The annual Mass in honor of Our Lady of Suyapa was celebrated Sunday, Feb. 5 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Bishop Jose Antonio Canales Motiño, of Danli, Honduras told the faithful, “I cannot consider myself a good Christian if I dedicate myself to praying to God and reading His Word but later say: others should resolve their problems, I have my own.”
Our Lady of Suyapa is the patroness of Honduras. The afternoon liturgy was conducted in Spanish.
“This is like saying that I do not care about the problems of other people,” Bishop Canales, the Mass's celebrant, said during his homily. “One cannot feel this way and consider oneself a Christian; this cannot be; it is not sincere…Loving God should take us immediately to loving our neighbor. This is what the Church has announced throughout the centuries.”
Bishop Canales noted also, “This has its roots in the Old Testament. It is not a novelty. What Jesus does is shine the biggest message that humanity has received.” Citing the day’s first reading from Isaiah 58, the bishop said:
“Share your bread with the hungry; bring the afflicted and the homeless into your house; clothe the naked when you see them and do not turn your back on your brother. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed. Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard…If you remove the yoke from among you, the accusing finger, and malicious speech. If you lavish your food on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom shall become like midday.”
Then the bishop said, “A precious page from the prophet Isaiah.”
He noted that these messages from the Old and New Testaments are important for us to remember and act on, “whether it’s here in New York, in Honduras, or in any other part of the world.” In noting this, he also cited the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, which says in part, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
Bishop Canales emphasized the importance of giving others hope and encouragement, as the Blessed Mother did, as Christ Jesus did, and as the Church has always taught.
He went on to talk of the significance of Our Lady of Suyapa, and noted, “The Virgin Mary has always demonstrated her love, especially for people who were experiencing difficult situations in their lives…She knows about suffering because she lived in Bethlehem; in Bethlehem, the situation was not easy; and she lived suffering at Calvary. The Gospel according to John says that together at the cross with Jesus was his Mother.”
Toward the end of Mass, Blanca Suquilanda, president of the New York archdiocesan Our Lady of Suyapa Committee, and Jessica Canahuati, consul general of Honduras in New York, expressed words of gratitude to all who made the Mass possible, with Suquilanda noting:
“Thanks be to God Almighty for allowing us to bring a piece of Honduras here in the City of New York. I feel very joyful on this day, celebrating our Holy Mother, our patroness of Honduras, Our Lady of Suyapa.”’
The image of Our Lady of Suyapa is carved in cedar wood, possibly done as a devotional item by an unknown, amateur artist. The first shrine of Our Lady of Suyapa was blessed in 1780, and the first notable, attested miracle occurred in 1796.
Our Lady of Suyapa was declared patroness of Honduras in 1925 by Pope Pius XI; her feast day is Feb. 3. The statue is currently located in the Basilica de Suyapa in Suyapa, a suburb of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.