The Story of Guadalupe

Third Sunday Advent – C

The temporal and sanctoral cycles of the liturgical calendar for this Sunday this year provide us multiple facets of the mystery of Christ. On the temporal calendar, it is the Third Sunday of Advent, and this is the liturgy celebrated this day. But for anyone with a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, December 12 will always be her feast day.

If your parish has a Hispanic community, you will probably already be marking this feast in some way. But even if your parish is unfamiliar with the traditions of this day, the story of Guadalupe can bring new light to Luke’s Gospel assigned for today’s Mass.

One aspect of the devotion to Guadalupe is the intimate presence she has with her people that allows her to share in their sorrows. Her desire to be close invites us to remain open enough to the other, in spite of differences, to enter into their lives and know their suffering. In that accompaniment with the other, we encounter God.

Guadalupe’s invitation to encuentro (encounter) leads to the call to conversion. In her story, the hearts of the powerful were opened to see with new eyes the needs of those at the peripheries. This new vision reflects John the Baptist’s call to repentance, not solely as an act of faith but as an expression of our genuine love for our neighbor.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Photo by Julien B. from Getty Images.

Read more reflections on the Sunday readings here:

• Prune our hearts
• Heed and follow
• New life in Christ
• Now what?
• We are Loved and Longed For