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By Christopher Gibson, CP
1996
During the past few years I have been ministering to a Mexican/Mexican-American
community in the far south of Chicago. It is in the area of the old steel
mills (North Chicago Rolling Mills). The parish is the Immaculate Conception.
Presently, 60% of the community are first generation Mexicans.
As I have worked a lot with popular religiosity in Argentina, I realize
how important it is in Latin American cultures. Therefore to take
Hispanic ministry seriously among Mexicans, one needs to address religion
within this context, especially the religious experience of Guadalupe.
This is the reason, then, why I have taken a special interest during the
past year in this area of the people's faith experience. I have also made
efforts to assume it as my own. For years I have held the principle that
one has to meet people where they are in their journey of faith. I realize
that as a non-Mexican, I am an outsider. However, as an Argentine, I feel
that a great part of me is an insider to the Mexican people. We have shared
in common the life of a pre- and post- Vatican Latin American Church.
Although I am a Caucasian of mixed European and American background, like
the Mexicans in the United States of America, I am also an immigrant. It
is my dimension as an outsider though, that I feel I could make a contribution
to the Mexican/ Mexican American community I serve. It is a question of
enabling the rich heritage of Guadalupe, the reality of the people, and
my experience in post-Vatican popular religiosity, to talk with each other.
I wish to see Guadalupe in dialogue with the life experience of the
people I serve and with Scripture. One can find a strong link between these
various sources of religious experiences and each can enlighten the other.
The feast of Guadalupe is celebrated in the heart of the advent season.
That in itself speaks volumes. Bringing together Guadalupe and the advent
season into a liturgical context, brings the advent season alive for the
community, making it very meaningful. It also bridges effectively the gap
between official religion and popular religion.
The core theme of the Novena, in the spirit of the advent season, centers
on the image of a woman in waiting. This is a symbol of humanity and of
all creation that is groaning in labor pains, as it advances toward its
total liberation and plenitude in the reign of God (Rev. 12:1-2;
Rm. 8:22-23). This as we will see is symbolized in the image of Guadalupe.
The arrival of a child speaks to us of a new beginning. Christ and
his reign have begun. As we will see, this is clear in the story of Guadalupe
that is preserved in the 'Nican Mopohua' [henceforth NM]. Just as Church
documents use the first words as the document's title, so 'Nican Mopohua'
are the first two Nahuatl words of the original Indian document about Guadalupe.
We will also see how both Aztecs and Spaniards had a mystical sense
of a completely new age that was dawning when Spain and Indians meet painfully
(Lafaye-1976: Chap.1-2). These labor pangs give birth to the mestizo nation
of Mexico. This, I believe, symbolizes a message of hope for all the Americas,
and forms part of the Guadalupan message.
The arrival of the reign of God, which we prepare for in a special
way during advent, was lived out to a certain degree by the Mexicans, in
the birth of their 'mestizo' nation. Again this challenge faces North America
as many ethnic groups have the opportunity to move in the direction of
a global world community. The mutual enrichment brought about in mutual
and respectful sharing of the different traditions could bring about a
universal 'mestizaje' (Elizondo-1988). I believe that the Mexican community
is called to play a key role in this process. Many are struggling to make
ends meet in life here in the United States of America, and many came here
because of financial hardships. This could encourage them sadly to feel
too dependent. I would like them to feel proud of their heritage and to
know that they have plenty to offer the new society they are moving into.
The English version of this novena is a way of sharing the treassure
and important message of Guadalupe to the English speaking world, including
English speaking latinos who don't speak Spanish and Filipinos who have
a great devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. While many of the thought processes
center on the reality of Mexican immigrants to the United States, it's
a way of keeping alive the memory of the immigration experience which the
United States and other countries was built up from.
Regarding the method used, for each day of the novena, and for the
Feast of Guadalupe, I will give an outline following a sequence of themes:
1. Each day will respond to a concrete situation of the people
as discerned in conversation with them. (SEE)
2. There will follow an enlightenment of reality from some symbolic
aspect in the story of Guadalupe and its icon in dialogue with cultural
and scriptural meaning. (JUDGE)
3. Finally, the will be a practical application for life, expressed
through questions, prayers, songs and rituals (ACT)
The themes and goals for each day have emerged from my conversations
with the people at my parish. These respond to vital situations people
face in life as well as the values they try to live out within their cultural
experience. These are to form the substance of the novena, along with those
aspects of Scripture and Guadalupe that seemed linked with these issues.
Finally, after reflecting on the reality in the light of the history of
salvation, both remote and more recent, we will leave the question open,
to find concrete ways of living out the message of salvation today. The
disposition to put the message into practice, will be ratified liturgically
in prayer, song and ritual/sacrament. It will be up to every person and
each local congregation to find those concrete ways of responding to the
message of salvation.
My first draft of the novena will be written in Spanish, to help me
think and express myself from the Hispanic ethos. Then I will translate
it into English, trying to be faithful in the transferring expressions
and metaphors that emerge from my Latin American heritage. I will
include a traditional Spanish song in the daily novena prayer, as well
as passages from the NM translated into English.
Trying to read and interpret symbols will be very central to this novena.
This is in response to a strong need expressed by the Hispanic community.
Interpreting symbols in a certain context is never an easy task. And to
expect to reduce a symbol to any given meaning is a way of destroying its
power to evoke new meanings. One must not be surprised, then, if one finds
the same symbols being used on different days with a certain shift in meaning
as they relate to other symbols in the context of the whole message of
Guadalupe, acquiring new meaning. But the wholeness of Guadalupe, while
having its starting point and priority meaning for the Indian culture,
becomes enriched when it dialogues with Scriptures and the life experiences
of the people who live out its message in the new historical context they
live in.
We must therefore be careful not to approach a highly symbolic reality
like Guadalupe in a rationalistic manner, which is a traditional characteristic
in the Western way of theologizing. The Aztecs or Mexicas and the Nahuas
in general, were particularly aware of the dangers of a rationalistic approach
to communicating with the divine. However to focus more on a specific meaning
of symbols, they did use symbols in pairs. The expression 'Flower and Song'
is an example. These two words symbolize precisely this religious/poetic
language. We will come back to this later. These paired symbolic words
are known as 'difrasismos'(Siller-Acuña-1991:38). As we are
dealing with reading deep symbolic phenomena as Guadalupe, we run into
many interpretations of serious scholars at times in contradiction with
each another. I therefore realize my limitation in interpreting reality,
especially the Nahuatl cultures of five hundred and more years ago. The
interpreters also come from diverse cultural backgrounds, be they in Latin
America or in North America. Dealing with translations and their interpretations
within different cultures is also another difficult issue. For instance,
take the term 'tzin' in Nahuatl on the end of someone's name. It expresses
respect, dignity, endearment and familiar affection. When translated
to Spanish the diminutive of a person name could be used. 'Diego' for instance
becomes 'Dieguito'. This I think is a good translation for people using
Spanish in certain circles of Mexico or on the 'Altiplano' of South America.
That is why it is also used with Mary. 'Virgen' becomes 'Virgencita'. (see
also Elizondo-1980: 13) However other people in Latin America would only
use this expression in relation to children, therefore making its use sound
childish when applied to adults. This would make Spanish translations then
complicated. (See Siller Acuña-1984/1989:63) For the English translation,
I find a word like 'dear' the most convenient. It is an expression
though that one should not take lightly, as the image of the poor
is at stake. More complicated are the titles that Juan Diego uses to speak
to the Virgin which sound very odd when translated into English, like 'Daughter',
'Girl' or 'Lady'. For pastoral reasons, I have made the translation more
accessible. I have avoided explaining the meaning of certain numbers like
four and five during the novena, as it complicates things.
Bearing in mind what I have said about symbolic language, I myself
will try to approach the theologizing process more through "Flower and
Song," the communication style of more oral, narrational, poetic, earthbound
societies (Elizondo-1980: 14-15), the wisdom approach to theologizing (Schreiter-1985:
85-87)(Pineda-1987: 12-31), a way that the missionaries have known how
to appropriate in the past (Pineda-1987: 22). More over, I will give a
preeminence to the Guadalupan faith experience as lived by the Aztecs.
The Nican Mopohva, is a unique text of Indian Theology. It was written
by Indians, within an Indian culture, with Indian categories, based on
Indian experience, for Indians, but it doesn't exclude the non Indian addressee
(Siller Acuña-1991: 41). I will try to keep close to this deep theological
interpretation of the various Indian authors, from the outstanding school
'Colegio de la Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco' (Siller Acuña-1991: 37),
in the seventeenth century, who most likely wrote the NM, under the direction
of the famous Indian scholar Antonio Valeriano (: 38). The written text
was grounded on the oral tradition. Limitations of interpretation are real,
but the rewards are also great as one gains depth into the faith experience
of our indigenous brothers and sisters. My purpose is not to be a specialist
in Indian mythology or culture, but to allow their experience of faith
to be a source of inspiration, for our own journey of faith, in the context
of which we live here and now.
Daily Orientations:
I suggest the novena take place within a paraliturgical celebration
in order to give more time to the proclamation of the Word, as a way of
preparing for the Feast of Guadalupe. But there are circunstances where
it could be celebrated within the Eucharist or accompanied by the recitaton
fo the rosary.
It is important to bear in mind, that the outlines are intended for
those ministering the Word. The themes developed are not homilies but a
source from which a homily may be constructed. It will be up to the
homilist to prepare a homily adapting the ideas to the level of the
people and to furnish it with examples of daily life. Appropriate
songs should be chosen for each day bearing in mind the theme of the day.
Traditional Guadalupan songs are encouraged, but those that make non-Mexicans
feel excluded should be avoided in a multi-cultural environment in a different
country. One should not sing Marian songs where liturgically it doesn't
correspond. The same is true for any song. One must be aware that
the wordings of the songs are consistent with the moment of the liturgy
being celebrated. One should try to incorporate Marian songs that reflect
the renewal of Vatican II and the spirit of the Church's journey since
then.
Certain days will have short fragments from the NM read along
with the Scripture readings. This could be replaced by an artistic reenactment
of the part of the NM that is being meditated on that day. This could be
done by children, which would give them a prominent role during the novena.
Sometimes a song like the traditional 'Las Apariciones Guadalupanas' could
also replace the reading of the NM.
There are other visual and audio elements that could accompany the celebrations.
For instance, one could have the presence of canaries singing on
the day in which the theme "flower are song" is addressed (third day of
the novena). In order to be sure that the canaries sing, one should
have a hidden recording of the singing canaries played at the appropriate
moment.My experience shows that this has a great impact on the people.
Normally there are sufficient flowers in the church, but if there isn't,
it would be good to ensure that there are that day. One can also make interesting
experiences with light effects as is done at the Easter Vigil, with a gradual
ilumination of the temple, while something is sung or read in relation
to the dawn. The second day of the novena would be an apprapriate day.
The largest impact though could take place, however, on the feast of Guadalupe.
For instance, before the initial procession, one could begin the clelebration
in darkness followed by the lighting up of an image Guadalupe and then
a gradual lighting up of the temple. Meanwhile one could heard birds singing,
first few and in a low volume and then gradually increasing the volume
and the number of birds, coinciding at the same time with the increase
of light in the temple.
A banner of Our Lady of Guadalupe could be brought in during the initial
procession and placed near the altar.
Presentation of the gifts is a good occasion to do something special
when the Eucharist is celebrated. For example, on the feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, a group dressed up as Aztecs could dance in. The gifts
for each day could be brought up by different groups with symbols that
identify them: representatives of North America, Central America and the
Caribbean, South America; different states of Mexico or different groups
from within the parish. Care must be taken to avoid exclusivity of any
represented group and that presupposes careful planning. Bear in mind that
the presentation of the gifts is not only the place where groups could
be represented. They could be represented for instance in processing in
with the Guadalupan banner at the beginning of the Eucharist, in reciting
the novena prayer after communion, during the liturgy of the word, and
so on.
The prayers of the faithful should reflect the theme of the day.
The novena prayer could be recited after the prayers of the faithful
or after communion if the novena takes place in the context of the Eucahrist.
Because of the importance people give it, it should be carefully chosen.
It should have the ability to combine human warmth while reflecting the
depth of the message of the novena. It may also have different sections
seperated by a refrain of a known Marian song. I shall attempt to do this
in what follows.