Stretching from all saints’ day to the commencement of the Christmas season, this time of year brings a plethora of inspiration to our lives, even spilling over a bit in its excess like a Thanksgiving cornucopia. Sts. Martin of Tours, Agnes of Assisi, Francis Xavier, and Nicholas are all celebrated at this time, as well as two major feast days associated with Mary: the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe. And sandwiched between those two great Marian feasts, on December 9, we honor the life and spiritual legacy of St. Juan Diego.
Famous and popular as he is, how can this saint from 500 years ago have an impact on our faith and response to the Gospel today? As we find ourselves at family dinner tables during Thanksgiving and Christmas—and amid all the bitter polarity and political division—perhaps there is no better time to find out.
The ‘Talking Eagle’
His name was Cuauhtlatoatzin, which means “Talking Eagle” in his native language of Nahuatl. But we know him as Juan Diego, his name given at Baptism in 1524. And though he did indeed deliver the news of encountering Mary on Tepeyac Hill in 1531, St. Juan Diego was known to be a quiet, humble man, and even a bit reluctant to report what he experienced. How many of us, driven by fear or anxiety, have avoided or put off responding to God’s call? It’s ultimately quite a human reaction and one we can overcome, which St. Juan Diego proved by setting his concerns aside, listening to Mary, and walking the path God set out for him.
Mary appeared with a darker complexion and spoke in Nahuatl, a clear sign that our faith knows no borders or cultural barriers. The sweetness and earnestness that Mary brings to the encounter pierces Juan’s heart, and he eventually conveys Mary’s messages to the bishop. Juan led a quiet, simple life after the appearances, opting to live next to the hermitage at Tepeyac Hill, where he died in 1548 at the age of 74.
The impact of these 16th-century Marian appearances is frankly staggering. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at the foot of the same hill where Mary appeared, is the most visited Marian shrine in the world, attracting around 20 million visitors each year. Beyond Mexico, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is quickly growing in popularity, especially across the United States, as Mexicans and Mexican Americans share their culture and faith traditions. In what would be the final time he celebrated the feast, Pope Francis said this during his homily at St. Peter’s Basilica last December 12:
“The tilma, the rose, and the Indigenous man [Juan Diego]. Anything else that is said about this mystery of Guadalupe is a lie. It is wanting to use it for ideologies. The mystery of Guadalupe is to venerate her, and to hear her words in our ears: ‘Am I not here, I, who am your mother?’ And to listen to it in various moments in life: in life’s difficult moments, in life’s happy moments, in everyday life.”
May we have the grace to listen like St. Juan Diego and share God’s light accordingly—this Christmas and beyond.
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