I visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sunday the 8th of December. The venue was crowded and one could see that a large number of pilgrims had already arrived to pay homage to the Icon.
We decided not to make the climb up Mount Tepeyac to the chapel, site of the appearance of the Virgin to Juan Diego in 1531, but watched intently as streams of people lined the steps leading to the holy place. It reminded me of my own enthusiasm for climbing those stairs for many years.
Beginning Monday the 9th it became almost impossible to even approach the area as gigantic groups walking in procession or being driven in trucks and buses from throughout the country arrived to pay their respects. There were those that walked on their knees helped by others who threw pieces of rugs or cardboard to soften the pain.
Altogether over 12 million devotees came to visit from the region and the far reaches of the nation and the continents. It is so impressive to watch faith at work and the unity it fosters among a people that are driving their renaissance at breakneck speed to a future more certain than what we can project for ourselves in our country.
For the United States, the Thanksgiving holiday is the gateway to the Christmas season. For Mexico it is the repeated appearances of the Virgin between December 9th and the 12th that provide for the beginning of the holy month that ends with the giving of presents on January 6th, emulating the visit of the Magi Kings that came to the baby Jesus crib to honor his coming with gifts.
The Christmas story commemorated in rituals and enactments is a story of the power of belief. It is popular for statements from the pulpit like, “all things are possible for those that believe.”
Most of us do not stop to think about the true meaning of the statements and how they affect our lives. For example, I have visited the major pre-Colombian cities of Mexico and Central America, have stood in wonder at their form, their beauty and yet, they stand abandoned.
It is people’s belief in their unity and identity expressed in those great cities that led to their construction. It is their loss of belief in themselves and each other that made them leave their homes to the ravages of time.
In America, we are at the crossroads of a major shift in our feelings about the ideals and beliefs that created and nurtured our country to greatness. The divisions we see every day in the media and elsewhere is the very picture of consuming decadence.
When we refer to belief, it is not necessarily about religion. Christ came to the world to establish a new way of believing away from the decadence that consumed the Roman Empire.
His brand of disinterested and unconditional love was designed to foster an identity for believers that would construct a new way of living with each other. Although religious doctrines of ever kind managed to run that into the ground, the message continues to be available for those that believe.
The birth of the Christ Child in the poorest of neighborhoods is the metaphor that indicates where we can start. His angels recruited those that had the least to come to be with the lord at his manger.
The Magi Kings were the last to come. Their duty was to give to the poorest of them all: Jesus.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
