Post by Joanna on Dec 17, 2013 23:22:32 GMT -5
Virgen de Guadalupe: 4 Miracles Associated with the Iconic Mexican Saint
Thursday, December 12, was the annual feast day for the famed Mexican saint the Virgen de Guadalupe. Thousands flocked to her shrine in Des Plaines to celebrate the day many Christians believe the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego. On December 9, 1531, it is said that Diego, an enslaved Nahua Indian, saw a vision of Christ's mother. The Virgin asked Diego to build a church on the Hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City. In Mexico, the image most associated with the Virgin is that of the Blessed Mother, which is housed in Mexico City at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
All Saints have miracles associated with them. In fact, it is a requirement that any candidate for Sainthood must have two miracles associated with him or her in order to be named a saint. In Mexico and throughout the world, the Virgen de Guadalupe has many miracles attributed to her. The first miracle is of course her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531. Another miracle associated with her is the cloak of roses the Virgin made for Diego. There were some, like the Spanish Archbishop Fray Juan de Zumárraga, who did not believe Diego's story.
Zumárraga told Diego to pray to the Virgin and ask for a sign to show his vision was real. The Virgin once again appeared to the man and instructed him to pick flowers from the top of Tepeyac. Diego climbed the hill, but did not expect to find any flower because it was late December. To his surprise, Diego discovered Castilian roses, which the Virgin made into a cloak for him. Upon returning from the hill, Diego opened the cloak and the roses fell to the floor in an image of the Holy Mother.
The Virgin Mary, or the Virgen de Guadalupe, is associated with a number of miracles. In Texas, a university art teacher and her students drew a mural of the Virgen de Guadalupe in a large lot that was once a gas station. Since the mural was drawn, many people say they have experienced miracles including the professor who claimed that after painting the mural, her car smelled like roses for days. A mother of one of the students helping with the mural prayed that her sick daughter would get better and when she did, the woman left roses near the painting.
In June 2012, a fire destroyed a church in Mexico. The only thing left of the St. Augustin Chapel were stones and slabs from the building's foundation. Nothing within the church survived with one exception. Out of the blackened and charred rubble, a firefighter found a slightly singed portrait of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Many considered the portrait's survival a miracle and sign that the Virgin was always watching over them. Rev. Gaytán of the church said while the miracle may not be literal. it was a symbol of the needs of parishioners during a time of grief.
Source: Latin Times, December 12, 2013.