Admittedly, there's been times in my life I wouldn't have even contemplated going to a celebration of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego; it's not like my Catholic knowledge stretched that far, and even so, the mass was all in Spanish. Last night was a time the likes of which I've rarely experienced in the Catholic church. It was colorful, charismatic, and pretty joyous for a religious holy day. Imagine my surprise at finding the corresponding, animated video on YouTube. Okay, maybe it is a little weird; it's a perfect fit on this page. As for the service, it was also interesting to see the priest, (a very amiable African-American man we call Father George,) and deacon (Deacon Pat,) saying the mass mostly in Spanish. Wow. Conspicuous in its absence was an attempt by our Assistant Priest, Father Theo, to say part of the mass. Of course, given his Asian Indian heritage, and vocal intonations which lie not too far astray from those of Mahatma Ghandi, I'm sure such an effort would have given all the Hispanics attending (and there were many, believe me,) "cause to pause," to say the least. Ah, the manifold joys of Catholicism.

BELOW IS A SHORT HISTORY EXCERPTED FROM THE DALLAS OBSERVER

Hailing Mary is not just a rote exercise for area artists honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe. In fact, the passion and intensity poured into spiritual art is all too evident in two local exhibits paying homage to the Virgin. The December shows also give ample evidence of the conflict between the traditional and nontraditional in art and faith.
The exhibits will run in December during the annual celebration of the first sighting of La Virgen de Guadalupe on Tepeyec Hill, in what is now Mexico City.
According to legend, Santa Maria de Guadalupe first appeared on the morning of December 9, 1531 to an Aztec Indian named Juan Diego. She told him that she was the mother of God, and she asked Juan Diego to have the local bishop build a church in her honor on the hill where she was standing.
After repeated visits from Juan Diego, Bishop Zumarraga on December 12 was persuaded to build the basilica when a bouquet of red roses was transformed into a miraculous image of the Virgin embedded in the material of Juan Diego's tilma--a cactus-fiber apron.
The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was central to the conversion of the polytheistic, human-sacrificing indigenous people into devout Catholics. Now, more than 400 years later, close to 10 million pilgrims visit the shrine every year. It inspires the same devotion and sense of awe as the Mary apparitions in Lourdes, France or Medjugorje, Yugoslavia.
All year long, but especially on December 12--the traditional feast day--penitents shuffle across the plaza on calloused knees to pray to the Virgin. The original tilma shows no signs of deterioration, and scientists have determined that the tint on the fabric of the tilma was not from a known mineral, vegetable or animal source. Examination has also shown that portions of the tilma had been painted in one step, with no sketches or corrections and no paintbrush strokes.