Sunday, November 27, 2005

VIRGIN MARY CRYING?!?

I copied this article from a "picture of the week" e-mail that I get. I'm interested to hear what all of you have to say about this. I find it very intriguing, but I am also very skeptical......strange.....

Believers Flock to 'Crying' Virgin Mary
By JULIET WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer Sat Nov 26,11:26 PM ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Carrying rosary beads and cameras, the faithful have been coming in a steady stream to a church on the outskirts of Sacramento for a glimpse of what some are calling a miracle: A statue of the Virgin Mary they say has begun crying a substance that looks like blood.

It was first noticed more than a week ago, when a priest at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church spotted a stain on the statue's face and wiped it away. Before Mass on Nov. 20, people again noticed a reddish substance near the eyes of the white concrete statue outside the small church, said Ky Truong, 56, a parishioner.
Since then, Truong said he has been at the church day and night, so emotional he can't even work. He believes the tears are a sign.
"There's a big event in the future — earthquake, flood, a disease," Truong said. "We're very sad."

On Saturday, tables in front of the fenced-in statue were jammed with potted plants, bouquets of roses and candles. Some people prayed silently, while others sang hymns and hugged their children. An elderly woman in a wheelchair wept near the front of the crowd.
A red trail could be seen from the side of the statue's left eye to about halfway down the robe of concrete.

"I think that it's incredible. It's a miracle. Why is she doing it? Is it something bothering her?" asked Maria Vasquez, 35, who drove with her parents and three children from Stockton, about 50 miles south of Sacramento.

Thousands of such incidents are reported around the world each year, though many turn out to be hoaxes or natural phenomena.

The Diocese of Sacramento has so far not commented on the statue, and the two priests affiliated with the church did not return a telephone message Saturday.
The Rev. James Murphy, deacon of the diocese's mother church, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, said church leaders are always skeptical at first.

"For people individually seeing things through the eyes of faith, something like this can be meaningful. As for whether it is supernatural or a miracle, normally these incidences are not. Miracles are possible, of course," Murphy said. "The bishop is just waiting and seeing what happens. They will be moving very slowly."

But seeing the statue in person left no doubt for Martin Operario, 60, who drove about 100 miles from Hayward. He took photos to show to family and friends.
"I don't know how to express what I'm feeling," Operario said. "Since religion is the mother of believing, then I believe."

Nuns Anna Bui and Rosa Hoang, members of the Salesian Sisters of San Francisco, also made the trek Saturday. Whether the weeping statue is declared a miracle or not, they said, it is already doing good by awakening people to the faith and reminding them to pray.
"It's a call for us to change ourselves, to love one another," Hoang said.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a hoax! anything from the catholic church is a fake!!!

Andrea said...

Maybe a pigeon that just ate some red berries flew over Mary's head and oops....now she's crying blood?

Doubt it. But then I'm always a skeptic on stuff like this.

I like what annonymous said...hehehehe

alli-gal said...

Hey!!
I work for a Catholic hospital...and although I don't follow their religion, I do agree with many of the lessons I've learned through working here. The mission behind my work is fueled through their teachings.

Andrea said...

Here's the thing...God doesn't have to prove anything to us. WE have to prove our faith and trust to Him. Nothing more - Nothing less.

It's human nature to look for PROOF though. So I understand people who gravitate toward stuff like this. And if a few lost souls are saved as a result of Mary's crying statue - hey that's what's all about anyway.

It's hard to have total faith in something you can't see, touch, feel, taste, smell.

Anonymous said...

I grew up Catholic and now that I am no longer Catholic I see both sides. Yes, we as humans want Proof and Yes, as Christians we want to believe.

I jsut don't believe in praying to statues like Catholic's do. When you and everyone else has a direct line to the man himself.

alli-gal said...

well said Rosie!!!

sela said...

It seems like every 6-8 months or so there's another statue crying or bleeding. I don't know. I'm like Andrea. I'd have to see it for myself, but I'm definitely not going to write it off as a fake before that! I guess I'll just add that to my long list of questions I have to ask when I get to heaven!!

Andrea said...

You know what? Even if I saw it, I probably still wouldn't believe it. The truth is, I don't need to search for an answer in a crying statue. I already know the answer.

I do love how Allison's innocent little blog post sparked this debate though! Waaawhoooo!

alli-gal said...

Andrea,
it's not often that someone uses the word "innocent" to describe anything that has to do with me.....THANKS!!! :-)

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