A Modern Tale of Juan Diego

Rosemary Gibson

Between Neill Ave and Narragensett Ave in the Morris Park section of The Bronx, there stands a tree not quite like the others. It is tree that contains an image of what some say to be the Virgin Mary. Although I never really could see it, many hold credence in the blessed mother’s presence in this image, often praying to it and rejoicing in its miraculous appearance.

I remember walking down this street as a child on my way to school, and seeing a woman place a bouquet of roses at the feet of the tree. “It’s a miracle!” she had said. I continued walking, paying her no more attention, as she was just another one of many who frequented this “sanctified” tree shrine. Usually I would laugh at such things as people praising and praying to trees, as it didn't seem too sane. Revisiting this tree to take a picture for this blog entry however, I decided that maybe there was a part of the story I was missing. Without passing judgement like my preadolescent self had, I kept an open mind as I asked a few of my neighbors about the tree. They told me that it had been damaged in a car accident a long time ago, and this was how it had eventually healed. The driver of the car suffered serious injuries, but thankfully, he was able to pull through. The fact that the man—in the car accident—faced death and lived, and there is now an image of Mary which has appeared, it makes sense that people believe this is “a miracle.”

After partaking in this course of American Religious Texts, I found this situation to be very similar to one of our readings in particular, the story of Juan Diego in the Nican Mopohua. I seemed to play the role of the Bishop of Mexico, while those like the woman I saw worshipping the tree as a child played Juan Diego. Although they proclaimed the presence of the Virgin Mary, I chose to ignore them. With the car accident victim as the uncle Juan Bernardino, both were near death but survived through the miraculous Lady’s influence. The Image of the Lady from heaven appeared on Juan Diego’s neck cloth just like it did on the tree afterwards. It was only after discovering the miracle that I started to believe what the modern Juan Diegos’ held true, just like the bishop in the story.

After seeing the similarities between my situation and the one in the Nican Mopohua, I realized the error in passing judgment on others’ religious beliefs.  Like the bishop, I rushed to conclusions about these people who claimed to have seen the image of the Virgin Mary.  Instead of respect and consideration of their faith, it was easier for me to scoff at.  Through completing this blog entry, I learned a valuable lesson not to poke fun at someone else’s beliefs—I know I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me.