The desert and the parched land will exult. They will bloom with abundant flowers. A highway will be there, called the holy way; It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk. (Is 35:1-10)
The reading today speaks of the desert bursting into bloom with abundant flowers and joyful song. It also speaks about the holy way on which the redeemed will walk. These are fitting images for Advent and also for the feast of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548), the indigenous man who received the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. After he shared the story of his encounter with his Loving Mother, over 11 million indigenous people were baptized and began the journey on the Way of Christ. "Beloved Juan Diego, 'the eagle that speaks!' Teach us the Way that leads to the Brown Virgin of Tepeyac, so that she may receive us in the deepest part of her heart." Saint John Paul II (2002).
