A promise of mercy
From years of enjoying a special family meal of hard-shell tacos covered in Kraft shredded cheese, to performing a traditional indigenous dance alongside my Mexican husband at our Spanish language Mass just last year, and so many festive variations in between, I have celebrated today’s feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe my whole life.
What my German American mom first introduced to my siblings and me as a story of a Marian apparition that ended with a cloak full of roses and an inexplicable image of Our Lady, I later learned was equally a story of solidarity with people who had been colonized, of accompaniment with people living on the margins, and of representation of indigenous peoples within a heavily westernized Catholic tradition.
Set against the backdrop of a violent conquest, Mary appears as an Aztec princess, and comforts Juan Diego as only a mother can. Centuries later, Our Lady of Guadalupe would be named the Patroness of Mexico, and her image would be used as a symbol for numerous modern social justice movements, including current immigration reform efforts.
One of the Gospel passages chosen for today’s feast is the story of the Visitation, which concludes with the first few lines of Mary’s song of praise, the Magnificat. Omitted from the Mass reading are her final lines, and my favorite part, which proclaim, “…for you have remembered your promise of mercy, the promise you made to our ancestors, to Abraham and Sarah and their children forever.” It’s a timeless message of God’s compassion, connection, and commitment to each of us.
Last year, just days after we celebrated Our Lady of Guadalupe, we found out I was pregnant, and when we shared the news with my sister-in-law, she instantly exclaimed, “La Virgen! La Virgen de Guadalupe!” We had been praying for years knowing full well the many factors weighing against our hope for a child, not the least of which was my age. (Just call me Elizabeth!) So while I’m not sure I would submit our little miracle, Frida, to the Vatican for review, I understand why the connection was made between our devotion to Guadalupe and our much longed-for pregnancy.
The promise of mercy proclaimed in the Magnificat is the promise La Virgen de Guadalupe shared with Juan Diego. It is the promise she continues to share with all of us who wait in hope, be it the immigrant, the immigration reform advocate, the expectant mother, or any other who finds comfort in the promise of our merciful God.
May we be bearers of this promise to all we encounter, whether at work or at home, during this Advent season and always.
Marissa Flores Madden is a Department of Justice Accredited Representative in the Family Immigration Services program at Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri. Before moving from Cleveland to Missouri in 2021, she taught Catholic Social Teaching (CST) to high school seniors and worked in campus ministry leading immersion retreats to Ecuador and the U.S./Mexico border. Reflecting on these experiences through the lens of CST continues to inspire her work with immigrants today.