|
Pope
John Paul II Names Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Mother of Hope and
Mother and Evangelizer of America
Holy
Father announces a new mission in America under her patronage
Dan Lynch
In contrast to the culture of death with its loss of hope, Pope John
Paul II called Our Lady of Guadalupe the Mother of Hope and the Mother
and Evangelizer of America. He did this at the historical First Synod
of all of the Bishops of America in Rome in December 1998 that closed on
the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and in his Apostolic Exhortation,
The Church in America, his summary of the Synod. He delivered
this at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on January 23, 1999.
The New Evangelization of America
The Holy Father
likened the Synod to the upper room where Mary and the apostles prayed
before Pentecost. The Synod began the year 1998 dedicated by the Holy
Father to the Holy Spirit towards the joyful celebration of the Great
Jubilee Year 2000. He announced a new mission “to undertake the New
Evangelization of the American continent”. He sees America as one
continent “from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from the Pacific to the
Atlantic…, a continent called in its various sectors to integration and
solidarity.”
He proclaimed Our Lady of
Guadalupe as the Mother of All America. “Now is the time”, he
said, “of the New Evangelization to lead the People of God in America to
cross the threshold of the third millennium with renewed hope.” He
entrusted to her, as the Star of the New Evangelization, the “future
path of the Church on the great continent of America.” He referred to
America in the singular to emphasize the call to all Americans to unity
and solidarity.
As he looked at an image
of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Holy Father said, “Now, as we prepare for
the Great Jubilee Year 2000, I ask her to visit as a pilgrim of faith
each and every diocese, parish and family in America. May she cross
this continent bringing it life, sweetness and hope! May she enliven
and protect the work of the New Evangelization!” (This wish of the
Pope can be satisfied by Visitations of the Missionary Image. Please
contact us if you would like to host a Visitation.)
At the Synod, the Holy
Father mentioned the challenges of the New Evangelization such as the
authentic teaching of the Church’s doctrine and the need for society’s
laws to harmonize with it; the defense of human life; the role of the
family and the value of human work. He said that the solution to these
challenges is to spread the civilization of love through apostolic
action rooted in the Gospel and “courageously proclaiming Jesus Christ,
Redeemer of the whole man and of every man.” This is the New
Evangelization!
Holy Father Entrusts the Future of the American
Continent to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Declares December 12 Her Feast
Day Throughout America
In 1979 Pope John
Paul II made his first pilgrimage to Mexico and consecrated his papacy
to Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1999, he made his fourth pilgrimage there
and consecrated the entire Continent to her. He delivered a summary of
the historic first All-American Bishops’ Synod at the Basilica of Our
Lady of Guadalupe. This was perhaps the most significant event in the
history of America since Our Lady’s visit there in 1531!
The Holy Father was
invited to come to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to deliver the
Summary of the Bishops’ Synod. Providentially, he arrived in Mexico on
January 22, 1999, the anniversary of the legalization of abortion. He
signed the Summary, his Apostolic Exhortation, The Church in America,
and laid it at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Exhortation states
that the solution of the problems of America lies not with the ideas of
politicians or academics but with a personal encounter with the Living,
Risen Jesus Christ – present in Scripture, the sacraments and in each
other. “Everyone should keep in mind”, the Pope said, “that the vital
core of the New Evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal
proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of
His name, His teaching, His life, His promises and the Kingdom which He
has gained for us by His Paschal Mystery.” The Living, Risen, Jesus
Christ is “the definitive answer to the question of the meaning of life,
and to those fundamental questions which still trouble so many men and
women on the American continent.”
The Holy Father referred
to America as one continent and said that Americans are called to
unity. “Open to the unity which comes from true communion with the
Risen Lord, the particular Churches, and all who belong to them, will
discover through their own spiritual experience that the encounter with
the Living Jesus Christ is the path to conversion, communion and
solidarity. To the extent that these goals are reached, there will
emerge an ever increasing dedication to the New Evangelization of
America.”
He placed the New
Evangelization under the patronage of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “It is my
heartfelt hope that she, whose intercession was responsible for
strengthening the faith of the first disciples, will by her maternal
intercession guide the Church in America, obtaining the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit, as she once did for the early Church so that the New
Evangelization may yield a splendid flowering of Christian life.”
The key to our encounter
with Jesus Christ is in the family. The Exhortation contains a prayer
for families: “May families always be united, as you and the Father are
one, and may they be living witnesses to love, justice, and solidarity;
make them schools of respect, forgiveness, and mutual help, so that the
world may believe.”
The Holy Father’s Exhortation concludes with a
prophecy. “Through Our Lady of Guadalupe’s powerful intercession, the
Gospel will penetrate the hearts of the men and women of America and
permeate their cultures, transforming them from within…I therefore
invite all the Catholics of America to take an active part in the
evangelizing initiatives which the Holy Spirit is stirring in every part
of this immense continent, so full of resources and hopes for the
future.”
The day after he signed
his Exhortation, the Holy Father concelebrated Mass at the Basilica of
Our Lady of Guadalupe with 500 Bishops and 5000 priests. He entrusted
the future of the Continent to her and declared that the Feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, Mother and Evangelizer of America, be celebrated
throughout the Continent on December 12.
He virtually declared the
end of the culture of death and preached at the Basilica. “The Church
must proclaim the Gospel of Life and speak out with prophetic force
against the culture of death. This is our cry: life with dignity for
all…The time has come to banish once and for all from the Continent
every attack against life…As a matter of urgency, we must stir up a new
springtime of holiness on the Continent so that action and contemplation
will go hand in hand.”
He concluded his homily
with a prayer, “Oh, Sweet Lady of Tepeyac, Mother of Guadalupe! We
present to you this countless multitude of faithful who pray to God in
America. You who have come into their hearts visit and comfort all
homes, parishes and dioceses of all the Continent.” (You can respond
to the Holy Father’s call by hosting a Visitation of the Missionary
Image. Contact us for more information.)
Be Not Afraid
The Holy Father
said, “Do not be afraid to cross the threshold of hope. There we shall
all meet the Lord, the living Jesus Christ, who is our hope and our
salvation.”
Mary is the Mother of
Hope. She is the Mother of Jesus Christ who is our hope as the
conqueror of sin and death. As a people of hope, we are not afraid but
look forward to the victory of good over evil; peace over war; truth
over lies; love over hate and life over death. We look forward to
eternal salvation and an existence full of happiness in God.
Hopeful Signs
This abstract hope
is realized by signs in today’s world recognized by the Holy Father in
his Apostolic Letter, On the Coming of the Third Millennium:
"In civil society, such
signs are the progress that has been made by science, technology,
and especially medicine in serving human life; the keener sense of
responsibility toward the environment; the efforts to
reestablish peace and justice wherever they have been
violated; the resolute desire for reconciliation and solidarity among
peoples, especially in the complex relations between the North and South
of the world… In the Church, such signs are more attentive listening to
the voice of the Spirit through the acceptance of charisms and the
promotion of the laity; intense devotion to the cause of unity on the
part of individual Christians; the space given to dialogue with the
religions and with contemporary culture.”
Only God knows what the
future holds. But we are certain that He is the Lord of history and
directs it to His own end with our cooperation in hope. It will be the
fulfillment of a divine plan of love for all humanity and for each one
of us. “That is why,” the Holy Father said, “as we look into the
future, we are full of hope and are not overcome with fear. The journey
. . . is a great journey of hope.” This hope reminds us of Our Lady of
Guadalupe’s assurance to Saint Juan Diego, “Do not fear any illness or
vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother?”
Our Lady of Guadalupe is
the Star of the New Evangelization and, as our Mother of Hope, she leads
us in hope as we entrust ourselves with all of our hearts to God’s great
and generous promises of eternal life and happiness with Him.
In his Apostolic Letter,
the Holy Father closed his remarks and said, “Christians are called to
prepare . . . by renewing their hope in the definitive coming of the
kingdom of God, preparing for it daily in their hearts in the Christian
community to which they belong, in their particular social context, and
in the world history itself.”
Let us pray and act for
the fulfillment of the Holy Father’s prophecy, “Through Our Lady of
Guadalupe’s powerful intercession, the Gospel will penetrate the hearts
of the men and women of America and permeate their cultures,
transforming them from within.”
For stories of life and hope see our catalog and order my video,
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Hope! and my books,
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Hope for the World and
Teresita’s Choices, A Testimony of Life, Healing and Hope.
Dan Lynch is a retired Judge in the
State of Vermont. He is an author, producer of audios and videos and has
appeared on radio and television. He is also the Director of the
apostolate of The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Other Articles by Dan Lynch
Top of Page |
