Fourth Reflection – From Cardinal Burke, April 23rd
Let us continue to contemplate the importance of perseverance. Though Saint Juan Diego failed to convince the Bishop that his claims were true, he did not let his failure
be the cause of despair. Instead, he dutifully followed the Virgin Mother of God’s instruction to return to Bishop Zumárraga.
The ability to recognize our failures with honesty and humility is, itself, a gift of grace, and indeed a sign of the healthy operation of our consciences. Indeed, the saints were
keenly aware of their failures.
When we feel guilt, we should thank God that grace has spared us (at least in this moment) from the errors of a lax or dulled conscience, a condition which seems to afflict so many, in a particularly insidious way, in our times. When we fail, do we let our pride intervene by supposing we can conquer sin? Or do we turn to God for help? And when we ask for help, do we demand results immediately?
Or are we willing to persevere in God’s plan for our eternal salvation? Let us honestly reflect on these questions.
As St. Juan Diego learned, the fruits of Our Lady’s intercession are not always immediately apparent. But they are real, and they are powerful. Let us continue to ask Our Mother to obtain for us all the good and holy things we desire, according to God’s plan for us.
Let us pray…
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God’s promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray.
Amen.
Novena website: “Return to Our Lady” – https://novena.cardinalburke.com/
Earlier in April – Third Reflection from Cardinal Raymond Burke
This month, let us contemplate the events of the second apparition of Our Lady to St. Juan Diego. Though he did his best to carry out Mary’s request, Juan Diego was unable to convince Bishop Juan de Zumárraga of the authenticity of his claims. As Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac Hill, he must have been consumed by grief for this failure and was perhaps even a little confused that Our Lady would not have intervened more directly.
Mary’s response is telling: rather than criticize Juan Diego, she encourages him to return to the Bishop. She encourages him to persevere.
Our failures do not make us useless before God, nor unlovable before our heavenly Mother. Indeed, God sanctifies us in our weakness, if only we turn to Him for the help of Divine Grace. Even our greatest weakness is the invitation to practice greater reliance on God.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is perseverance, not immediate perfection, that is the mark of Christian life on earth. We are born in Christ in Baptism to grow ever more fully in Him, to carry ever more faithfully and generously, with Him, the cross of pure and selfless love.
What failures are currently weighing on your soul? Our Lady desires you to be reconciled with her Divine Son. Go to confession as soon as you are able and begin again on the pilgrim path upon which you set forth in Baptism and which will reach its destination in eternal life.
We are called to the same perseverance that St. Juan Diego displayed when he committed anew to carrying forward Our Lady’s mission. Let us ask Our Mother to intercede with God for us, that we may receive in abundance the grace of perseverance.
Let us pray.
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God’s promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray.
Amen.
Novena website: “Return to Our Lady” – https://novena.cardinalburke.com/
