May is Mary's month. And Catholics make a fuss over Mary because she creates an atmosphere of love around Jesus. Not just Mother-Love but Disciple-Love. She is the first to say "yes" to Jesus.
In the April 16, 2018 issue of America magazine we read: "...the present issue of America kicks off a multi-year initiative in which we will examine the future of the church in the United States and how to incorporate Latino Catholics fully into ecclesial life." And in the first article: For the Church and U.S. Society, A Latino Future it is reported: "Over one third of all U.S. Latinos are still under 18; six in 10 are younger than 33. In an otherwise aging population, the Latinos of the United States are a young people. Amercias' Latinos are increasingly assimilated, with record numbers speaking English, a trend driven by the young."
In the column titled: "Your Take" the readership was asked: "How does your parish reach out to Hispanics in your community?" Twenty-four of the 136 respondents said that their parishes made no efforts to reach out to Hispanics. Some expressed frustration at the lack of outreach. An anonymous reader from Marlboro, N.J., wrote: "My parish does nothing! Our pastor has commented about not wanting the Our Lady of Guadalupe icon at one point to avoid having 'those people' come to the church. It is no wonder Latinos flock to evangelical and Pentecostal churches."
I might have thought the pastor's quote couldn't possibly be accurate except that years ago when I brought a copy of the tilma to my parish, I asked a parishioner if she had seen where I had placed it with the Litany-prayer. "Oh, I don't even go back there; she's for the Mexicans." YIKES!
Do you know that when computer enhancements are done on the eyes of the Guadalupe tilma, reflected human figures are discernible. It is thought they are reflections of the people who were in the room when Juan Diego opened the tilma before Bishop Zumarraga and his assistants. Who is reflected in the Guadalupe's eyes today? The people who are kidnapped. The people who are trafficked. The people who are murdered. The children. One young mother said, "I had to leave Honduras when gang members threatened to kill my six year old boy."
And you and I are held in the Guadalupe's eyes, and our families, in all their fears, dysfunction, addiction, health concerns, broken-ness, divorce, spiritual poverty, losses and heartache.
Profound apologies O Lady,
for those who have built walls
around their hearts ~
walls so high even you are not welcome,
Mother with reflecting eyes.
Oh, give us some of that golden light
radiating from your face,
that we would come to see rightly,
enough at least to stop calling others
"those people".
