Virgin Mary of Guadalupe - Essay Example

Mary was at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified, and from then on she has been known as the Mother of God and Mother of the Church. Mary lived for years after the crucifixion, and according to the traditions of the Church, told by the early Christians, she was instrumental in the formation of early Christianity, helping and even counseling the members. After her physical death (the Catholics believe that there is life after death), she is believed to have appeared in many instances.

She is now ascribed to so many names, depending on the places where she appeared. Such places that are popular and favorite amongst the Catholic faithful are the Fatima (Our Lady of Fatima), Lourdes in France (Our Lady of Lourdes), then the recent Our Lady of Medjugourje. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also very popular in many countries. In the Philippines, the Patroness is the Virgin Mary and many replicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe are placed in churches for the faithful to venerate. She is also known as the Immaculate Conception, the image of this bears the words: "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recoursed to thee.

" The feast of the Immaculate Conception is on December 8. . We see in Mary the figure of the woman from the beginning whose offspring will strike at the ancient serpent's head (Gen. 3:15). (365 Days with the Lord)But the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is on December 12. In 1999, Pope John Paul II, in his homily from the Solemn Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during his third visit to the sanctuary, declared the date of December 12 as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.

The apparition of Virgin Mary of Guadalupe is one popular among the faithful throughout the world, and is attributed for cures and conversions, especially among the Indians of Mexico. Throughout the world, several replicas have been made of the original image of the Virgin Mary that showed in the tilma as the visionary Juan Diego presented this to the Spanish Bishop Fray Juan de Zumrraga. The origin of the name "Guadalupe" is controversial. According to a sixteenth-century report, the Virgin identified herself as Guadalupe when she appeared to Juan Diego's uncle, Juan Bernardino.

It is also suggested that "Guadalupe" is a corruption of a Nahuatl name "Coathlaxopeuh", which is translated as "Who crushes the serpent". The serpent referred to is Quetzalcoatl, one of the chief Aztec gods, whom the Virgin Mary "crushed" by inspiring the conversion of indigenous people to Catholicism. (Wikemedia).In the Immaculate Conception image, the Virgin is seen crushing the head of the serpent (Satan) and this is reflective of the Old Testament, when God sent Adam out of paradise, and made a future reference of the Virgin crushing the head of the serpent.

Mara Guadalupe, or just Lupe, is a common female and male name among Mexican people or those with Mexican heritage. (Wikemedia)An account of the apparition states that on