The last feast on our Miracles, Mysteries, and Mary calendar is incredibly close to our hearts as associates of Relevant Radio. Today is 491 years since the appearance of Mary’s image on the tilma of Saint Juan Diego, and on the smaller scale of history, today also marks twenty-two years since Relevant Radio received its first license to broadcast from the FCC. We ask for Our Lady of Guadalupe’s intercession in all we do, from the Angelus and fifteen-minute meetings to the Divine Mercy Chaplet and buying new stations.
With Our Lady of Guadalupe being as impactful as she is for our whole company, I got a little curious. What kind of experiences do our associates have with Our Lady of Guadalupe?
A quick office poll yielded some incredible stories celebrating her miraculous intercession, her beauty, and her tenderness. Please enjoy this peek behind the curtain at some of what our associates shared!
Diana, 2005.
There was a period in my life where I felt a kind of emptiness and didn’t know where it was coming from.
About a year later, on a Monday, the church I was at was going to host a missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And I said, “You know what? I want to see this image.” So I went by myself. The next day I bought some green scapulars, the one for miracles, and I brought the kids after school.
When I went to put the green scapulars on the image, this woman reached out to give me more green scapulars. We just had this moment, this weird thing happening. Maggie and I stared at each other and we both thought it was a Holy Spirit moment.
About a half hour later, Maggie asked, “will anybody be willing to host Our Lady in their home?”
I so wanted to do it, but everything in me was saying, “who am I to do that? Who am I to have Our Lady in my house?”
My son goes, “Mommy, mommy, you gotta raise your hand!”
When Maggie asked again, I raised my hand.
I was reading True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I was very nervous on the way home – Our Lady, in my house! – and so I prayed, “please tell me what to do”: I opened the book, and right there it said, “pray a group Rosary”.
So I called my friends. At least twenty people came. I bought three dozen red roses… closed buds. I set the image up in my living room, and in a matter of fifteen minutes, they were the most beautiful blooms I’d ever seen.
Mother Mary wanted to be in my house, and it was amazing. I remember when everyone left, the kids saying, “Mom, we can’t leave her here, by herself. We need to sleep down here.”
We all slept in the living room that night. I’ve been able to host her three times since.
Eliú, 2018.
My wife and I used to sing for Mass at San Josemaría Escrivá Parish in Caracas. They were deeply devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe and a priest asked us to sing something special for her feast day. As Venezuelans we’re not the closest to the feast. But we agreed. So, Liz and I rehearsed some songs “boleros rancheros” that were interpreted when San Josemaría made his famous pilgrimage from Spain to Mexico. This moment touched me so deeply that when everyone went away, I fell to my knees and prayed privately: “My Lady… You are The Americas Queen, but nowadays Venezuela is falling apart and I want to protect my family. Take me wherever you want, amen.”
Three months later we escaped from Venezuela in a flight that landed in Miami, where there’s a big Venezuelan community. The parish, plenty of Venezuelans in a beautiful and brand-new church, was dedicated to OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE.
We started to pray for a job. In October 2019, I received a call from a priest asking me if I was available to travel to Chicago for a new project. I didn’t know about Relevant Radio, but I said yes. Father Rocky met me at the airport. When I arrived, I realized OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE WAS IN EVERY CORPORATE LOGO.
After my interview Father Rocky said, “well you’re hired, let’s say thanks! I’ll be taking you to a special place.”
Well, he took me to OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SHRINE IN DES PLAINES.
I realized in that exact moment that she heard my prayer in Caracas and brought me to Chicago and was by my side in every step of my path.
Maria Therese, 2022.
My father knew he wanted to work for the Church – in an environment where life is respected from conception to death – an environment where there’s dignity and respect and reverence. He began his career in healthcare as a pharmacist, but quickly left the field as the duty of dispensing certain medications compromised his morals in destroying the sanctity of life.
As his career went on in Catholic hospital administration, he grew into deeply embracing Our Lady of Guadalupe. I don’t know if it was a correlation to his respect for life, or that he and my mother went to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He was drawn to the simplicity of Juan Diego – here is this ordinary man, given this gift of the Madonna appearing to him. He has always believed that she can do anything. I love that my father found an image of our Mother that he connects with so fondly.
When he talks about Our Lady, this is the only image he references. I gifted him a Guadalupe sweatshirt and he wears it all the time. He wants the children of his parish to know her, to know that life begins at conception. He purchased a beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the parish, and it hangs in the family center for all to enjoy.
As for me, I fell in love with her because this image is so beautiful and tender. Our Lady of Guadalupe presents that whatever our walk is, we as women are created to care, and nurture, and give, and of all the Marian images, she represents that to me – life within.
I think Our Lady of Guadalupe became even more special because of Relevant Radio. When I came to Relevant Radio, she was very much a focal point. Having her be a centerpiece of the mission helped me become more appreciative of who she is and the love she has for her children.
Thank you for joining us for Miracles, Mysteries, & Mary, a year’s collection of stories, Church teaching, reflections, and so much more – guaranteed to expand your knowledge of Our Blessed Mother. Check out our archive page to catch up on our year of Our Lady!
