Welcome back to the Mother’s Day Novena from FaithND, an outreach of the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Let us pray:

Mary, Our Mother, by accepting the invitation to bear God’s Son to the world, you brought forth new life for all of us. Your faithful acceptance of God’s word is our model and inspiration as we strive to make room in our hearts for your Son and bear him to others. Help us to follow him more closely, even to the foot of the cross, as you did.

During this month dedicated to you, we ask in a special way for you to care for each of our own mothers: (state your personal intention).

Reflection:

As we approach Mother’s Day, we will continue to reflect on Mary’s numerous apparitions throughout the globe. One of North America’s most culturally significant apparitions occurred In December of 1531 when a 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. Our Lady of Guadalupe is portrayed in the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art in this modern-art screen print La Guadalupe by Scherezade García.

Juan Diego climbed the hill and found a beautiful woman dressed in traditional Aztec clothing. She identified herself as, “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.” She 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 returned 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, despite it being December. 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. The miraculous tilma is still in perfect condition and draws millions of pilgrims worldwide every year. The image has been analyzed scientifically, and it is made out of a pigment not found anywhere else in the world.

Our Lady of Guadalupe helped to convert the entire Mexican country, and put an end to widespread human sacrifice. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared patroness of the Americas by Pope Pius XII in 1946. Since she is portrayed as an expectant mother (her pregnancy is indicated by the high-waisted black sash) pregnant with Jesus, she is also the patron of the Right to Life movement. 

Today, we reflect on the beautiful universality of motherhood. The sacred vocation of motherhood crosses time and space and communicates love in every language. Mary is the Mother of all God’s children. Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, mothers, and the Right to Life movement—pray for us!

Let us pray:

Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, we pray today for mothers across borders. Inspire us to look beyond our own communities to love and support mothers in all places, especially the poor and marginalized, as you cared for the vulnerable indigenous people at the time of your apparition in Tepeyac.

(Pause for a moment of silence. Then conclude:)

We pray, as in all things, through the name of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Closing Hymn – Alma Mater:

Notre Dame, Our Mother, tender, strong, and true,
Proudly in the heavens gleams thy gold and blue.
Glory’s mantle cloaks thee, golden is thy fame
And our hearts forever praise thee, Notre Dame.
And our hearts forever love thee, Notre Dame.

Image Credit: Scherezade García (Dominican, b. 1966), La Guadalupe, 2011, Screen print. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Gift of Gilberto Cárdenas, 2012.005.001.