By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press
After just a few short weeks, members of the Holy Family Church created a mural depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe on the outside of one of their buildings.
The mural, which several called “spiritual” will be lit up 24/7 and the church plans to add a bench beside the mural.
Holy Family Catholic Church in Copperas Cove celebrated Mary of Guadalupe at a special service Sunday followed by blessing their freshly painted mural of “Our Lady of Guadalupe” and enjoying a special meal in their social hall complete with entertainment by Matachines and Mariachis.
As part of the service, Father Augustine Ariwaodo and Tim Leonard recounted the history behind Our Lady of Guadalupe which is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. Mary appeared before Juan Diego in December 1531 with a message for him to give to the bishop. The bishop didn’t believe Juan Diego, so Mary told Juan Diego to gather roses (which didn’t normally bloom in the winter) which he gathered in his tilma (cloak) and brought to the bishop. When Juan Diego went to show the roses to the bishop, they had miraculously imprinted Mary’s image upon the agave fibers of the tilma. This image spurred the conversion of millions of people to Christianity.
“It’s nice to tell a story that happened many years ago, but how does that help us today?” Father Augustine asked his congregation. He talked about how the Virgin Mary spoke to Juan Diego in his native tongue showing how God loves us and cares about us enough to speak to us in the way most familiar to us. “The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is about telling the story of God’s love for every one of us.”
Jackie Dane said that they initially were just planning to repaint the building when they came up with the idea of painting the mural instead.
“I’m just so full of joy,” said Dane about the completed mural. “Once we got the go ahead, it only took a few weeks.”
Catherine Blashack, who helped lead the artistic efforts, said that it took them less than three weeks from getting started to the completion of the mural.
Blashack recounted how, before they started painting Our Lady of Guadalupe’s face, she saw the image of how it was supposed to look. She said she does not feel like she did the original justice, but that she felt very spiritual while working on it, and others said the same.
In addition to the lights which will shine 24/7 on the mural, they also added golden patterns to Our Lady of Guadalupe’s dress which, when the sun shines directly on it, shine. The two talked about the silver added to the wings and the bronze tones to the rays behind Mary which also shine in the sun. Along the rest of the wall, they added the roses which Juan Diego gathered which created the image and an agave plant. For the rest of the image, they added plants and animals native to Texas including a variety of cacti and flowers (and one flower painted and made up entirely by Father Augustine).
“It’s been an inspiration,” said Blashack. “I just think there’s something spiritual about it.”
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