These last several weeks, I have led a group of staff and volunteers in painting a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Louise Gift and Thrift. I got the idea a couple of months ago for a mural on the back wall of our store. For the subject of the mural, Our Lady of Guadalupe immediately came to mind. She’s so beautiful - her teal mantle dotted with golden stars, the orange rays behind her... I shared the idea with our director, Katie Patrick, and she said, “Yes, do it!” So, I began planning and getting my coworkers involved. My coworker Sarah Leon helped me decide on the design and also recruited volunteers from the Cristo Rey youth group. We decided to frame the image with Our Lady’s words to Juan Diego: “Am I not here, I, who am your mother?” This phrase is a wonderful reminder that Mary is a spiritual mother for all of us.
The Lord provided us with plenty of talented volunteers to help paint. Our team consisted of CSS staff, youth from Cristo Rey, family members, and friends. My favorite part of the project was seeing the team come together - people chatting and getting to know each other while they painted side by side. We spent some time listening to music, and other times just worked in silence, enjoying the beautiful summer weather. Several times I witnessed conversations about faith amongst the group.
One afternoon while we were painting, a photographer from the Journal Star walked over to us. He said that he and his coworkers had been watching us work all week from their office across the street. He took some pictures, and put a captioned photo in the newspaper the next day. I love that the mural is so visible from far away. The mural faces the Antelope Creek bike trail, and an open green space makes it visible for several blocks.
The mural is finished now after three weeks of painting, and it has left many people on our team saying, “What are we gonna paint next?” It was so much fun working with a team on this big project, and so cool to see our work take shape step by step. I pray that many people’s lives are blessed by this piece of art.
