Our Lady of Guadalupe

"Do listen.

Do be assured of it in your heart,

my littlest one

that nothing at all should alarm you,

should trouble you,

nor in any way disturb

your countenance, your heart. . .

 

For am I not here,

I, your Mother?

Are you not in the cool of my shadow?

In the breeziness of my shade?

 

Is it not I that am

your source of contentment?

Are you not cradled in my mantle?

cuddled in the crossing of my arms?

Is there anything else for you to need?"

 

—Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

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"Feminine energy is powerful because it is pure presence -- gentle yet firm. It is an energy that gives warmth, comfort, and spirit simply by its presence. It receives rather than takes. It invites rather than demands. It unfolds rather than controls. It empowers rather than overpowers. It finds itself in being rather than in doing. Feminine energy shows her best face in leisure. She doesn't take time. She has time. She has time to be. The world is starving for this energy. It is part of the fire Christ came to cast on the earth - a slow flame that burns from within and gradually transforms what it touches, precisely because it touches rather than clutches.”

 

—MACRINA WIEDERKEHR, “A Tree Full of Angels, Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary”, Harper Collins Publishers

 

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I found this church/shrine a comforting place to be while I was in Santa Fe this summer. A much smaller place than the St. Francis cathedral in the downtown, and less visited, but this place felt instantly homelike. The priest gave an inspiring talk about how the face of God looks different depending on your culture/background. It kind of felt like being in Divine Mother's womb, a good place to be as I prayed for my brother who was struggling with pancreatic cancer.

Done