December 12
A solemnity in Mexico and a feast throughout the Americas — the day the roses fell and the image appeared. Here are the prayers of the day and the customs by which the faithful keep it.
The Feast Approaches
59
Days
18
Hours
44
Minutes
19
Seconds
Until December 12 — and nine days before it, the novena begins.
The Collect of the Mass
O God, Father of mercies, who placed your people under the singular protection of your Son's most holy Mother, grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe may seek with ever more lively faith the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Advent's Rose
December 12 falls always within Advent — the season of God drawing near to the lowly. Her coming at Tepeyac belongs to that same mystery: the Mother who bears the Christ within her meets a poor man on a hill, and the Word Who comes to save the world comes first as an embryo in her womb. Keep the feast, then, in communion with the pregnant Christ child — an Advent rose opening before His birth.
Prayers for the Feast
Mexico City, 1979 · abridged
O Virgin of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas, we ask you to accompany the Church on her pilgrim way, that she may be faithful to her Lord. Mother of Mercy, teacher of hidden and silent sacrifice, to you, who come to meet us sinners, we dedicate on this day all our being and all our love. We dedicate to you our life, our work, our joys, our infirmities and our sorrows. Amen.
Traditional
Our Lady of Guadalupe, mystical rose, make intercession for the Church, protect the Sovereign Pontiff, help all those who invoke you in their necessities, and since you are the ever-Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, obtain for us from your most holy Son the grace of a firm faith and sure hope amid the bitterness of life, as well as an ardent love and the precious gift of final perseverance. Amen.
The Hymn of the Feast
Listen to the Hymn
A traditional rendition of “La Guadalupana.” Press play, then follow the verses below as they are sung.
Himno Guadalupano · Manuel Esperón & Ernesto Cortázar
Desde el cielo, una hermosa mañana,
Desde el cielo, una hermosa mañana,
La Guadalupana, la Guadalupana,
La Guadalupana bajó al Tepeyac.
At dawn on December 12, after Las Mañanitas, the faithful sing this hymn in her honor — a retelling of the apparition at Tepeyac set to a melody known by heart in every Mexican home.
The Dawn Serenade
Traditional · the dawn serenade
Oh Virgen, la más hermosa
del Valle del Anáhuac,
tus hijos muy de mañana
te vienen a saludar.
Despierta, Madre, despierta;
mira que ya amaneció,
mira este ramo de flores
que para ti traigo yo.
Recibe, Madre querida,
nuestra felicitación,
hoy por ser el día tan grande
de tu tierna aparición.
Recibe, Madre querida,
nuestra felicitación;
míranos aquí postrados
y danos tu bendición.
Tú brillaste, Virgen Santa,
como estrella matinal,
anunciando la alborada
que iba pronto a comenzar.
Before sunrise on the feast, families and mariachi gather beneath her image and sing — a birthday serenade, the way Mexico wakes the ones it loves. If you cannot reach a basilica, sing it softly at home before your image of her, and she will hear.
How to Celebrate
Nine days of prayer bring you to the feast prepared. Pray one day each evening from December 3 through December 11, so that the ninth day closes on the vigil of the feast.
In Mexico the faithful gather before dawn on December 12 to sing Las Mañanitas to Our Lady — a birthday serenade to the Mother. Many parishes in the Americas keep the custom; find one near you, or sing it at home before your family's image.
December 12 is a solemnity in Mexico and a feast throughout the Americas. Attending Mass is the heart of the day; everything else adorns it. Where a bilingual or Spanish Mass is offered, consider joining it.
Enthrone an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a place of honor with fresh roses and a candle. Bless it with holy water if you are able, and gather the household for the Rosary before it.
Because Our Lady appears at Tepeyac bearing Christ within her, she has long been invoked as protectress of the unborn. Offer your Mass, Rosary, and Communion of the day for the defense of every human life.
She asked for a temple where she might show her compassion. Keep the feast by doing one concrete work of mercy — a visit, a meal, an act of forgiveness — for someone poor or forgotten, as she came to the poorest.
Wherever You Are
In Mexico the feast begins before sunrise, when families gather to serenade the Virgin. Sing it at home as the day begins — a small song for a Mother.
Gather the family on the evening of the feast. Keep the pace unhurried, and let the youngest lead a decade if they wish.
Place fresh roses before her picture. In December they bloomed on frozen ground at Tepeyac — the sign the Bishop had asked for.
Attend Mass on the feast, or ask your parish to offer one in thanksgiving. The day is a solemnity in Mexico and a feast throughout the Americas.
Write down what you are asking of her. She asked Juan Diego for a temple where she could hear the sighs of her children.
Tell a friend, a child, or a neighbor how the roses fell and the image appeared. The message of Tepeyac was never meant to stay in one heart.
Nine evenings of prayer will bring you to the feast with a heart made ready.
Pray the NovenaPass It Along
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