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“She is our Mother; she will take care of us”
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December 7, 2023Elvira Rodriguez is a Guadalupana from the first hour. As soon as it started in 2006, she attended the meetings and formed the group in Taft. However, her devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe started much earlier!
In 1998, she started Novenas to Our Lady in the neighborhood. “We start on December 4, and before Covid, we would go to 5 different houses,” she shares. Now, they limit it to one house per evening. Between 15 and 25 women show up to pray the novena together, followed by hot cocoa and some food. Until today, this tradition continues. “Some houses can keep the statue of the Virgen overnight – that gives the family more time to be with her and to pray.”
Elvira (66), who has five children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, entrusts her whole family to our Lady. “We owe her so much,” she says. Her devotion started in elementary school when a sister introduced her to the Virgin of Guadalupe. “My parents didn’t have time to help me with my homework,” she remembers. “So, I started praying to our Lady, and I never failed. I always passed every exam.”
From this early age, Elvira entrusted all small and big worries to Mary. When her daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer, she immediately started to pray. And it worked. Her daughter needed to undergo chemotherapy, but she didn’t suffer from all the side effects that the doctors expected to happen. “She is our Mother; she will take care of us,” is her firm belief.
Of course, the yearly procession to the Cathedral and the festive Mass on December 12 are highlights. “There are more and more people joining,” Elvira said. As a Guadalupana, she prays the rosary every day. And she hopes to get more women involved: “If she is calling you, don’t say no to her!”
The procession starts on December 12 at 5:30 at Christ the King Church in Corpus Christi. After the procession, Mass begins in Corpus Christi Cathedral at 6 pm, followed by a reception in St. Joseph’s Hall. Please bring a rose to give homage to Our Lady!
