Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe helps parishioner overcome obstacles

Friday, Dec. 16, 2022

SALT LAKE CITY — When she was a little girl growing up in her hometown of Michoacan, Mexico, Maria Dominguez would go with her family on pilgrimage every Dec. 12 to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

When she arrived in Utah more than 25 years ago, her devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe became even stronger, she said, even though Catholics are a minority in this state and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe doesn’t attract thousands of pilgrims as it does in her hometown.

“Being away from your loved ones and being faced with the many challenges that adulthood has, I knew that I will always be OK thanks to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” said Dominguez, who attends Sacred Heart Parish.

Dominguez prays to Our Lady every day. She also carries with her a medal with the image of the Virgin, and “that’s what reminds me all the time that she is here with me. No matter the challenges that I am faced with, she never leaves me because she is my mother.”

Some years ago, her husband passed away, leaving Dominguez as the sole provider for her two small children. She also has confronted several health issues that caused her to lose jobs and almost her home. 

“If it was not for Our Lady [of Guadalupe] and the strength that I have found through my prayers to her, our lives would be very different,” she said, referring to the fact that despite the challenges she has been able to find a job that helps her pay the bills, and also has helped her raise her children.

“I always have in my mind the words that Our Lady of Guadalupe told Juan Diego: ‘Let nothing frighten and afflict you or trouble your heart. … Am I not your mother? Am I not your health?’” Dominguez said, adding that her devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe has helped heal her sorrows, hardships and sufferings.