When she appeared to him, Juan Diego recognized the dark, Indian features that were so familiar to him. Our Lady of Guadalupe came to the humble peasant nearly 500 years ago, but she did not come as one of the conquerors -- the powerful Spaniards who sometimes treated the Indians with contempt. With her dark hair and brown skin, she was one of them - one of the poor.
The request she had of Juan Diego that day was daunting: would he go to the city and ask the Bishop to build a shrine on this spot? He agreed but knew it would be a humiliating experience. He was quickly dismissed by the Bishop. When the Lady asked Juan Diego to return, he begged her to send someone more important to the Bishop - “a person of mark that he may be believed.” The miracles that followed gave Juan Diego credibility with the Bishop, who finally believed him.
We are all afraid when we are asked to do things beyond what we are certain we can do. Juan Diego’s simple acceptance of the request led him to a humiliating encounter with the Bishop, but his faith led him to return. Luke’s gospel offers us a look at Mary’s own life, one of poverty and powerlessness. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her, asking her to be the mother of the savior, “she was greatly troubled.” Gabriel encouraged her, “Do not be afraid, Mary.”
The difference between what God asked of Mary and what God asks of us is our response - Mary was willing to turn her life over completely to God. She said Yes. We tend to squirm, to hedge, fight for control and insist on doing it alone, on our own, without help from God. It is our independence from God, our rebellious streak that makes our lives more of a struggle. What would it take for us to put aside our own fears about how we will look and how well we might succeed and to take up the request Jesus has given us - to follow his example in caring for the poor, to love the unlovable and to invite the marginalized into our lives?
Mary, on this feast of Guadalupe, help me to remember how much I am poor and powerless. Help me to fall into the loving embrace of your son and to turn my life over to him. Let me open my eyes to those around me who need me and not be afraid to respond with my whole life. Come, Lord, Jesus, and fill my heart.
Maureen McCann Waldron
The most important part of my life is my family – Jim my husband of 47 years and our two children. Our daughter Katy, a banker here in Omaha, and her husband John, have three wonderful children: Charlotte, Daniel and Elizabeth Grace. Our son Jack and his wife, Ellie, have added to our joy with their sons, Peter and Joseph.
I think family life is an incredible way to find God, even in (or maybe I should say, especially in) the most frustrating or mundane moments.
I am a native of the East Coast after graduating in 1971 from Archbishop John Carroll High School in suburban Philadelphia. I graduated from Creighton University in 1975 with a degree in Journalism and spent most of the next 20 years in corporate public relations in Omaha. I returned to Creighton in the 1990s and completed a master’s degree in Christian Spirituality in 1998.
As our children were growing up, my favorite times were always family dinners at home when the four of us would talk about our days. But now that our kids are gone from home, my husband and I have rediscovered how nice it is to have a quiet dinner together. I also have a special place in my heart for family vacations when the kids were little and four of us were away from home together. It’s a joy to be with my growing family.
Writing a Daily Reflection is always a graced moment, because only with God’s help could I ever write one. I know my own life is hectic, disjointed and imperfect and I know most of us have lives like that. I usually write from that point of view and I always seem to find some sentence, some word in the readings that speaks right to me, in all of my imperfection. I hope that whatever I write is in some way supportive of others.
It’s an incredibly humbling experience to hear from someone who was touched by something I wrote. Whether the note is from someone across campus or across the world, it makes me realize how connected we are all in our longing to grow closer to God.
