Season of Angels

There is much happiness at Christmastime - besides the lovely spectacle of Christmas lights, Nativity scenes and sparkling decorations, you can see and feel the warmth and the kindness of people - ‘Tis the Season of Angels!

This warmth is the light of what Angels are made of, the warmth like the sun is about to come out and reminds us that our spirit is powerful, and gives us divine sparks of hope.  Hope is that magnetic quality that attracts the great and inspires beauty and goodness into our life.

I hope you are hopeful and happy and truly in the spirit of Christmas, in the spirit of Light.  Savor the cookies, enjoy the delicious Christmas foods and eggnog, and the company of friends and loved ones.  If you are feeling sad or gloomy, ask your Angels for their assistance and help, and be assured that they will promptly wrap you in the loving spirit of love and divine energies.

When you ask your Angels to be present they joyfully provide learning and direction always for our highest good. Angels are near us to help in our life journey, their guidance is true, loving and they are real spiritual partners.

Angels support us in stengthening the bond of love with our Divine source, with God. When we ask the Angels to be in our life, they fill our hearts with love and peace. When there is love in our hearts, we radiate love and peace into our world.

May God and Angels bring you gifts of hope, love, and peace, and strengthen the Divine light within you-  during the holydays and all days of the New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Angel Blessings!

Felíz Navidad y Felíz Bendiciones de Angeles!

Linda F. Torres

Our Lady of Guadalupe (The Story) 12/12

Virgen de Guadalupe

Our Lady appears when we need her most. She leaves no one unaided, she dazzles us with her beauty as her love heals our hearts, and everything becomes joy. Early on the morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego, Indigenous Mexican, saw a vision of a young girl of sixteen, surrounded by light. This event occurred for several days on the slopes of the Hill of Tepeyac.  Speaking in the local language of Nahutl, the Lady asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor. From her words, Juan Diego recognized her as the Virgin Mary.

When he told his story to the Spanish bishop, Fray  Juan de Zumárraga,  the bishop asked him to return and ask the lady for a miraculous sign to prove her claim. The Virgin then asked Juan Diego to gather some flowers from  the top of  Tepeyac Hill, even though it was winter when no flowers bloomed.

There, he found Castillian *roses (which were of the Bishop’s native home, but not indigenous to Tepeyac). And it was winter, no roses had grown before. He gathered them, and the Virgin herself re-arranged them in his tilma, or peasant cloak.

When Juan Diego presented the roses to Fray Zumárraga, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miracoulusly appeared (12/12) on the cloth!  Historians believe the icon represents both Virgin Mary and the indigenous Mexican Goddess Tonantzin.  Roses are the flowers associated with Mary. Others believe the Virgin was a simplified version of the Aztec Mother goddess.  Her blue-green mantle was described as the color once reserved for the divine couple Ometecuhtli (dual God) her belt is interpreted as a sign of pregnancy and a cross-shaped image symbolizing the cosmos is said to be inscribed beneath the Lady’s sash.

The miracoulus image of Mary on the tilma has not faded in nearly five hundred years nor has the fabric deteriorated, and it has never been treated with any protective substance. The image on the tilma has been directly exposed to extreme temperatures in the *Basilica, and has been subjected to chemical analysis but defies consistent identification of the substance it is made of.

It is a painting without paint- microscopic observation reveals no brush strokes or outlines. In 1921 a bomb was placed in a flower vase at the base of the image of Guadalupe. The marble rail was shattered, windows in neighboring houses cracked. But the tilma with the image of Our Lady was untouched.

The Nasa has examined photographs enlarged of Guadalupe’s eyes, and found the image of a human being, revealing the outline of a native man on his knees, presumed to be Juan Diego.

*Roses are the flowers assosciated with the Blessed Virgin Mary

View Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, from Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebration 12/12

“A great sign appeared in the sky,

a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon at her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
Revelation 12:1 ¹²

Our Lady of Guadalupe appears when the culture and the people are in one of the most difficult times in history, the Spanish conquest of Mexico had taken place a few years before, and when the Aztecs would sacrifice the poorest of their people in religious rituals.  In such fear and confusion, Guadalupe offers hope when they need her most.

Our Lady appeared to a modest Aztec peasant, Juan Diego, in December 1531 at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico. She introduced herself as the “Virgin Mary” and various times she appears and requests a sacred home, a sanctuary to be built for all people who struggle can call upon her. Our Lady of Guadalupe reconciled the conquest and redeemed the conquered. She drew everyone, Europeans and Indigenous under her blanket of love and from this place of refuge, the ‘Mestizo” race was born. Mexico embraced its Mother and proceeded to honor her with devotion.   Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mirabai Starr

December 12 is the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. Pope John Paul II in 1999 proclaimed Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Mother of America, refering to the entire American continent… “Our Lady of Guadalupe is God’s very special gift to America.”

It’s a tradition and I am still amazed to see the faith of people in Mexico as they travel by foot from far away towns, in procession, and for several days just to visit the Shrine – the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  People perform native dances, in colorful indigenous attires outside the Basilica and people pray fervently while walking on their knees towards the sacred Shrine. At midnight is the High Mass and the Basilica is filled with flowers, mostly roses, and Mariachis are playing and musical artists sing in honor of the ‘Virgencita de Guadalupe’.

Thousands of people gather with their families and friends, at the Basilica to visit and celebrate Our Lady.  People come with such gratefulness for miracles already received, or they bring their petitions and prayers knowing that the Virgin of Guadalupe will favor them in their need.  She is the symbol of love, peace, compassion and never-ending hope.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is not only the Queen of Mexico, but is an icon in all Latin America and in the Latin world.  I personally have respect and devotion to the Blessed Mother for the blessings I have received during my life. I feel her divine light shines on all of us as we trust and believe in her loving aid and sacred energy.

You can read more about the significant history of Our Lady of Guadalupe and my Miracle Story under the archives category of Visions of Mary: Lady of Guadalupe and Mary Manifestations, June 25, 2009.

Angel blessings to you. Linda.

Basilica of Guadalupe (new), Mexico City

Do It Anyway…

~The Final Analysis~

Madonna of Roses

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be honest anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;

Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

–Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Angel Blessings,

Linda