In a world marked by secularization and cultural fragmentation, Our Lady of Guadalupe remains a privileged path for proclaiming the Gospel, said Bishop Óscar Cantú of San Jose, California, as he shared how a recent event dedicated to the Virgin Mary illuminates the mission of the Church in the heart of Silicon Valley.
During the recent "Theological and Pastoral Congress on the Guadalupe Event," held in Mexico, the prelate described his diocese as a former valley of fruit orchards now transformed into the heart of global technology, home to world-class companies such as Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, and Nvidia.
There, Cantú explained, people from India, China, Latin America, Africa, and many other countries live together, bringing with them their religions or their religious "indifference."
He spoke of "a strong secularization" there, calling it a "society that proudly proclaims itself postmodern, without need for God or religion." He added that many "no longer have the time or space for religion" and that they "prefer modern practices" such as yoga or meditation, which they call mindfulness, which is "meditation without transcendence."
The bishop wants the pastoral and spiritual preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of San José in 2031 to be marked by Our Lady of Guadalupe, who he hopes will serve as a point of reference and model.
Using Our Lady of Guadalupe's methodology in Silicon Valley
The bishop posed a direct challenge to priests, deacons, religious, and laity of his diocese: "How can we apply the methodology of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which she used 500 years ago in Mexico, now, in Silicon Valley, in a postmodern world?"
He said the Spanish friars "did not have much success in evangelizing" because they arrived with the conquistadors, who used aggression and force. "But Our Lady had a great success that the friars could not have imagined. Millions of hearts were touched and transformed in a short time."
Cantú enumerated the key elements of this Guadalupan pedagogy, beginning with beauty and maternal tenderness of her words to Juan Diego: "'My dearest Juan Diego, the littlest of my sons.' Whose heart made of stone like we have in our Silicon Valley wouldn't melt with those words?" he asked.
He also emphasized how Mary "spoke to him in his language, not in Spanish. She used the symbolism of the Indigenous people, a codex that bore witness to what she recounted, which bore witness to what Juan Diego later told the other Indigenous people."
He recalled the Christological way the Virgin introduced herself, identifying herself as "the Mother of the God by whom we live," and how she thus introduced "the beauty of truth" in contrast to the old logic of human sacrifice.
Another element that Cantú emphasized is the role of the laity and, in particular, the poor. He highlighted that the Virgin involves Juan Diego in the mission of the Church when she tells him: "It is necessary that you go to the bishop." He commented that "participation brings dignity and is an expression of dignity," and that aspects of synodality are already evident in Guadalupe: participation and a voice within the ecclesial community.
The bishop noted that Juan Diego's participation does not create a separate structure, because "we shouldn't create a parallel Church but rather everything should be under the authority, the structure that the Son of the Virgin left us, which is a hierarchical Church, with respect for the magisterium, but the magisterium, in turn, with the participation and listening of everyone, everyone, everyone." For this reason, he defined it as "a hierarchical and synodal Church."
Among the elements the prelate highlighted is the concept of the sacred little house as a Church of mercy, a house where wounded humanity is welcomed: a "little house of love and compassion."
Our Lady of Guadalupe resonates with migrant communities
Cantú explained that in his diocese, faith has remained alive thanks to refugees and immigrants: Hispanics, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indians, and Africans, many of them with histories of having to leave their native lands and discrimination.
The Virgin of Guadalupe becomes a bridge of identity and solace there, not only for Mexicans, he noted. To illustrate this, he recounted an experience in a trilingual parish (Vietnamese, Filipino, and Hispanic) during a Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The bishop arrived prepared to celebrate Mass in Spanish with the Hispanic community, but discovered that about half of those present were Vietnamese, so he decided to preach by including his own story as the son of Mexican immigrants in Texas.
"In Texas, many times Americans didn't see me purely as American because my parents were born in another country, and at home they spoke Spanish; and when I went to visit my cousins ??in Monterrey, they also didn't see me as Mexican, so, well, I felt like a bit of an outsider."
As he shared this experience of not belonging, Cantú observed the faces of the Vietnamese faithful: "I saw in their faces that they understood, as refugees who left their country 30 or 40 years ago, that perhaps they never had the opportunity to learn the language well, to fully understand American politics or culture, that for the rest of their lives they felt like guests. And it was, I believe, at that moment that they identified with Juan Diego, whom the Virgin received in her little house."
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
