What is special about December 26, Christmas and Our Lady of Guadalupe?
My friend, Denise from Semper Fi Catholic, sent me a note from Fr. Paul Weinberger, pastor of St. William the Confessor Catholic parish in Greenville, Texas (which is home, btw, to former parishioners of Assumption Grotto who moved to that area *waves hello*). I've added links and one note in brackets at the bottom.
Fr. Paul writes:
Today, December 26 is a most important date, especially in the history of the Americas.
Recently I was reviewing the book by Dr. Warren Carroll, Our Lady of Guadalupe: And the Conquest of Darkness. On this date, 480 years ago the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was formally translated from the private chapel of Bishop Zumarraga in Mexico City to the first public chapel which had been constructed in accord with Our Lady's specific request through St. Juan Diego.
The title of Dr. Carroll's book helps make the connection with the Feast of Christmas. Our Lord came as the "Light of the World" and He came to us through His Mother.
Just as in Genesis the first day of creation brought the creation of light and the separation of light from darkness, so Our Lady's has a most important role in the Birth of the Savior. Through the Birth of Jesus, God brings into the world "the Light of Christ" who conquers the prince of this world - the prince of darkness.
Soon after his election in 1978, Bl. John Paul II began to speak to his brother Bishops about the need to begin to prepare for the Year 2000. Weigel's book, Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II, clearly details the inertia with which his appeals were met.
So many answered the young Pope by commenting that the Year 2000 was so far off in the distant future - just over 21 years. As you know, 20 years will come and go so fast. We have to get out the word. [N.B. The 500th anniversary of the Guadalupe event will be in 2031].
Fr. Paul
This is a good time to mention that many of Fr. Paul's homilies are available online for listening, at Semper Fi Catholic.
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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