Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
A parent does not speak to their child in riddles or arcane vocabulary. Rather, a parent speaks to their child in language that the child can understand. This is part of the parent’s accommodation to their child; it is part of their love and concern.
Similarly, when the Lord visits us, he speaks to us in our own language, in ways that we can comprehend. He speaks to us through human signs and ways of thinking, and this is part of God’s accommodation to us.
Today’s feast is a brilliant example of God’s accommodation, as his own mother appears to a lowly native convert in conquered Mexico. According to the traditional story, Mary appears to Juan Diego not only as the Mother of God but also as an indigenous woman, speaking to him in his own language. Such is God’s willingness to make himself known to us, that he sends his own mother, appearing in a recognizable form and speaking the native tongue.
Today, let us reflect in gratitude on the ways that God accommodates himself to us, speaking to us through people and experiences that we can understand in order that we might know his love.