Day 10: The Mother of My Lord
Editor’s Note: On the tenth day of our 2025 Advent blog series, “Visions of Visitation: Love in Motion,” FMS Program Manager Julia Pinto (OLM Class 37) reflects on the unwavering faith the migrants whom she accompanied during her time on mission, particularly through their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” – Luke 1:43
Art made by a guest at the Douglas Welcome Center for Migrants. “Virgin of Guadalupe. Thank you for taking care of me, my Mother.” (Rather than meaning little virgin, Virgencita is used to express tenderness as a form of endearment or intimacy).
Out of all of the Marian apparitions (times when Mary has appeared to people) that are approved by the Catholic Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe has notably resonated with me the most. This is partly because of my love for the people of Latin America, and partly because Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Saint Juan Diego, an Indigenous peasant in Mexico, in a form with which he could connect. Mary approached him with skin and hair color similar to his own (versus the European depictions of Mary with fair skin and hair) – skin and hair color that are closest to my own.
Something sparks within me when I realize that Mary has most often appeared to people that this world deems as nobodies: those without wealth, fame, status, or power. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these – people with the humility to proclaim with Elizabeth, “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” They unashamedly share the beauty and joy of heaven that Mary brings – even if they faced intense criticism or rejection for believing and obeying what they received from the Blessed Mother.
I hope to one day have the spiritual resilience and unshakable faith of people like that – people similar to those whom I met on the Border during my time on mission. Even at the lowest moments of their lives, having faced violence or persecution in their hometowns and then almost dying in their migration trek for the sake of their family’s safety and wellbeing, they still trusted in the God who had been with them. They sought the Virgin Mary’s intercession and shared miracles about how God had saved them from death along their treacherous journey north.
“Thank you, Virgencita, for everything. You have never abandoned me.” During my three years on mission on the US-Mexico Border, I was constantly amazed as I encountered those in migration deeply trusting God and the Blessed Mother’s care, even in the midst of suffering and uncertainty.
I honestly have not felt a connection to Jesus’ mother for most of my life. It wasn’t until this past summer that my heart started to open and believe. In a time of deep spiritual desolation like I’ve never known before, I found such comfort in having the Mother of God praying for me and in trusting her with my health issues and the world’s suffering. Like Elizabeth during the Visitation, those in the apparition stories, and those I met on the Border, I have found inexplicable joy and hope as I have welcomed Mary into my life.
Reflection question: How do you find that you relate to the humble ones mentioned above? How do you find inspiration in their faith and hope in God through the Blessed Mother?
