Since our blogspot is named after Our Lady of Guadalupe, I only think it's appropriate to write a post about her on her feast day. There are many interesting things about Our Lady, about Juan Diego and how she appeared to aide in changing the hearts of people in a culture of death, I would like to go into the symbolism that is embedded in the image on the 500 year old tilma.
The tilma has been studied for many years as it is unlike anything seen in history. Replicas have been made of this beautiful image on the same material, a poor quality cactus-cloth. This 'cloth' only lasts 15-20 years before it disintegrates, but here it is, centuries later still remaining in our midst.
The image of Our Lady is said to not be formed with any brush strokes, which is unheard of for any artwork dating back this far. This was verified when the icon underwent inspection under infrared lights. There have been studies on the pigment samples, they are not from any known mineral, vegetable or animal source. The face, hands and mantle were all 'painted' in one step and no corrections have been made.
The there are many symbols in the icon that have significance. There are several items on our lady that reference to her royalty; the blue mantle, her fur cuffs, she has the sunflower on her pregnant belly which is the symbol for the Aztec sun god (Jesus, the Son of God is in her womb). Our Lady herself has skin tones not exclusive to any race, the color of her skin is like that of the intermarriage of the Spaniards with the Indians of the Americas, which speaks to us that we are but all one people in the eyes of God.
The relevance of the heavens in this icon is made apparent from the Virgin's appearance of standing before a brilliant light. The Indians of that time worshipped the sun god, and gave up human sacrifice to appease him. Her being shown clothed in the sun shows the people that her God is more powerful than what they have believed in, worshiped and sacrificed to. The mantle she wears is also covered in stars from the night sky, in the constellation pattern sky from the night of December 12th, 1531. With a people who believe in the stars and live by the stars, to see her clothed in the stars they live by illustrated to them how her God is more powerful than the stars could ever be. Her head is bowed in reverence to show that it is not her that is so powerful, but that there is one above her who is Almighty, that she is only a servant and she is not a god or goddess.
More significance of the many other symbols are talked about here, but one of the more incredible things said of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the image of her eyes. Her right eye is the eye that can be more clearly seen into, and photographers and opthamologists have reported seeing images in her eyes. The image is more of a reflection really, which is tripled in what is called the Purkinje effect. The image of the Virgin's eye was increased to 2,500 times and the image that is captured is said to be the people the tilma was first revealed to, the skeptics.
I find this miracle of Our Lady to be one of the most beautiful and intriguing of all the apparitions of Our Lady, the message that she brought is to live as He wants us to live with no more human lives sacrificed in the eyes of God. She came to a culture of death to ask us to serve the Lord and live in His ways. I hope that we can all come to hear the call and listen.
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