“‘Am I Not Here?’: Reflections on Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Timeless Compassion of Mary

Hi, I'm Bishop  Bryan Bayda,

and I'd like to share a little bit about my devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe as December 12th throws around this year. And it's, I think, for her, those compassionate words that she said that really speaks to me. 

She spoke them to Juan Diego, and that's when he got distracted, and he didn't meet her as was planned. And so when I pray before the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help, I repeat the words of Our Lady of Guadalupe that were spoken to Juan Diego. 

As in the icon, she holds Jesus, and she holds me, certainly, and she holds you and all who flee to her for her help with her tender and compassionate caress. 

So to understand this gift, I think, to me more profoundly that I'd like to share with you, let's return to the moment when Juan Diego tried to avoid meeting with her because of those unforeseen circumstances with his uncle Juan Bernardino. 

So, back in 1531, on Monday, December 11th, he was supposed to see her, but he became preoccupied with the illness of his uncle and caring for his uncle. And he did not meet her that day. 

And on Tuesday, December 12th, he promises dying Uncle Juan Bernardino that he would get a priest to provide confession and preparation for death. Therefore, very early in the morning, Juan Diego set out for Tlatelolco, that's what it was called then, it's Mexico City today. 

Dreading he being delayed by her, should he meet with her again, when he approached the mountain, he went around the other side of the hill of Tepeyac, taking a new route to avoid her. But, naturally, she interrupted his plans. 

So the chronicles of the apparition, the Nikan Mepohova, describe it in this fashion. As soon as she heard Juan Diego's words, the mother of Perfect Virgin answered him: 

“Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest son, that what frightened you, what afflicted you, is nothing. Do not let it disturb your face, your heart. Do not fear this sickness, nor any other sickness, nor any sharp or hurtful thing. 

Am I not here? I, who have the honor to be your mother, are you not in my shadow and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle and in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?” 

Let these words, then, sink in. 

I think, for me, these profound words are what brings many things together for me as a Ukrainian Catholic Redemptorist Bishop, having a devotion both to the Mother of Perpetual Help and to Our Lady of Guadalupe—of course, one and the same, Theotokos. 

When I pray before this icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help, it strikes me that these beautiful words are appropriate, not only then, but in several instances. 

So imaginatively, in prayer and with faith, I think that it's quite possible she would have said them to Jesus as a small, frightened little boy that we see in the icon of Perpetual Help. 

But I also imagine that she would have repeated them to Jesus carrying his cross. Perhaps when their eyes met, she could have said these words to him. 

Perhaps in faith, I hear her speak them to Jesus when she looked at his lifeless body in her arms, as depicted in the Pieta. 

I imagine that she would have said these words to Juan Diego clearly, as a lay person who is worried about his uncle. This we know from the Nikan Mepohua; it's been attested, the apparition. 

I hear that she would utter them to us, to me, to you, with our concerns that we hold in our heart. 

And certainly, I think the Mother of God is heard when she proclaims them to all the people in Ukraine today—particularly those who are struggling with this war, struggling with life, suffering, death. They bring these thoughts and sentiments to her. 

So, for a brief moment, join me. Close your eyes, if you wish, or see the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help to me, to my side here. 

And Jesus holding, being held rather, in the crossing of her arms with her son, looking at those instruments of his death. 

She says to Jesus: 

“Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest son. That what frightened you, what afflicted you, is nothing. Do not let it disturb your face, your heart. Do not fear this sickness, or any other sickness, or any sharp or hurtful thing. 

Am I not here? I, who have the honor to be your mother. Are you not in my shadow, and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?” 

In prayer, I see the action and the breath of the Holy Spirit when I hear Mary speak. 

When she said these, possibly, to Jesus as a boy. And then, quite possibly, she repeated them, this truth, when her eyes met with Jesus during his passion and death, and indeed, glorious resurrection. 

Indeed, I think she expressed her heart with these words to Juan Diego in 1531. And she definitely addresses the citizens in Ukraine today with these merciful, compassionate, and, dare I say, authoritative words. 

They transcend all time. 

These people who are in the midst of suffering and death, who need hope. 

Spiritually, these words, I think, they transcend all time and humanity. Like the Holy Spirit, at one point, used the prophet Ezekiel to breathe life into a bunch of bones (Ezekiel 37), giving the breath of life to those who are experiencing despair and suffering today. 

So, for me, the Holy Spirit is the one who speaks these words, albeit through the Mother of God. She's a vessel of the Holy Spirit. 

And so, when she speaks, I believe every single word is prompted by the Holy Spirit. 

When she says, “Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?”—says the Holy Spirit, through the Mother of God. 

When we pray to the Mother of God, share everything that's in your heart. All of it. Dump it. Don't miss the best part. 

Wait for her to respond. Wait for her to speak to you. And wait for her to explain to you all the compassion that the Holy Spirit wants to impart to you. 

It's a wonderful time to do it—December the 12th, when we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.