You're listening to Catholic Sprouts, the daily podcast for Catholic kids that strives to plant seeds of faith.

Hey there, Sprouts. Today is Monday, May 4th, 2020. This month on the Catholic Surouts, we are going to be honoring our mother Mary. Each week we are going to be looking at a different time when Mary appeared to her followers, the message that she had, the incredible motherly way that she spoke to these people,

and then the incredible impact these apparitions have had. This week, we are going to kick

things off with one of my favorite,

favorite stories, which is Juan Diego and our lady of Guadalupe. But before we get there,

I just want to spend one minute reminding you why Mary is so, so, so important. Now, the month of May is dedicated to Mary, our mother, and the church does this

because she is so important. Many saints have said that the easiest way to get to heaven

is through Mary. Mary is our loving mother, and she doesn't want anything for herself. She is the first,

the original disciple, and it is her mission to bring us to her son. We can never love Mary more

than Jesus loved her. That's what St. Maximilian Colby told us, and it's so true. So every step you take

closer to Mary, every Hail Mary you say, every time you learn about a Mary in apparition,

you're really moving closer to Jesus. So today, let's kick things off by talking about our

Lady of Guadalupe.

Now, we are going to talk about this apparition all week long. Today, I want to talk about what

Mexico, or the land area that became the country of Mexico, where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared,

but what it was like before she appeared there.

Now, just maybe 10 or so years before she appeared, missionaries began to arrive from Spain.

Now, all of the European countries were sending out explorers to what they called the

new world.

They arrived and often through violent and horrible means.

They conquered the native people and took over. Before the Spanish people arrived, the Aztecs were

the dominant tribe in the area. Now, the Aztecs were brutal. they were violent, and they were pagan. Pagan meaning that

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