All images below, unless other stated, are ©CardinalBurke. Detail above: Madonna in Niche, L. Brunner, 1846. ©The Art of Christianity Collection, inv. nr AP00181.
PRAYER
of the nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
March 12 - Dec 12, 2024
We are now on our fifteenth round of the Nine-Month-Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke sent us a message in June, with a simple and straight to the point :
SHE IS YOUR MOTHER
On July 24, His Eminence wrote us a second July message :
"Take Saint Juan Diego as your model in your every thought, word, and action, so that you may serve God in all things, both great and small. Commit yourselves to be, with the Mother of God, a messenger of God’s merciful love in your homes, in your offices or schools, and in any place in which you find yourselves. Be humble, recognizing that all that you are and have comes from God. Be confident that, if you respect God’s plan for you and for our world, you will be blessed, and you will bring a blessing to others.
As true children of God, with humility and confidence, like Saint Juan Diego, let us be one with the Virgin Mother of God in giving our hearts completely to the Lord. Calling upon the intercession of Saint Juan Diego, we pray for the humility to be always ready to do whatever God asks of us, and we pray for the trust that He will bring to a good conclusion our humble efforts to serve Him faithfully in even the smallest matters."
This is His Eminence's Tenth Reflection dated July 24, 2024. Click on the video link here or read it here.
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"When Our Lady interceded to restore the health of Juan Bernardino, she also instructed him to convey the miracle of his healing to the Bishop. It was at this moment, too, that she asked she and her image on the tilma be known by the title, “Santa Maria de Guadalupe,” “Holy Mary of Guadalupe.”
True joy demands to be shared.
When weare moved by something true or good or beautiful, we feel the need to recommend it to others.
When we hear good news, the first thing we want to do is to share it. We even enjoy explaining, in detail, to our family and close friends the intricacies of the good activities we enjoy.
When we truly love someone, we want others to share in this love with us.
So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take a moment to examine how we share our love for Our Lady with those around us. Holy Mother Church has preserved so many beautiful devotions through which we can
do just that. Let us invite others to pray the Rosary with us. Let us wear the scapular or the Miraculous Medal. Let us make it a point to observe Marian feasts with fitting celebration—perhaps inviting friends and family to Holy Mass or to a meal at our home.
Whatever you find most spiritually and practically appropriate in your own lives, do not be timid in your love for Our Lady, for by growing in love for her, you will grow ever closer to her Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will bear ever greater witness to your love for Him Who alone is our salvation, thus drawing others to know Him and the salvation He offers us in His holy Church."
Let us pray the nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe:
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection
and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin
which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church.
Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
gave you to us
as our mother
as He died on the Cross for our salvation.
So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us,
He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac
to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac
and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego,
millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son.
Through this novena and our consecration to you,
we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him
and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him.
In our homes and in our nation,
lead us to Him
Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart
so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him.
So may our hearts, one with yours,
always trust in God's promise of salvation,
in His never-failing mercy toward all
who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe,
lead all souls in America and throughout the world
to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray.
Amen.
March, 2024
+ Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
Let us pray:
O my God,
in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(if applicable, here kiss your scapular as sign of your consecration to Mary, which carries a partial indulgence),
I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world,
joining with it the offering of my every thought, word, and action of this day.
O my Jesus,
I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can and I offer them, together with myself,
to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them in the interests of Thy Most Sacred Heart.
Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
+ Father R.Heilman, March, 2024
- July 25 -
Day 136, novena nr. 16 of the nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Dearest Lady of Guadalupe,
fruitful Mother of holiness,
teach me your ways of gentleness and strength.
Hear my humble prayer offered with heartfelt confidence to beg this favor _______
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 26 -
Day 137, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
O Mary, conceived without sin,
I come to your throne of grace to share the fervent devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call to you under the glorious Aztec title of Guadalupe.
Obtain for me a lively faith to do your Son’s holy will always:
May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven _______
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 27 -
Day 138, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
O Mary, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced by seven swords of grief, help me to walk valiantly amid the sharp thorns strewn across my pathway.
Obtain for me the strength to be a true imitator of you.
This I ask you, my dear Mother. __________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 28 -
Day 139, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Dearest Mother of Guadalupe,
I beg you for a fortified will to imitate your divine Son’s charity, to always seek the good of others in need. Grant me this, I humbly ask of you. ________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 29 -
Day 140, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
O most holy Mother,
I beg you to obtain for me pardon of all my sins,
abundant graces to serve your Son more faithfully from now on, and lastly, the grace to praise Him with you forever in heaven. _________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 30 -
Day 141, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Mary, Mother of vocations,
multiply priestly vocations and fill the earth with religious houses which will be light and warmth for the world, safety in stormy nights.
Beg your Son to send us many priests and religious.
This we ask of you, O Mother. __________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- July 31 -
Day 142, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
O Lady of Guadalupe,
we beg you that parents live a holy life and educate their children in a Christian manner;
that children obey and follow the directions of their parents;
that all members of the family pray and worship together.
This we ask of you, O Mother. ____________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- August 1 -
Day 143, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
With my heart full of the most sincere veneration,
I prostrate myself before you, O Mother, to ask you to obtain for me the grace to fulfill the duties of my state in life with faithfulness and constancy.__________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
- Aug 2 -
Day 144, a nine-month-novena.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Introduction Prayer
Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your heavenly apparitions on the mount of Tepeyac, you promised to show your compassion and pity towards all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and call upon you in their necessities and afflictions. You promised to hear our supplications, to dry our tears, and to give us consolation and relief.
Memorare
Never has it been known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly to you, O Mary, ever-Virgin Mother of the true God! Though grieving under the weight of our sins, we come to prostrate ourselves before you. We fully trust that, standing beneath your shadow and protection, nothing will trouble or afflict us, nor do we need to fear illness or misfortune, or any other sorrow.
Prayer
O Virgin of Guadalupe, you want to remain with us through your admirable Image, you who are our Mother, our health, and our life. Placing ourselves beneath your maternal gaze, and having recourse to you in all our necessities, we need do nothing more.
O Holy Mother of God, despise not our petitions, but in your mercy hear and answer us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
O God,
You have been pleased to bestow upon us unceasing favors by having placed us under the special protection of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.
Grant us, your humble servants,
who rejoice in honoring her today upon earth, the happiness of seeing her face to face in heaven. _________
(mention your intention here)
Concluding Prayers:
Our father x 1
Hail Mary x 1
Glory x 1
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Step-by-Step Rosary community can pray the Rosary after the novena.
Here below follows different links in connection to Cardinal Burkes request:
Return to Our Lady (cardinalburke.com)
Let us all pray the Novena and pray that every Catholic in your own country, return to Our Lady!
"To this end, I am calling on all Catholics, especially those in the Americas,
to join me in praying a nine-month novena seeking Our Lady’s intercession beginning on March 12.
This immense spiritual undertaking will culminate in a consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, her Feast Day. "
You can read His Eminence's letter concerning his call and You can join His Eminence Cardinal Burke by signing up here. His video address is here .
PRAYER
of the nine-month novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
March 12 - Dec 12, 2024
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation.
So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray.
Amen.
March, 2024
+ Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
Here below are the Messages and Reflections from Cardinal Burke
Nine Month Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
"Making the Nine-Month Novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, entrusting ourselves to her guidance and protection and confiding to her intercession our many intentions for the Church and for the world, we rejoice in the perfect union of her Immaculate Heart with the Most Sacred Heart of her Divine Son, Our Lord and Savior."
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke sends us the encouraging April message :
"As our first month of the Nine-Month Novena concludes and our second month begins, some of us may be experiencing the worst temptations from Satan to surrender and stop praying the Novena Prayer every day.
In the battle for the truth, we must never give way to discouragement, which is always the first temptation of the devil. When we are tempted to be discouraged or to be defeated, let us recall the vision of the final victory of Christ’s Redemptive Incarnation, recounted in the Book of Revelation."
------------------------
His Eminence wrote initially the first lesson (by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"The first lesson which Our Lady of Guadalupe teaches us to equip us for today’s grave crisis is the inseparable unity of truth and love. We cannot truly love another person while also disregarding or betraying the truth which should inform every relationship. The fundamental approach to the crisis of the family, of society, and of the Church is the knowledge of truth and the practice of it with love."
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"During the first apparition to St. Juan Diego, Mary introduced herself as the Virgin Mother of God and our mother. These words are as comforting and inspiring today as they were nearly 500 years ago:
“… I am honored to be your compassionate mother, yours and that of all the people that live together in this land, and also of all the other various lineages of men; those who love me, those who cry to me, those who seek me, those who trust in me.”
As Catholics, we say that Mary is our Mother a great deal. We call her our Blessed Mother – enough, perhaps, that we might sometimes lose sight of what an extraordinary thing it is that we are saying. Mary, the ever-Virgin Mother of God, is our mother: take a moment today to reflect as deeply as you are able on the beautiful implications of this statement. Know in your heart that she is your mother. Know beyond doubt that her maternal care for you is real. "(Here is the full text)
The Third Reflection
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"This month, let us contemplate the events of the second apparition of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego.
Though he did his best to carry out Mary’s request, Juan Diego was unable to convince Bishop Juan de Zumárraga of the authenticity of his claims. As Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac Hill, he must have been consumed by grief for this failure, and was perhaps even a little confused that Our Lady would not have intervened more directly.
Mary’s response is telling: rather than criticize Juan Diego, she encourages him to return to the Bishop. She encourages him to persevere.
Our failures do not make us useless before God, nor unlovable before our heavenly Mother. Indeed, God sanctifies us in our weakness, if only we turn to Him for the help of Divine Grace. Even our greatest weakness is the invitation to practice greater reliance on God.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is perseverance, not immediate perfection, that is the mark of Christian life on earth. We are born in Christ in Baptism to grow ever more fully in Him, to carry ever more faithfully and generously, with Him, the cross of pure and selfless love.
What failures are currently weighing on your soul?
Our Lady desires you to be reconciled with her Divine Son. Go to confession as soon as you are able and begin again on the pilgrim path upon which you set forth in Baptism and which will reach its destination in eternal life.
We are called to the same perseverance that St. Juan Diego displayed when he committed anew to carrying forward Our Lady’s mission. Let us ask Our Mother to intercede with God for us, that we may receive in abundance the grace of perseverance." (Here is the full text).
The Fourth Reflection dated April 23, 2024. The video link is here.
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
Let us continue to contemplate the importance of perseverance.
Though Saint Juan Diego failed to convince the Bishop that his claims were true, he did not let his failure
be the cause of despair. Instead, he dutifully followed the Virgin Mother of God’s instruction to return to Bishop Zumárraga.
The ability to recognize our failures with honesty and humility is, itself, a gift of grace, and indeed a sign of the healthy operation of our consciences. Indeed, the saints were keenly aware of their failures.
When we feel guilt, we should thank God that grace has spared us (at least in this moment) from the errors of a lax or dulled conscience, a condition which seems to afflict so many, in a particularly insidious way, in our times.
When we fail, do we let our pride intervene by supposing we can conquer sin?
Or do we turn to God for help? And when we ask for help, do we demand results immediately?
Or are we willing to persevere in God’s plan for our eternal salvation? Let us honestly reflect on these questions.
As St. Juan Diego learned, the fruits of Our Lady’s intercession are not always immediately apparent. But they are real, and they are powerful. Let us continue to ask Our Mother to obtain for us all the good and holy things we desire, according to God’s plan for us. (Here is the full text).
The Fifth Reflection dated May 12, 2024. The video link is here.
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"As the second month of our Nine-Month Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe concludes, and as we, today, officially begin the third month, let us thank God and Our Lady for the grace of perseverance which that Our Lord, through the maternal mediation of Our Lady, has given to us so that we mightfight the good fight,finish the race, and keep the Faith (cf. 2 Tim. 4, 7).
Our Lady commissioned Saint Juan Diego to be her heroic messenger, just as she commissions us today to lead others to Christ by handing on to them the truths of the Faith and its beauty in the life of prayer and, above all, of divine worship. However, after Bishop Juan de Zumárraga’s initial skeptical reaction to Saint Juan Diego’s account of Our Lady’s desire, Saint Juan Diego considered himself to be unworthy of the mission that the Mother of God had entrusted into his hands. Saint Juan Diego was always docile and obedient, but, at the same time, he doubted that he could do all that God was asking of him.
When the work seemed particularly difficult, he thought of reasons why the mission should be entrusted to someone else, and he even suggested to Our Lady that he was not the right person for her mission. Yet as a child is comforted by a mother’s love, so too, Saint Juan Diego found comfort in Our Lady’s words:
I will reward the care, the work and the fatigue that you have put into this for me (Nican Mopohua, no. 92).
Our Lord Himself teaches us that God reveals His will to the “childlike” (Mt 11, 25), to those who, like Him, are “meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11, 29), to those who recognize that all that they are and have comes from the hand of God and who, therefore, place all their trust in Him. He assures us that, if doing His will demands much labor and is burdensome, He will “give [us] rest” (Mt 11, 28). Using an image from farming to describe our work with Him for the salvation of the world, he encourages to “take [His] yoke” (Mt 11, 29) upon our shoulders. He declares: “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Mt 11, 30).
In our daily struggle to be faithful and generous co-workers with Christ in His saving work, let us call upon the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her heroic messenger, Saint Juan Diego, even as we seek to follow their example. Christ will never fail us. He will render efficacious for our salvation and the salvation of the world our every good thought, word, and deed. When we are tempted to give up in the battle, let us bear in mind Our Lady’s words to Saint Juan Diego for they are motherly words which will comfort and encourage us as well: “I will reward the care, the work and the fatigue that you have put into this for me.”
The Sixth Reflection dated May 28, 2024. The video link is here.
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"Let us continue to reflect on the Third Apparition, and on the Bishop’s request that St.
Juan Diego present a sign.
Our Lord calls “blessed” those who have not seen and still believe. And yet, in His
mercy, Our Lord accords us an abundance of signs of His love, so that we may grow in
ever greater love for Him. The tilma upon which God miraculously imprinted the image of
Our Lady for us, her children, is one such sign, a truly remarkable sign of His love.
Let us take a moment to examine the signs God has given to each of us.
Have we allowed our souls to grow dulled and jaded by the myopia of materialism that
pervades our society? Or do we believe that God shows signs of His Love for us each
and every day?
Are we putting the Lord Our God to the test by demanding exact results according to our
own, limited understanding? Or do we work to appreciate God’s grace according to our
present station in life?
We should know and believe that, even if we are struggling to see the signs God has
shown to us, we can always turn to the wonder and love that are available to us here
and now in the miracle of the Sacraments through which God the Son Incarnate acts
directly to sanctify us, to bestow immeasurably and unceasingly upon us His grace and
life. He is offering His mercy right now in the sacramental encounter with Him in
Confession. He is offering His very life – His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – in the Holy
Eucharist.
Our Lady leads us to love ever more and more Her Divine Son. So, I implore you: as we
continue in this novena of nine months, set aside more time to spend in adoration before
the Most Blessed Sacrament, reposed in the tabernacle or exposed for us in the
monstrance. The Sacred Host is the greatest sign of God’s love, which we have; may
our love for Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament grow livelier and stronger each and
every day"
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke sent us a new message, simple and straight to the point :
SHE IS YOUR MOTHER
This is His Eminence's Seventh Reflection dated June 12, 2024. Click on the video link here or read it here
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"Great are the difficulties we are called to face in the Church and in the world. When such difficulties seem overwhelming, prayer might appear to be one more difficulty, but that is a snare of Satan. The truth is that prayer, which is a union of our hearts with the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus, is the balm of all our burdens. The great test of our total dedication to the mission that we have taken up is to persevere for six more months as we pray for the conversion of the world. "
"Our Lady brought great comfort to Saint Juan Diego when he faced uncertainty. We, too, receive Our Lady’s assurance in those same encouraging words: What afflicted you is nothing; do not let it disturb you; do not fear; she is here; she is your mother; she protects you; she is the source of your joy; she is holding you. Our Lady’s words of comfort to Juan Diego are words that should comfort us as well whenever we experience the temptation to doubt the importance and immediacy of carrying out all that Our Lady desires and has asked of us."
This month, let us reflect on the Fourth Apparition of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego.
In an effort to attend to his gravely ill uncle, St. Juan Diego did not meet Our Lady’s request to return to Tepeyac Hill. He must have felt great shame for this, for he took a detour to avoid Our Lady as he made his way to bring the priest to his dying uncle. Of course, there is no outwitting Our Blessed Mother, who descended from Tepeyac to meet Juan Diego as he was taking this detour.
Let us take a moment to reflect on Our Lady’s words, perhaps the most famous from these apparitions. Instead of scolding Juan Diego, she consoles him. Our Lady knows, too, all that worries us; with her words to Saint Juan Diego, she is also speaking to us, nearly 500 years later, so that we may also take comfort in them.
Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest son, that what frightened you, what afflicted you is nothing; do not let it disturb your face, your heart; do not fear this sickness or any other sickness, nor any sharp or hurtful thing. Am I not here, I who have the honor to be your mother? Are you not in my shadow and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?
My brothers and sisters in Christ, there is nothing else that we need.
Let us fly to the protection of our Heavenly Mother. Let us bring to her all that causes us to fear. And let
us be one in heart with her Immaculate Heart which is ever one with the will of God and through which, in all things, she brings us ever closer to Him Who alone is our salvation."
On July 12, His Eminence wrote us a new message :
"All of us can easily give way to doubt and fear before the challenge of living in Christ in our totally secularized culture. There is the tendency to doubt God’s grace and to give way to fear in responding to its “costly” demands. There is the temptation to think that we must devise some program, “some magic formula,” to transform the world. Yet it is Christ, alive for us in the Church, Who alone shows us the way. It is our humble and confident following of Christ which will transform us and our world. To help us follow Him, as He was dying upon the cross, Our Lord gave His Mother to us as our Mother.
By the mystery of the Divine Maternity, the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, assumed into glory, never ceases to beat with love for us, the children whom her Divine Son gave to her, also as He was dying upon the Cross. When Our Lord pronounced the words, “Woman, behold thy son” (Jn 19, 26) to His Mother and “Behold thy mother” (Jn 19, 27) to Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, standing at the foot of the cross, He expressed an essential reality of the salvation He was winning for us: the full cooperation of His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, in His saving work.
This is His Eminence's Ninth Reflection dated July 12, 2024. Click on the video link here or read it here.
(by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke):
"St. Juan Diego, faithful messenger of Our Lady though he was, did not undertand the fullness of Our Lady’s desires.Even as he carried the miraculous roses to the Bishop’s palace, he could never have imagined the even greater miracle that was soon to take place. Nor could he have known the extent to which his cooperation with Our Lady’s desires would glorify God, nor the extent to which this miracle would help transform his nation and the Church on the American continent, and far beyond.
St. Juan Diego knew none of this as he hurried to the Bishop. And yet, it was through his faith in God and his cooperation with Our Lady’s desires, God’s plan, that these countless blessings came to pass.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us emulate this faith in our own lives. We cannot know the full extent to which grace works through us — at least not on this side of eternity. And yet, God desires to work through us in ways that we cannot possibly imagine; He desires to bestows graces that we cannot measure. We only need to give our hearts to Him in doing His will in all things.
It is not for us to count the full cost or merit of our life’s work. In any case, this is an impossible task for us. It is our job to strive for holiness and to let Divine Providence order the rest.
By Mary’s intercession, may God order our hearts, one with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so that they rest always in His Divine Heart.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph,
pray for us!