Hispanic devoted to Guadalupe

By PAUL QUIRINI- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Don Ramon keeps Our Lady of Guadalupe close to him at all times: He carries a holy card with her image in his wallet and also has her image in his house.

But Our Lady occupies an even more important place in his life: his heart. He believes she rescued him from drowning as a 20-year-old living in Guadalajara, Mexico, and has felt her presence during visits to the Basilica de Guatemala, where fellow Catholics kneel before her image and pray "Encomiendar a la Virgen," asking Mary to put their lives in her hands.

Mr. Ramon, a parishioner of St. Patrick's Church in Albany, spoke with The Evangelist about what Our Lady of Guadalupe means to him as a Mexican and Catholic through interpreter Martha Arenas-Fenn, Hispanic minister in the diocesan Family Life Office.

Miraculous moment

When he was 20, Mr. Ramon was heading to a religious event one day. Just before he left from his parish in Guadalajara, he prayed to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the parish shrine.

As he and his party were driving to their destination, their car overturned, went down a steep embankment and fell into a fast-moving river. The driver and a passenger were killed, but Mr. Ramon survived with only broken bones and bruises.

He is convinced that his prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe was the reason he survived, and he has remained close to her ever since the accident.

Signs of love

Mr. Ramon has witnessed the love that Catholics have for Mary when he has visited the Basilica de Guadalupe. People walk on their knees to get to the building, many fulfilling a promise that they made to her for answering their prayers.

One woman, for example, was making her fifth trip to the basilica in thanks for Our Lady's help in her son's battle with drug addiction, Mr. Ramon said.

Just seeing so many people in one place to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe is enough to reaffirm Mr. Ramon's faith in her.

Belief

"It's the people that go there that make you believe," he said. "You see the sparkle in their eyes waiting for their miracles to occur, but they have confidence that they will feel better."

Mr. Ramon remarked that Our Lady of Guadalupe is integral to the faith of all Latin Americans.

"I think the apparition is such an important event, not only for me but for the Mexican culture and also Latin America," he said.

(10-01-98) [[In-content Ad]]