As we release the first episode of our new docuseries, Not Made By Human Hands: The Miracle of Guadalupe, I want to share what this project has meant to me. The team at Good Catholic and I have been working on this for a long time, and it is, without a doubt, the biggest thing we've ever undertaken. To be frank, I'm not just excited, I'm also a little scared. When a project is this close to your heart, you pour so much of yourself into it, and the thought of finally sharing it is both thrilling and nerve-wracking.
Finding Refuge Under Her Loving Protection
Since my conversion to Catholicism in 1991, I have grown to love Our Blessed Mother. Yet it happened slowly, over some time. I remember a silent retreat I attended where the priest told us how, although she is the Immaculate Conception, Mary is not unapproachable. In fact, he said, it is the opposite. As the mother who stood beneath the cross and was given to us there by Christ, she always longs to bring us to her Son. She who bore her own sorrows, knows how to comfort us in ours.
I know I fall short in my motherhood, and so I often ask Our Lady to console my children in their sorrows and I ask them to turn to her often. My confidence rests on the conviction, beautifully expressed by Pope Pius XII, that "God gave her a mighty and a sympathetic heart for this great task," which is the heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
When she appeared to the humble St. Juan Diego, she came as a mother. In the midst of his fear and anxiety over his dying uncle, she met him with the most beautiful words of comfort: "Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? … Do you need something more?"
These compassionate words are not just for Juan Diego. They are for all of us. In a world that can feel dark and frightening, in a culture that often seems to have lost its way, she comes to us as a mother, offering her protection and pointing us to the only true remedy, her Son, Jesus Christ.
This is why we are telling the story. We want to share it with those who struggle with their faith, those who sometimes doubt, those who are curious, those who hurt, those who love, those who seek. We want to share it with anyone who will listen, helping them probe the essential question of why the tilma remains after all these centuries, and what Our Lady is saying to us today.
Our Family in Mexico with the Sisters of Mary after our visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadlupe: 
This project, a labor of love, is a journey that took us to Mexico to see the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe for ourselves; to stand in the presence of this miraculous image that, according to the laws of nature, shouldn't even exist. In our research for the series, we delved deep into the ancient world of the Aztecs and their tumultuous encounter with the Spanish. We explored a culture steeped in fear, where gods demanded blood and mercy had no face.
Our Lady came into this darkness. She brought a message of love, a visual gospel on a simple tilma that both the Indigenous people and the Spanish could immediately understand, and she changed the world, fast.
Two Cultures Under One Mantle
From the beginning, we wanted to capture not just the history, but the heart of the message Our Lady has for us today. It was through divine providence that we met Alejandro Frances through Fr. Heenan, one of our contributors for the docuseries. During the filming in Mexico, we ate our meals with Alejandro and his crew, and we talked over coffee into the evening at the convent where we all stayed. We traveled together to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe every day and had Mass together. We discussed the film, our families, and our love for Christ and His Church.
When our own team returned from Mexico, we immediately began the serious work of the project, which involved interviewing a wide range of contributors and pulling together crucial b-roll footage from our time there. While many of those interviews made it into the series, others, for the sake of time and flow, did not. Yet, every contributor was essential; they helped us to formulate the story and to probe and understand the great mystery.
As the work progressed, we found ourselves reaching out to Alejandro for his professional guidance. We ultimately entrusted much of the essential post-production work to his production company, and the result is that this project has been a continued collaboration of trust, evidenced in a shared love for Our Lady.
So, here we are, at the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, our team in the States and Alejandro's team in Mexico. Though we are two cultures, we stand together under the mantle of the Patroness of the Americas. Our Lady of Guadalupe calls us to draw closer to her Son and to unite in love for Him.
The image left on the tilma of Juan Diego by Our Lady of Guadalupe
In the end, we could not have accomplished this docuseries without the help of so many donors in our Not Made By Human Hands Kickstarter campaign. 1,200 friends, family, and many we only know from names, contributed to the project. To them, we are so very grateful.
We are deeply honored to finally share the first episode of this docuseries with you. It is our earnest prayer that the series will capture hearts and draw souls closer to Christ, all while offering the rightful honor due to Our Lady of Guadalupe. As we release each episode of Not Made By Human Hands over the next few months, we place it in the hands of Our Lord, asking that it truly convey the truth of the incredible story of the Mother who seeks us out, meets us where we are, and guides us into a profound, transformative encounter with the God who loves us.
I believe the Guadalupan event presents a defining spiritual challenge: If it is merely a nice story or simply a historical legend, then its power is limited. It becomes nothing more than a curious footnote in the colonial history of Mexico.
But if the story of Juan Diego - the apparitions on Tepeyac Hill, the sign for the Bishop, the healing of his uncle, and the mass conversions are real; if human hands did not create the image on the tilma, then it is truly a profound sign for us all.
"God does not force us to believe; He leaves room for us to choose. Yet He seeks us out—His love evidenced by the gift of His own Mother." These words by Fr. Eckert in the docuseries ring true in my own life.
Our Lady met Juan Diego precisely where he was, on the hillside. Like Juan Diego, there is a certain ascent we must make ourselves, a personal hill we must climb. Perhaps there is only one true requirement: that we do our best to be humble and to listen.
This humility is the very posture Our Lady invites us to embrace. The world of 1531 was marked by its own wounds and uncertainties, but the need for God’s nearness has not changed. In the unfolding of this story, we glimpse something enduring about the human condition; the way fear, hope, and the search for God continue to shape every generation, including our own. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
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