PORT ST. LUCIE | A diverse group of faithful from local parishes came together to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 at Holy Family Parish in Port St. Lucie and honor Mary, who always leads us to her son, Jesus.
Before Mass, families and children processed while praying the rosary as a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was carried by members of the Hispanic ministry around the church grounds. A mariachi band played music honoring the feast day.
“I have been doing this with my wife, Noris, for probably 30 years now at Holy Family,” said Fausto Rosario, emcee of the event and president of Holy Family’s Hispanic ministry.
Every year, he wonders if they will have enough food to satisfy everyone after the liturgy. “I pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe and it’s like a miracle happens, because when I look again, there is much more food,” Rosario said.
He gave special thanks to the Rodriguez brothers and their local businesses for their generous donations of food and money to make the celebration a success. “The local businesses owned by the Rodriguez brothers help and support us every year, and without them we could not do it,” Rosario said. “The businesses that help us are Pueblo Viejo, two of them in PSL and one in Fort Pierce; Cinco de Mayo in Jensen Beach; and Zapata’s Mexican Grill in PSL.”
A history of “The Miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe” was presented in Spanish and English by parishioners Edwin Camelo and Jackie Harris. According to tradition, in 1531 the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous man (now St. Juan Diego), in four apparitions between Dec. 9 and 12 on Tepeyac Hill, near what is now Mexico City.
“On Saturday morning, Dec. 9, 1531, when Juan Diego was walking to church, as he passed Tepeyac Hill, the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego,” and she asked him “to go to the bishop to tell him that she desired a shrine to be built at the base of Tepeyac Hill in her honor,” Harris read.
When Juan went to the bishop he was told “to return to discuss the issue further at a later time.” Juan returned to Tepeyac Hill and “he told the Virgin what happened.” She told him to “return to the bishop the next day, Dec. 10, and to repeat the message.” The bishop asked Juan to bring him a sign.
Juan returned and told the Virgin that the bishop had requested a sign, and “she told Juan that she would give him a sign for the bishop the next morning.” The next morning, Dec. 11, “Juan did not go to Tepeyac Hill because his uncle had fallen seriously ill.”
On the morning of Dec. 12, Mary appeared to Juan Diego for the fourth time. She told him not to worry about his uncle and instructed him “to pick the roses on the hill, which were in bloom despite the fact that it was December.” Juan picked the roses placing them “in his tilma (cloak).”
Juan returned to the bishop and “when, Juan opened his tilma, the bishop and the others in the room dropped to their knees, not because of the roses, but because of the colorful image of the Virgin that was imprinted on his tilma.” As a result of the miracle, the bishop was convinced and “a church was indeed built on Tepeyac Hill, and the tilma has been honored ever since.”
The evening Mass honoring Mary was presided by a visiting priest, Jesuit Father Flavio Bravo from the Diocese of Brownsville, and Father Tim O’Toole of Holy Family, with Deacon Martin Sandigo assisting.
“Welcome to this wonderful celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe here at Holy Family. We are so blessed to be able to celebrate this feast,” Father Bravo said. “She shows the way to Christ, she shows the way to God.”
Reflecting on Mary during his homily, he said, “She is the one, the mother, the pregnant one, the one that is showing us the way, and who is the way? Christ is the way, the truth and the life.” And the Mother of God, “she is taking all of our sufferings, all of our lives, and she brings us to Christ.”
Father Bravo explained, “That is a message that Mary of Guadalupe gives to Juan Diego. ‘I am here; be not afraid; I am your mother, the mother of all creation, the mother of God …’”
After the final blessing, he asked the children to come to the altar. Father Bravo said, “It is a beautiful tradition to teach our children about loving our mother, loving Mary and loving Christ.”
Earlier in the week, Holy Family’s pastor, Father Tri Pham, said, “It is a great honor to have Father Bravo here at Holy Family Catholic Church in Port St. Lucie to help the spiritual retreat for our Spanish community, and this great feast is to remind us that Our Lady of Guadalupe is always looking over all of us and not just only to a certain group of people or country. She is the mother for all.”
For more information on the Hispanic ministry at Holy Family, call Fausto Rosario at the parish office, 772-335-2385. To connect with all ministries at the parish, visit www.holyfamilyccpsl.com.
