For the first thousand years or so of Christianity Mary seems to have been content to remain in heaven. In the thirteenth century Mary is supposed to have given St. Simon Stock the brown scapula as the foundation of the Carmelites and to St. Dominic she is reported to have given the rosary. It is not until Our Lady appeared on Tepayac hill outside of Mexico in the sixteenth century that the Church incorporated fully a liturgical celebration of an apparition of Mary. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Mary has been recognized to have appeared in eighteen other places around the world! Actually the appearance of our Lady of Guadelupe sets the tone for all of the rest of the apparitions. Mary shows solidarity with the people, declares herself a loving mother and promises to care for those who are hurting. The words of Elizabeth when Mary visited her are relevant today: how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? It happens because we are loved and, hence, loveable.
