Our Lady has been waiting for me to post about her Feast Day!
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Pray for Us!
Here's a little info - I know I'm preachin' to the choir here, but these facts after the story are incredible!!
After the conquest, the Spanish rule of the natives was so severe that a bloody revolt was imminent. Bishop Zummaraga prayed for Our Lady to intervene to prevent an uprising, to reconcile the Spanish and the natives and to bring peace. It is believed that he asked that he would receive roses native to his homeland of Castile Spain as a sign that his prayer would be answered.
On December 9, 1531, Our Lady appeared to Saint Juan Diego who was a recently converted Catholic. She asked him to go to the Bishop and request him to build a church for her on the barren hill of Tepeyac that is now part of Mexico City. Our Lady wanted to show her merciful love to all of her children. The prudent Bishop asked Juan to ask the Lady for a sign. Juan did so and Our Lady promised to give him the sign.
On December 12, Our Lady again appeared to Juan on Tepeyac Hill and told him to pick the Castilian roses which miraculously appeared there and bring them to the Bishop as a sign for him to believe her request. Juan gathered the roses into his tilma and brought them to the Bishop.
Juan opened the tilma to show them and, to everyone's astonishment, the Image of Our Lady appeared on it. The Bishop then built the church as Our Lady had requested and nine million natives were converted and baptized to the one, true faith within the next nine years. Human sacrifice ended in Mexico forever. Our Lady of Guadalupe, which means Crusher of the stone serpent, brought the light of the true faith, crushed the false gods of Mexico and established an era of peace.
The Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph which was read and understood quickly by the Aztec Indians.
1. THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN She was greater than the dreaded Huitzilopochtli, their sun-god of war.
2. HER FOOT RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON She had clearly crushed
Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent moon-god.
3. THE STARS STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE She was greater than the stars of heaven which they worshipped. She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on December 12, 1531 and the stars that she wore are the constellations of the stars that appeared in the sky that day!
4. THE BLUE‑GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE She was a Queen because she wears the color of royalty.
5. THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son who died on the cross for all mankind.
6. THE BLACK BELT She was with child because she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt.
7. THE FOUR PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB She was the Mother of God because the flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity-the center of the universe.
8. HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch.
9. THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE COLORED GARMENT She is the Queen of the Earth because she is wearing a contour map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.
The Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Science
1. The image to this date, cannot be explained by science.
2. The image shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years! The tilma or cloak of Saint Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady has been imprinted, is a coarse fabric made from the threads of the maguey cactus. This fiber disintegrates within 20-60 years!
3. There is no under sketch, no sizing and no protective over-varnish on the image.
4. Microscopic examination revealed that there were no brush strokes.
5. The image seems to increase in size and change colors due to an unknown property of the surface and substance of which it is made.
6. According to Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern day photograph. (Produced 300 years before the invention of photography.)
7. The image has consistently defied exact reproduction, whether by brush or camera.
8. Several images can be seen reflected in the eyes of the Virgin. It is believed to be the images of Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zummaraga, Juan Gonzales, the interpreter and others.
9. The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
10. The stars on Our Lady's Mantle coincide with the constellations in the sky on December 12, 1531. All who have scientifically examined the image of Our Lady over the centuries confess that its properties are absolutely unique and so inexplicable in human terms that the image can only be supernatural!
This is our Advent Wreath that the kids and I finally made just a couple days ago. I chose a wreath that was in our basement which we no longer use, bought some ornaments at Target - they were perfect! Purple and pink and red...and the last box of them! - And a little container of the small gold bulbs. The candles we got from my mom and dad who got them from their parish. They were brandnew and they are obviously on the huge side since they are intended for the church's Advent wreath.
Ahhh...yes! Keeping babies from the Christmas tree! I love it! :O)
This is the girls' new ornament this year. Of course, the lighting and camera shot don't show it off very well. 
Doesn't seem fair that the Birthday Boy is so sad and miserable at the close of decorating. Night night time!