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Theme: The reign of Christ in a new creation outgrows the old.
The issue addressed: To be immigrants in a new country with new cultures. The generational conflicts that emerge in this situation of change.
Object: To help people feel proud of their rich tradition, while being open to integrate the positive of the new. Also, help them to have more understanding and tolerance in the process of change that is present in new generations.
Scripture readings:
Gal.4:19-27.31; Ps.72; Lk.1:68-79
Alleluia: Alleluia. Alleluia. Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths: all people shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia.
Symbols in this context: Our Lady in front of the sun without blotting it out and standing on the moon without crushing it. Quetzalcóatl and Tonantzín are replaced but not destroyed.
Theme developed: Maturity
in the light of the gospel requires that we know how to grow in our interior.
That requires that we retain what is good from the old while rejecting
the bad; also, to assimilate the good of what is new, while rejecting what
is bad. We will now explain this in more detail.
When Christ communicates his message to the people of Israel, one thing
that the Jews found hardest was to accept the challenge that they become
one with the Greeks, the Samaritans, and the Romans, who had different
customs and cultures. Jesus insisted, however, that he came for the whole
world, and for that reason, it was necessary to adjust, so that all may
feel welcomed. The covenant that God established with Moses and his ancestors,
was necessary to form the people of Israel, but that was only the preparation
for the coming of Christ, who wanted to open salvation for all nations.
That is why the old was imperfect in comparison with what Christ was bringing.
Christ replaces Moses; the covenant on Mount Sinai, sealed with the blood
of animals, is replaced once and for forever by the covenant on Mt. Calvary,
sealed with the blood of Christ. Or, as St. Paul says symbolically, the
'woman of slavery is replaced by the woman of freedom.'
Something similar happened with the Aztecs as well as with other original
nations of the American continent. They had their religion, but all human
religions need purification from negative elements through Christ, who
as the gospel of today says, is the light to guide all nations that walk
in the darkness and in the shadows of death. As history advances, it is
through the Holy Spirit that Christ is helping us understand more and more,
the message of salvation.
Let us look at this more closely symbolically represented in Guadalupe.
As we have said, the new sun is Christ who dawns on the hill of Tepeyac
bringing salvation to the American Continent. On the ruins of the temple
dedicated to Tonantzin a new temple will be constructed in honor of the
Virgin of Guadalupe. The Aztecs knew that the destruction of the old temple
meant the end of the period of their deities. Everything became clear to
them when they saw the image of Guadalupe. The Virgin, without destroying
Quetzalcoatl represented by the sun, replaces him putting herself in front
of him. However, she is not the center of the universe. The one hidden
in her womb is at the center of the image. That means that he is now considered
to be the center of the Universe. The pregnancy is indicated by the 'naviogli'
flower at the center of the image, over the womb. (Rodriguez-1994: 29.
cf. Parent Martinez: 1986). As the 'naviogli' flower is a symbol of the
sun god, the symbolic connection of Christ in the womb can be made with
the flower and with the sun, thus presenting Christ as the new sun. The
black sash around her waist is also a sign of pregnancy, but this speaks
more to the Spanish world. The Virgin is also standing on the moon without
crushing it. In this same context, the moon would symbolize the moon
goddess Meztli (Fernández-1992/1995: 124); the Virgin presents herself
as superior to Meztli (Elizondo-1989: 127-128).The superiority of the new
is also evident. The Aztec gods, for instance, would be represented as
sitting and with masks on, imposing their power on their subjects, instilling
fear. Consequently, this would lead to spiritual slavery, just as
many Jews had become slaves of the law. Both Aztec and Spanish royalty
also attended their subjects sitting.
The Virgin, on the contrary, appears without a mask, and standing close
to Diego. In the icon, her head is inclined. This shows her simplicity,
her humility, her loving concern as a loving mother. For the Spaniards,
also, the sitting posture was one that indicated power of the authoritarian
style. The Virgin's relations with Juan Diego are tender, close and dignifying
as is shown by the Nahuatl suffix to his name, 'tzin'. In Spanish, this
usually is translated as a diminutive. 'Diego' becomes 'Diegüito'
just as the people call the Virgin, 'Virgencita'. This loving, trusting
relationship created inner freedom. It restored the dignity to the Amerindians
lost under colonial domination. No longer will they have to summit themselves
to the traumatic experience of human sacrifices. The new sacrifice will
be to consecrate oneself to God in love, sacrificing oneself in service
one for another in the example of Christ.
It is important to note that Guadalupe becomes a meeting point in which
Aztecs and Spaniards could find themselves spiritually and culturally.
Juan Diego's uncle told the Spaniards that the Virgin had called herself
'Tlecuauhtlacupeuh'. This sounded like 'Guadalupe', which was their patroness
in Estremadura, Spain, from where many colonists came. It was also a period
when the devotion to Guadalupe in Estremadura was at its peak. (Rodriguez-1994:
45. cf. Escalada 1965:13)
How does all this affect us today? The Hispanics in the United States
of America find themselves in a period of transition. Truly the whole world
is going through the process of a fundamental change in its history. The
Second Vatican Council urged us to change, and to adapt to our present
historical times. Hispanics in the United States have to adjust to
a new country. It is their children, though, who are going to manage it
better. This does not mean, that one has to reject the old. On the contrary,
there is great richness in what we inherit. But if we don't actualize
ourselves, that richness will be lost in future generations. Hispanics
need to make an evaluation of the traditional in the light of what is new.
Not everything new is good, and fidelity to the gospel urges us to reject
firmly what is bad. One example is materialism and consumerism. But not
all traditional tendencies are good either. Authoritarianism and 'machismo'
are some examples of traditions to be let go. The unbridled freedom, common
in the new melieu in which the Hispanics live, is not good either. The
sense of family, of being a people, of hospitality, on the other hand,
are traditional treasures. Our sisters and brothers of the United States
would gain a lot from these values, if they incorporated them more into
their culture. We would gain also from incorporating from our sisters and
brothers of the United States a civic sense to what is appropriate
public use of things.
Changes evidently bring generational conflicts, but through a calm
mature dialogue of exchange and mutual respect there will be growth for
the different generations. Neither authoritarianism of parents, nor irresponsible
freedom of children, is going to lead to the solution of problems. An authority
that knows how to listen and dialogue with youth, and a search for responsible
freedom among youth will reach unsuspected new roads for both generations.
Even the way in which we celebrate our liturgy and Guadalupe requires
that we make adequate adjustments. We can't celebrate Guadalupe as
if we are still in Mexico. We are celebrating Guadalupe with those who
are not born in Mexico and we must make adjustments so that they do not
feel left out but included. If not, the feast of Guadalupe with its valuable
message runs the danger of disappearing in futures generations, or being
reduced to a mere cultural event of folklore.
Questions: Do we accept the changes in our life in new situations that our Christian faith challenges us to do? Do we try to maintain a mature dialogue between parents and children during the process of change?
Prayers of the Faithful for the Fourth Day of the Novena:
Let us now present our petitions to the Lord responding: Lord, hear
our prayer.
1. So that we may know how to be open to the Holy Spirit when we are
inspired to make the necessary changes in our life, in accordance with
the period of history and country we are called to live in. Let us pray
to the Lord.
2. So that there may be more understanding between parents and children
in these times of change, and that the Lord, through the intercession of
the Virgin, may bring reconciliation among those families that have broken
family bonds, or who live in serious internal tensions. Let us pray to
the Lord.
3. So that the people in the United States may be open to enrich themselves
with traditional Hispanic values that sprout from the spirit of the gospel.
Let us pray to the Lord.
4. So that the Virgin of Guadalupe, may inspire the Church to find
the most adequate ways of transmitting the message of salvation, by respectfully
incarnating it into the different cultures of the world. Let us pray to
the Lord.
5. So that all people in all the cultures of the world accept to be
transformed by the salvific Word of Christ that renews all things. Let
us pray to the Lord.
Let us pray:
God, lover of the diverse nations, as we advance in human history and
while life takes us through different directions, give us free hearts,
full of your Holy Spirit, so that we may know how to adapt ourselves to
new situations of life, without betraying the values of the gospel. This
we ask through Christ Our Lord. Amen.