Our Lady of Guadalupe, a symbol of hope, justice

Intermountain Catholic

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A man prays before the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City Dec. 12, her feast. The Virgin appeared in Tepeyac, Mexico in 1531. Her shrine is the most visited in the world. IC photo by Priscilla Cabral.

DRAPER — "In the 1500s, Spain took over Mexico and began to oppress the natives. The natives were experiencing a lot of struggle with the economy, and their culture was being stripped," said Timothy Johnston, director of the Office of Liturgy, on the second of three advent lectures Dec. 9.

Then, between the ninth and 12th of December of 1531, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared before Blessed Juan Diego.

"He wasn’t anyone necessarily special, but she decided to appear to him," said Johnston.

Not only that, she called Juan Diego, a native, "Dignified Juan, dignified Juan Diego."

"These are very powerful words to a person in the midst of oppression," said Johnston.

"She is trying to affirm the natives’ dignity as people of God and to give them hope," he said.

The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared as a native herself, so she would be recognized by and identified with this race. She also appeared with a combination of Iberian Catholic and Aztec symbols.

The vibrant yellow spokes represent the rays of the sun, said Johnston, which show she is the fulfillment of the apocalyptic prophecy about a woman clothed with the sun.

Even though she does not look pregnant, the brown belt she is wearing is an Aztec symbol for pregnancy.

The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe shows her standing on the moon. The moon does not have its own light; it has to reflect the sun’s light. This represents "She is not the savior, but the one who bears the Son of God," said Johnston.

"She is always pointing to the coming of Jesus" and incites us to ask ourselves, "How can I reflect the light of Christ in my own ministry," he said.

The symbolism involved in the Virgin of Guadalupe apparition is, according to John Paul II, "an impressive example of a perfectly enculturated evangelization."

"She teaches us that evangelization is not most effectively served when we impose our cultural ways as if they were intrinsic to the Gospel, but when we creatively announce the Gospel with the cultural context of faith," said Johnston echoing the words of Father Virgil Elizondo, professor of Pastoral and Hispanic Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

The lecture gathered a small number of people interested in learning more about the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel at Juan Diego Catholic High School.

"I was especially drawn to the title ‘Symbol of Hope’ because Advent is a hopeful season and I’ve been focusing a lot on developing hope in my own life," said Sara Galey of the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

"I am intrigued by Marian theology," said Marvin Seale of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, who became a Catholic last March.

"For me, one of the most appealing things of the Catholic Church is its efforts in social justice, and our Lady of Guadalupe is a powerful sign of social justice," said Seale.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is also an invitation to evangelize, said Johnston.

"Evangelization is the activity we’re all called to do to spread the word of God. She is calling us to be evangelizers as she was an evangelizer."

The Virgin of Guadalupe is also "a symbol of hope, a sign of New Creation, a model of peace and joy, a lover of the Lord, a sign of freedom," said Johnston.

"She can lead us closer to Christ."