Blinded By the Light - The Occult of Roman Catholicism

From 1519 to 1521 the Spanish Conquistadors invaded the land now known as
Mexico looking for gold and other treasures. The area was the home of the Aztec
Indians, who were quickly subdued and made slaves by their conquerors.

Seemingly appalled by the some of the religious rites of the Aztecs, the
Spaniards set out to convert them to Catholicism. Forced conversion (convert or
die) was common place, which set the stage for the Franciscan and Dominican
monk overlords that would follow.

However, making the transition to the new religion easier was that the Aztecs
found in Catholicism similarities to their own religion. Human sacrifice was a ritual
that the Aztecs practiced and they discovered that the Catholic Church advocated
eating the flesh and drinking the blood of their god in the form of the Eucharist
(see Chapter 24).

ìSince it was customary for Mesoamerican cultures to adopt

the religion of conquering tribes, the Indians were not

naturally inclined to resist conversion to [Catholicism]. There

were in fact certain similarities in doctrines and rituals that

facilitated matters.î 29

Tradition tells us that in 1531 the Blessed Virgin appeared in Mexico to a pair of
Aztec Indians that had converted to Catholicism. When she spoke to Juan Diego
and his Uncle Juan Bernardino, she allegedly called herself Tequatlasupe.

ìTequatlasupe may have been a poor translation of the

original Nahutl Tequatlanopeuh, (which when translated

means) She Whose Origins Were in the Rocky Summit.î 30

Being faithful followers of the Holy Mother, the Spanish tried to make sense of
the vision in the context of their Catholic beliefs. The name Tequatlasupe
sounded very similar to Guadalupe, the province in Spain where many of the
Conquistadors hailed from, so the name from their homeland was adopted for the
Lady in the vision.

The Conquistadors not only saw the New World as a land of vast wealth, but
they also viewed the native peoples as devoid of God. There was more than
money at stake here; this was a Holy Quest. Knowing they would need the
blessing of the Holy Mother, before they set sail they prostrated themselves
before a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

ìThus, when CortÈs, and many other conquistadores who

were in large numbers from Extremadura, kneeled before the

Virgin of Guadalupe at her shrine before undertaking the

invasion of the American mainland, it is clear that their

pretensions were grander than personal wealth and status,

but encompassed even the idea of a Holy crusade.î 31