I’m so excited for you to watch this week’s Sunday Reflection that I filmed on a recent pilgrimage to Mexico City while literally climbing up Tepeyac Hill—the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
The story of Juan Diego ties in perfectly to what Jesus tells us in the Gospel: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
It doesn’t get much humbler than Juan Diego. He was a peasant…an absolute nobody by the standards of the world. But God chose to work through him to bring about the largest mass conversion to Christianity in history!
Are you feeling like a nobody? God doesn’t see you that way. Mary never appeared to celebrities, politicians, or influencers. She spoke to people that no one else was paying any attention to.
God is exalting you in your humility. Don’t reject his invitation. Be like Juan Diego and change the world—even for just one person. How might God use you in your personal sphere of influence? Who are the people in front of you right now that need your love? Turn your attention there.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Timecodes: 0:00 At the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe 3:59 Mary appears to a “nobody” 5:11 Juan Diego’s humility 6:39 Mary’s message of comfort 7:51 The miracles of Our Lady of Guadalupe 8:44 The greatest conversion in history 9:46 Ongoing signs: preservation, studies, and protection 10:10 Three Takeaways from St. Juan Diego 13:47 Prison ministry witness—love who’s in front of you 14:28 See St. Juan Diego's tilma 500 years later
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Every Marian apparition was given to someone who seemed insignificant in the eyes of the world. When have you felt like you didn’t matter or weren’t “enough”? How might God want to use you in your humility?
2. Mary said to Juan Diego, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” What part of that message hits your heart today? Where do you most need to trust that Mary’s protection and God’s love are real?
3.What does humility look like for you in your daily life—at work, in your family, online? What’s one small, hidden act of love you can do this week?
4. Juan Diego’s tilma still hasn’t decayed after 500 years. How does that ongoing miracle strengthen your faith? What miracles—big or small—have you seen in your own life?
5. True greatness comes from focusing on the person right in front of you. Who is that person for you today? How could you love them in a way that might change their world?
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