Ave Maria!
I thought this was an interesting article about Monsignor Pope’s pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe because right now as I type the AirMaria Crew is also headed to Our Lady or Guadalupe’s Shrine, not in Mexico, but in La Crosse, Wisconsin. We will be filming the Marian Symposium there this Saturday, Oct 12.
Symposium Theme: The Year of Faith, the New Evangelization, and Our Lady
Honored Speakers and Guests:
Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC – Director of the Association of Marian Helpers
Msgr. Charles M. Mangan – Director of the Office of the Marian Apostolate in the Diocese of Sioux Falls
Gloria Dodd – The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute
Eric Genuis – Composer, virtuoso pianist, and acclaimed performer – a proven thrill to music lovers of both classical and contemporary music. (www.ericgenuis.com)
Below Article by Mons. Charles Pope
I am leading about twenty parishioners to Guadalupe Mexico for the next seven days. As I leave, the following thoughts go with me, some personal, some Ecclesial as well.
1. Elevation. Mexico city and its environs are at or near 5,000 feet. For this human being, the highest point in DC is my former parish (St Ann’s) at 410 feet! Surely, even with recent weight loss, I am in for some breathless climbs. Thus, I am expecting some humility lessons! I think I am strong, but the earth is bigger, and God is infinitely more glorious.
Thank you Lord, teach me humility through elevation and a few steep climbs. I left my asthma inhaler behind when I lost weight. One of the good bishops here in DC told me to bring it anyway, the air is thin. So, I bring it.
2. Evangelization – Our Lady’s appearance at Guadalupe to Juan Diego was a major break-through. Many attempts had been made by the Missionaries of that time toward the indigenous peoples of Mexico. But the results were discouraging. A combination of fear, rooted in the bloody human sacrifice of the Aztec religion, plus the counter-sign of Spanish Conquerors which made the Christian religion seem no less cruel,. All of this combined to make converts to the Catholic faith a rare thing.
Enter our Lady and the supply of the miraculous Tilma, and within ten years nine to ten million Mexicans became Catholic. That’s 3000 converts a day, a Pentecost every day for ten years!
Yes, Our Lady is Evangelizer in Chief, she’s a Momma on the move, the Mother of
via A Pilgrim’s Ponderings – Reflections on the Way to Guadalupe « Archdiocese of Washington.
