Most know the story. Who cannot but admire the man, Juan. To me it is a story about the ordinary. Mary, as happened so often in her appearances, comes to the humble.
For us today, we might consider again, the touchy issue of immigration. Mary came with a message of compassion. She spoke of solidarity with the poor, the needy.
Today, as we know, the reaction to the issue of immigration has already created great divisions among God's people. Unfortunately those who are legally in this country are put into a corner because of those have illegally come to this country, seeking a better life, filling employment opportunities that exist, that are in most instances not being filled by our own.
In the gospel for today's Mass, we hear or read the account of Mary's Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary traveled a distance ... not for a vacation ... rather to bring comfort to another person. Perhaps this gospel can be an encouragement for all of us to look at how we might be a comfort to those caught in the immigration battle. First and foremost, we have to realize that others have problems that we might be able to ease because we believe that we are called by God to be missionaries, to be healers, to be supports.
In your prayer today, listen. Listen to what God is saying to you ... just as Juan Diego listened to the voice to the beautiful lady.
