The Miracle of the Virgin of Guadalupe: Catholic Tradition and Scientific Evidence

By Alan Garfinkel and Joseph Scott

Prayer• Hail Mary full of grace

the Lord is with thee. • Blessed art thou among

women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

• Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

• Amen

Faith versus Science• What is Faith? !

• Faith is a Gift of God - a belief in the absolute Truth. It is unlimited in essence and only partially understood. Faith is "certain" and seeks understanding (this is where science comes in). What is Science? !

• Science is man's use of the gift of reason. It is his experience and thought applied to pursue a fuller understanding of the absolute Truth - GOD, the Will of God. This "reasoned approach" applies not only to our scientific studies in physics, mathematics, chemistry, medicine, and astronomy, but also in anthropology, history, philosophy, sociology, etc.

Faith versus Science

• According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church "there should never be any real discrepancy between Faith and Reason (science).”

• The human heart is drawn to understand the things he has put his faith in.

• For this purpose we have the gift of reason and the application of reason, in the light of the truth.

• That is our definition of science. Virgin of Guadalupe

Juan Correa, Mexico (b. 1646, active: 1671-1716) Oil on Canvas | 78 in x 52 in

Mary Among Us: Apparitions

• Virgin of Guadalupe (1531) • One of the most astounding

apparitions in the history of the Church took place in 1531 in Mexico.

• According to tradition on December 9, 1531 a poor Aztec man named Juan Diego was walking near a hill at Tepeyac just northwest of Mexico City when our blessed Mother Mary appeared.

• This was a unique apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the only one where she left us a miraculous life-sized portrait of herself.

Virgin of Guadalupe: Controversy• The nature of the apparition

and its validity has been controversial from its inception.

• As recently as 1996 some in the Catholic church denied the account and identified Juan Diego “as a symbol not a reality.”

• Some have recently questioned the miraculous nature and said her image is simply a painting and not a supernatural artifact.

Virgin of Guadalupe: Defense• As Catholics we should be

prepared to defend the legitimacy and truth of our faith.

• The Catholic Church has approved the Guadalupan apparition as valid.

• One of only three considered so, this being the most ancient.

• The church has also recently canonized Juan Diego as a saint.

Guadalupe Apparition: The Event

• Juan Diego was attracted to the apparition, since he heard beautiful bird songs.

• Flowers and songs represent the full truth to the Aztec Indians.

• Mary told him to tell the bishop to build a chapel where he was standing.

• Juan obeyed her direction but the Spanish Bishop, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, did not believe him and asked for a sign verifying his claim.

Guadalupe Apparition: The Tilma and Castillian Roses

• Juan returned to the same spot on December 12 and found Castillian roses blooming.

• These roses did not grow naturally in Mexico and were indigenous to the Bishop’s native home in Spain and they were blooming in the dead of winter.

• Mary again spoke to Juan and asked that he pick the roses as a sign to the Bishop.

• Juan did as he was told and gathered up the roses in his outer garment known as a tilma or ayate.

Guadalupe Apparition: The Tilma Image

• When Juan opened his tilma to pour out the roses for the bishop an image of Mary appeared on his cloak.

• All were amazed at what they saw and believed Juan’s story.

The Tilma: Composition• Juan’s "tilma" or "ayate", is a kind

of cloak worn by native Mexicans. Upon this cloak is where the Image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was miraculously manifested on December 12th, 1531.

• The tilma consists of two pieces of coarse cloth (hemp) made fibers joined together in the center by a seam of thread made of the same material.

• The seam is visible up the middle of the figure, turning aside from the face.

Virgin of Guadalupe• The image on Juan Diego’s

tilma is often recognized as a coded message full of symbols and metaphors meant for the indigenous Aztec Indians of Mexico.

• Perhaps it is also a symbol with veiled meanings still timely and current for us today.

• Let us explore the meanings in this message first as seen through the veil of Aztec culture, metaphor and symbolism.

The Tilma Image: A Guadalupan Aztec Codex

• First, the lady on the tilma appeared to be Indian, olive skinned and spoke Nahuatl, the Aztec language, and appeared to an Indian (Juan Diego), not a Spaniard!

• Second, Juan Diego explained that she appeared at Tepeyac, the place of Tonantzin, the mother god, sending a clear message that the woman on the tilma was the mother of the true God, and implying that the Christian religion was to replace the Aztec religion.

• And third, the Indians, who learned through pictures and symbols, readily understood the images and meaning of the tilma, which revealed the beautiful message of Christianity.

Aztec Culture and Guadalupe• Mary appears as a beautiful young

woman with a look of peace, love, compassion, and humility, her hands folded in prayer.

• Her blue mantle symbolized the royalty of the Aztec gods, and the blue color also symbolized life and unity.

• The stars on the mantle signified the beginning of a new civilization.

• Most important are two crosses and the black maternity band, signifying she was with child.

• On the brooch around her neck was a black Christian cross, indicating she is both a bearer and follower of the true God

The Tilma Image: A Guadalupan Aztec Codex

!• At the center of the image is found an

Aztec cross, the center of the cosmic order to the Indian. This symbol indicated that the baby Mary carried within her was the new center of the universe.

• This symbol is called the nahuiollin, indicating the expected apocalyptic end of the current Aztec era governed by the fifth sun created for them.

• In fact, so important was this design that their capital city Tenochtitlan was designed in a quatrefoil pattern with the temple as its nucleus.

• Most importantly, this design apparently symbolized the Indians’ highest deity, Ometéotl.

• The Virgin’s image speaks to the Indians profound desire for God.

The Sun• The image shows the Lady

surrounded by a sunburst. The sun was the greatest of the Aztec gods. !

• Mary stands in front of and hides the sun, but the rays of the sun still appear around her, signifying she is greater than the sun god, the greatest of the native divinities, but the rays of the sun still bring light. !

• Twelve rays of the sun surround her face and head. !

• By standing in front of the sun, Mary shows that she is greater than all their ancient gods.

And the Moon• To the Aztec the moon represented

the God of darkness and death. • She stands on the moon,

supported by an angel with wings like an eagle: to the Aztec, this indicated her superiority and defeat of the moon god, and her divine, regal nature.

• Standing with her foot treading on the moon is a sign that these powers have been defeated.

• Yet the people understood that Mary was human.

• Her hands were joined in a prayer of supplication, therefore not a goddess herself; there is someone greater than her.

The Angel• Supporting the Mother of

God is an angel with eagle's wings. The eagle was 'the bird of the sun' and sacred in Aztec culture.

• Here the eagle is seen as a servant of the Virgin.

• This spirit being is holding her mantle with one hand and her robe with the other.

Human Sacrifice• It was the traditional Aztec

belief that the sun God necessitated human sacrifice otherwise it would not continue to rise and set or cooperate in the needs of the Indians.

• The Aztecs sacrificed 20,000 victims a year and at special events featured sacrifices of as many as 80,000 persons over four days.

• These sacrifices did not completely cease until after the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared!

Tepeyac, Tonantzin, and The Nahuatl Name of Guadalupe

• Tepeyac was the pre-columbian worship site for the Aztec mother goddess Tonantzin where Mary appeared to Juan Diego.

• Tonantzin became one of the Nahuatl Indian names for the Virgin Mary.

• Extensive studies and comparative research strongly indicate that Mary told Juan Diego that her name was “te Coatlaxopeuh” (pronounced as tay quatlasupay) meaning the one that crushes or stamps out the stone serpent.

• That is in fact the name still used by those that speak Nahuatl in Mexico.

!The "Nican Mopohua" is the original narration of the apparitions written in nahuatl (Aztec language). It was written in 1545, only fourteen years after the Guadalupe event of December 9 to 12, 1531

Quetzalcoatl, Satan, and Mary

• The Aztec feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl was the fierce serpent god that the Indians annually offered thousands of human sacrifices.

• This pagan god and stone serpent of the Aztecs, as Christians we take to represent Satan, and this metaphor reminds us of the biblical passage in Genesis.

Virgin of Guadalupe and Scripture

• “And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this thing, you are cursed among all the … beasts of the earth… I will establish a feud (conflict) between you and the woman (understood as referring to Mary), and your seed (seed of the devil) and her seed: she shall crush your head; and you shall lie in wait for her heel (the serpent can do nothing to stop this).” (Genesis 3:14-15)

The Virgin of Guadalupe Image: Christian Symbolism

• Image 78 inches in length (over 7 feet) and 42 inches in width

• We see an adolescent woman around 15, oval, clear, dark face, a little mother. She measures just 4 feet 8 inches in height in the picture. Probably a bit taller in real life as she bends one knee and her head is bowed in reverent prayer.

The Virgin of Guadalupe Image: Christian Symbolism

• Dress her garment in a reddish-orange or even a pastel pink and has designs of gold thread overlaying it.

• The latter is a common Middle Eastern garment.

• These designs appear superimposed over the fabric.

Virgin of Guadalupe: The Jewish Maiden?

• Cuffs at the end of dress rolled back over the sleeves and are of white fur, these are elements of typical dress for Jewish nobility - nothing Indian about it and are a remarkable detail attesting to the Jewish roots of our faith.

Virgin of Guadalupe and the Book of Revelations

• Juan Diego’s tilma appears as a mirror of sacred scripture.

• Revelation 12:1-3 points to this fact.

• “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of 12 stars.”

• The image painted by this word picture is a startling reflection of the tilma…

Virgin of Guadalupe

• Rays bright near body, fade out away from body 129 rays - 62 on right, 67 on left equidistant alternating forms: straight like swords also akin to undulating flames

• Red Border because of a rising sun - new life- blood

• Clouds surround the entire image – wind, breath

The Miracle of Conversion• The most astounding aspect of this

event is the result. • Benavente, recorded in his Historia de

los Indios, published in 1541, that • "I have to affirm that at the convent of

Quecholac, another priest and myself baptized 14,200 souls in five days. We even placed the oil of catechumens and Holy Chrism on all of them." !

• Between nine and fifteen million Indians converted to Catholicism as a result of Juan’s meeting with Mary.

• This is the greatest mass conversion in the history of the Catholic church and this transformation caused an abrupt end to the demonic period of mass human sacrifice.

Pope Pius XII and the Guadalupe Tilma Miracle

• “And it happened,” Pope Pius XII proclaimed in a radio address in 1945, “the sounding of the Hour of God … when on the shores of Lake Texcoco there flowered the Miracle … brushes which were not of this earth painted an Image most tender, which the corrosive work of the centuries has marvelously respected.”

Virgin of Guadalupe: Miracles

• Replicas of Juan Diego’s tilma made with the same type of fiber materials last only a short time before disintegrating.

• After almost 500 years Juan’s tilma is still well-preserved with the image of our Lady. This same tilma is on display in the basilica in Mexico City.

The Hemp Tilma

• It is miraculous that the tilma maintains its structural integrity after nearly 500 years.

• The tilma is made of rather sturdy and resilient hemp fiber.

The Basilica of Guadalupe• The Basilica of

Guadalupe in Mexico City where the tilma is on display is the most visited Catholic shrine or pilgrimage site in the world.

• 18 to 20 million pilgrims visit the shrine to our Lady of Guadalupe each year.

Virgin of Guadalupe and Science

• In 1936 a Nobel prize-winning chemist, Dr Richard Kuhn, analysed the fibers and coloring of the tunic. He discovered the color was not of vegetable, mineral, or animal origin and was not of any known earthly element!

Virgin of Guadalupe and Science

• In May 1979, a NASA scientist after studying the image concluded “There is no way to explain the quality of the pigments used for the pink dress, the blue veil, the face and hands, their permanence… or the vividness of the colors after several centuries, during which they ordinarily should have deteriorated.”

Virgin of Guadalupe• The picture is miraculously

“imprinted” onto the tilma and microscopic study attests that there are no brush strokes.

• The image is rendered on an unsized canvas.

• At very close range one can discern the uneven texture of the handwoven cloth and its apparent transparency – a poor canvas for any sort of “painting”.

• Infrared photos completed by Dr. Philip Callahan and Jody B. Smith, University of Florida biophysicist, in 1979 reveal no undersketch.

Scientific Study• The portrait of Mother Mary

created by supernatural means has not been exempt from human interference

• Just as treasured statues and images are adorned with jewels and golden trinkets so also have the devotees of Guadalupe expressed their love and gratitude with various trimmings

• Additions to the image have included angels in the clouds that soon faded and fell away; rays of the sun were gilded and are flaking; and the white moon sheathed in silver has turned black and is still chipping off.

Miracles• The tilma resisted a 1791

muriatic acid (an ammonia) spill that could have created a considerable hole – instead only a light staining exists.

• In 1921 an anarchist placed a bomb in an offering of flowers that destroyed the shrine but left the image undamaged.

!!!!!!

• Brass candelabra bent from 1921 explosion

The Eyes of the Virgin• Photographers and

ophthalmologists have reported minute images reflected in the eyes of the Virgin.

• Alfonso Marcué, the Basilica’s official photographer in Mexico city, discovered in 1929 what seemed to be the image of a bearded man, reflected in Mary’s right eye.

• More than 20 years later, on May 29, 1951, Jose Carlos Salinas Chavez, rediscovered the same image located on the left eye too.

The Eyes of the Virgin• Upon further inspection they

said that the reflections are analagous to what is termed the Purkinje-Sansome effect, commonly found only in human eyes.

• There are multiple reflections in the exact places and with the proper distortion as they would only appear in human eyes.

• Dr. Jose Aste-Tonsmann has intensively studied the images and enlarged them using computerized digital magnification to 2500X power.

The Eyes of the Virgin• Dr. Tonsmann published his studies

on the eyes in "El Secreto de sus Ojos" (The secret of her eyes), with complete details and photographs.

• His analysis started in 1979, while working at IBM he scanned at very high resolution a very good photograph, taken from the original, of the face on the tilma.

• After filtering and processing the digitized images of the eyes to eliminate "noise" and enhance them, he made some astonishing discoveries: not only the "human bust" was clearly present in both eyes, but other human figures were seen reflected in the eyes too!

The Eyes of the Virgin

• In the eyes of Mary (only about 1/3rd inch in size), miniscule human figures were discovered that no artist could have painted.

• The same scene is repeated in each eye.

• Each eye reflects the figure of the Aztec Indian Juan Diego opening his tilma in front of Bishop Zumarraga.

• According to Dr. Tonsmann, from left to right we can see "the Indian", “Bishop Zumarraga", the "translator", "Juan Diego showing the tilma" and below "the family".

The Eyes of the Virgin• In the identified images

are a small family, an interpreter, another Indian man, and the Bishop himself.

• The images within her eyes are only 1/100 of an inch in size.

• Her eyes reflected and captured the scene of what was in front of Our Lady in 1531.

Virgin of Guadalupe

!!!!

• Juan Diego was canonized as a saint in 2002.

What is the message of Guadalupe?

• In the center of her eyes is the family image

• A baby is carried on the back of one woman

• Is this not a message of the importance of the family especially now that the family is under such tremendous attack?

• Is the secret and message of Our Lady telling us to stay strong and bold?

• Fight for the Culture of Life and Light in the face of a Culture of Death and Darkness…

What is the message of Guadalupe?• Just as she appeared in the 16th

century, she reappears to our new eyes today through her eyes and the help of modern technology to remind us to see and envision the importance of our true faith

• Of the reality of God, her son, and the love and tenderness of our savior and his mother

• She reassures us with her words… • “Let not your heart be disturbed.

Do not fear sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.” (Words of our Lady to Juan Diego).