Rocio Ríos/Catholic Sentinel The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe rises in front of the congregation Dec. 10 during Mass for her feast. During the Mass, held at St. Mary Cathedral, Archbishop Alexander Sample voiced his support for immigrants and called for opposition to bigotry.
Rocio Ríos/Catholic Sentinel
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe rises in front of the congregation Dec. 10 during Mass for her feast. During the Mass, held at St. Mary Cathedral, Archbishop Alexander Sample voiced his support for immigrants and called for opposition to bigotry.
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HOMILY FOR THE ARCHDIOCESAN CELEBRATION OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

December 10, 2016

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Archbishop Alexander K. Sample

“A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.”

This image of the Blessed Mother from the Book of Revelation is a very fitting description of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose image was impressed upon the tilma of St. Juan Diego.  In the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe we see a woman of radiance standing upon the moon and with child.  How could we miss the resemblance!

I am so happy to gather with all of you in celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe as we anticipate her feast day on Monday when all of you will gather in your local communities for the feast.  This Cathedral is the “mother church” for all of the Catholics in western Oregon, and it is important that we celebrate here Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is so loved and honored by such a large part of our local Church, especially among our Hispanic brothers and sisters.

But Our Lady of Guadalupe is not just for Latino community in the Archdiocese of Portland.  She is a mother for all of us, and I know many, many others who love her and seek her motherly protection and intercession.  I am one of those.  Soy un guadalupano!

In fact, Our Lady of Guadalupe is supremely important to all of us who live in the Americas.  St. John Paul II in 1999 entrusted all of the Americas to the motherly protection of her and named Our Lady of Guadalupe the “Star of the New Evangelization”.  For all of us in North, Central and South America, of whatever race or ethnicity, she is our mother and our inspiration to evangelize our communities and our world.

In the past, when speaking of the appearance of Mother Mary at Tepeyac, I have reflected on the interesting fact that Our Lady chose to appear to one as humble and lowly as St. Juan Diego.  We know the story so well.  We know the great difficulty St. Juan Diego had in trying to convince the bishop that she had appeared.  It was only after the miracle of the roses and the imprint of her image on his tilma that the bishop finally believed St. Juan Diego.

So why didn’t Our Lady simply appear directly to the bishop?  Why all the drama of what St. Juan Diego suffered in trying to convince others of her appearance?  It would have seemed so much simpler and easier to simply go to the one who needed to be convinced, namely the bishop.  It reminds me of how Our Lady also appeared to mere children in her apparition at Fatima and Lourdes.  These children had equal difficulty to that of St. Juan Diego in trying to convince others, especially the bishop, that her appearance was real and not just in their imagination.

I think this reveals something very important to us about how God deals with his people and how Our Mother relates to the smallest, humblest and simplest among us.  It shows God’s preferential love for the poor, the humble, and the most vulnerable among us.  He prefers that his message given by the Virgin Mother should come through the lowly and humble.  Mary herself was the lowly handmaid of the Lord who accomplished his will in bringing us her Son.  God chose the lowly virgin to be the great Mother of God.

Our Lady of Guadalupe loved her dear son, her “Juanito, Juan Dieguito”.   She spoke so tenderly to him, so much like a mother speaking to her smallest child.  This speaks so powerfully to us, because this is the way Our Mother in Heaven sees and loves each of us as her little children.

God’s love for the poor, the vulnerable unborn, the marginalized and outcast is shown through the powerful love of the beloved mother of his Son.

We are living in changing and challenging times.  There is so much division and disrespect for the dignity of the human person in our communities these days.  The recent presidential election and much of the rhetoric that we heard was sickening to many of us.  But the rhetoric heard more than sickened some of us.  It drove fear into their hearts.

I wish to speak a word to our Hispanic brothers and sisters who are sadly experiencing much fear, anxiety and uncertainty these days after the election.  It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not.  You are loved!  You are loved by God and precious in his eyes.  You are loved by Our Lady of Guadalupe.  You are her special children, her little ones, and she will not abandon you.

You are loved by me your shepherd and by all your brothers and sisters in this Archdiocese.   We stand with you and we love you.  You are one with us.  You are a part of us.  We are a family.  We all enjoy equal dignity and worth before our heavenly Father.  We are brothers and sisters in his Son, Jesus.

I want you to know that our local Archdiocese, especially through the work of Catholic Charities, is working hard to advocate for you and for humane and just treatment.  All of the bishops in the United States are strongly united and committed to working with the new president elect and his administration to be a voice for you.  We are your pastors, and we know firsthand your experience.  We will make your voice heard and work hard to see that a just and merciful solution for our broken immigration system is found that honors the dignity of the human person and keeps families together.

We must condemn all expressions of racial bigotry and hatred and efforts to marginalize any among us.  I call upon you, my brothers and sisters and all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Portland to be beacons of hope and light and to be leaders in promoting an environment of respect and reverence during the days, months and years ahead.  We must take the lead in ensuring our Hispanic brothers and sisters that we will not accept expressions of bigotry and racism. 

So let us turn our future over to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Let us place ourselves in her loving hands.  Let us ask our Mother to enfold all of us, especially the most vulnerable, in her loving mantle of love and protection.  May she always be our Mother and may we honor and love her as our own.

Responding to rhetoric from the recent presidential election, Archbishop Alexander Sample told a crowd of Hispanic Catholics Dec. 10 that he loves them and God loves them. During the Mass celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the archbishop then called on all Catholics in western Oregon to condemn racial bigotry and hatred.

“It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not. You are loved!” Archbishop Sample said in a bilingual homily at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. “You are loved by God and precious in his eyes. You are loved by Our Lady of Guadalupe. You are her special children, her little ones, and she will not abandon you.”

The archbishop told the crowd that other western Oregon Catholics also love the Hispanic community, which has felt anxious over anti-immigrant sentiment that became explicit during the campaign.  

“We stand with you and we love you,” the archbishop said. “You are one with us.  You are a part of us.  We are a family.  We all enjoy equal dignity and worth before our heavenly Father. We are brothers and sisters in his Son, Jesus.”

The archbishop told worshipers that Catholic Charities of Oregon is advocating for humane and just treatment of immigrants and said the nation’s Catholic bishops are committed to being a voice for immigrants in discussions with the Trump administration.

 

“It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not.”

—   Archbishop Alexander Sample to Hispanic Catholics at Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration


“We will make your voice heard and work hard to see that a just and merciful solution for our broken immigration system is found that honors the dignity of the human person and keeps families together,” the archbishop told an appreciative congregation.

“His words of support to our community at this time made me feel full of grace,” said Cleotilde Batista of Ascension Parish. “This gives us hope.”

Brenda Boyzo Vera, a member of St Luke Parish in Woodburn, said the archbishop’s message was powerful at this moment. “I feel a sense of hope after what he said to us today,” Boyzo Vera said. 

“After the recent presidential election where our community felt the racism, we come together today and the cathedral opened the doors to us and gave us a sense that we belong there, too,” said Deacon José Gonzalez of St. Anne Parish in Gresham.

This was the first time the cathedral was home to the Archdiocese of Portland’s central celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The venue is a sign that the feast is becoming important to the faith life of all western Oregon Catholics and also that Hispanics have become an essential part of the local church. 

 “Our Lady of Guadalupe is not just for the Latino community in the Archdiocese of Portland,” Archbishop Sample said. “She is a mother for all of us, and I know many, many others who love her and seek her motherly protection and intercession. I am one of those. Soy un guadalupano!”

In 1999, St. John Paul II designated Our Lady of Guadalupe patroness all of the Americas and named her “Star of the New Evangelization.” 

A reception in the Cathedral School gym followed Mass and included Aztec dancers. Archbishop Sample chatted with the faithful and seemed to enjoy the event, even taking photos with his phone. Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith also attended the celebration.