Introduction
In what context does the Virgin of Guadalupe propose to teach us the mystery of God’s ever faithful and all-merciful love? It is in the context of our entrance into the House of God to pray and to offer to Him the worship which He Himself inspires in us and strengthens us to carry out. “I want very much that they build my sacred little house here,” Our Lady instructed the Church in Mexico through her messenger Saint Juan Diego. Her intention for the church is to “show” her Divine Son, Jesus Christ, “exalt Him upon making Him manifest,” and “give Him to all people” in her maternal love through the Sacraments of the Church and in the Sacred Liturgy (Cf. Nican Mopohua, no. 26-28).
In the Sacred Liturgy, Christ Himself acts in our midst for the glory of God and for our eternal salvation. In fact, it is only in the House of God that our greatest hunger and thirst are satisfied. In His dwelling with us through the Church, we know God in the forgiveness of our sins through the Sacrament of Penance and in the incomparable gift of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, the fruit of the Eucharistic Sacrifice given as Heavenly Bread to us in Holy Communion. This is because Our Lady understands that the Church’s doctrine and discipline are the irreplaceable conditions for the encounter with Christ and the daily conversion of life to Christ by following Him on the only way which leads to eternal life, the way of the Cross (Cf. Mt 16, 24).
Mary, our Mother, preserved from all stain of original sin, understands better than any of us the wiles of Satan and the profound harm and eternal death itself, which comes to us through sin. She witnessed the effects of the sin of our First Parents and of our actual sins in the Passion and Death of her Divine Son. She, therefore, stands ever ready to point out to us Satan’s allurements and deceptions, and to sustain us in times of great trial and temptation by leading us to her Son alive for us in the Church, especially through the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist.
By drawing close to the Immaculate Heart of Our Blessed Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we come to understand ever better the effects of sin in our lives and upon our world; we come to understand our need to go to her Son for the grace of conversion of life and the transformation of our world. In her maternal love, she leads us in the way of the humility which Our Lord teaches us in the Gospel, so that we give our hearts totally to Him, with confident trust in His never failing and all-merciful love. (Cf. Lc 9, 48).
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was built to further the mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so that many more might know her maternal love and, through her love, know their Savior. In the planning and construction of the Church, every effort was made to reflect the ineffable beauty of God and of His faithful and enduring love of us, most especially in the Redemptive Incarnation of His only-begotten Son.
I invite you to come to the Shrine on a pilgrimage. On December 12, the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I will be making the Official Act of Consecration to her with the Nine-Month Novena Prayer during the Holy Mass at 12:15 pm Central Time. Tell others to come, too. Let them know that the Shrine is a Vatican-approved place of pilgrimage, affiliated with the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Let everyone know that anyone who comes on pilgrimage to the Shrine receives the same graces and blessings as if they had gone on pilgrimage to those two Basilicas.
If you do not have an Official Novena Prayer Card, one can be ordered or downloaded at the links below.
