Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 12, 2021
The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”
Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.
As an alumnus who lives in South Bend, I frequently take advantage of the University of Notre Dame campus amenities. One of my favorite things to do is to run around the lake paths. Their attraction is centering and peaceful for so many, but it also happens to be where my daughter installed the tree art of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is a beautiful reminder to me of the artistic talents God has given her and of her heart for social justice.
I often reflect on when we installed her artwork in 2017 during the contentious political climate at that time. It opened my eyes to reflect on Our Lady of Guadalupe as a champion for those who lack power in society.
The story of the native peasant, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, and his tilma that would bear the image of Our Lady, was a sign of Mary’s love and care for the poor and the marginalized. It was not only true in Juan Diego’s time but continues into today as Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us not to forget those dismissed as a faceless, nameless other.
The crowds following John the Baptist in today’s gospel asked him what they should do. As simple as his answers were, they were challenging instructions to follow. Sharing two cloaks, not collecting more than prescribed, not extorting or falsely accusing—these were all reminders to act with justice towards those that could be ignored or exploited because of their lack of power.
Let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe today on her feast day to be a constant reminder for us. May she enable us to be aware of those less fortunate than ourselves. May we speak and act in a manner that brings dignity to all people, regardless of their ethnicity or place in life.
Prayer
God of our hope, on this third Sunday of Advent we light the pink candle of joy, for the dawn of our salvation is near at hand! Anoint our hearts with your glad tidings of the coming of our Savior, that we might—with Notre Dame Our Mother—proclaim the greatness of the Lord. For our Lord comes to dwell with us, to set us free from all that would dare to quench the Spirit, and to announce again a year of favor from the Lord. In joyous hope, we make our prayer in Christ our Savior. Amen.
Saint of the Day
In December of 1531, a poor native Aztec Indian named Juan Diego was walking through the hills outside of Mexico City on his way to Mass. He heard sweet music and a woman’s voice calling his name from a hill called Tepeyac.
Juan Diego climbed the hill and found a woman who looked like she was also Aztec and dressed in traditional Aztec clothing. She identified herself as the Virgin Mary and instructed Juan Diego to tell his bishop to build a shrine on Tepeyac hill to encourage faithfulness in the people of Mexico City.
When he heard Juan Diego's request, the bishop was skeptical and asked for a sign. When Juan Diego went back and gave this message to Mary, she told him to go to the top of Tepeyac hill and pick the roses he would find there. Juan Diego gathered the roses in his tilma, a cloak-like a poncho, and Mary arranged the flowers and told him to take them to the bishop.
When Juan showed the bishop the roses, they saw that an image of Mary was left upon Juan’s cloak. The bishop was immediately convinced and built a shrine on Tepeyac. Soon, some 8 million people had come to the faith because of Mary’s apparition.
Juan Diego’s tilma was framed and kept in the shrine. It was made of a rough material from cactus and should have decayed within a few decades, but 500 years later is still an object of wonder for millions of pilgrims today. (Recent analyses have revealed that recorded in the image of Mary's iris there are small images of Juan Diego himself, which further indicates its supernatural origin.)
Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared patroness of the Americas. And, as, in the image of Guadalupe, she is portrayed as an expectant mother (her pregnancy is indicated by the high-waisted black sash) she is depicted as pregnant with Jesus, she is also the patron of the Right to Life movement. (For a short reflection on the placement of this feast during the Advent season, read this essay from theology professor and Guadalupe scholar Maxwell Johnson here.)
This feast day is celebrated on Notre Dame's campus with a vibrant Mass in the Basilica led by the Spanish-language student choir. A number of images of Our Lady of Guadalupe are presented on campus—the most recent shown below was painted along St. Joseph Lake by artist Bea Bradley.
Our featured image for the day can be found in a side chapel in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and is brought out for veneration annually for the Guadalupe Mass. It was painted by Maria Tomasula, professor of painting in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design. In the video below, Director of the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, Dr. Joseph Becherer, explains two different paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe: a piece from 18th century in the Raclin Murphy collection and Tomasula piece in the basilica.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas and of the Right to Life movement—pray for us!
View and personalize a card with a prayer to of Our Lady of Guadalupe here on FaithND.
Image Credit: Maria Tomasula, Virgin of Guadalupe, 2008, Oil on board. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Pat and Robert Kill Family Endowment for Excellence for Latin American Art, 2009.001. ©Maria Tomasula, 2020