In 1487 in a single four-day, long ceremony for the dedication of a new Aztec temple in Tenochtitlan, some 80,000 captives were killed in human sacrifice. The same practice included the cannibalism of the victims’ limbs.
In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Americas and named it San Salvador.
In 1521 the Spanish Conquest of Tenochtitlan. Two-hundred and forty thousand Aztecs are estimated to have died during the siege, which lasted eighty days
In 1531 a “Lady from Heaven” appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City.
The Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Indian of ordinary standing, and addressed him in his native Indian Language.
“Know and understand well, you the most humble of my son, that I am the ever virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and the earth.”
Mary directed Juan Diego to visit the archbishop of Mexico and to inform him of her desire to have a church built in her honor on Tepeyac.
Mary miraculously provided her messenger colorful roses in the winter, in a spot where normally only desert plants would grow.
Juan Diego gathered the roses into his tilma, and was told by the Virgin Mother to present the roses and tilma to the Franciscan Bishop-elect, Juan Zumarraga.
When St. Juan Diego unfolded his tilma before the Bishop, the roses cascaded to the floor and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously impressed to the cloth.
The Image of Our Lady that appeared on the tilma, which can still be seen in Mexico City today, is truly miraculous and has been the wonder of scientists for hundreds of years. All, after exhaustive investigation with sophisticated analytic detectors, have concluded that the work is beyond the power of men to produce.
It is on a tilma made of cactus that lasts less than 10 years, yet you are looking at an image that is 477 years old.
In 1541 Franciscan priest writes that some nine million Aztecs Indians had become Christians.
An almost universal symbol of the Aztec religion was the serpent. The temples were richly decorated with snakes. Certainly, in this case, She crushed the serpent.
An incredible list of miracles, cures, and interventions are attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Between 18 – 20 million pilgrims visit the Basilica each year, making it Christianity’s most visited sanctuary.
Altogether 25 popes have officially honored Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Today approximately 70% of all Hispanics are Catholic
The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.
The traditional fruits of the Holy Spirit. There are 12 traditional fruits of the Holy Spirit, some which overlap the biblical list:
Love,
Joy,
Peace,
Patience,
Kindness,
Goodness,
Long-suffering,
Humility/gentleness,
Fidelity/faithfulness,
Modesty,
Continence/self-control
Chastity.
[Gal. 5:22-23, Latin Vulgate]
The Bible’s fruits of the Holy Spirit.There are nine biblically-based fruits of the Holy Spirit as given by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians: “
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
generosity,
faithfulness,
gentleness
self-control
(Galatians 5:22-23).
Please note that while the Cathechism of the Catholic Church lists 12 fruits, you will only find 9 in the modern versions of the Holy Bibles. The Latin Vulgate (Latin translation of the Bible circa 382) states 12 fruits.
“Like a warm blanket wrapped around my Soul!”
These are some personal testimonies of mine that describe the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Frees Us
The holy Spirit frees us from or chains of our attachments, the wealth that turns our heart to material things, the pleasures that weaken our will, and pride that caries us above ourselves. This is the first consolation of the Spirit the consolation of freedom.
Why would any of these things matter if we “Seek first the kingdom of God”?
The troubles of this earth, the shadows of life and the pains in our body do not matter if we have God in our soul. The consolation that makes us forget the troubles of life, or least wrap them in the splender of celestial happiness is the consolation of the union with God’s Love.
The Holy Spirit gives usconsolation of Hope. The Holy Spirit gives us the hope in the inheritance of eternal life in heaven with God. We rejoice in our hope not only because we trust in God, but also because we carry with us the guarantee of its fulfillment.