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The issue addressed: Create awareness of the sad situation of things in the world: tragic abuse of human rights; scandalous differences in the distribution of goods between peoples and nations; an ecology that is on the verge of giving out due to human greed. All creation needs and longs for its salvation through a Savior, but the Savior expects our active participation.
Object: Create awareness that the problems that we encounter today are universal problems and they are serious, but it is important not to lose hope.
Scripture readings:
Rm. 8:18-23; Ps.85; Lk.1:39-55
Alleluia: Alleluia. Alleluia. Come Immanuel, God's presence among us, our King, our Judge: save us, Lord our God! Alleluia.
Symbols in this context: Our Lady as Mother Earth, National Mother. The stars, moon and sun. The prophecies and astronomical calculations of the Aztecs, and the belief of the Spaniards regarding the arrival of the millennium.
Theme developed:
Humanity aspires to be liberated and saved from the shortcomings of history.
Until that liberation arrives, we all groan like a woman in birth pangs,
waiting for the arrival of her child. (Rm.8: 18-23).
Before Christ, the people of Israel also aspired for the arrival of
a Savior whom they called the Messiah. They longed for him because things
were going really badly and they realized that without the intervention
of God, nothing would change. Politically they lived under the yoke of
the Romans. There was much corruption between the people and they lacked
authentic spiritual leaders; 'they were like sheep without a shepherd'(Mt.9:
36; Mk.6:34) As the sun that goes out, God no longer shone in their life.
With the sun that goes out, the moon no longer shines; that for them was
a symbol of Israel. Their leaders were like stars that were falling and
no longer shining: they were no longer good examples for the people. Not
everything was lost though. There was a small faithful group called the
Anawin. Mary, Joseph, Zachariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist belonged
to this group. They hoped and prepared for the arrival of the Messiah.
They were like stars that still were shining.
Christ arrived as the rising sun, to shine in the lives of all people
of all time. He inaugurated his reign, leaving a permanent mark on
human history. He established his Church as a historical instrument to
foster the reign. It should shine like the moon, reflecting the light of
Christ the 'sun'. Its leaders should be like stars. He initiated a historical
process in which personally and collectively he calls us to participate.
However, we must not confuse the inauguration of the reign with it's
plenitude. That will be at the end of time. Meanwhile, human history advances
with its successes and its setbacks, between lights and shadows.
Fifteen centuries later, another continent, the great Aztec empire
was in the evening of its existence. As Israel before them, they were in
need of salvation. They knew that they were at the end of a stage in their
history. They also had become a conquered and oppressed people by the Spaniards.
The Spaniards belonged by name, to the reign of Christ, but in practice
their way of life was lacking in virtue. As before, though, there
were some good people among the Aztecs who did not identify with the warlike,
conquering mentality of their leadership. The idea that their warrior sun
god Huitzilopochtli required so many human sacrifices to keep the sun in
movement was being seriously questioned (León Portilla-1961/1987:
92-95; 116-128; 173-186). Influenced by the Texcocans and other neighboring
Nahua nations, with whom the Aztecs shared a common Toltec heritage,
they were rediscovering a more transcendent and peaceful God, Ometeotl,
who did not demand human sacrifices and who communicated with humans
through 'Flower and Song'. Out of this group would be Juan Diego, who like
a special star in the sky, would lead his people a step further into Christianity.
A new age was about to dawn on Mexico which was like that darkened
moon under the feet of Guadalupe, awaiting the light of salvation. As one
interpretation says, 'Mexico' means the 'naval of the moon', which is where
the Virgin is standing. (Maussan, 1991) The reign of Christ was about to
make its presence felt on this Continent. In 1531, Halley's comet was seen
toward the beginning of the year. Then there was a total solar eclipse
in Mexico in March, which lasted more than four minutes. The Mexicas saw
in this a sign of their state of spiritual confusion (Maussan-1991). Finally
on 12 December, Venus aligned with the sun and our planet. This was also
traditionally the feast day of Tonantzin, the mother 'goddess' and the
day considered as the winter solstice. This astronomical phenomena happened
on this day every one hundred and four years. For the Aztecs this was the
sign that an age had ended and that a new one had arrived. For them it
meant that Quetzalcóatl, the visible manifestation of Ometeotl,
symbolized in the Plumed Serpent, had returned. This is a rich symbol
which expresses a figure that mediates between the divine, symbolized through
feathers, and the terrestrial, symbolized through the serpent (Fernández-1992/1995:
66-69). His arrival was seen as the sun who dissipates the darkness.
(Maussan- 1991) As the wise men of old, celestial signs, showed the way
to Christ's reign. The stars on the mantle of the Virgin would be another
sign of the new era that was taking place (Elizondo-1989: 127).
Many Spaniards for their part, on arriving on this continent, believed
that with it the Apocalyptic millennium had arrived. Whatever the case,
for Aztecs and Spaniards, a new age had arrived and for both it had an
eschatological, mystical flavor to it. In six years that followed, nine
million Aztecs would embrace Christianity. (Madsen-1967: 377; Elizondo,
1980; Rodriguez-1994:45)
What about today? How are things in our personal lives, in our neighborhood,
in our country and in the world? It doesn't look very encouraging! Statistics
show that the chasm between rich and poor is constantly growing. The rich
as years go by are getting richer, fewer and more powerful, as the number
of poor grow proportionately larger, get poorer and become increasingly
powerless. The misery of millions today is so pitiable that people
take desperate actions to escape it even at the risk of losing their lives.
Expense in militarism at the service of the powerful is astronomical while
resources necessary for health, education, food and housing are out of
reach of millions. The huge aggro-businesses, swallow more and more land
to produce food for industrialized countries, while those 'at home' go
hungry. This is because they lack the money needed to buy food, even if
there is an abundance of it at hand. Millions of people find themselves
forced to move from the camp to the great cities of their country, or of
other countries. The slums of the cities grow larger, and with them, human
decadence, fruit of the unjust situation. Children and women are the first
victims of misery, as well as, of the bellicose conflicts of today. Even
so, ten times more people die of hunger than in warfare. With a humanity
groaning in pain, it is our planet, which can no longer cope with
the situation. Our avarice is seriously affecting the air, the water, the
productive land, the fauna and the flora. If we carry on at this pace,
we will all be losers, because our planet will become inhabitable.
On the national level, many Hispanics, though better off than many
of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, are experiencing
poverty, discrimination and oppression. Afro-Americans, Native Americans
and other people in society also experience this. There are many homeless
and jobless people. Throughout the Americas, the first nations of these
lands, the Amerindians, experience discrimination, even today, from
descendants of the immigrants, including from the 'mestizo' population,
who carry their blood in their veins.
It seems impossible that the situation could change, and we could be
tempted to fall into despair. As Christians, however, we can't afford to
lose hope, because in spite of everything, we believe in the victory of
Christ, even when all seems the contrary. There are signs of change emerging
in all parts. There are exemplary people of influence in the communities.
Organized intermediate groups are growing in power, confronting abuses
of political and economical power imposed from above. Among them are the
groups that struggle for social justice. Undoubtably, the Church has a
very important role to play in these dramatic times of our human and global
history. Yes, there are stars shining in the sky like the Anawin who prepared
the way for the coming of Christ.
We must convince ourselves, that a change is possible, if we work together
to change the situation that is within our reach, confident that God and
the 'Virgencita' are by our side to help us.
Prayer is necessary but it is not enough. We must act. As Moses
before Pharaoh, as Israel before Egypt, as David before Goliath, as Jesus
before the oppressive religious and political powers of his time, as Juan
Diego before the Spaniards, as Gandhi before the British empire, as the
Filipinos before Marcos' tanks with rosaries in their hands, what seems
impossible, for God is possible. We can bring about change with the assistance
of the Holy Spirit. The clearest hope of all, of course, is Christ who
transformed the tragedy of the cross into an instrument of salvation. If
we want, a new beginning could arrive soon.
Let us imagine that we are astronauts in space contemplating our beautiful
blue and reddish planet, surrounded by the sun, the moon and the stars.
Let us now think of Our Lady of Guadalupe and we will notice similarities.
Our love and hope for our planet, the home of our human family is intimately
united to her. She is a universal mother. If we harm the planet, we harm
her. If we serve her children, we honor her, because she and the planet
are seen as one.
Here one could give examples or ask the people to give examples of
how they can start sowing the change.
Questions: Do we share in the salvation that comes from God? Do we respect nature that participates in the hope for salvation? What are the elements of hope in our community? Do we commit ourselves to participate in preparing the way for a fuller arrival of the reign of Christ in our midst?
Prayers of the Faithful for the First Day of the Novena:
Let us now present to the Lord our petitions, responding: Lord, hear our prayer.
1. That as we experience the tribulations in our daily life, we may
not lose hope in a fuller arrival of God's reign in which we will live
together forever, with Mary, in God's Love. We pray to the Lord.
2. That through the intercession of Mary, the Holy Spirit may bring
forth more prophets among us, who, like Juan Diego, may be like stars in
the sky, leading us toward the plenitude of the reign of Christ. We pray
to the Lord.
3. That those who oppress and exploit our more vulnerable sisters and
brothers, may repent and may adopt the spirit of the reign of Christ. We
pray to the Lord.
4. That Our Lady of Guadalupe may help us to be strong in not allowing
us to be swallowed by the spirit of the consumer society, and that all
people may come to have more respect for our planet and everything that
lives on it. We pray to the Lord.
5. That all people may learn to share the riches of the earth, and
that the avarice that leads a few, to grab for themselves, most of the
worlds' resources, while leaving millions in misery, may end. We pray to
the Lord
Let us pray:
Gracious and loving God. As we await your coming in glory, give us
hearts filled with the power of your Spirit, so that full or courage and
love, we may effectively prepare the way before you. May your mother journey
with us along the way as we advance toward the birth of the plenitude of
your reign. This we ask through Christ Our Lord. Amen.