Acompáñanos Porfis
La Virgen De Guadalupe
Slightly crumpled up at the bottom of my backpack is a sticker I got back home more than a decade ago. It’s quite small but carries immense power for me, which is why I have refused to discard it, despite years of wear and tear.
The three-inch tall sticker is of a cartoon imagining of the Virgen de Guadalupe (well-known, of course, as a Mexican Catholic staple), with a small prayer printed alongside her: “Acompáñanos porfis” or “Please accompany us.” You can probably see why I kept it in my backpack, which has followed me every single day since leaving Texas — I sought her protection.
I constantly find myself praying to the Virgen as a continuation of what I was taught as a devout Latino: that part of our spiritual strength comes from Christ’s mother, herself a selfless missionary of God’s love and understanding. To be closely aligned with our faith means attaching ourselves to her and her maternal energy. She is a source of joy for millions of us, as evidenced by the countless pilgrims who flock to the Mexico City basilica that houses her original image. Getting a chance to see it personally last spring was incredible.
So hopefully, today, if you choose to celebrate and honor her on this, her feast day, I pray that she also accompanies you from now until eternity.
XO and Team HeyXorje
