A Handbook on Guadalupe

Rating:
Summary: a beautiful introduction to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Review: I found this book lovely, insightful, informative, and thorough. It discussed the apparitions of Mary to Juan Diego, a converted Aztec, in great detail. It addressed every angle one could imagine on Guadalupe: the actual history and historical background of the apparitions, theological reflections, scientific analysis of the tilma on which the image appears, the prolife aspect of the apparition, and the historical persons associated with the apparition, especially Juan Diego. It also details the importance of the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and many others.

The book is not written by a single author; it is an anthology of articles written by a variety of contributors exploring different aspects of the apparitions, which occured in 153l, shortly after the arrival of the conquistadors. The Handbook is edited by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, a Roman Catholic religious order; thus, the book is a valuable resource for Roman Catholics and others who wish to learn about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe from an orthodox point of view.

I greatly enjoyed this book, and I think anyone who has an interest in Our Lady of Guadalupe - the ever-Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God, as she styled herself - should read this book.

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Rating:
Summary: People please open your eyes!
Review: The Lady of Guadalupe was a Spanish invention used to calm down the indigenous revolts against the Conquistadores. There are even published letters from the time of the Conquista where the intentions of "Creating a local Myth" are clearly mentioned.

The Conquistadores had noticed that indians were burying their idols beneath temples when they were being used as slaves to build them. The indians would then pretend to be praying to Western gods when in reality they were praying to their own.

Sadly a few generations down the burying of aztec idols was forgotten and the Spaniards succeeded in "trading religions" to the locals.

Religion has always been used as a tool to control populations. The comfort you feel in thinking about god comes from within you, not from above. It's sad that my country (Mexico) is known as being proud of having been fooled by the Spaniards.

Rating:
Summary: People please open your eyes!
Review: The Lady of Guadalupe was a Spanish invention used to calm down the indigenous revolts against the Conquistadores. There are even published letters from the time of the Conquista where the intentions of "Creating a local Myth" are clearly mentioned.

The Conquistadores had noticed that indians were burying their idols beneath temples when they were being used as slaves to build them. The indians would then pretend to be praying to Western gods when in reality they were praying to their own.

Sadly a few generations down the burying of aztec idols was forgotten and the Spaniards succeeded in "trading religions" to the locals.

Religion has always been used as a tool to control populations. The comfort you feel in thinking about god comes from within you, not from above. It's sad that my country (Mexico) is known as being proud of having been fooled by the Spaniards.

Rating:
Summary: Unbiased Love for the Virgin of Guadalupe
Review: The story and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has fascinated the world since it first appeared on Juan Diego's tilma.

This book brings together the image's foremost experts to explain the miracles of the image: how such a detailed image was created on material as coarse as wool, the image seen in Mary's eyes, the symbolism in the image, and the results of scientific studies of the image.

The book also re-tells the beautiful story of Juan Diego and Mary's words to him.

The book contains many color illustrations.

Rating:
Summary: A readable, in-depth resource
Review: This book does a wonderful job of bringing together a very readable collection of articles (by scholars, scientists and theologians) on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and its history.
It was put together by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in order to create an accessible source of information about Our Lady of Guadalupe: there is background historical information on both Spain and the Aztec Empire, on the miracle itself and the people involved in it (including information about the historical research on this, for those who are interested), on fascinating scientific studies on the tilma (such as discussion of the incredible fact that the image was imprinted on a "tilma", rough clothing material worn by the Aztecs, made from reed fibers, which disintegrates within a couple of decades, and yet it is still in perfect condition today!), theology on it, and more.
I definetely recommend it for anyone interested in any of those topics.

Rating:
Summary: A readable, in-depth resource
Review: This book does a wonderful job of bringing together a very readable collection of articles (by scholars, scientists and theologians) on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and its history.
It was put together by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in order to create an accessible source of information about Our Lady of Guadalupe: there is background historical information on both Spain and the Aztec Empire, on the miracle itself and the people involved in it (including information about the historical research on this, for those who are interested), on fascinating scientific studies on the tilma (such as discussion of the incredible fact that the image was imprinted on a "tilma", rough clothing material worn by the Aztecs, made from reed fibers, which disintegrates within a couple of decades, and yet it is still in perfect condition today!), theology on it, and more.
I definetely recommend it for anyone interested in any of those topics.

Rating:
Summary: Unbiased Love for the Virgin of Guadalupe
Review: This book was totally biased! For one, the authors are all theologians or participants in the Catholic faith and second, they favor Eurocentric thought. The Virgin cannot be spoken about from a Eurocentric perspective alone for she is a symbol of mixed identity, that of Indigenous and Spanish/European ancestry.

My advice to anyone interested in learning about the Virgin from a holistic perspective would be for him/her to read other books in addition to this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Primer on Guadalupe
Review: This is a perfect primer for those interested in investigating the legacy of "La Morenita" (The Little Dark [virgin]). It covers just about everything: from the history leading up to the apparitions, the people involved, the symbology of image and the apparition, scientific examiniations, miracles associate to the image, and even the societal/theological/spiritual impacts of the apparition and image.
I found it highly accessible, as have others to whom I have given a copy of this book, but this may vary by reader.

Even if you do not believe in the mystical relationship of the "myth" it provides a good counterview for further study and a means to calibrate for our own biases in deciding what the whole event means to us.
And for those who do believe, it will greatly enrich your understanding/appreciate of a truly amazing event. I even used it as a reference for a novel (Thy Will Be Done).