From the time Jesus said from the cross, "Woman behold your son; son behold your mother," Mary became the mother of all humankind.
Mary's new role included keeping a watchful eye on us as we traveled through the ages. She has made her maternal presence known in many different parts of the world, including the Americas, where so many of the indigenous peoples suffered under the Spanish Empire. With each of her visits, the messengers chosen were not the elite of the times but rather the most insignificant, as heard in the scriptures of today's readings. Seemingly, God is attracted to those who are humble. Zechariah was one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament. Still, God inspired him to write, "Sing and rejoice O daughters of Zion, see I am coming to dwell among you!” And then Luke records the words of Gabriel to a humble virgin living in the backwater town of Nazareth that she has found favor with God and will bear God's son.
Through the ages, it is the humble who are chosen to confound us all. So, too, in the story of Mary's appearance to a poor peasant, Juan Diego, of the indigenous people of Mexico. Upon his way to mass, this poor, recently baptized convert encounters Mary, who requests that he visit the local bishop with the message of building a shrine to her on the very spot of her apparition. Similar to the historical Mary, Juan Diego stated that she should have chosen a more worthy messenger, but he humbly concedes. At first, the bishop asks for a sign, and Mary honors his request. Upon Juan's second visit to the bishop, he opens his cloak and reveals an image of Mary with roses cascading from his cloak.
In recent times, this cloak, which is hanging in the cathedral of New Mexico, has undergone a number of investigations. The cloak is made of a cactus plant and should have deteriorated hundreds of years ago. The stars that are part of Mary's cloak match the same constellations on that day in December 1521 when Juan Diego first encountered Mary. More recently, a bomb exploded in flowers below the image, but nothing was destroyed except objects that were far from it. Mary is evidently still making her protective presence a reality for the people at our southern borders.
Today, as in the past, our Latin American brothers and sisters still suffer from the terrors of dictatorial leaders, drug cartels, and daily threats from violent gangs. In desperation and hope, they are willing to endure unbelievable journeys through treacherous terrain. Our challenge today is how we greet them. Do we close our doors as some did to the Holy Family two thousand years ago? "Sorry, no room in the inn!” Let us remember there is no such thing as an undocumented child of God. We are all God’s children and it was people who divided God’s creation into so-called political units and established borders. Pope Francis reminds us of St. Ambrose’s words, which Pope Paul VI reiterated in Populorum Progressio (1967), “The earth belongs to everyone, not only the rich.”
May we see the face of God knocking on our doors this Advent season in the desperate faces of our migrant brothers and sisters. Let us have the same mindset set of Mary when she told Juan Diego: "Listen and understand my little son; let nothing frighten and affect or trouble your heart. Am I not here? I who am your mother."
May our prayer on this her feast day be that we might have the same heart for our brothers and sisters as Mary did by being their present-day advocates for their God-given human rights.
– Sister Helen R. Boyd, OP
Sister Helen resides at Dominican Convent, where she serves
on the Life Enrichment Committee and co-chairs the
Mission Outreach Committee.