Painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Casa Juan Diego
It was exactly one year ago that I moved to the city of Houston. Starting a new life is not easy. One has to start from zero and try to adapt as quickly as possible. When I arrived here, I felt very alone, without realizing that I never was. Besides having my husband, who made this process much easier, I had someone very special who has always been with me in good times and bad, in times of joy and in times of sadness; someone who has always been part of my life, even without my realizing it.
The presence of that someone has been more obvious in the last few months. The very week of my arrival in Houston, I happened to pass by a place that had Our Lady of Guadalupe on the front of the building.
As a Mexican, it was inevitable that I would be curious: What was this place? Why was there an image of the “Guadalupana” on a house in Houston? This curiosity led me to stop at this place and ring the doorbell. A young woman opened the door. She clearly was not Mexican, not even Latina, but she spoke Spanish. I asked her about this place. She told me it was a house that helped immigrants. She introduced me to Louise and I chatted with her for a while. I’m not sure in which moment it happened, but before I realized it, I had become a volunteer at Casa Juan Diego, committing myself to go to the clinic the following Friday at 6:30 in the morning!
Since that day, I have been part of a team at Casa Juan Diego and I dedicate part of my time to this magnificent work that helps so many families in need. I am very happy to be able to collaborate in this great work, always receiving more than I give. Curiosity? Chance? Destiny? I believe, rather, that it was that special presence that led me by the hand to this place – the Virgin of Guadalupe. She has always been there at my side, guiding me.
My husband and I had been trying for quite some time to have a baby. Three months ago I went to Mexico to visit my family. As we were there, we decided to pay a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. With much faith, we went to ask her if she would grant us the joy of becoming parents. When we returned to Houston, I found out that I was pregnant. Finally God performed the miracle for us. When we went to see the doctor, the ultrasound showed that the approximate date of the conception was the 15th of August, exactly the day that we went to the Basilica to see the Virgin. Coincidence? Chance? Destiny? Yet again, the presence of the Our Lady of Guadalupe made itself known.
While talking over all these things with my mother, she told me something that filled me with emotion: “Of course the Virgin of Guadalupe is part of your life. On the day you were baptized, the priest took you in his arms and carried you before the image of the “Guadalupana” in the church. He asked her to always care for you and protect you, and he entrusted you to her.”
That explains so much…
I feel extremely fortunate and grateful to always have received her blessings and for always having her at my side. I am sure it will always be so, and even more now that I am going to become a mother.
Houston Catholic Worker, November-December 2012, Vol. XXXIII, No. 5.
