The Rosary of Our Lady of Guadalupe
With the meditations of the Nican Mopohua and the ninth to the Patron of America
The Tepeyac: the mountain where the sky chose to speak nahuatl
It was Saturday, December 9, 1531, before dawn. Juan Diego, a Chichimeca Indian of about fifty-five years old, recently converted to Christianity, walked only on the skirt of the hill of Tepeyac, on the outskirts of Tenochtitlan - the city that the Spaniards began to call Mexico City - on the way to the church of Tlatelolco, where he took catechism classes. The Aztec Empire had fallen for just ten years. The world of Juan Diego was shattered: his language, his religion, his social structure, everything had been swept away or was being swept away.
Then he heard music. Music coming from the top of the hill of Tepeyac, a music so beautiful that Juan Diego stopped, looked up, and wondered if he was dreaming. The music stopped. And a woman's voice, soft and loving, called him by his name: "Juantzin, Juan Diegotzin".
So the Nican Mopohuathe account of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe written in classic nahuatl, probably by Antonio Valeriano, a noble Indian and scholar disciple of Fra Bernardino de Sahagún, in the years immediately after the events. The title literally means "Here it is told" in nahuatl. It is the founding text of Guadalupana devotion and one of the most important documents in the religious history of the American continent.
Lo que el Nican Mopohua reveals, to those who read it carefully, that the Lady of Tepeyac did not speak as a European alien who lands in Mexico. He talked. en náhuatl, the language of Juan Diego, with a delicacy and a poetic mastery that could only come from someone who knew that culture and that heart. He used the honorary titles of the nahuatl, the diminutives of affection, the poetic metaphors of Mexican tradition. He told him that he was his "merciful Mother," using the term that in that culture described the most sacred relationship on earth.
The Rosary of Guadalupe, prayed in the light of Nican MopohuaIt is a rosary that ponders the mysteries of Christ's life from the perspective of John Diego: from the fragility, from being no one, from the "who am I for this?" that John Diego repeats again and again before the Lady, and from the answer she gives: "Am I not here, that I am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and I guard?"
The Nican Mopohua: the Rosary seen from the poetic nahuatl
The text of the Nican Mopohua is built according to the poetic rhetoric of the classic nahuatl, the difractionism: a technique that consists of expressing an abstract concept through the union of two concrete images. So, "flower and sing" (xochitl, cuicatl) means in nahuatl "poetic truth, sacred beauty." And the Lady of Tepeyac, when she speaks of herself, uses diphrasisms that a Spanish would not have imagined.
When the Lady asks Juan Diego to build a church for her, she doesn't just say "I want a church." He says he wants "a holy house" in which he will give "all his love, compassion, help and defense" to men. These words -netlazohtlalizpan, neyolmelahualiztli, tepalehuiloni, teyolihtlazohtilistli- in nahuatl are the words that describe maternal love in its highest form: a love that shelter, that defends, that does not judge, that welcomes.
The Rosary of Guadalupe invites you to contemplate the mysteries of Christ filtered by that sensitivity: tenderness as a form of revelation of God, small as a place of grace, the Mother who never abandons.
The Mysteries of the Rosary of Guadalupe - Meditations based on the Nican Mopohua
The Gothic Mysteries from Guadalupe
The Annunciation - "Am I not here, that I am your Mother?"
The angel Gabriel announces to Mary a plan that transcends all human logic. Juan Diego also receives in the Tepeyac an announcement that goes beyond all logic: a woman who presents herself as "Mother of God for whom one lives" asks him to build a temple. In both cases, God chooses someone who is not considered worthy for an impossible mission. Mary's answer - "Be done in me according to your word" - anticipates the confidence that John Diego will eventually put in the Lady. Here we meditate on the yes that God asks of the little ones: not the sufficiency of the powerful, but the trust of the humble.
The Visitation - The Mother who goes out to find the one who runs away
When Juan Diego tries to avoid the Lady on December 12, fearing the bad news he has to give her, he surrounds the hill in order not to find her. And the Lady intercepts him precisely on the way he thought he would avoid her. "What is it, my youngest son?" he asks. And he says to him, "Don't turn your heart, don't fear that disease or any other distressing disease." Like Elizabeth when she comes to meet Mary, the Lady of Guadalupe does not wait for them to come to her: she goes to meet the one who runs, the one who is afraid, the one who believes that the moment is not right. Here we meditate on God's initiative in our life.
The Birth of Jesus - God chooses the small
Christ is born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palace of Herod. The Lady of Tepeyac chooses a sterile hill on the outskirts of the city, not the cathedral that was built in the center. He chooses Juan Diego, an Indian of the common, not the bishop or the viceroy. This logic of the small - the very logic of the Incarnation - is the heart of the Guadalupan mystery. John Paul II, when he visited the Basilica in 1979, expressed it clearly: "Guadalupe is the gospel proclaimed with images." We meditate here on God who always chooses what the world discards.
The Presentation in the Temple - The Tylma before the Bishop
Mary presents the child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem and fulfills the Law. Juan Diego brings the roses in his tylma to Bishop Zumárraga and, when he opens it, the flowers fall and the image of the Lady appears in the mantle. It is also a presentation: God presents to the authority of the Church the proof of his presence. The bishop, who had doubted, fell on his knees. Faith sometimes demands signs; the Lady gives them with patience, without reproach. Here we meditate on the pedagogy of God: it does not force us, it convinces us with patience.
The Lost and Found Child - The Lady finds the disoriented
Juan Diego's sick uncle, Juan Bernardino, was about to die. Juan Diego lost everything: his only family, his reason for living. He went out to find the priest for the anointing of the sick and met the Lady again. "What is it, my youngest son?" The Lady heals the uncle, reveals his full name - "the ever Virgin Saint Mary of Guadalupe" - and turns Juan Diego's duel into joy. Like the parents who seek Jesus in the Temple and find him where they did not expect, John Diego seeks the priest and finds the Lady. God is never where fear tells us he's not.
The Luminous Mysteries from Guadalupe
The Baptism of Jesus - The Conversion of Millions
Juan Diego was baptized in approximately 1524, at the age of forty-eight, when the Franciscan friars arrived in Mexico. His baptism was the beginning of a process that, thanks in part to the miracle of the Tepeyac, turned Catholicism to millions of indigenous people in a few decades. Historians estimate that between 1531 and 1541 more than nine million people were baptized in central Mexico. The Baptism of Jesus inaugurates his public mission; the apparition of Guadalupe inaugurates the mass evangelization of America. Here we meditate on the transformative power of baptismal grace.
The Wedding of Cana - "Do as He tells you."
Mary in Cana intercedes before her Son for a concrete human need: wine is missing. The Lady of Tepeyac intercedes before God for the needs of the American people: lack of hope, lack of dignity, lack of the sense of being loved. The way of intervention is the same: to ask, to point out the need, to trust that the Son can. Juan Diego, who returned to the Tepeyac convinced that the Lady would choose someone more important than him, is the host of the "weddings" of the American people with the God of Jesus Christ. Here we meditate on the intercession of Mary as a bridge between human misery and divine abundance.
The Annunciation of the Kingdom - "I am your compassionate Mother"
The proclamation of the Kingdom of God in the Gospel is the proclamation of a world backwards: the last will be the first, the poor will receive the Kingdom, the meek will inherit the earth. The Lady of the Tepeyac proclaims that same world the other way around when she chooses John Diego over the bishop, when she chooses the Tepeyac over the cathedral, when she calls her temple a "sacred house." The message of Guadalupe is a catechesis of the Kingdom in images. Here we meditate on the Good News that the marginalized hear first.
The Transfiguration - The image in the tylma
In the Tabor, the divinity of Christ becomes visible for an instant in his humanity. In the Tepeyac, the image of the Lady is printed in the tylma of Juan Diego as an icon that cannot be explained by any human technique. Scientists who have examined the tylma in the 20th and 21st centuries have documented, among other anomalies, that there are no visible strokes with microscope in the central areas of the image, that the fabric has no preparation or printing, and that in the corneas of the eyes of the image are distinguished reflections with the figures present at the time of the display of the tylma. Here we meditate on the presence of God that becomes visible in ways that overflow our understanding.
The Eucharist - The bread of the poor
Juan Diego was going to catechism to prepare for the first communion. He was on his way to the church when he heard the music of Tepeyac. The Eucharist, the Bread of the Poor, was on the horizon of its entire history. The image of Guadalupe shows Mary pregnant - the quadrilobulated flower on her belly, in Aztec symbolology, indicates motherhood - bearing Christ. As custody carries the Eucharistic Bread, Mary carries Christ into the world. We meditate here on Mary as the one who brings Christ to those who are hungry for God.
The Delicious Mysteries from Guadalupe
The Agony in the Garden - The Cry of a People
When Christ agonizes in Gethsemane, the weight of the sins of the world falls on his shoulders. When the Lady cries in the Tepeyac - the Nican Mopohua It does not say so, but tradition does collect the cry of John Bernardino before the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe - it cries for a people who has just seen their entire world collapse. The Conquest had killed not only bodies: it had killed gods, rituals, languages, identities. The Lady appears in that garden of historical anguish to say: there is a Mother who has not fled. Here we meditate on the presence of God in historical disasters.
The Flagellation - Dignity trampled on and restored
The body of Christ is whipped. The body of the Indians of Mexico was also whipped, enslaved, despised. The Lady of Tepeyac tells them that they are her beloved children. He doesn't tell them to forget the pain: he tells them they have a Mother. This restoration of dignity was a historic event of the first magnitude. Historians of religion have pointed out that the image of Guadalupe was the first symbol of pan-indigenous cultural identity on the American continent. Here we meditate on the dignity that God returns to the humiliated.
The Coronation of thorns - Juan Diego before the bishop
Juan Diego went to the bishop twice and was twice rejected or ignored. The servants of the bishop, according to the Nican MopohuaThey treated him with contempt: they were about to take the roses from the mantle. The Christ crowned with thorns is not recognized by those who should first recognize him. John Diego, ignored by the powerful, is also in that sense a figure of Christ. The Lady assures you that she needs nothing but to trust her. Here we meditate on the humiliation suffered with dignity, without grudge.
Jesus on the Cross - John Diego between the sick and the mission
On December 12, 1531, Juan Diego was carrying two weights: the Lady's order - to bring the roses to the bishop - and the agony of her sick uncle. Many people see themselves at that crossroads: the obligation to God and the obligation to their own. The Lady solved the dilemma: "Am I not here, that I am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and I guard?" And he healed the guy while Juan Diego was with the bishop. God does not ask us to choose between Him and ours: He takes care of them while we do what He has asked. Here we meditate on the providence that covers everything we give to Mary.
The Crucifixion - The death of one world and the birth of another
The cross of Christ is the end of one order and the beginning of another. The Spanish conquest was also, for the Indians of central Mexico, the end of a world. The Lady of Tepeyac appears precisely at that point of historical fracture to announce the beginning of something new. It does not erase the past: the image of Guadalupe carries elements of the nahuatl iconography (the moon at its feet, the sun that saw it, the stars of its mantle) integrated into a Christian iconography. The Cross does not erase cultures: it takes them beyond themselves. We meditate here on the death that leads to life.
The Glorious Mysteries from Guadalupe
The Resurrection - Thylma that does not deteriorate
The resurrection of Christ is the victory of life over death. The tylma of Juan Diego, woven with maguey fibres - material that usually deteriorates in twenty or thirty years - has been exposed for more than four centuries and scientific studies have found no natural explanation for its conservation. The image does not show quarteted, has no varnish or printing layer, and is resistant to conditions that would have destroyed any comparable tissue. Here we meditate on the life that persists where death should have triumphed.
The Ascension - Juan Diego in the sky
Juan Diego died in 1548, seventeen years after the apparitions. He lived the last years of his life next to the first hermitage that was built in the Tepeyac, taking care of the image and receiving the pilgrims. He was beatified by John Paul II in 1990 and canonized on July 31, 2002 - the same year that John Paul II wrote Rosarium Virus Mariae-. Her ascension to the altar of the saints is the fulfillment of an implicit promise: the Lady never abandons those who trust her. Here we meditate on the eternal horizon of every life given to God.
Pentecost - The Evangelization of America
The Spirit descends on the Upper Room and the apostles go out to speak in all languages. The image of Guadalupe spoke in nahuatl and was understood by millions. There are historians of religion who point out that Guadalupan devotion was the greatest catalyst of conversions in the history of the Church in America: an image that did not need an interpreter, who spoke directly to the heart of a culture. Here we meditate on the way in which the Spirit always finds the language that each heart can understand.
The Assumption - Mary, who is already where we all want to go
Mary assumed to heaven in body and soul is the guarantee of the resurrection of all. The image of Guadalupe shows Mary standing on the moon, dressed in sun, surrounded by stars - images that the Apocalypse uses for the woman who defeats the dragon. It is the image of the one who has already overcome, of the one who is already in glory, and from there he extends his hand to those who follow the way. Here we meditate on the certain hope that history ends well for those who love God.
The Coronation of Mary - "I am your merciful Mother"
Mary crowned Queen of heaven and earth is the same as in Tepeyac, presented as "the merciful Mother of all of you, who live together on this earth." The Queen of the Universe and the Mother of the poor Indian are the same person. This is what the Tepeyac reveals: that the throne of God is at the same time the cloak that covers the last of men. Here we meditate on the greatness that becomes small for love, and on the little thing that God's greatness elevates.
La Oración Guadalupana in náhuatl and Spanish
Over the centuries, the devotees of Guadalupe in Mexico have transmitted prayers in nahuatl that express the relationship of filial love between the people and the Lady of Tepeyac. The Nican Mopohua It is the most important document of that tradition. From it come the most significant words that the Lady spoke to Juan Diego:
«Ca nel nomatca nehuatl in namechnotlazohtilia, in amechnocentlamachtia, inic nican nicnotlaliznequi noteopanchantzin. »
"Truly I am your merciful Mother, your and all who live together on this earth, and of all the other genres of men, who love me, those who call me, those who seek me, here I want to hear their cry, their sadness, to remedy, to cure all their different sorrows, their miseries, their sorrows."
' ¿Cuix love nican nica in nonantzi? Cuix I love ica mehuacatitlan, xayacatitlan ti ca? Cuix I love nehhuatl nimitztlaocolia? »
"Am I not here, that I am your Mother? You're not under my shadow and I'm holding back? Am I not the source of your joy? Aren't you in the hole in my mantle, at the intersection of my arms? Do you need anything else?"
Nahuatl text of the Nican Mopohua, critical edition of Mario Rojas Sánchez and Carlos Warnholtz (2001). Spanish translation based on the version of Primo Feliciano Velázquez (1926) and revised by the Instituto Superior de Estudios Guadalupanos.
The Ninth to Our Lady of Guadalupe - The full nine days
The ninth to Our Lady of Guadalupe is usually prayed from 3 to 11 December, in preparation for the liturgical feast of 12 December. Each day it has a particular intention, following the nine gifts that the Lady promised to John Diego: love, compassion, help, defense, comfort, relief, remedy for all needs, listen to all the laments, and the promise to bring her children to heaven.
Initial prayer of the ninth (every day)
"O Virgin of Guadalupe, Our Mother, who from the hill of Tepeyac you have deigned to visit your American people and promised her your love, your compassion and your help, listen to the pleas that we present to you in these days of preparation for your party. Help us to know your Son Jesus Christ better, to love him more truly and to follow him more faithfully. Amen."
First Day (December 3) - The gift of love
"Lady of Tepeyac, Mother of the true God for whom one lives: you have told us that you love all men and that your heart does not close its doors to anyone. Give us the grace to love you and to love our brothers with a love that knows no borders or distances. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Second day (4 December) - The gift of compassion
"Lady of the Tepeyac, who you wanted to hear the cry and sadness of your people: teach us to look with the eyes of compassion to those who suffer, to the alone, to the sick, to those who weep without anyone hearing them. That in our life there is no one who seeks a compassionate ear and does not find it. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Third day (5 December) - The gift of help
"Lady del Tepeyac, you sent Juan Diego with roses from Castile as a sign that your help knows no obstacles: undermine us in our most urgent needs. You know what we need before we say it; praise us from the Lord what we lack to fulfill his will. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Fourth day (6 December) - The gift of the defence
"Lady of the Tepeyac, who you promised to be our defense and protection: cover us with your fallen cloak in moments of danger, temptation and fear. Let none of your children fall while it is known under your mantle. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Fifth day (7 December) - The gift of comfort
"Lady of the Tepeyac, a source of joy of those who trust in you: when the weight of life becomes too heavy, when sadness binds us, when we find no reason to follow, remind us that you are here, that we are yours, that your love is stronger than any pain. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Sixth day (8 December - Immaculate Conception) - The gift of purity
"Lady of the Tepeyac, conceived without blemish of original sin, Immaculate from the first moment of your existence: praise us for the grace of a clean heart, that does not accumulate grudges or lies, that does not close to forgiveness. Make us worthy children of yours, imitators of your purity. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Seventh day (9 December) - The gift of listening
"Lady of the Tepeyac, who you heard the music of dawn and in it you called John Diego: teach us to hear the voice of God in the noise of the world, in the people around us, in the events of each day. Let us be like Juan Diego: able to stop when something calls us from above. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Eighth day (10 December) - The gift of the mission
"Lady of the Tepeyac, who you sent a simple man to do what seemed impossible: give us the courage to carry out the mission that God has given us, even though we feel small, even if they reject us, even if we have to return more than once. May we be like John Diego: perseverants in what God asks of us. Amen."
Followed by one Our Father, three Avemarias and one Glory.
Ninth Day (December 11) - The gift of hope
"Lady of the Tepeyac, Star of the New Evangelization, Patron of America and of all those who suffer in this world: that at the end of these nine days of prayer our life is a little more yours, our look a little more hopeful, our heart a little more generous. And one day, at the end of this road, we can be with you forever in heaven. Amen."
Followed by a Our Father, three Avemarias, a Glory and the Hail Regina.
John Paul II and "The Mother of All Americans"
On January 22, 1999, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Pope John Paul II signed the postsynodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Américain which he proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe "Mother of America" and "Star of the First and New Evangelization."
"The Virgin of Guadalupe, from the moment she becomes present in the life of the American people, is the great missionary of the Gospel on these lands. She is the icon of the uncultured gospel. His message is of life, love and hope for men of all times."
John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, n. 11 (1999)
John Paul II visited the Tepeyac shrine three times (1979, 1990, 1999) and was always before the image where he prayed most intensively during those visits. In 1979, on his first apostolic journey to Mexico, he said to millions of faithful who had come to see him: "This is what Mexicans and all Americans call you with affection: our Lady of Guadalupe." He added, "May she teach us the way that leads to Christ."
Guadalupana prayer to conclude the Rosary
"O Virgin of Tepeyac, Our Mother and Mother of all Americans: you who came to seek John Diego when he fled, come also to seek us when we flee from God, from ourselves, from others. Cover us with your cloak, protect us under your shadow, take us to your Son. That as John Diego we can one day open the cloak of our life and show the image of Christ recorded in it. Amen."
Prayer of devotional Guadalupana tradition, inspired by the Nican Mopohua and the words of John Paul II in his visits to Guadalupe.