Hildegard’s Illumination: A New Tradition
Thursday, 05 January 2012 00:00
The beautiful banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe was a regal presence on the east wall of Kleberg as about forty people processed into the circle, singing Los Mananitas, carrying fresh red roses to place near her feet. Cindy had created the barren Tepeyac hill beneath her from different shades of fabric and pots of cacti; the offered roses represented the flowers that miraculously bloomed in the wilderness when the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego in 1531. Later during Prayers of the People Kleberg was darkened and candles were lit in silence and placed near the banner. As each candle was lit the Virgin became more radiant. It was the Third Sunday of Advent, December 11th and St. Hildegard’s was presenting our first Virgin of Guadalupe liturgy and celebration. It was so lovely and well received that we’ve already decided it needs to be an annual Advent tradition.
Earlier in November we had chosen Guadalupe’s Feast to experiment with offering a public liturgy, one that we publicized, where we focused on welcoming visitors. Gretchen and I designed bookmarks and had them printed to pass out at the ‘Chant for Peace’ and ‘Women and Fair Trade’ events held the weekend of November 11-13th. We were inspired by The Rev. Virginia Marie Rincon’s experience with celebrating the Virgin’s feast day in Maine where she had worked in Hispanic Ministry for the diocese and had founded a non-profit for Latina women and their families. She generously let us use her banner and shared copies of the traditional music as well as the Rite II service she had planned. Susan investigated local celebrations and helped with the Space. Mary worked diligently to get English translations of the Spanish songs so that we’d understand the meaning while singing in Spanish. She also prepared the service leaflets that included all the songs. Daphne helped find readings and I created a Rite 3 liturgy based on a Lessons and Carols format. In addition to the Gospel for the Day we included readings about Juan Diego’s vision and the significance of the feast day. A reading from Elizabeth Johnson’s Quest for the Living God explored the theology. Virginia Marie told the story of the artist: The banner had been painted by an immigrant, who signed it “Denny,” the American name he chose for himself. He had been referred to her for pastoral care as he was depressed and wounded after a traumatic journey to Maine. In meeting with him she had discovered his artistic talent in numerous small paintings he had done. He had never done a large painting but with her encouragement, and after she showed up with all the art supplies, he agreed. In spite of his trepidation gradually the beautiful Virgen emerged. As Denny painted, he gained confidence and also began to heal. His story is representative of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s healing presence from the Sixteenth Century onward.
We sung our beautiful Advent Mass—“Into the hush of uncertainty comes a whisper” and concluded with a moving drumming ceremony by Virginia Marie. As we shared homemade tamales and cinnamon cookies, we enjoyed meeting the visitors. A few came because of our bookmarks; more came because someone had invited them personally. Most of us sampled both delicious, traditional hot drinks made by Cindy—vanilla atole and Mexican hot chocolate. We hope some of you will be able to join us next year!
Blessings for this New Year, Judith
