Archdiocesan events marking Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In the middle of Advent are two special Marian Feast Days: the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.

Many local churches have a tradition of honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe – a major liturgical celebration for many Latin American Catholics. 

Holy Cross Catholic Church, Madill

For many years, Holy Cross Catholic Church in Madill has hosted a traditional program for the annual celebration. This will be a unique experience for the new pastor, Father Raul Sanchez.  Parishioners will gather at 5 a.m. on Dec. 12 for an early morning service with music and breakfast at 6 a.m.  

Holy Cross Catholic Church will continue the celebration at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16.   Parishioners will meet at the Walmart in Madill and have a 30-40 minute procession to the church. Mass will then be celebrated at 6 p.m. by Father Sanchez. After Mass, the parish will host a dinner at El Bronco Ballroom.      

Amy Rivera, director of religious education said, “As Catholics, many people are critical of us for worshipping Mary, however, what we are doing on feasts, like Our Lady of Guadalupe, we honor Mary as our mother, seeing how much she suffered as she watched her son suffer. As a mother, it is always tougher.”   

For more information, contact Amy Rivera at (580) 677-5002. 

Saint Mary Catholic Church, Ardmore

Saint Mary Catholic Church in Ardmore will have a program on Dec. 12 for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. At 5:15 p.m., there will be an outside procession followed by a Mass at 6 p.m. celebrated by Father Kevin Ratterman, pastor of Saint Mary Catholic Church. Following Mass, there will be a dinner in the Blessed Stanley Rother Hall for all the participants.  

Deacon Juan Jimenez said, “Although many of the participants who attended last year were Hispanic, there were almost as many who weren’t. We are prepared to have a bilingual program again this year.” 

For more information, contact Deacon Jimenez in the church office at (580) 223-0231.      

Some interesting facts about the tilma/cloak of Our Lady of Guadalupe:
•    Our Lady grew roses in the middle of Winter. 
•    The Virgin of Guadalupe is pregnant.
•    The image seems to be indestructible.
•    The image is always at 98.6 °F.
•    There's life in the Virgin's eyes. 

There are many unique aspects of the image printed on Saint Juan Diego’s tilma. From ourcatholicradio.org, some of these are:

The image can’t be recreated
There are no animal or mineral pigments on the tilma/cloak. These would’ve been present had the image on the tilma been painted. There are also no under drawings or brush strokes on the image. The pigments that were available in the time and in that area would’ve faded after almost 500 years, and yet the image hasn’t faded. 

Mary’s skin tone
The color in Mary’s skin changes depending on one’s distance to the image. The further away, the darker her skin tone and the more she resembles an Aztec princess. The closer, the lighter her skin tone and the more she appears as a young Jewish girl.

The stars
The stars on Mary’s mantle are exactly as they would have appeared on Dec. 12, 1531. The perspective is as if looking from behind the sky to Earth — like heaven looking down on Earth. The pattern of the stars would place the constellation corona borealis (the crown) on her forehead, virgo (the virgin) over her heart, and leo (the lion—i.e. the Lion of Judah) over her womb.

Deacon Jiminez stated, “Our Lady of Guadalupe leads us to Christ and tells us to do what Christ wants.”

Charles Albert is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.


Photo: The Our Lady of Guadalupe statue at the Bl. Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City. Photo Sooner Catholic.