Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

The account of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Office of Readings for the day is a wonderful reading. Actually, the entirety of this Office is very beautifully arranged, and I highly recommend these readings. The only thing that it lacks is that it does not have the entirety of the consoling and inspiring words of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego.

One tradition that I love is that of singing the Mañanitas a la Virgen at sunrise or just before Holy Mass.

There is a beautiful account of these apparitions for children. It tells the story and lays the backstory very artfully. At the end of this account, there is a beautiful song to the Lady of the Roses.

A great CD that we listen to on this Feast is titled I Wait on Tepeyac. Since I was a child, these songs have been a staple to understanding the times of the Conquistadores in Mexico, the conflicts between the natives and the Spaniards, the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the hope and consolation brought by Mary's words.

Words of Our Lady of Guadalupe

First Apparition: December 9

“Juanito, dearest Juan Diego. Juanito, my dearest son, where are you going? Know and understand well, you my most humble son, that I am the ever-virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth. I wish that a temple be erected here quickly, so I may therein exhibit and give all my love, compassion, help, and protection, because I am your merciful mother, to you, and to all the inhabitants on this land and all the rest who love me, invoke and confide in me; there I will listen to their lamentations, and remedy all their miseries, afflictions, and sorrows. And to accomplish what my clemency pretends, go to the palace of the bishop of Mexico, and you will say to him that I manifest my great desire, that here on this plain a temple be built to me; you will accurately relate all you have seen and admired, and what you have heard. Be assured that I will be most grateful and will reward you, because I will make you happy and worthy of recompense for the effort and fatigue in what you will obtain of what I have entrusted. Behold, you have heard my mandate, my humble son; go and put forth all your effort.”

Second Apparition: December 9

“Hark, my little son, you must understand that I have many servants and messengers, to whom I must entrust the delivery of my message, and carry my wish, but it is of precise detail that you yourself solicit and assist and that through your mediation my wish be complied. I earnestly implore, my son the least, and with sternness I command that you again go tomorrow and see the bishop. You go in my name, and make known my wish in its entirety that he has to start the erection of a temple which I ask of him. And again tell him that I, in person, the ever-virgin Holy Mary, Mother of God, sent you.”

Third Apparition: December 10

“Well and good, my little dear son, you will return here tomorrow, so you may take to the bishop the sign he has requested. With this he will believe you, and in this regard he will not doubt you nor will he be suspicious of you; and know, my little son, that I will reward your solicitude and effort and fatigue spent of my behalf. Behold, go now. I will await you here tomorrow.”

Fourth Apparition: December 12

“Hear me and understand well, my little son, that nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear this sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything. Do not be afflicted by the illness of your uncle, who will not die now of it. Be assured that he is now cured. Climb, my dear son, to the top of the hill; there where you saw me and I gave you orders, you will find different flowers. Cut them, gather them, assemble them, then come and bring them before my presence. My dear little son, this diversity of roses is the proof and the sign which you will take to the bishop. You will tell him in my name that he will see in them my wish and that he will have to comply to it. You are my ambassador, most worthy of all confidence. Rigorously I command you that only before the presence of the bishop will you unfold your mantle and disclose what you are carrying. You will relate all and well; you will tell that I ordered you to climb to the hilltop, to go and cut flowers; and all that you saw and admired, so you can induce the prelate to give his support, with the aim that a temple be built and erected as I have asked.”

Triduum to Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

Hymn: Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Text: 15th Century German, transl. by Theodore Baker (1894)

Tune: “Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen” German from Köln (1599)

1.  Lo, how a rose e’er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

2.  Isaiah ‘twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind,
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind;
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

3.  O Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispel with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God,
From Sin and death now save us,
And share our every load.

Prayer of Pope St. Pius X

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mystical Rose, make intercession for holy Church, protect the sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke you in their necessities, and since you are the ever Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of keeping our faith, of sweet hope in the midst of the bitterness of life, of burning charity, and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.

Canticle: Ecclesiasticus 24:16-25

Antiphon: I am the Rose of Sharon. I am the Lily of the valleys. (Cant. 2:1)

V. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints. 

R. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion. 

V. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho: 

R. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted.

V. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon. and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odor like the best myrrh:

R. And I perfumed my dwelling, and my odor is as the purest balm. 

V. I have stretched out my branches as the turpentine tree, and my branches are of honor and grace. 

R. As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor: and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. 

V. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. 

R. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all hope of life and of virtue.

Antiphon: I am the Rose of Sharon. I am the Lily of the valleys. (Cant. 2:1)

TLM Collect for Our Lady of Guadalupe

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

V. Let us pray. O God, Who hast willed that, under the special patronage of the blessed Virgin Mary, we be laden with perpetual favors, grant to Thy suppliants that, as we this day rejoice in her commemoration on earth, we may enjoy the vision of her in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever. 

R. Amen.

The 2021 Advent Season

 

Introduction

In the Advent Season, we prepare for Christmas. In our family, our domestic church, there are some things we do differently. For example, at the beginning of the O Antiphons on December 17th, the Legionaries of Christ used to begin setting up Christmas decorations, a little bit each day at a time. Our family has taken this (and other things) and adapted it for our own use. There are various things from the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms that I have taken together, like "a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old" (St. Matthew 13:52). So much treasure has been lost throwing away the old, and so much refreshment has been lost rejecting the new, so I strive to revive the good that is old and accept the good that is new. This is the plan for our domestic church, striving to live the Advent Season of the Church's Liturgical Year.

Our Domestic Church's Advent

First Sunday of Advent: Begin writing annual Christmas Letter. Begin reading from Dom Gueranger’s The Liturgical Year for each day of Advent (after dark, light the appropriate amount of candles depending on the day, and read those excerpts by candle-light; as we light more candles in our approach of Christmas, it should get easier to read said excerpts).

November 29th, St. Saturninus of Toulouse. The Novena to the Immaculate Conception begins. When I was a Legionary of Christ, this Novena became one of my favorite novenas due to the beauty and timeliness of the prayer of Pope Pius XII.

December 1st, St. Edmund Campion. The Jesse Tree story begins.

Second Sunday of Advent: Finalize Christmas Letter and send out Christmas cards. This was previously done on Gaudete Sunday, but when the mail service announced delayed deliveries earlier this year, we moved it up a week.

December 6th, St. Nicholas. The tradition is for the children to place their shoes outside or next to the fireplace so that St. Nicholas can fill them with chocolate coins and oranges and candy canes. The chocolate coins and oranges are to remind us of the story that St. Nicholas gave away some of his money to a woodcutter so that his daughters would not be sold into slavery: St. Nicholas dropped some bags of gold coins through the chimney so there was enough to save his daughters from a wretched life. The candy canes are because they are in the shape of a Bishop’s crosier, and St. Nicholas was a Bishop. There is a Blessing of Candy Canes done on this feast. We leave out some cookies for St. Nicholas, and also a carrot for his horse. One tradition I would like to begin when the children get older is the tradition of the scrolls from St. Nicholas to each child.

December 7th, St. Ambrose of Milan, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. Conclusion of the Novena to the Immaculate Conception.

December 8th, The Immaculate Conception. A consecration of our family to the Immaculate Conception is made on this day. 

December 9th, St. Juan Diego. The Triduum to Our Lady of Guadalupe begins.

December 10th, Our Lady of Loreto. Pope Francis ordered that this feast be inserted into the General Roman Calendar as an Optional Memorial for the Ordinary Form. 

December 11th, St. Damasus I. Conclusion of the Triduum to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

December 12th, Our Lady of Guadalupe. This day, we read the story of the appearance of Our Lady to Juan Diego. It is especially wise to meditate this day on the consoling and beautiful words of Our Lady. On this day, we also make a consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

December 13th, St. Lucy. Lucy means “Light”. On the Sunday before this feast, we bring our strands of Christmas lights to the church to be blessed by a priest. On the feast itself, we check the strands of lights, replacing any bulbs as needed. Then, we put them aside as we wait for the great Christmastide, when we will enjoy them on the tree, lighting up the family room in a most glorious fashion. On this feastday in Italian homes, it is also the Feast of Lights. The young girls in the family dress in white and wear a wreath around the head with lit candles on it (if we were to follow this practice as our daughter gets older, we would not include lit candles on the wreath, but we could do a lit candle in her hand). In our home, there is a special blessing for the little girl from me, the father of the family, on this day. The Italian song Santa Lucia is among my favorites. I sang at least one verse of this beautiful song when I was a Legionary of Christ. This is also a special day because it is the wedding anniversary of my parents.

Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent), Advent Embertide. We begin the week reminded of joy, and we end the week in fasting and in abstinence. It seems to me that the revival of Embertides (and Rogationtide) would go a long way to renewing a healthy respect for nature, not the neo-pagan worship of nature that we seem to be evolving towards as of late.

December 16th, The Christmas Novena begins.

December 17th, The O Antiphons begin. Christmas decorating begins. Christmas tree goes up today.

December 18th, The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Put Christmas lights on the tree. Once on, leave lights off until the evening of Christmas Eve (or after Midnight Mass when the whole family attends). 

December 19th. Put ball ornaments on the tree.

December 20th, Vigil of St. Thomas the Apostle. Put other ornaments on the tree.

December 21st, St. Thomas the Apostle; Winter Solstice, First Day of Winter. Replace fall decor with Christmas decor.

December 22nd, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. Put up Christmas wreathes, especially on the front door as a witness to the nations (O Rex Gentium – O King of the Nations).

December 23rd, O Emmanuel. Change liturgical color of, and assemble Nativity set on, home altar or fireplace mantle.

December 24th, Christmas Eve, Sts. Adam and Eve. Jesse Tree story ends. Christmas novena ends. Put tree skirt under tree. In the evening, after the Vigil Mass in the Ordinary Form (which I call the “Mass of Saint Joseph” due to the Gospel reading), add the angel to top of the tree. Then there is the family blessing of the Christmas tree (this one really isn't a blessing of the tree but of all of us who enjoy it) followed by this blessing (which really is a blessing of the tree). During the first blessing, the tree lights are lit. Before the children go to bed, they leave cookies for Santa Clause (the Christ Child’s delivery man) and apples for his reindeer.