JONESBORO--At the 10th annual celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Philip Benizi Church Dec. 14 approximately 650 Mexicans and Hispanics of other nations gathered to remember the apparition of the Blessed Mother to a poor Mexican Indian and her message to all to seek her guidance, loving care and protection.

Mary was declared Patroness of the Americas by Pope Pius XII in 1945, more than 400 years after her apparition to Juan Diego occurred on Tepeyac Hill outside of Mexico City on Dec. 12, 1531. The celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is held yearly in Mexico on that date.

Wearing white vestments bearing an image of Mary, Mexican Bishop Antonio Perez Sanchez, OFM, who serves four Indian tribes in the Prelatura de Jesús María in Nayarit, celebrated the Mass. The service was concelebrated by Father Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., pastor, and Father John Koziol, OFM Conv.

Procession members, streaming through an arch of red roses, carried a statue of Mary surrounded by roses and flags representing Mexico, the U.S., the Vatican, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Bolivia. Young people in red and maroon Indian dress with head dresses of multi-colored feathers danced Mexican-Indian dances with drum accompaniment while shaking maracas.

Welcoming remarks were given by Father Hartmayer and the Gospel was proclaimed by Deacon Matias Casal.

The Mass featured a reenactment of the Mexican apparition. Mary, portrayed by Irma Rodrigues, was garbed in an ice blue cloak and a crown as she appeared to the Indian peasant, Juan Diego, played by parishioner Carlos Villa, telling him to instruct the local bishop to build a church. Following Mary's third appearance to the peasant, Diego carried roses to the bishop who became convinced of the truth of her appearance upon seeing an image of the Blessed Mother appear upon the Indian's mantle. A basilica built for the Virgin was dedicated in 1709.

Red, white and green fabrics, the colors of the Mexican flag, were displayed behind an image of the Virgin. A pile of roses on a bright tapestry lay before the altar and white doves were strung from the ceiling.

In his homily Bishop Sanchez described the Blessed Mother as a gift of love from God to all persons of the Americas. He encouraged believers to listen to her in their daily lives and to understand that she is the Mother of God who can bring them to her son. "Listen to the Holy Virgin to hear...'My son is in your heart,'" he said. "The Holy Virgin accompanies us."

"The message of the Virgin is a message of God for us...You have to listen and to understand (that) she carries us to Christ. It's a filial relation," he said.

Bishop Sanchez encouraged believers to listen to the Holy Spirit to gain understanding of Mary's message and reminded them that, "We are living temples of the Holy Spirit...the great forgotten one, this Spirit of God that lives in our hearts."

"It (the Holy Spirit) helps us to understand the message of the Virgin. Without the Spirit we are not able to understand that she is the Mother of God," he said.

The bishop concluded his homily encouraging believers to trust in Mary's maternal love for them.

The program for the Mass described Mary's message to the Indian peasant. "Build me here a temple in order to show and give to all my love, compassion, help and protection...I am your Holy Mother, to you, to all...who invoke and trust me-to hear your sorrows and to remedy all your struggles, pains and heartache."

A Mariachi band played traditional Mexican devotional songs to Our Lady of Guadalupe with trumpets, violins and guitar. Songs included "Welcome, White Dove," "Oh Father, Father," "Song of the Virgin," "Hymn of Humility" and "Good-bye, Queen of the Sky."

Matiana Rios, a native Mexican and event coordinator for ten years said that, "It (the celebration) helps to bring us closer...This type of activity allows you to not just think about your problems but (to) think about the Virgin and the Church."

Villa felt particularly joyful at the celebration because of a special blessing he said he received through his relationship with Mary. "Everyday I pray to the Virgin for my wife to become pregnant, and now she's pregnant...She (Mary) can help. If I talk to her from my heart she listens to me."

"For all people it's (the celebration) beautiful," he continued. "It's like a prayer honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe."

"The celebration should reflect the Mexican culture as well as other Hispanic cultures of the Americas," said Josefina Johnson, a native Panamanian who served on the planning committee. "Our objective is always to bring more people. The key is community participation."

She said the celebration is also a valuable way to teach Hispanic children their heritage. "We put the tradition in them to keep up the culture. They are the ones to carry on what we have."

Oden Gonzalez, a Puerto Rican parishioner, enjoyed supporting the church's Mexican celebration and feels his faith and that of others is strengthened by Marian devotions.