Denver Catholic

16 DECEMBER 8-21, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC O ver 20 million people set foot on Tepeyac hill every year to witness the living miracle of the woman clothed with the sun and the stars, the woman that changed the course of history by leaving her image miraculously imprinted on the cloak of an indige nous man in 1531. With her apparition, the Virgin of Guada- lupe became the hope and anchor of the rising Mexican nation and the whole American continent, a reality that is still visible in the fervent devotion with which she is celebrated today. In dialogue with Dr. Arturo Rocha, Secretary of Colegio de Estudios Gua- dalupanos (College for Guadalupan Studies) in Mexico City, philosopher and instructor of a course on the "Gua- dalupan Event" in partnership with Denver's Centro San Juan Diego, we set out to understand how the miraculous event of the Virgin Mary's apparition infl uenced the culture and identity of the rising Mexican nation. Dr. Rocha referenced some Mexican authors who have identifi ed the role of Our Lady of Guadalupe in forming a "Mexican identity." One of them, the poet Ramón López Velarde, wrote in 1920 that one day, "with merely Mexican eyes," he sat inside the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where, upon observing the devotion of people of all ages and professions, he became convinced that "the backbone of this country is 'Guadalupan.'" VIRGIN MARY, PILLAR OF THE COUNTRY Nonetheless, in order to understand how the Virgin Mary became the back- bone of the country of Mexico and a sign of identity, Dr. Rocha explained that it was her apparition as a mestiza (woman of mixed race), the sign of hope she provided as Mother and her words that would bring unity to a divided land and people, that had a signifi cant impact. "[Our Lady of Guadalupe] embodies, in her mestizo complexion, the races (Indigenous and Spanish) that gave rise to Mexican identity, races that at fi rst could not tolerate, neither one nor the other, the new people that had been born orphan in the same land: the mestizo people," Dr. Rocha said. "[She] synthesizes the two people that gave rise to the Latin-American nations… Mary of Guadalupe, not entirely through her own merit but through the merit of the One whose heart beats in her womb, gives also to this mixed people… her compassionate gaze, her shadow and her shelter," Dr. Rocha said. The Virgin of Guadalupe's apparition as a "Mother of Mercy" to the mestizo people and her promised protection over them and those who lived in that land would also contribute to a sense of identity that would manifest itself in the war of independence in 1810, Dr. Rocha said. She gave St. Juan Diego her loving promise of motherly intercession and protection for the people and asked for a temple to be built on Tepeyac hill: "There I will listen to your cry, your sadness, to alleviate, to cure all of your hurts, your miseries, your su¨ erings. And to accomplish what my compas- sionate gaze seeks, go to the palace of the Bishop of Mexico, and you will tell him that I have sent you, so that you may show him how much I desire that he provide a house for me here." Furthermore, in her apparition as a Mother of Mercy for the people of that land, Dr. Rocha aš rmed that "perhaps from the lips of the Virgin Mary rises the fi rst aš rmation of Mexican iden- tity in the history of our nation, in a moment in which Mexico… did not even exist as such." The Virgin declared herself as the Mother of Mercy "of all who live together in this land." When examined in náhuatl, the native language of St. Juan Diego and the language in which the Virgin spoke to him, the phrase takes on the meaning of "living together in 'family,'" in "one house." "Perhaps this is why Carlos de Singüeza y Góngora, in 1680, already affirmed that Guadalupe was 'our In-Depth REAL STORIES. REAL EMOTION. REAL COMMUNITY. Hosted by KYLE DYER storyteller and former TV news anchor Join us for our next live multimedia event as we share the stories behind the life-changing work of Catholic Charities in our community. Mark your Calendar TUESDAY, DEC. 18 7:00 P.M. REGISTER NOW TO PARTICIPATE ccdenver.org/engage CHRISTMAS AT CATHOLIC CHARITIES MT. OLIVET CATHOLIC CEMETERY 12801 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO (303) 424-7785 ARCHDIOCESE OF DENVER MORTUARY Serving the greater Denver area (303) 425-9511 ST. SIMEON CATHOLIC CEMETERY 22001 E. State Hwy. 30, Aurora, CO (720) 859-9785 Peace of Mind for your Family with Pre-Planning More info at cfcsColorado.org A Ministry of The Archdiocese of Denver BY VLADIMIR MAURICIO-PEREZ vladimir.mauricio-perez@archden.org How Our Lady of Guadalupe became the 'backbone' of the Mexican people

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