The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe

As Juan Diego pointed out the spot where the Lady from heaven wanted her temple built, he begged to be excused. He wished to go home to see his uncle Juan Bernardino, who was gravely ill when he left him to go to Tlaltilolco to summon a priest, to hear his confession and absolve him. The Lady from heaven had told him that he had been cured. But they did not let him go alone and accompanied him to his home. 
As they arrived, they saw that his uncle was very happy and nothing ailed him. He was greatly amazed to see his nephew so accompanied and honored, asking the reason of such honors conferred upon him. His nephew answered that when he went to summon a priest to hear his confession and to absolve him, the Lady from heaven appeared to him at Tepeyac, telling him not to be afflicted, that his uncle was well, for which he was greatly consoled, and she sent him to Mexico, to see the bishop, to build her a house in Tepeyac. 
Then the uncle manifested that it was true that on that occasion he became well and that he had seen her in the same manner as she had appeared to his nephew, knowing through her that she had sent him to Mexico to see the bishop. Also, the Lady told him that when he would go to see the bishop, to reveal to him what he had seen and to explain the miraculous manner in which she had cured him, and that she would properly be named, and known as the blessed Image, the ever-virgin Holy Mary of Guadalupe. 
Juan Bernardino was brought before the presence of the bishop to inform and testify before him. Both he and his nephew were the guests of the bishop in his home for some days, until the temple dedicated to the Queen of Tepeyac was erected where Juan Diego had seen her.
The bishop transferred the sacred Image of the lovely lady from heaven to the main church, taking her from his private chapel where it was so that the people would see and admire her blessed Image. The entire city was aroused; they came to see and admire the devout Image, and to pray. They marveled at the fact that she appeared as did her divine miracle because no living person of this world had painted her precious Image.

The End. 

Opening Prayer

Mary, Mother of all Christians,
Hear the prayer of all who worship the name of your Son, Jesus,
Our hope and salvation.
Under the protection of your prayers,
May the Church in America enjoy unbroken peace.

Novena Prayer

O Lady of Guadalupe, with my heart full of the most sincere veneration, I prostrate myself before you, O Mother, to ask you to obtain for me the grace to fulfill the duties of my state in life with faithfulness and constancy...(mention your requests here). 

Our Father...
Hail Mary... x3
Glory Be...

Meditation

Water and fire seem to be a contradiction, yet as Jesus walked into the Jordon River on the day of his baptism, a blaze was enkindled in the hearts of the people who heard the thunder and witnessed the Holy Spirit descend upon him.
In the Sacred Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we see the virgin clothed with the sun. The Aztecs worshiped the sun as a god and offered human beings to appease their false deity. The sun is the most powerful object in our solar system; around it, all objects find their path. But in the Guadalupe image, the Virgin Mother eclipses the sun, or is it that the Son is shining through her and her Immaculate Heart is focusing the Divine Light of the Sacred Heart?
He is preparing to walk through her into the spaces in our hearts we have locked out of fear of those who persecute us. We may be repressed and suppressed by the enemy, but she is teaching us her song and we have only just begun to sing with her.
Each time I raise my eyes to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe I see the Immaculate Heart illuminated by the rays of Divine Mercy! Her heart seems to grow more pronounced as the Church unites herself to Mary through total consecration. Is this why the Tilma of St. Juan Diego has lasted over 500 years, even though it should have disintegrated in 50 years? Is she counting the time to the reign of her Immaculate Heart? You know she is!
The miracle of conversion that occurred (over nine million souls in 10 years) due to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary working in little St. Juan is not yet complete. The Tilma is a prophetic map for the Aztecs and the Americans of today. Below her Immaculate Heart is her immaculate womb, where the Sacred Heart of Jesus dwells. He is inviting us to recognize him, to enter into his suffering and to extend his Divine Mercy. So, we pray at abortion mills where Jesus is crucified over and over again, and ask Our Lady to walk into these chambers of death, look into the eyes of abortionists and offer her great sorrow for their conversion. Nothing escapes her gaze! Like a mother with eyes on the back of her head, she sees with the eyes of her soul all that her Son Jesus wants her to see.[...]
Standing before the Tilma, these words [from the Magnificat] stand out: “From this day all generations will call me blessed…” and “…he has remembered his promise of mercy…” The Divine Mercy is “The Day” and from him, Mary is known. The generations are those baptized into Christ and now proclaim Jesus Christ the new Adam and Mary the new Eve. For from the side of Christ we have received transforming life and from Mary's womb, we have received Christ!
Yes! She magnifies the rays of Divine Mercy, Jesus Christ, and through her, we come to know light itself. As any little boy knows, a magnifying glass can be used to set fires! Mary focuses the “light from light, true God from true God” like a burning laser of pure Divine Mercy, setting souls on fire with wisdom, zeal, and compassion!" - By Justin Stroh, in Soul Magazine, Fall 2015 issue. 

Closing Prayer

O Lady of Guadalupe,
Pray for the Church in America,
And walk with us in the new millennium of faith.

Memorare of Our Lady of Guadalupe: click the Pray button below.

Pictures:

1) Our Lady of Guadalupe heals Juan Bernardino - Mosaic from the facade of the church of the Fifth apparition, built on the site of Juan Bernardino's house. Photograph by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. 

2) The vision of Juan Bernardino, sculpture located in the Guadalupe Sanctuary, Mexico City. Photograph by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P.