Rev. Solomon Kargbo, SX
I am going to share the small experiences that I have. All started when, during the Novitiate Father Natale Paganelli, sx ( now Bishop and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Makeni) gave me a little gift, the image of our lady of Guadalupe, and asked me to go and greet her on my arrival in Mexico. From then on I became interested in her and started dedicating myself to her (Guadalupe).
A brief history. The news of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe left a deep impression on the mexican people. Three points were appreciated by the native population: Firstly, the lady was a “morenita” (brunette) and she spoke Náhuatl, the Aztec language (Mexico), and appeared to a native man, not to a Spaniard! Secondly, she appeard to Juan Diego, who explained that she appeared at Tepeyac, the place of Tonantzin, the mother god), sending a clear message that the Virgin was the mother of the true God, and that the Christian religion was to be embraced as the true Aztec religion. And thirdly, the natives , who learned through pictures and symbols in their culture, grasped the meaning of the tilma (mantle) which revealed the beautiful message of Christianity: the true God who sacrificed himself for mankind, so putting an end to the horrendous life they had endured when they were sacrificing human beings to appease their frightful gods! It is no wonder that over the next seven years, from 1531 to 1538, eight million natives of Mexico were converted to Catholicism.
The impact: The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Aztec native Juan Diego, in December of 1531 in Mexico brought about the conversion of Mexico and Latin America to Catholicism. Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary entered the very lifestream of Mexico and became an inextricable part of Mexican life and a central figure in the history of Mexico itself. The three most important religious celebrations in Mexico are Christmas, Easter, and December 12, the feast-day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her appearance in the centre of the American continent has contributed to the Virgin of Guadalupe being given the title “Mother Mexico”.
Personally speaking, I can say that she is a sign of the times: she comes to console the people who are broken-hearted with many problems. Because of this, almost all the houses in Mexico cherish her image (Guadalupe). And she is a sign of hope, peace, unity and humility to the Mexicans and myself also a Sierra Leonean. She unites all with hope and love and she is the Mother of all. I feel very attached to her as my special intercessor in my journey to the altar. The Morenita is my Mother and my “intercesora,” as a Sierra leonean xaverian student in Mexico. Honestly speaking, talking of her means explaining the mystery of her Son Jesus Christ to human kind.
I am going to share the small experiences that I have. All started when, during the Novitiate Father Natale Paganelli, sx ( now Bishop and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Makeni) gave me a little gift, the image of our lady of Guadalupe, and asked me to go and greet her on my arrival in Mexico. From then on I became interested in her and started dedicating myself to her (Guadalupe).
A brief history. The news of the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe left a deep impression on the mexican people. Three points were appreciated by the native population: Firstly, the lady was a “morenita” (brunette) and she spoke Náhuatl, the Aztec language (Mexico), and appeared to a native man, not to a Spaniard! Secondly, she appeard to Juan Diego, who explained that she appeared at Tepeyac, the place of Tonantzin, the mother god), sending a clear message that the Virgin was the mother of the true God, and that the Christian religion was to be embraced as the true Aztec religion. And thirdly, the natives , who learned through pictures and symbols in their culture, grasped the meaning of the tilma (mantle) which revealed the beautiful message of Christianity: the true God who sacrificed himself for mankind, so putting an end to the horrendous life they had endured when they were sacrificing human beings to appease their frightful gods! It is no wonder that over the next seven years, from 1531 to 1538, eight million natives of Mexico were converted to Catholicism.
The impact: The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Aztec native Juan Diego, in December of 1531 in Mexico brought about the conversion of Mexico and Latin America to Catholicism. Indeed, the Blessed Virgin Mary entered the very lifestream of Mexico and became an inextricable part of Mexican life and a central figure in the history of Mexico itself. The three most important religious celebrations in Mexico are Christmas, Easter, and December 12, the feast-day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Her appearance in the centre of the American continent has contributed to the Virgin of Guadalupe being given the title “Mother Mexico”.
Personally speaking, I can say that she is a sign of the times: she comes to console the people who are broken-hearted with many problems. Because of this, almost all the houses in Mexico cherish her image (Guadalupe). And she is a sign of hope, peace, unity and humility to the Mexicans and myself also a Sierra Leonean. She unites all with hope and love and she is the Mother of all. I feel very attached to her as my special intercessor in my journey to the altar. The Morenita is my Mother and my “intercesora,” as a Sierra leonean xaverian student in Mexico. Honestly speaking, talking of her means explaining the mystery of her Son Jesus Christ to human kind.