Juan Diego then went to see Bishop Juan de Zumarraga. After much waiting, he finally was able to see the Bishop and told him of the Blessed Mother's desire. The Bishop, however, did not believe Juan's story. Juan was completely crushed as he left his audience with the Bishop and he dreaded the look of sadness he would see on the face of the beautiful lady. When he saw her, he told her that the Bishop had not believed him, but Our Lady again told Juan to return to the Bishop to tell him again of her desire and to be sure to impress upon him that it is I, the Ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who sends you.

The next day, December 10, after mass, he went again to see the Bishop, again, after much difficulty, he eventually saw the Bishop and repeated the message. This time the Bishop, after much questioning, was more inclined to trust Juan, but nevertheless told him that he would have to bring a sign that the woman he had seen was teh Blessed Mother. Juan didn't think this an unreasonable request. Instead of returning to the hill, the next day, December 11 , Juan had to care for his dying uncle, Juan Bernardino, who near day's end asked to get a priest so that he could go to Confession and receive the Last Sacraments. Very early the following day, December 12, Juan set out to get a priest and tried to avoid the hilltop because he was ashamed at not having returned to the spot the previous day as our Lady had told him. As he was taking his roundabout route, Our Lady came down from the top of the hill and asked him, "What is the matter my little son?" "Where are you going?" Juan told her of his uncle's illness and how he was at the point of death. Our Lady, however, assured him that his uncle would not die but that he was being cured. Juan believing this lady's beautiful words and feeling relief in his heart, renewed his offer to go to the Bishop with any sign she would give.

FLOWERS
She asked Juan to climb up the hill to the place where they had met previously. "There you will see many flowers. Gather them carefully and place them together in your tilma; then bring them down and show them to me." Juan's eyes grew wide as he reached the appointed place. In an area where previously there had only been thistles, thorny plants, cactus and mesquite, he saw the most beautiful Castillian roses of assorted varieties and colors. They were out of season for the most fertile ground, much less for this barren, cold soil. He gathered them carefully and placed them in his tilma (PONCHO), being sure not to cursh any of them. Then the world's greatest decorator took the flowers from him and rearranged them in his tilma. She then instructed Juan to close his tilma so that the roses could not be seen. "My little son, these various roses are the sign and proof that you must take to the Bishop. Tell him in my name that they will make him understand my wish, and he must carry it out. You are my ambassador. Now, most important, do not unfold your outer garment or reveal the contents to ANYONE until you are in the bishop's presence. I will be with you. Juan held the flowers close to his chest, being careful not to bruise them, as he walked towards the city and the Bishop's Palace. The Bishop surely now would have to realize that nowhere in the country could he find roses like these at this time of the year. Unfortunately, what Juan did not take into consideration was that there would be an evil force there. Satan had been in control of Mexico for the last ten years. He had good reason for not wanting this sign to come to the attention of the Bishop. So he put all his forces to work around the residence of the Bishop. When Juan arrived at the palace, the guard refused to let his pass. The servants came out berating him. Juan just stood there, his head drooping, not knowing what to do. A long time passed. The servants then realized that Juan was carrying something inside his tilma. Their curiosity got the best of them and they crowded around him, demanding to see what he had inside the cload. As the servants began to yank a rose out, it disappeared and turned into part of a painting. This shocked the servants and they ran to the Bishop to tell him. The Bishop then allowed Juan into his office. The Indian knelt before the Bishop, and repeated the story over again. He told the Bishop about the Castillian roses on the hill, and how Our Lady had arranged them, admonishing Juan that no one should see them before the Bishop, Juan ended his report with the words "RECEIVE THEM". With that, Juan opened his tilma, whereupon all the roses cascaded onto the floor. Juan looked for an expression of surprise and joy from the Bishop as the roses came into his sight but to his surprise, the Bishop was not looking at the precious roses but staring intently at Juan Diego's chest. He watched as their expressions changed from surprise to fearsome awe, to exalted revence. Both the Bishop and the servants fellto their knees; tears of joy streamed down their cheeks. Juan looked at the tilma to see what the reason was for their bliss. Before their eyes, they saw the image we call Our Lady of Guadalupe take form. The only true picture we have of the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady had come to the Americas to change the course of history.

THE MIRACULOUS TILMA OF JUAN DIEGO
As for the tilma, critics and enemies of Our Lord Jesus and his Mother Mary have spent the last 450 years trying to disprove that this was a work of Heaven. The cloth on which Our Lady chose to have her image imprinted is Cactus cloth, which has a life span of no more than 20 years; which to this day has never decomposed. Many scientist have used sophisticated equipment and still were not able to determine with certainty what pigments or dyes were used to make the protrait or why the paints had not hardened or cracked and why there was never any fading. Also, the clarity, the sharpness of the design is greater the farther away one goes from the painting than up close.

THE PORTRAIT WITHIN THE EYE
In 1929, Alfonso Gonzalez, was examining close up photographic negatives of the Portrait. He clearly saw the figure of a man in the eyes of the Madonna. In 1951, Carlos Salinas, using more sophisticated techniques, affirmed the theory, and was able to identify the man as Juan Diego. Today it has now been determined that not only the image of Juan Diego but also three other people who have been identified; the Bishop, the interpreter and another unidentified person, who they believe to be a woman.

There has to be some place in time when the doubters and critics of the authenticity have to finally give up. The more they try to discredit it, the greater the evidence materializes in favor of its authenticity.

TEMPLE
The site where the temple should be built also had great significance to the Indians because it was the place where they had worshipped the mother of gods. Also, when our Lady appeared, she described herself as the Mother of the True God, of the one who created heaven and earth, a description that also applied to the Indians' great god Omecihuatl. So the Virgen who appeared at Tepeyac was associated with motherhood, with birth, with new life. Their old life, their old civilization, an era, had ended, their temples, their previous way of life destroyed, and Our Lady of Guadalupe was bringing forth new life, a new people, a new era, a new civilization. The black maternity band around her waist was the sign of a pregnant woman, a mother who is about to give birth. It was a sign to the Indians that someone very very important, the God of all Gods was to be born soon.