Julie Serna prepares a table with tamales, pastries, and ice cream during the Our Lady of Guadalupe service Saturday at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in St. John.
Steve Euvino Times Correspondent
ST. JOHN -- Catholic faithful gathered Saturday to recall a Marian apparition that continues to inspire Christians, especially those of Mexican or indigenous descent.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church hosted a Mass and celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an event dating back to 1531.
Claudia Sadowski, coordinator of intercultural ministries for the Catholic Diocese of Gary, called Our Lady "the mother of all people, regardless of where they're from." She is seen as "the reflection of God's love, no matter the background."
Sadowski said Guadalupe symbolizes "all we hold dear - our faith, pride in our heritage, hope for a future filled with love and unity."
Preceding the Mass was a reenactment of the Guadalupe story.
According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared as a brown-skinned, pregnant woman at a hill site near Mexico City to Juan Diego, a Chichimec peasant and recent convert to Christianity. The woman instructed Juan Diego to have the local bishop erect a shrine in her honor. The bishop, initially skeptical of the request, asked Juan Diego to return to the lady and bring back roses, unusual for that time of year.
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On Dec. 12, the lady arranged roses in Juan Diego's tilma, or cloak. When Juan Diego returned to the bishop and opened the tilma, inside was the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The lady's five apparitions to Juan Diego came 10 years after the Spanish conquest of central Mexico and led to the religious conversion of many native inhabitants.
Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego as a saint on July 31, 2002 in Mexico City. The first indigenous person from the Americas to be canonized, he is the patron saint of indigenous people. His feast day is Dec. 9.
Dec. 12 is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of the Americas, Mexico, and the unborn. The tilma bearing her image is protected in the basilica bearing her name in Mexico City.
Today the basilica is among the world's most-visited sacred sites.
Ave Maria, the Hispanic ministry at St. John the Evangelist, sponsored the Guadalupe service that featured Mariachi Imperial from Chicago and dancers from Xel-Ha Escuela in East Chicago. Following the Mass were foods such as tamales, sweet breads, and ice cream.
As to the significance of the Guadalupe feast, Rolando DeLuna, Ave Maria president, noted, "Basically, she is mother of the Americas and inspired hope for the future. As mother of the immigrants, she symbolizes conversion."
Sebastian DeLuna, 16, Rolando's son, added, "We celebrate her coming to America and converting the people. It's a celebration of our culture."
Ave Maria is under new direction. In the past, the ministry has been involved with soup kitchens, clothing drives, mission trips, and baby showers for unwed mothers.
In his homily, the Rev. Roque Meraz, a native Mexican, recalled how the eyes are the windows to the soul. Research has found, the associate pastor at St. Paul in Valparaiso said, the presence of 13 human images in the pupils of Guadalupe's eyes. Those images, the priest said, reflect the people from 1531.
"Our Lady contemplates each of us as individuals," Meraz said. "She knows our sorrow, our triumphs, our sadness.
"When she sees us, she sees the image of her Son Jesus. Our Lady sees her Son in us," the priest continued. "Today, we ask Our Lady to present us to her Son, but we have to do the work. We ask her to intercede for us."
Julie Serna, a church volunteer preparing the food table, said the Guadalupe feast is an important day because "Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego, and at that time, that's not something that would happen."
Serna called the apparition a blessing because "she tried to get people to follow her Son. This is especially true for the indigenous peoples."
Cynthia Villafranca, another SJE parishioner, added, "We continue our traditions. I want my children to be instructed as I was taught by my mother. This also brings to the community awareness of our culture."
Villafranca added that the Guadalupe feast "sets a good example for my kids. I want them to learn the values I was brought up with."
Salvador Aldaba, also from SJE, said, "Mary is the mother of Jesus, and she brings us, her children, to her Son."
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