Today, December 9, as our Church celebrates the optional memorial of Juan Diego, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Revelation (15:5---16:21) entitled "The seven bowls of God's wrath". Our treasure, which follows, is from a decree of Pope John Paul II.
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill of Tepeyac and a fourth before don Juan de Zumárraga, then the first bishop of Mexico. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at the foot of Tepeyac, houses the cloak (tilmahtli/talmud) that is traditionally said to be Juan Diego's, and upon which the image of the Virgin is said to have been miraculously impressed as proof of the authenticity of the apparitions.
Juan Diego's visions and the imparting of the miraculous image, as recounted in oral and written colonial sources are together known as the Guadalupe event and are the basis of theveneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This veneration is ubiquitous in Mexico, prevalent throughout the Spanish-speaking Americas, and increasingly widespread beyond. As a result, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is now one of the world's major Christian pilgrimage destinations, receiving 22 million visitors in 2010.
Juan Diego is the first Catholic saint indigenous to the Americas. He was beatified in 1990 and canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, who on both occasions traveled to Mexico City to preside over the ceremonies.
On October 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, was elected the 263rd successor to Saint Peter and chose the name John Paul II in honor of the late John Paul I. Pope John Paul II was the first ever Slavic pope elected, was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, and at 58-years-old, he was youngest pope in over a century. Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. He travelled abroad extensively in an effort to promote greater understanding between countries and religions, and he campaigned against political oppression, violence, and materialism During his twenty-six-year pontificate, he visited over 129 countries, which included seven visits to the United States. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981. He died on April 2, 2005, beatified in St. Peter's Square on May 1, 2011, by Pope Benedict XVI, and canonized on April 27, 2014, by Pope Francis.
"Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: 'Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!' Or this saying: 'No one can live a trial life; no one can love experimentally.' An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love." - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
The Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an outstanding example. Such literature enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200.
This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.
