Secrets of the Image

Holy Mary of Guadalupe knew how to integrate even the smallest details, such as the medallion with a cross inside she carries on the upper part of her dress; this manifests in an admirable and simple way her consecration to her Son Jesus, whose cross reminds us, naturally, of her total sacrifice for love, and the moment when he gives us Mary as our Mother, as expressed by John: “But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother […]  When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"  Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (Jn 19: 25-27).

For indigenous people, this medallion evoked old consecration forms, since they used to consecrate their divinities by placing a mirror medallion on the neck of the sculptures they wanted to give this consecration sign to; such medallion was often made of a precious stone polished to the point where it became a true mirror, in which whoever contemplated the statue saw himself: thanks to the this mirror, his image was on the venerated statue.

So indigenous people understood that this medallion reflected a consecration, which, in the image of Holy Mary of Guadalupe, was proof of the authenticity and reality of the only true and living God in an inculturation of the Scripture. One can see a cross in the center of the medallion, clearly meaning the moment of God’s greatest love, when he offers his life for the salvation of the men who are looking at Holy Mary of Guadalupe. A salvation that is given to us through God’s Mother; she stood before the cross, as a witness of this loving offering, full, unique and complete of her beloved Son: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. (Jn 3: 16).