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signifying that she was a pregnant woman. She
appeared to him on Mount Tepeyac, formerly
the site of an ancient temple to the Aztec God-
dess Tonantzin, which had been leveled by the
Spaniards. This Virgin of Guadalupe spoke to
him in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec peo-
ple of that region, and she said to him, ˈI am
your mother.ˉ Of course, the story includes
Juan Diego˅s visits to the bishop and Juan
Diego˅s tilma, the cactus cloth cape, from
which roses fell and which held the image of
this Aztec princess. At her request, a church in
her honor was built on the site.
For me, the Guadalupe story is a reminder that
Jesus is one with all people, and that each one
is made in God˅s image and likeness. That
image of his mother as our mother tells me that
we are all invited to have a deeply close rela-
tionship with him. At the foot of the cross, he tells the Beloved Disciple, ˈBehold
your mother.ˉ On Mount Tepeyac, his mother speaks to a poor, Aztec man in his
native tongue and says that she is his mother and will protect him. I think the
challenge for all of us is to be constantly aware that our God is the God of all
people ˀ all ethnicities, all races -- men and women alike. His mother is our
mother, and as Mother Teresa said, ˈWe belong to each other.ˉ
Prayer
We pray in gratitude that we are loved so deeply by our God that Jesus gives all
of us the right to call his mother our own.
_______
Jane Argento
Parishioner