This upcoming week, on December 12th, we will be celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is an important feast day not only for the people of Mexico, but for all of North America, as the Virgin of Guadalupe is the Patron of the Americas. The origins of this feast day stem from apparitions made to a Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531. Our Lady requested that a shrine be built in her name. His bishop asked him to prove it, and so Our Lady instructed him to collect roses and place them in his tilma, or cloak, to then reveal them to the bishop as proof. This was quite an impossible task as in the winter months, roses are not in season. However, Juan Diego miraculously found Castilian roses, native only to Spain, in full bloom at the top of Tepeyac hill. Upon meeting the bishop, Diego opened his tilma. Out fell the roses to unveil the beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that we know so well. 

Another flower, the poinsettia, also finds its origins in Central America and Mexico. They are quite common and have become synonymous with the Christmas season all over the world. They are all over stores, shopping malls, restaurants, and adorn our churches and nativity scenes at this time of the year. One place you will not find them, at least real ones, is at Fr. Pierre and Fr. Kevin’s rectory as they are extremely toxic to cats… Nonetheless, their use at Christmas finds their origins in Central American folklore. A poor little girl from Mexico had a deep desire to offer baby Jesus something for Christmas at the nativity scene of her local church. She found green weeds on the side of the road and placed them in front of the Christ child. Immediately, red flowers, we know today as poinsettias, started to bloom. Their star-shaped flower has come to represent the star of David, which guided the Magi to the infant Jesus in the manger. The red color has come to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus offered for all of humanity: his own life by the shedding of his blood on the cross. 

What both of these stories tell us is that God works through what always seems the most insignificant in our eyes. A 16th century peasant named Juan Diego and a poor little girl are great example. The best example of all is God Himself, who reveals Himself as a small, defenseless, vulnerable, infant child in the crib at Bethlehem. This is the spirituality that is sometimes named after the Little Flower herself: St. Thérèse of Lisieux. One of the greatest spiritual insights she left us was to show us how small acts of love mean great things in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. And so if this holiday season you are feeling a bit stressed because you think you have to impress either with gifts or entertaining guests, etc…, remember these two stories about Castilian roses and poinsettias. God can work wonders with even the smallest of acts. But when done with great love, miracles can happen. 

Fr. Kevin Burgess