Author Topic: Stories of Conversion (Read 10272 times)

Persto · « **Reply #75 on:** **Yesterday** at 10:46:37 AM »

One more look at Mary of Agreda- the Lady in Blue- and more details about her life. She died in 1665, and was buried and her coffin was exhumed in 1909. This video contains amazing footage of the actual opening of her tomb in 1909- and shows her miraculously preserved incorrupt body. Mary of Agreda, Pray for us!

Persto · « **Reply #76 on:** **Yesterday** at 11:43:22 AM »

https://cernicalo-mispublicacionesrecientes.blogspot.com/2017/02/papantzin-la-princesa-mexica-que.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papantzin

The Arrival of the Catholic Religion to the New World of Mexico
Ten years before Hernan Cortes and his fellow Spainards arrived in Mexico, Moctezuma, the Emperor of the Mexicas (Aztecs), was already aware that they would come. This was due to the extraordinary story of the death and resurrection of his sister Papantzin. The name Papantzin means Lady butterfly. The suffix tzin in Nahuatl is a reverential title, and indicates Lady. Papantzin lived in Tlatelolco, and was married to the lord of Tlatelolco. He died in a war and she lived in the palace.

In 1509, Papantzin fell seriously ill and died, and the Texcocoans laid her in a tomb. Montezuma himself attended her funeral. One day after the funeral, a girl crossing the palace garden, above the funerary vault where Papatzin had been buried, ran into the Princess. Papantzin called the girl, who, without being aware of the Princess's death and her subsequent burial, approached the Lady, who, in an affable manner, ordered her to bring the butler's wife. The little girl ran to the butler's wife and informed her that the Lady of Tlatelolcas was looking for her, but obviously the woman told her that this could not be possible because Papantzin had died. The girl's insistence forced the woman to look for two more women and go up to the garden to show the girl her mistake, but to her surprise and horror there in the garden was Papantzin.

The Princess ordered the women to bring the butler and the when the butler arrived, she asked him to go and tell Moctezuma the news, but the butler refused the request thinking that the Emperor would refuse to believe him, or that he would be punished severely as a result of disbelieving the news that he was bringing. Papantzin then asked him to communicate the news to the Lord of Texcoco, Netzahualpilli. This ruler arrived in Tlatelolco and like the others was surprised by Papantzin's appearance. She limited herself to ask the favor that the butler had refused- that is to ask her brother to visit her because she had to tell him some things. Netzahualpilli agreed to the request of the Princess and informed the Emperor about his sister. Moctezuma did not wish to offend Nezahualpilli, but with complete disbelief, he agreed to go to the Tlatelolco palace. There to his surprise, like all the others who had seen her, he beheld his sister alive.

Papantzin then told him that she had a message for him, and that she wanted to tell him what had happened to her when she died. She told him how suddenly she found herself in a moor with various paths and a mighty river whose waters flowed with a very loud noise. Papantzin looked for how to cross that river and when she was about to do so, a being appeared to her wearing a long white tunic, with a face resplendent like the sun, with wings and with a strange sign on the forehead. This sign Papantzin made in front of her brother and others listeners, clasping her fingers and making a cross.

This angel informed Papantzin that the moment had not yet arrived for her to cross that river, but that she should bring a couple of messages to her brother Emperor Montezuma. The angel walked Papantzin through the valley, taking her by the hand and talking to her about God, while the Tlatelolca Princess saw skulls, and people moaning and demons like black beings with horns and deer legs.

Then the angel led her to the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, where she saw several large "floating houses" (ships) approach from the horizon, having black crosses on their "wings" (sails) similar to that on her guide's forehead. The Princess was informed that the men in the ships came from a distant land, and would conquer the Aztecs and bring a knowledge of the One True God. Papantzin described to Moctezuma these bearded men with another skin color that would reach Mexica lands and the battles that were to be fought. She called them the men with “helms” and “banners” who would conquer Mexico, and how God invited her once the conquest war was over, to became the first indigenous woman convert to Catholicism. When she related this vision to Moctezuma, he read the doom of his empire in it, and refused to ever speak to her again. Moctezuma, troubled, returned to Tenochtitlan. The men accompanying him discredited Papantzin and called her crazy. According to the story, Montezuma never saw his sister again.

This story to be continued...

Persto · « **Reply #77 on:** **Today** at 11:05:50 AM »

Ten years later, Hernán Cortés landed in Veracruz on Good Friday, April 22, 1519, wearing armor and black clothing, which aligned with the traditional European mourning dress for the crucifixion. The Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II (the brother of Princess Papantzin) reportedly interpreted these appearances, along with Cortés's beard and the arrival from the East, as fulfillment of prophecies regarding the return of the god Quetzalcoatl.

Who was Quetzalcoatl?
Into the pagan, cannibalistic and blood-thirsty civilization of the Aztecs an unusual man appeared in the pages of their history in about 950 AD. Into a culture heavily involved in the satanic rituals of human sacrifice came a man called Topiltzin, preaching about the One True God who abhorred human sacrifice and demanded that men be charitable and chaste. The demonic priests of this society eventually drove this man out of the country. Nevertheless, in a strange and incomprehensible way, they added the name of this new God to their own litany of pagan gods as yet another deity. He was called Quetzalcoatl and prophecies accompanied His worship, especially the widely believed prediction that this unique God would return to Mexico sometime in the future. He would be dressed in black, would have a beard, and return sometime in his "Anniversary Year." (which occurred every 52 years). The Prophecy said that Quetzalcoatl would then overthrow all the other gods, would rule Mexico and usher in a new glorious age. This Anniversary was to occur again in 1519, the very year that Cortes arrived.

Cortez, 33yrs old, tall and strong, a devout catholic, who had a deep devotion the Blessed Virgin Mary, (he prayed the 'Little office' every morning) and attended Mass every day. He was known for his courage, his patience and reluctance to swear or curse. Cortez proudly wore a medal of Our Lady on a chain of gold around his neck and led his forces under the banner of the Royal Arms of Spain emblazoned with the words "Brothers and companions, let us follow the Sign of the Cross with true faith and in it, we shall conquer!" In February 1519, he landed a force comprising 508 soldiers, 100 sailors and 16 horses, all in 11 ships on the coast of Mexico. Cortez then proceeded to burn the ships in order to demonstrate his determination to conquer Mexico-there was no retreat! "We no longer have ships in which to return… we must depend upon our stout hearts and strong blows… with the help of Our Lord Jesus Christ we can expect no other help than His."

Of the estimated 15,000,000 Aztecs in Mexico at this time, 1/5 were capable of bearing arms. This meant a possible 3,000,000 against the 500! One would be hard pressed to find a force more daring and courageous than this band of Spanish men.

On November of 1519, Cortes entered the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. He boldly demanded of Moctezuma a chapel in the temple of human sacrifice, where Mass would be celebrated daily. One solitary soldier was placed on guard there. Very soon a deputation of priests of Montezuma told Cortez that their god Huitzilopochtli had demanded the removal the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the crucifix, and the altar from the chapel, or there would be war. Cortez replied that the Christian Knights of Spain would gladly fight for their God and for the mother of God. By now, his Spanish blood was boiling. He marched up to the temple, smashed the head of the idol and removed the others, replacing them with Christian statues and the Cross. The Spaniards sang a Te Deum. Father Olmedo stepped forward. "Introibo ad altare Dei"… the soldiers took off their helmets...

At one point in the conquest, when Cortes and his men were in the Emperor's palace where they were staying at that time, Cortes led most of his men out of the palace to the temple to protect the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary there. With 500 picked Aztec warriors surrounding the temple, and 40 ft. logs rolled down the steps of the pyramid temple on top of them, Cortez and his men fought like men possessed and recaptured their temple chapel. Cortez proceeded to demolish the hideous new images of Huitzilopochtli and burnt everything evil in the temple. For years the Aztecs spoke of this attack as the most heroic feat of the Spanish Conquest.

Against all odds, Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in about 2 years. The final siege lasted 93 days, ending with the capture of the capital city of Tenochitlan on August 13, 1521. The Aztec city Tenochitlan was built as an island in a vast lake. To enter the city one had to access it through causeways that were built to connect the land to the city. This made conquering the capital almost impossible. Cortes devised a plan to build ships to navigate the lake instead of using the causeways. He had a ship builder in his ranks, and together with the native allies the Spaniards and the natives made all the pieces that would create 13 ships and they carried them over a great distance, to be assembled on the edge of the lake.

On April 28, 1521, Father Olmedo offered Mass and blessed the 13 brigantines, each of which was capable of carrying 25 men. 1,000 Spaniards (reinforcements had arrived from Cuba) and 75,000 Indian allies prepared to do battle. The entrances to the causeways were guarded by the Aztecs. The 93 day siege was about to begin. 3 causeways led to Mexico City (Tenochitlan). The southerly one and largest was Y shaped and was used in the first crossing of the Spaniards in the previous year. A second causeway led west to Tacuba and was used on the Night of Sorrow. The third, to the north led to the hill of Tepeyac - it was here that Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego 10 years later.

The appearance of Our Lady to Juan Diego in 1531, and the subsequent miracles, resulting in the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, led to a surge of conversions. Within 50 years, 20 million Indians were baptized. These 20 million spoke 114 languages and were spread over an incredibly rugged terrain. When later, Charles V had asked Cortes to describe Mexico's terrain; Cortez took a piece of paper crumpled it and threw it on the table in front of the Emperor. "This" he said, "is Mexico's terrain." It was an immense task. In comparison it took the Portuguese 300 years to convert half of Angola; 200 years for the Spanish to convert most of the Philippines and 100 years to convert Peru. Mexico became, thanks to Hernan Cortes, a Catholic country, and has remained so even through severe persecutions.

For further reading on the conquest here is an excellent source- a brief synopsis:
https://www.catholicapologetics.info/catholicteaching/history/Cortez.htm

And also this book:

https://press.christendom.edu/product/our-lady-of-guadalupe-2/

This story to be continued...

CathInfo.com

Author Topic: Stories of Conversion (Read 10272 times)

Persto

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