Prayer
OF THE NINE-MONTH NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
To be prayed daily throughout the nine-month novena from March 12 to December 12, 2024.
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin, which ever more envelope the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepayac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepayac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saini Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes an in our nation, lead us to Him Who lone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvations, in His never failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
Saint
Juan Diego[1]
On 9 December 1531, when Juan
Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on
Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to
the bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where
she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The bishop, who
did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was
true.
On 12 December, Juan Diego
returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and to
pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was wintertime,
he found roses flowering. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who
carefully placed them in his mantle and told him to take them to the bishop as
"proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground
and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed
Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac. With the Bishop's permission, Juan Diego
lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a small hut near the chapel where the
miraculous image was placed for veneration. Here he cared for the church and
the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus. Much deeper than
the "exterior grace" of having been "chosen" as Our Lady's
"messenger", Juan Diego received the grace of interior enlightenment
and from that moment, he began a life dedicated to prayer and the practice of
virtue and boundless love of God and neighbor.
He died in 1548 and was buried
in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified on 6
May 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe,
Mexico City. The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is
supported by an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of
the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her
blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist
signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact
that Christ is to be "born" again among the peoples of the New World
and is a message as relevant to the "New World" today as it was
during the lifetime of Juan Diego.
Things to Do[2]
·
Read Pope John Paul II's homily at the canonization of St. Juan Diego.
·
Meditate on Our Lady's beautiful words to St.
Juan Diego: "Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little
son; let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your
heart or your countenance. Also, do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety
or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and
protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the crossing of my
arms? Is there anything else that you need?"
·
Cook some Mexican dishes for dinner and bake a
Rose Petal Pound Cake or other rose theme for dessert in honor of St. Juan
Diego.
·
From the Catholic Culture Library:
o On The Canonization Of First Native American
o Mexico Has Seen a Great Light
o Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
·
Recommended Reading: For children: The
Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola. For adults: The Wonder of Guadalupe by Francis Johnston.
·
For music for Juan Diego's and Our Lady of
Guadalupe's feast, see www.savae.org. The San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble have two
cds of authentic music by Mexican medieval composers. Very beautiful!
·
Visit Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas for detailed
accounts on the apparition to Juan Diego.
Saint Juan Diego[1]
On 9 December 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to the bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true.
On 12 December, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and to pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was wintertime, he found roses flowering. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who carefully placed them in his mantle and told him to take them to the bishop as "proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac. With the Bishop's permission, Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a small hut near the chapel where the miraculous image was placed for veneration. Here he cared for the church and the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus. Much deeper than the "exterior grace" of having been "chosen" as Our Lady's "messenger", Juan Diego received the grace of interior enlightenment and from that moment, he began a life dedicated to prayer and the practice of virtue and boundless love of God and neighbor.
He died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified on 6 May 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City. The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is supported by an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be "born" again among the peoples of the New World and is a message as relevant to the "New World" today as it was during the lifetime of Juan Diego.
Things to Do[2]
·
Read Pope John Paul II's homily at the canonization of St. Juan Diego.
·
Meditate on Our Lady's beautiful words to St.
Juan Diego: "Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little
son; let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your
heart or your countenance. Also, do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety
or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and
protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the crossing of my
arms? Is there anything else that you need?"
·
Cook some Mexican dishes for dinner and bake a
Rose Petal Pound Cake or other rose theme for dessert in honor of St. Juan
Diego.
·
From the Catholic Culture Library:
o On The Canonization Of First Native American
o Mexico Has Seen a Great Light
o Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
·
Recommended Reading: For children: The
Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola. For adults: The Wonder of Guadalupe by Francis Johnston.
·
For music for Juan Diego's and Our Lady of
Guadalupe's feast, see www.savae.org. The San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble have two
cds of authentic music by Mexican medieval composers. Very beautiful!
· Visit Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas for detailed accounts on the apparition to Juan Diego.
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Dear Richared, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Why, some may ask, make a Novena and Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe? What help does the Mother of God bring to our world in these tumultuous times? What help did she bring at Tepeyac in 1531? Our Lady’s mission for Saint Juan Diego’s time and place is just as much for ours today. Her mission, which is in total union with the saving mission of her Divine Son, is ongoing, until the Last Day. Our Lady does not propose some idea or some political action to address the various crises confronting us. No, she proposes a person, the person of her Divine Son. She proposes the most intimate union of heart with Him, with His Most Sacred Heart, as the only way to obtain mercy and ultimately eternal life. She tells Juan Diego that Christ is in fact her “compassionate gaze,” even as He is her “help,” her “salvation.” Please find the remainder of this second reflection, as well as a short video, at the link below. Let us continue to pray, together, for Our Lady’s intercession! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On April 12, next month, we will reflect upon Our Lady’s second apparition to Saint Juan Diego and discuss its significance for this Nine-Month Novena and Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Invoking God’s blessing upon you and your home, while confiding your intentions to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego, I remain Yours in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and in the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph, | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
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