Patroness and Protector Of The Philippines

𝐃𝐄𝐂. 𝟏𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐔𝐏𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐙𝐞𝐜 𝟐:𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟕

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐉𝐮𝐝 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟖𝐛𝐜𝐝𝐞, 𝟏𝟗 “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝟏:𝟐-𝟑𝟖

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟑) 

𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

         The Gospel today speaks of Mary who was the main character in this passage, and we can only grasp the meaning of this story if we go back in time and try to appreciate the situation that Mary found herself in when this event happened.

         The best way to start is to reflect on the first reading and ask who is the “Daughter of Zion” that the prophet Zechariah mentioned. Earlier studies, however, show that the prophet was not referring to a particular person but was referring to the people of Israel and the prophet through whom God speaks, he proclaimed that God’s daughters in reference to the Israelites should sing and rejoice because God dwells in them just as a daughter lives with her parents.

         As we move to the New Testament times, we can easily make reference to Mary as someone who has replaced the Jewish nation whom the prophet Zechariah referred to as the “daughter of Zion” for Mary who was chosen from among all the women on earth to become not only a special daughter of God was also chosen to become a temple and a dwelling place for God.

         Because God will always be God who will not and will never err, there could not have been a better choice because of the perfect obedience of Mary to God who spoke through the angel Gabriel for without such subservience Jesus could not have been incarnated and we probably would have remained in our sinful nature.

         Mary was a young maiden who was betrothed to Joseph. A betrothal normally lasts for a year and was generally regarded as binding as if they are already married. Such betrothal can only be recalled or cancelled either by divorce or death of either one of the contracting parties. And in the event that a man to whom a woman was betrothed dies, the woman would be regarded as a widow.

         A young and an unmarried maiden who gets pregnant outside of marriage will invite disaster. And for Mary to tell her story of becoming pregnant by the Holy Spirit also risked being considered crazy. This was the predicament to which Mary was in when the angel Gabriel told her: “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏).

        Disbelief and wonderment must have filled Mary at that very moment but the angel assured her: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮” (𝐯.𝟑𝟓).        

        Despite the risks of being ridiculed and the possibility of divorce, Mary’s response stood out and would be hailed from that time on till now as a primary model of obedience. Her docility to the Will of God was not only unparalleled but it became the avenue through which Salvation came into the world. The only thing she knew was that she was being asked by God to serve him and she willingly obeyed.

         The hope and future of mankind rested on that simple phrase that Mary uttered: “𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝” (𝐯.𝟑𝟖). In that short response, Mary became the vessel through which Our Lord Jesus Christ will come into the world but we should not also forget the sacrifice and humility of Joseph who took Mary as his spouse and who stood as guardian of the Savior of all humanity.  

         While Eve was regarded as the mother of humanity who was doomed to sin, Mary was considered as the mother of the new Adam who by his Grace will save man from sin. (Rom 5:19) As the angel Gabriel instructed Mary and Joseph, the child to be born was to named Jesus which was a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua meaning “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬.” This was also a fulfillment of God’s promise to David that his kingdom will last forever (2 Sam 7:16). And rightly so, for Jesus who came from the house of David (Matt 1) has reigned since then and continues to rule today in the hearts of men.

         Although the Virgin birth has largely remained a mystery that many people find hard to believe, we should remember that Luke was a medical doctor and while it was hard for him to believe how a baby can be conceived in the case of Mary, he wrote about it based on the facts and  interviews he made with witnesses and his own conversation with Mary.

         But the most important facet of this Virgin birth was that there shouldn’t be any doubt in our minds that God has the power to create a child even in the womb of a virgin.

         What then is the message for us in this Gospel reading as well as the inference in the first reading (Isa 7:12) when Ahaz refused to seek God’s favor which was the exact opposite of Mary’s response. The readings invite us not only to seek God’s favor but for us to put all our trust in Our Lord.

          We should remember, however, that God’s favor doesn’t mean success or fame overnight because as with Mary being favored at times would lead to pain and ridicule. At times, being favored by God will bring hardships and difficulties but it is in these trying times when our faith is tested that God is present.

         And like Mary whose obedience was the embodiment of the world’s greatest prayer: “𝐓𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟔:𝟏𝟎), God will also pour out on us his manifold Graces that will allow us not only to endure suffering but we will experience joy amidst the pain and tribulations in life because the Grace of God will be upon anyone who will completely trust God like Mary.

         What we all must remember was that Mary withstood the predicament she was in because God favored her and blessed all the circumstances in her life. This simply means that God will also provide us the strength, endurance and perseverance to go through with life, but this is anchored on our saying “yes, Thy Will be done.”

         In our profession of faith when we recite the Apostles’ Creed during the Eucharistic Celebration, we must not only understand what the Creed is, but we must comprehend the depth of what it is. In so doing, we must understand and believe when we say: “𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐧, 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝; 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭; 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲…”

         The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed in the New Roman Missal will mean much more if we truly understand and believe what it says. And ask God for faith if anyone of you lack wisdom (Jam 1:5) You may not believe this but there have been countless times in the past when I was spared from accidents and even physical harm by some mysterious force and I ascribe this to my devotion to the Holy Rosary.

         Today, 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐, we the people of the Philippines and Mexico are celebrating the 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐞.

        The Virgin Mary appeared as Our Lady of Guadalupe before St. Juan Diego in four visions in 1531. The name also refers to the Marian apparition itself. Our Lady of Guadalupe holds a special place in the religious life of Mexico and is one of the most popular religious devotions.

        Her image, of a woman of mixed Indigenous and European features (mestiza) wearing a turquoise-colored mantle surrounded by a sunburst, has played an important role as a national symbol of Mexico.

        According to tradition, Mary appeared to Juan Diego, who was an Aztec convert to Christianity, on four occasions between December 9 and December 12, 1531.

        During her first apparition she requested that a shrine to her be built on the spot where she appeared, Tepeyac Hill (now in a suburb of Mexico City). However, the local bishop hesitated to act on this request. Mary appeared to Juan Diego a second time on December 9 after his meeting that day with the bishop and told him to return and try again.

        On December 10 Juan Diego met with the bishop, who this time demanded a sign before he would approve construction of a church. Mary then appeared a third time to Juan Diego, who told her of the bishop’s demand for a sign.

        On December 12, she made her fourth appearance, ordering Juan Diego to collect roses from the hill and bring them to the bishop. Miraculously, there were roses blooming on the hill, despite it being winter. Moreover, the roses were native to Castile, a region in Spain that was the homeland of the bishop.

        In his audience with the bishop on that day, Juan Diego opened his tilma (cloak), letting dozens of roses fall to the floor and revealing the image of Mary imprinted on the inside of the cloak—the image that is now venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe. Mary is also said to have appeared to Juan Diego’s dying uncle, Juan Bernardino, and restored him to health.

       In 1737 Our Lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed patroness of Mexico City, and in 1746 her patronage was accepted by all the territories of New Spain, which included part of present-day California as well as Mexico and regions as far south as Guatemala and El Salvador. In 1754 Pope Benedict XIV approved her patronage and granted her a proper feast and mass for December 12.

        Pope Pius X proclaimed her patroness of Latin America in 1910, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟓 𝐏𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐗𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. Veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been particularly strong among women, especially in Mexico, and since at least the early 18th century the devotion was spread throughout the world by the Jesuits and other religious.

𝑺𝒚𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒎

        Our Lady of Guadalupe’s continuing significance as a religious and national symbol is attested by the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who visit her shrine in Mexico City every year. Additionally, the image of her that appears on St. Juan Diego’s tilma has been interpreted by some scholars as containing elements that hold particular meaning to Mexican and Indigenous people. Notably, these elements combine European Roman Catholic symbolism with imagery from the Aztec religion.

       𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞:

       Our Lady of Guadalupe’s skin color and features are those of a mestiza, a woman of mixed Indigenous and European heritage, because she represents the unity of both peoples. Her eyes are downcast, signifying her virtuous humility.

       𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞:

       Mary’s mantle, or rebozo, is turquoise-colored (i.e., blue-green) instead of the bright blue of many European Madonnas. In Aztec tradition, turquoise was a color reserved for royalty, thus signifying Mary’s queenly status. The stars on her mantle are said to represent heaven. The rose color of her tunic, which she wears beneath her mantle, signifies the dawn of a new era.

       𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭:

       The sunburst behind Mary is believed to represent the Aztec sun god Huitzilopochtli. The Virgin appears to be emerging from the Sun but does not extinguish its rays, signifying that she is greater than the Sun or any Indigenous sun gods.

       𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐧:

       The Virgin stands on a crescent moon, which some scholars believe represents the Aztec moon god. The moon is also a Christian symbol of Mary’s perpetual virginity.

       𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥:

       Below the moon is an angel, which is said to represent a new age. Notably, the angel’s wings are that of an eagle, which was the nagual, or “animal disguise,” of Huitzilopochtli. Mary’s position to him has been likened to that of royalty being raised up on the shoulders of a supporting figure, signifying Mary’s precedence over the Aztec gods. The eagle’s wings are red, green, and white, the official colors of Mexico and those of the Mexican flag.

        𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐞, Roman Catholic church that is the chief religious center of Mexico, located in Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, a northern neighborhood of Mexico City. The church was erected near the spot where four apparitions of the Virgin Mary are said to have been received by an Indigenous convert named Juan Diego in December 1531, with the command that a church be built in Mary’s honor.

        The last apparition resulted in a painted image on the inside of Juan Diego’s cloak that became known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. The entire incident did much to hasten the conversion of the Indigenous people of Mexico to Christianity.

        In 1754 a papal bull made the Virgin of Guadalupe the patroness and protector of New Spain, and in 1810 she became the symbol of the Mexican independence movement when the patriot-priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla raised her picture to his banner.

         I may be struggling with regards to humility and that is natural and God will understand because of the ill effects of the world around us. But because of God’s incomparable love for us, I know that God himself will provide us with the strength through the intercession of Mary that we may become strong to resist all occasion of sin so that we can stand blameless in his sight. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘋𝘦𝘤. 12, 2025)