Can someone explain how the derivative of an Aztec word ended up as the name of a river in Spain where another Lady of Guadalupe appeared 100 years prior to the Mexico apparition?

The words in Spanish that translated "Wolf River" were a homonym for "Serpent-crusher" in Nahuatl. What St Juan Diego said in Nauhautl was heard as the title of a Spanish madonna from the old country that the Missionaries knew and loved. Every one was happy with this providential "pun" between two languages.

Thank you. Found it, "The Two Guadalupes - Mary and the Crescent Moon"
http://www.onepeterfive.com...

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this article is the visual imagery, drawing the parallels between the image on the tilma and the statue of Our Lady of the Almudena in Madrid.

Unfortunately, the article is adrift when it comes to the analysis of words. It repeats the theory of mixed Arabic and Latin etymology I have referred to in my longer comment below, it incorrectly states that wadi means oasis, and (oh horrors) there is a gratuitous tilde (ñ) thrown onto the "n" in Almudena.

Because The Almighty likes a good laugh and puns galore, and made sure it was the Spaniards that colonised that part of the New World. He wasn't going to let the whole thing fall flat with the English.

Mr. Martin writes "The word Guadalupe, derived from the Aztecan word "coatlaxopeuh" [pronounced quatlasupe]..."

This is not strictly correct. For a Spaniard hearing "quatlasupe", especially in relation to Our Lady, his first thought would be the near-homophone Guadalupe. Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe pre-dates the discovery of the Americas, and indeed the monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe in Extremadura is closely linked with the story of Columbus's voyages.

The derivation of the name of Guadalupe is clearly Arabic. Many Spanish rivers begin with Guad (cf wadi), but until now I had only ever seen explanations of the name that brought in a Latin element, lupus, ie. wolf. Explanations that rely on mixed Arabic and Latin etymology lack a certain credibility. However, thanks to Spanish Wikipedia, I have found a theory that relies on an all-Arabic etymology; guad-al-upe, meaning hidden river, which has a flavour of the Koran's descriptions of Paradise.

I am grateful to Kelly Ann for her comments about the Mexican image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and how it would be perceived by Muslims. The history of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain serves as a reminder of the assistance Our Lady has given in the struggle against Islam, and how we need her in that regard today as never before.

Perhaps it's more befit to say that "Guadalupe" is also linked to the Aztecan word "coatlaxopeuh" [pronounced quatlasupe] which means to crush the serpent. Certainly no accident.

Or as translated in West Texas & New Mexico vernacular,
"Snake-stomper." :-)

Can someone explain what is meant by the sentence, "She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel"? Mary crushes the power of Satan and *then*? the devil waits to hurt Mary. How can the devil hurt Mary after she destroys him? It would seem the parts of the sentence should be flipped - he waits to hurt her (the Crucifixion) and then later, once Mary's assumed into heaven, she destroys Satan through her role as Co-redemptrix. Or is Satan waiting for Mary's heel to crush him? I feel as if I have to twist the sentence into a pretzel to get to that interpretation.

Which brings us to the true significance of Our Lady's crushing heel. St. Louis de Montfort speaks of that time in the last days when Mary will raise up her little armies to assist her in putting down the deceptions of the Antichrist forces. Now if Jesus Himself crushed the devil's head, it wouldn't be so humiliating because the devil knows Christ is God. But if a woman crushes his head, it's far more humiliating to his pride. But still, he knows she is stronger than he is. But if Mary gives to her little children---the ones that Satan far exceeds in ability and powers---her Rosary beads and empowers them to assist her in extirpating his influence and snatching souls from him, then he is devastated!! "How dare they!!!", he must say. What makes it worse is that he can't touch us if we are under her protection.

It should also be pointed out that it is the Marian armies led by the Blessed Virgin that will restore the Church. St. Louis also points this out.

Somewhere in the churches documents there must be a more defined teachings on this very verse. So many different variations on it does not fully clarify it.

what I found also interesting in this image from heaven of our Lady that is related to 3:15, and chapter 12 of the apocalypse, is that the crescent moon is black and Our Lady is wearing slippers. All other images the moon is either white or yellow and Our Lady is bare foot. But in this image Lord God chose differently, I once asked a Muslim convert to the catholic faith what type of reaction would this image receive in the Muslim world , he said it would be all out rage riots. Because this crescent is the mantle of their mosques , and the colour black is a despised colour. A colour they chose as the common garb colour for their women because they are considered, half a person. And shoes are forbidden to be worn in their mosques. He said it's Gods way if sticking it to their paganism, with the shoed foot of Our Lady who is the woman( half a person in Islam) stomping on their mantle shaded in black confirming it's a false religion. A major insult, it also proves even more so that Almighty God is not socially politically correct. Apparently Islam is very socially politically correct. The image sends a very clear message that, their religion is demonic n heretical because its so called Christian elements are adopted from the Arian heresy.

It's Another view and example of how Our Lady the destroyer of all heresies crushes the head of satan in the eyes of someone who once saw the Catholic Church as their mortal enemy.

I have a lot of questions about this "head of satan" and when I search into church teachings I'm always looking for clues to define it. But what I've gather concerning who Our Lady is, The Queen and Mother of the church, destroyer of all heresies, and what Our Lord said that the gates of hell shall not prevail from which I've learned the Drs of the church explained that the gates of Hell is heresy. Heresy being false teachings or perversed teachings of the dogma leading souls to hell. Almighty God said she will crush his head, but he never said she will totally destroy him, as hell was created to imprison him for eternity. Here's one of my questions; could the head also or be a part of; represent the devils perverse thoughts to snare people ?

Now finding teachings to address that is something I'm looking for in church teachings.

In the Gospels Our Lord castigates hypocrite Pharisees who in the guise of seeking truth questioned him in order to trick him into blasphemy or error (to get rid of him by stoning).
They called themselves children of Abraham; but He called them "true children of your father, the Father of Lies."
It is easy then to think that Satan is the "head", and his lying, murdering children as the rest of his "body" on earth.

That's our Lord talking to the Jewish priest who reject him, n telling them flat out who they have adopted as their father.

I'm talking about our Lady. The Devil is very intelligent, he knows every trick in the book. The devil forges heresies n he can cleverly take scriptures n twist them to create new doctrines such as arainsm, which. Dry easily fools the human mind n puts the soul in danger.

Our Lady is given the grace to crush heresy, this is what I'm referring to. The church fathers n doctors know more in details handed down from the apostles, its just a matter of finding it.

I'd be interested in clarification here, not having been well-taught! I tend to think of it as her Achilles heel which would be us, her children, wouldn't it, but I'm probably way off base here.

Actually, it's not off base at all. It is the armies of Heaven led by the Blessed Virgin that will vanquish the head of the serpent. Naturally, she is the power source through which the crushing is done, but her Marian devotees (and not just any children) form part of this heel as it were. Through devout saying of the Rosary, we chain ourselves to the Blessed Virgin and share in this crushing power.

Here's the answer to Annie: The prophecy is that Our Lady will crush the head of Lucifer, which in his pride, is the most dreaded thing that could possibly happen to him. So unto that time, he will dreadfully lie in wait of this, like a person waiting to go to the electric chair. In the interim, he will do everything in his power to attack Mary, knowing that devotion to her is what snatches souls from his grasp. He "knows his time is growing short," so he will accelerate these attacks, knowing he will be forever obliterated and chained once the fullness of her heel comes upon him. This has yet to happen.

Don't be so fast to condemn the charismatic renewal! Fr. Gabriele Amorth, the famous exorcist noted that the prayer groups from this 'renewal' were often good for deliverance needs. Besides that, God seems to approve of this renewal and performs miracles. The charisms often evident in the charismatic groups were evident from the time of the apostles. Perhaps we have a great need for such again?

I agree with all the responses you've gotten; speaking in tongues, as in the gift the apostles received, was being able to speak the language of the person they were talking to. Speaking in tongues in the Charismatic Movement is gibberish. For all they know, they're cursing God or something horrid. At best, it's dangerous emotionalism. At worst it's blasphemous.

You're absolutely right, and you made re remember an incident in Barbados airport in 1981. I was returning from working as a field naturalist in the West Indies to the states to try my vocation in a monastery which had agreed to take me as a postulant.
An aircraft emergency grounded all planes in the Windward Islands for 5 days; Hundreds of people were dumped, the hotels were full, and everyone else slept on the floors of the airport. I wasn't too badly off as I carried my sleeping bag on my back-pack. But I was strangely drawn to 5 south American gentlemen in suits who only spoke Spanish, and did not understand what was going on. I speak only English, but I went over and started explaining the problem; that the first available plane was going to accept medical emergencies first, and then the rest of the seats by lottery. They confered among themselves and then told me that they had to get to an important international business conference held in Florida; and that in their country (Bolivia? Venezuela? I don't recall) countless jobs depended on their getting to the meeting. I fought my way to the ticket desk and said that I thought these men ought to have priority because they were doing an important job which affected many lives; however I was told that all seats would be awarded by a lottery, however families would be seated together. I went back and told the men, and they were quietly panicing. I told them not to worry, but let's all pray-- so we did. 6 hours later, the first relief plane arrived, the emergency cases were seated, and then about ten seats were left among the hundreds clogging the terminal, to be alloted by drawn ticket numbers we held.
Well, Our Lady evidently thought these men were doing good work; because all five of them got on, and while I was willing to remain behind, they excitedly pulled me by the elbows along as the last three numbers were called -- and my number was the last and they all cheered as they pulled me aboard.
When they had learned I was on my way to enter a monastery, they all nodded and said that God was smiling on me for wanting to help them. . ..Once we were airborne, we were exhaused and all quickly fell into a nap. When we woke, we were astounded to discover that that we could no longer communicate; we really didn't speak each other's languages, although we had understood each other enough so that I could convey detailed schedule information back and forth between these men and the Barbadian officials. This was a really strange and delightful incident and gave me new insight into both Divine Providence ("winning the seat lottery") and the "gift of tongues", which I never experienced again.

What a great story! Yes, that would truly be a Gift of the Spirit. Knowledge when/where it's needed, and for a purpose. The Holy Spirit is not a sideshow act.

How strange it is when pagan groups In India experience this same charismatic experience or the voodoo practices of African pagans speaking in tongues and flip flop with the foaming of the mouth the same experiences of the Islamic Sufi mystics. it's a cruel trick of the devil. The only religion that doesn't or has never practiced such strange pagan rituals is the Catholic Church. It's a signature of the devil, demonic possession. But don't take my word for it, do the research and find out for yourself. Protestants call it slaying in the spirit, a good term to define the second death in my humble opinion.

Regarding Fr Amorth, he too was caught up in this terrible crisis , just because he's a ordained priest doesn't protect him from the modern errors inflicting the church today.

Even the saints can error, this is well documented when the church was dealing with three popes claiming the throne of St. Peter back in the12th century.

Even St Peter himself was influence by the devil, and he walked with Our Lord , who warned him that the devil wanted to sift him like wheat. Even Our Lord himself prayed over the apostles to guard them against the wickness and snares of the devil.

There are no charisms associated with the Charismatics, since the devil is the moving spirit behind this movement. To repeat: the Charismatic sect has no connection with the Holy Spirit, but is entirely run by Satan for the purpose of attacking the institution of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, its members who "talk in tongues" are possessed.

Or did you think that going into seizures and foaming at the mouth were manifestations of the Holy Spirit? God forbid! These lost souls do not have the spirit, for their spirit is Satan, therefore the hierarchy commits a terrible mistake in attributing to the Holy Spirit this defilement of Hell. As Jesus said, "By their fruits you shall know them" (Matt. 7:20), and the fruits of the Charismatics is Protestantism and sin, along with the false illusion that all sin is automatically forgiven. It has Martin Luther's fingerprints all over it.

It is often the good but sleepy-headed Catholics that get sucked into this cult, which explains why these people will sometimes display good points, e.g. saying the Rosary, counseling at abortion mills, but the core-members of this cult hate Mary and will eventually succeed in getting their followers to throw their Rosaries away with the argument that they should pray only to Jesus---which of course they don't do. In a word, it is Protestant, and forbids that we should pray to Mary and see her as our guide. The Charismatic group leaders tell their people that we pray with Mary, and not to her, on the grounds that she is our sister, and not our mother.

Avoid this cult like the plague, knowing that they tread where angels would fear to go. These people are hateful and even commit murder in the name of the "Spirit."

Back in the first half of the 1970s, I personally attended quite a few "charismatic Catholic" gatherings. I never "spoke in tongues" or any of that business, and no matter how often there seemed to be a sort of "emotional warmth" (for lack of a better term) there was in the meetings, deep, deep down I was never quite convinced that this was "real" Catholicism. And I am speaking from personal experience and acquaintance from the often severe turmoil of post-V2, in which people often really were spiritually floundering and turning every which way. Looking back after more than forty years, I would admonish honest, sincere, seeking, Catholics to stay away from the so-called charismatics.

We have a great need today for the Traditional Catholic Faith, as taught always and everywhere until V-II. I must disagree with your comment. The charismatic renewal is nothing more than a funnel that sucks people out of Catholicism and into Pentecostal faith communities. It is all about sentimentality, and when the local parish can't keep up that "good feeling," they move on to where they can reclaim it. I have personally lost many, many members of my extended family to this deceitful movement. Be careful, as the Devil usually attempts to seduce practicing Catholics under a semblance of piety.

I too have lost many members of my family, nearly all my siblings, to Pentecostal feel-gooders thanks to the allure of charismaticism. No doubt charismatics are sincere and desire to be good followers of Christ. But, eschewing the universal advise of the mystics of the Church, they voraciously seek after sensual manifestations of "the Spirit" (they often omit "Holy" for some reason) and this invariably leads them into various errors which they hold with an unreasoning tenacity.

God help these poor deluded souls. They are blind to how easily Satan deceives those ruled by their sensual appetites, even the appetite for the consolations of God. If they would only be open to correction by St. Teresa of Jesus, for instance, they'd see that the consolations they regard as the highest of spiritual goods, are actually among the lowest given to neophytes in the spiritual life. To constantly seek after miracles like they do is extremely dangerous. It's an open invitation to be deceived by the devil. I know not why I was spared the same fate as my family members, except maybe to suffer on their behalf. The traditions of the Church are the antidote and safeguard against this error-filled enthusiasm.

Every Christian heresy ever conceived has claimed for its source the Apostles. And what are these miracles you speak of? Fake 'faith healings'? So called 'speaking in tongues' where someone flops around on the ground in and speaks gibberish? This modern idea of 'speaking in tongues' is clearly a revival of the ancient pagan practice. The Greek Oracles performed similar 'miracles'.

God bless, RemnantNewspaper (Staff, Writers, Commenters) for your continuing coverage of actual events: for your straigthforward analysis of the APOCALYPTIC dimensions of phenomenons that would otherwise be completely incomprehensible, and therefore stultifying=paralyzing any pious attempt to react with spiritual means. Only be saying the demons name can we vanquish it! It's just about seeing things as they are. I just want to thank you for your EDIFYING contributions in a world gone crazy. Regards from Germany (Munich) (home of apostasy, but also hope, with respect to certain german cardinals on both fronts).

Excellent article, Mr. Martin. The Church will be restored by Our Lady's merciful crushing of the head of the demonic monster, Satan. I love it. It really makes my day.

It's an astonishing thought to think that Satan might try to claim the very Church that Jesus bestowed to the care of Peter and his successors. Satan the great father of lies and relentless deceiver. Yet; as I contemplate this great mystery Christmas that dawns before us in prayerful humility. Our Blessed Holy Mary Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception stands out as an exemplary. She call us to pray as children unceasingly praising God and the great wonders He has done through the ions of time seen and unseen. I am comforted by many words in Scripture. When I think of dire troubles in the Church today I think of Isaias Chapter 55 verses 6 through 11 http://drbo.org/chapter/270... and Matthew Chapter 16 Verse 18. ("That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.") We must undoubtedly be reassured by out Faith in Jesus Christ our Savior along with His Immaculate Mother Mary our Mother and Protector in prayer. The Holy Catholic Church isn't just a material building. We Catholics who persevere in fervent Faith, Prayer and Humility are part of the entire the One and Only True Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. We are the Church. Let Us preserve in Faith in Christ

Something good is coming. As the news from the world and from Rome become more and more intolerable, all the more is the hopeful anticipation I have of holy promises becoming fulfilled in our time. I'm not trying pose as a prophet, it's just a vague, in-my-bones sense which I think many of us may share. There is every need for concern, certainly, but also every reason to have hope.
O, Mary our Queen pray for us.
St. Peter, and all the holy popes, pray for us and for the Church.