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Oración a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

... Patrona de México y Emperatriz de las Américas
Madre Santísima de Guadalupe. Madre de Jesús,
   condúcenos hacia tu Divino Hijo por el camino del
   Evangelio, para que nuestra vida sea el complimiento
   generosa de la voluntad de Dios.
Condúcenos a Jesús, que se nos manifiesta y se nos da en la
   Palabra revelada y en el Pan de la Eucaristía.
Danos una fe firme, una esperanza sobrenatural, una
   caridad ardiente, y una fidelidad viva a nuestra vocación
   de bautizados.
Ayúdanos a ser agradecidos a Dios, exigentes con nosotros
   mismos, y llenos de amor para con nuestros hermanos.
   Amén.


Today (what's left of it) was the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a huge day for the Hispanic culture, and that includes our very own Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago. My friend Fr. Jim Collins concelebrated a 5:00AM Mass for the occasion. The Mariachi band started at 4:30, and there was a free breakfast afterwards in St. Procopius' school gymnasium. I've grown accustomed to being immersed in 100% spanish whenever I'm there, save the few brief moments that Jim gets to say hello to me. The church was filled to the brim, including people lining the back and some of the side walls. Pretty impressive for such an early celebration.

After the reference to learning a new language that I mentioned a couple posts ago, I've not thought quite so negatively of my desire to become proficient at spanish..

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