Up Close

I saw this beautiful image this morning at Blessed Among Men.

I think everyone's seen pictures of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I know I've seen countless ones. But they're always slightly blurry full-body images, so you can't see too much detail anywhere.

This one is different. It's been on my mind all day because of how different it is. You actually get to see the features of the face. You see the beautiful serenity that is displayed there. You see her face and hands--and how young they appear. And you see humility.

Mary was the Mother of God, but she did nothing to glorify herself because of that role. There was nothing like, "Look what my son can do! He can change water into wine! He can heal paralyzed and blind people! He can raise his friends from the dead! I bet your son can't do that!" Instead, she said, "I am the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to His word."

I think it's partly Mary's humility that leads to her apparitions to very humble people, such as Juan Diego, Bernadette, and the three children in Fatima. They were not going to try to glorify themselves because they had seen the Mother of God. They were only going to try to carry out God's will.

May Our Lady of Guadalupe show us the way to humility.