O Night Divine

A few days ago Mary posted the link to Paper Dali, the site of free paper doll saints for you to print as well as very reasonably priced  feast day sets.  We printed the Juan Diego doll and made a nifty stand out of cardboard for him to hang out on our Mary table during his feast day.

Sorry about the poor quality of this photo but you can see St. Juan Diego there with hat in hand.  We made the stand by simply slitting the cardstock between the saint's feet and inserting a piece of stiff cardboard crossways.

Since St. Juan Diego's feast comes 3 days before that of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we decided to add the colored and decorated tilma at that time.

Now imagine how thrilled I am today to find that Paper Dali has added Our Lady of Guadalupe and Uncle Bernardino!!   There is not a new doll for Bishop Zumarraga but Vee has a link to St. Nicholas, who can easily become another bishop.  
                                                                         
Later this afternoon our 5 and 9 year old will  color our new figures while we watch Juan Diego: Messenger of Guadalupe.   We will add Our Lady, then Uncle Bernardino and the Bishop over the next couple of days, then the tilma along with some more roses on the 12th.  Thank you Paper Dali!!

                                                    

Advent Messenger

Every morning this Advent, after the Liturgy of Hours, I've read a few pages of the new bestseller Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love by Carl Anderson and Msgr. Eduardo Chavez, postulator of the Cause of Saint Juan Diego.  In recent years our family has familiarized itself with the story of humble Juan Diego and the miracle of Mary's image on his tilma.   I've also learned in bits and pieces about the remarkable symbols in Our Lady's gown and mantle, the reflections in her eyes, and the miraculous survival of the original tilma.

However with the publication of Supreme Knight Anderson and Fr. Chavez's new book these initial facts along with dozens of other stories and symbols and the reprinting of original documents combine to bring Saint Juan Diego's and Our Lady of Guadalupe's stories into a more clear and beautiful focus.

One of recurring themes in the book is Our Lady's message of the dignity of all human life as in the section titled: "Humanity Renewed."  When Mary proved her presence as a mother through a common man living at the bottom of society's ladder she demonstrated for the Indians and Spanish alike the humanity of and unique purpose for each human person.  This is one reason for her title Protectress of the Unborn. 

There is a further dimension to her mothering of the weak that I had not noticed before.  As Catholics delving deeper into this mystery of the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death, the story of Juan Diego helps us see that while we defend the dignity of the unborn,  we nevertheless sometimes take a more utilitarian view of ourselves and our mission.

Saint Juan Diego helps to remind us during Advent, in many ways, that we just are--made in the image of God.  The humble saint's declaration, 'Because I am really just a man from the country, I'm the porter's rope, I'm a back frame, just a tail, a wing; I myself need to be led, carried on someone's back,' is lovingly answered by the Virgin's confidence in the humanity and purpose of the Indian messenger: 'Listen my youngest son, know for sure that I have no lack of servants, of messengers, to whom I can give the task of carrying my breath, my word, so that they carry out my will; but it is necessary that you, personally go and plead, that by your intercession, my wish, my will, become a reality.'  In other words he isn't there simply to carry out a job that anyone else could just as easily finish, he is to fulfill his part in the plan of God for a Culture of Life.

Saint Juan Diego comes in the midst of Advent in part to remind us to trust in Our Lady's promise, that we all are present in this world, not just as "instrument[s] of being only, 'one of the people,'  ...identif[ied] by how [we] function" but as divinely inspired creations of our Father who is profoundly interested in each of us, including the most despised and rejected ones in our communities. 

This is just one of hundreds of little gifts tucked inside this big package.  Page after page will find you unwrapping a beautiful thought, an astonishing symbol, a miracle.

This is a volume of hope.  It reminds us that each of us is being called by the Virgin of Guadalupe to take her Son's message out to the culture of death and proclaim the good of LIFE.  As we increase our message of the personhood and unique mission of each unborn life in the Advent and Christmas days to come, we will logically find these same divine gifts in the living; in one another.

Feast Day Paper Play Sets

Just in time to celebrate some Advent traditions of our faith around the world, Vee at Paper Dali has released two paper doll play sets.  Christmas in Sweden Paper Doll Set which celebrates St. Lucia Day and some additional Swedish Christmas traditions and Las Posadas (A Mexican Christmas) Paper Doll Set which focuses on the nine day celebration of "The Inns" leading up to Christmas in Mexico.

       
Each of these exclusive, multi-page paper doll sets are available as PDF downloads for only $4.  It's always nice to have quality hands on activities for the children to learn about traditions of our faith and cultures around the world.

Also available from Paper Dali's free historical paper doll collection are St. Lucia (w/ Unit Study), St. Juan Diego, Nativity Figures, and St. Nicholas (w/ Unit Study) for use during the Advent and Christmas seasons. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most familiar New World image of Mary and the only true picture of the Mother of God. As the patroness of the Americas and of the unborn, she holds a special place in the hearts of many. Each year on December 12 we commemorate the days in 1531 when the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a poor Indian, at Tepeyec, a hill northwest of Mexico City. Juan Dieogo's feast day is today, December 9.  This year we observe the 475th year since the apparition.

Her feast day falls just a few days after the feast of the Immaculate Conception.  Interestingly, the apparition of Mary to Juan Diego is one of the first apparitions of Virgin Mary as the Immaculate Conception.  In the image she is pregnant - encinta in Spanish, meaning "with a ribbon around her waist" which is the sign of pregnancy in the old Spanish world.  It is providential that the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe fall in Advent.  It gives us an opportunity to focus on Mary, who has been called the bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament - between expectation and fulfillment.

The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most popular Marian feat in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.  Following this feast day, between December 16 and 24, the community celebrates Posadas.  These two celebrations examplify the Hispanic experience of Advent.  Having lived for several years in New Mexico as a teenager, I fell in love with the traditions, the style, and the culture of the southwest.  I enjoy incorporating some of that into our Advent and Christmas preparation and celebration.  There are many ways that you can also.  Pick and choose from the various activties suggested to create your family's celebration. 

Before Juan Diego saw the Virgin Mary he heard celestial music and smelled flowers.  His tilma was later filled with the roses that Our Lady directed him to pick. So music and flowers are central to the celebration of the feast day as are the processions and veneration of the image. If you have a statue or image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the home it should be placed in a location of prominence and decorated with flowers (paper or real) - see craft section below. If you are in need of an image, votive candles, also can be found at Mexican grocers or sometimes in the Mexican food sections of other grocery stores.  An image can also be downloaded for use from this Our Lady of Guadalupe page. Guadalupe retablo and  Guadalupe ornament are available for you to use on an Advent or Christmas tree, or you can make your own - see craft section below.

Music:

Mañanitas are traditional Mexican songs that people sing early in the morning on birthdays and other special days. Often people are awakened with this song on their birthdays.  Traditionally this song is sung to Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day either at midnight or the break of dawn to greet her on this day.  You can start the day with a family serenade to Our Lady.

Las Mananitas (click on audio link to listen. Audio player will open in a new window.)

Estas son las mañanitas
que cantaba el Rey David
Hoy por ser día de tu santo
te las cantamos a ti.

Coro:
Despierta, mi bien, despierta,
mira que ya amaneció
ya los pajarillos cantan,
la luna ya se metio.

These are the morning songs
that King David used to sing.
Because today is your birthday
We are singing them to you.

Chorus:
Awaken, my dear, awaken
and see that he day has dawned,
now the little birds are singing,
and the moon has set.

• Our Lady of the Guitar is a collection of Spanish guitar melodies for Our Lady.
• Savae, a unique ancient world music ensemble, has two Guadalupe CDs -  El Milagro de Guadalupe and Guadalupe and Virgen de los Indios.

Books:

• The Lady of Guadalupe is the wonderfully written and illustrated book by Tomie de Paola.  The second week of Advent Unit study by Elizabeth Foss at Real Learning incorporates this book.
• Our Lady of Guadalupe by Fransisco Serrano is a gorgeous pop-up book that brings the story to life in three dimensions.  I hate to suggest this one as I am only finding it used for high prices, but it a treasure.  It is available new for much less in the Spanish edition and since it is the pictures that are most impressive that could be an option.
• Our Lady of Guadalupe in a Box
• For you or for older children A Handbook on Guadalupe  and The Wonder of Guadalupe are thorough resource.

Resources:

• Our Lady of Guadalupe page - stories, explanations, timeline, pictures, prayers
• Mystery in Our Lady's eyes on the above site and The Eyes of Our Lady detail the miraculous reflections in the eyes of the image.  The second link also illustrates the constellation of stars in her cloak and their significance.
• Symbolism of image is available here  and here .
• Woman for Faith & Family - suggestions for the feast day .
• Catholic Culture website - many recommendations including an enthronement and party.

Crafts:

• Our Lady of Guadalupe Marian Grotto Kit from Illuminated Ink
• Juan Diego paper dolls with fold down tilma from Elizabeth's Real Learning blog.
• Making ojo de Dios (God's eye) - a Mexican craft.  If you decide to discuss the significance of the reflections in Mary's eyes, the eye connection would make this a fitting craft as well as a great tree ornament.  Here is another variation from Alice at Cottage Blessings using cotton swabs.
• Paper roses to place before Our Lady's image.
• Papel picado is a traditional decoration of celebrations in Mexico.  It is easily made from tissue paper. Light blue, pink, and white are used for Marian feasts.

• Our Lady of Guadalupe tree ornament - these are two variations of homemade ornaments discussed on 4 Real Learning.

For the one on the left, I used one of the unfinished ceramic/plaster ornaments from the craft shop, painted it blue with white embellishments, then decoupaged a picture (downloaded from the Internet) of Our Lady of Guadalupe onto it.

For the one on the right Jenn, from Family in Feast and Feria, used polymer clay, rolled into ovals, rimmed by rolling the sides of the clay in to make a grotto and baked.  They were then embellished with metallic markers and an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe (from a holy card) was decoupaged in.

Activities:

• Re-enact the drama of Juan Diego and Our Lady with simple props (cloak, paper or silk flowers, image of Our Lady to pin on shirt)
• Get a rose scented air freshener or potpourri/scented oil.  Keep the smell of roses ongoing in the house all day. Of course loads of real roses would serve the same purpose and be a lovely addition to the celebration.
• Many pilgrims to the shrine in Mexico crawl on their knees up the steps.  Everyone could crawl on their knees through the house or up some stairs to see what that would be like.
• Plan for a posada , the nine day (novena) reenactment to start on the 16 (or modify to do just one day)
• Break a pinata, which is a common part of many Mexican celebrations.
• Decorate with poinsettias (the Christmas flower of Mexico) or farilitos (paper bag luminaries).  I see that December 12 is national poinsettia day!
• Learn the Hail Mary in Spanish:
          Ave Maria (Hail Mary)
  Dios te salve, Maria.  Llena eres gracia: El Senor es contigo.
  Bendita tu eres entre todas las mujeres.  Y benito es el fruto de tu vientre: Jesus.
  Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores, ahora y en hora nuestra muerte. Amen.

Paper activity books:

• Mary Fabyan Windeatt's Our Lady of Guadalupe Coloring Book
• Our Lady of Guadalupe Cut & Color
• Fresh Flowers in Winter - The Story of Saint Juan Diego coloring book (which goes with the audio tape below, but can be used alone)
• or download some coloring images - Juan Diego

Video/Audio:

• Fresh Flowers in Winter - The Story of Saint Juan Diego from Catholic World Missions is a great audio story for children.
• Juan Diego - Messenger of Guadalupe  animated story from CCC of America.
• Guadalupe is a new movie which opens Dec. 8 in the United States.  It is playing for a limited time at select theaters in the country and in Mexico.  See link.  It is in Spanish with English subtitles.  Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City has endorsed the movie and said, "It puts the discovery of the numerous unknown aspects of the Holy Mary of Guadalupe within reach of the public."

Food:

Of course no festival, celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, would be complete without some authentic food. Dinner could include traditional foods like enchiladas, tamales, burritos, tacos or pozole. Biscochitos are a standard Christmas season cookie and are served with wine, or hot chocolate for the children. 

Biscochitos (Mexican Christmas Cookies)
1 cup lard or shortening
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp red wine, brandy or sherry (or sub. orange juice)
1 tsp crushed anise seed
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 cup sugar mixed w/ 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

Beat lard/shortening until light and fluffy.  Mix in the 2/3 cup sugar, then the egg. Beat in 2 Tbsp wine/sherry and anise seed.  Stir in flour (and salt baking powder if using), adding more wine as needed to form a soft dough.  Let stand for 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1/4 inch thick and cut into shapes as desired (fleur-de-lis is common shape).  Dip the top side of each cookie in the cinnamon-sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 or until slightly browned.

A fabulous and creative Our Lady of Guadalupe Tea can be  found at Alice's Cottage Blessings.  All the food served is made with the symbolism of the story in mind.  What a fun and educational approach.

Collect

O God of power and mercy.  You blessed the Americas at Tepeyac with the presence of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.  May her prayers help all men and women to accept each other as brothers and sisters.  Through Your justice present in our hearts, may Your peace reign in the world.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your son who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit.  One God for ever and ever.  Amen.