My Lady of Guadalupe Altar

I had a milestone birthday recently and I felt all this pressure to make it special after all I am the girl that still has themed annual celebrations.  Maybe the lockdown due to the pandemic gave me too much time to think and I kept the hope that by November I would be able to travel.  As the day grew closer and I realized that things weren’t changing, rather the upcoming holidays meant more restrictions- out went the last hope that I would celebrate around the world.  My last hope was that I would be able to take a weekend trip to visit la Morenita en el D.F.  Yet, when I shared with my parents they jokingly said, “make sure you book a hotel to stay at for two weeks afterwards to quarantine.”  Then a friend further sealed my plan when she told me that her husband was stuck in Mexico after contracting the virus in an emergency visit he had to make.

Though, I ended up having a simple, quite-enjoyable celebration at home, I felt like every time I plan on visiting the Virgencita something keeps me from going.  I was moping around thinking about my unfulfilled plan, when I read something that made me smile Grande!  Our Lady comes to all of us, she’s not in quarantine in her Templo, she is with us. When we call to her she comes to our assistance. 

This year has been quite difficult. I know that to complain about not being able to travel is quite petty when people are struggling with real troubles.  Yet, I miss the freedom to do those things that nurtured my being.  These past few months, I have struggled with my mental health.  Initially not being able to go to Mass or attend faith groups really messed with my head because the things that kept me sane were taken away.  I am a person who finds the greatest fulfillment in spending quality time with others and no matter how great Zoom is, it just doesn’t replace the intimacy of being together under one roof. This week I was put on a fourteen-day quarantine from work, after a student tested positive for Covid and though I am able to work from home, I miss leaving the house.

As I prepared for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I realized that she is with me.  I don’t need to go to a specific location to be with her, she comes to me!  So, for the first time I built an altar for her and it made me so happy to pray the final novena day in front of it.