac, he brought them to you
at the foot of the mount where you were waiting. With your own hands you
arranged them in his tilma, tying it around his neck. You told him to take the
roses to Bishop Zumárraga because this sign would induce him to start building
your temple. The last words Juan Diego heard from your adorable lips were:
"You are my ambassador worthy of confidence. Go in peace."
The sacred picture on the
coarse cloth of the tilma could not have been painted by human hands. It
convinced the Bishop, as it ought, to convince every person who looks at it,
that Juan Diego's message was truly yours. Humbly I beseech you, my Queen and
Mother, let me be your ambassador like Juan Diego, to give the doctrine
contained in your Image to all my friends, to convince them also, whether they
be believers or unbelievers.
NINTH DAY
O Holy Virgin, enthroned
on the spot which you chose in the very heart of an idolatrous nation, you did
marvelously work its conversion. After seeing the Image on the tilma of their
countryman, Juan Diego, the Indians stripped their temples of all idols. They
built beautiful churches on whose towers gleaming crosses shone in the sun. The
huge drum, which innumerable times had announced human sacrifices in honor of
their gods, was heard no more.
As Juan Diego spent the
remaining seventeen years of his life in giving your spoken message to the
Indians, so permit me, my loving Mother, to help in making known your celestial
message among my countrymen. Animate and bless all who join in the Apostleship
and Novena in order to propagate the Catholic religion among their friends,
having as their banner your admirable image on Juan Diego's tilma, together
with the cross, emblem of our
redemption. I beseech your special aid in procuring the conversion or healing
of (MENTION NAME.)
MEMORARE to OUR LADY of
GUADALUPE
Remember, O most gracious
Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your celestial apparitions on the mount of
Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving
and trusting you, seeking your help and calling upon you in their necessities and
afflictions. You did promise to hearken to our supplications, to dry our tears
and to give us consolation and relief. Never has it been known that anyone who
fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession,
either for the common welfare or in personal anxieties, was left unaided.
Inspired with this
confidence, we fly unto you, O Mary, ever Virgin Mother of God! Though grieving
under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves in your august
presence, certain you will deign to fulfill your merciful promises. We are full
of hope, standing beneath your shadow and protection, that nothing will trouble
or afflict us, nor need we fear illness or misfortune or any other sorrow. You
desired to remain with us through your admirable image. You are our Mother, our
health and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze and having
recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more. O Holy Mother
of God, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
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