Mass Reading & Meditation for December 12, 2014 Catholic Meditations Meditation: Zechariah 2:14-17 Our Lady of Guadalupe I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. (Zechariah 2:14) If you want to give your faith a boost, reflect on the events surrounding today’s feast. One December morning in 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego on his way to Mass. The local bishop didn’t believe Juan Diego’s story until he showed him fresh roses—which didn’t even grow in that locale, much less in winter—and a miraculous image of the Virgin imprinted on his cloak. On seeing the image, the bishop fell to his knees. He didn’t need any more proof! That image did much more than convince one bishop. It changed the entire history of the Americas! The missionaries who had come to the New World were finding it hard to convert the Aztecs, who practiced human sacrifice and had never heard about a loving God. But this miraculous image was able to do what the missionaries could not. Millions of Aztecs who heard Juan Diego’s story and saw the image were converted to Christ. What does this story of mass conversion tell us about our lives today? That God isn’t bound by time and space. He still wants to work miracles. It’s not a question of whether he is able to bless us. It’s a question of whether we are hungry enough to receive his blessings! As he said to Israel so long ago, he says to us now: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you” (Zechariah 2:14). What miracles might happen today? You may know someone who is far from the Lord. It is possible that he or she might be overwhelmed by God’s love—out of the blue—and begin to experience conversion. It can happen. You may be concerned for the victims of violence in your hometown. Your prayers of intercession may bring God’s healing touch to them and help them run into his loving embrace. Who knows? Mary may appear in a new place and bring about mass conversions, just as she did in Mexico five hundred years ago. May we never forget that our God is a God of the miraculous! “Lord, today I will dare to hope in you. I know you can do whatever I ask in your name. Jesus, I trust in you. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for all your children!” (Psalm) Judith 13:18-19 Luke 1:26-38
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 13:10:19 +0000
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