6:30 a.m. Mass (Extraordinary Form) | His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke will preach.

Gathering After

Please join us for hospitality down the hill in the Culina Mariana, following the Rorate Mass in the Shrine Church. The Culina will open early on December 6 at 7:45am. Drip coffee will be provided and free for all. The Culina will serve a breakfast plate special for purchase. This $7.99 special will include:

Cup of Coffee or Glass of Milk

2 pieces Texas French Toast

Homemade Blueberry Syrup

Sausage Patty

Advent

With great joy, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe anticipates the celebration of the Birth of Christ with the ancient tradition of the Saturday Mass of Our Lady in Advent. This pre-dawn Marian Liturgy has been offered at the Shrine for several years now during Advent. The first words of the Mass come from Isaiah 45:8, Rorate coeli, which foreshadow that the Messiah will come down from heaven to earth to save us: “Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior.”

This Solemn High Mass, offered by Executive Director Fr. Edward Nemeth according to the Ancient Use of the Roman Rite, will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 6, 2025. The Shrine will open at 6:00 a.m. His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke will be the homilist for this Mass. Please note that Confessions will be available at the normal Saturday hours, beginning at 8:00 a.m., and that Confession will not be offered during the 6:30 a.m. Mass.

Lighted Only by Candles

The Rorate Mass begins in the darkness of the early morning, lit only by candles, and by the time of the Consecration and Holy Communion, the sky has brightened with the dawn of a new day. The texts of the Mass center around the Annunciation to Our Lady by the Archangel Gabriel, that she is to be the Mother of God. Since Mary’s “yes” to the Annunciation sets in motion the end of the reign of the darkness of sin and death in our world, it is fitting that this ancient Advent liturgy begins in darkness and is transformed by the day’s first light from the East – which is another ancient title for the Messiah. (O Rising Sun, (Zechariah 6:12) splendor of eternal light (Habakkuk 3:4) and sun of justice (Malachai 3:20): come, and enlighten those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death (Ps 107:10, Lk 1:78-79)

As we prepare for the great Solemnity of Christmas, may we use this occasion to meditate on Our Lady’s obedient “yes” to God’s will. With this loving “yes” the Eternal Light, Christ our God, became Flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In a world that is marred by the darkness of disobedience and sin, may our daily “yes” in faithfulness to Christ, in imitation of Our Lady, bring the Light of Christ to all those whom Divine Providence brings into each of our lives