Weeping Icons & Bleeding Statues

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Miracle in Chicago? Pilgrims flock to see Orthodox icon weeping drops of oil
Mark Woods CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 29 April 2016

Thousands of Orthodox Christians are flocking to a church in southwest Chicago to witness what they believe is a miracle.

According to the Chicago Tribune, tiny drops of sweet-smelling oil have been trickling down an icon of John the Baptist at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Homer Glen. The parishioners believe the droplets have healing properties.

Parish priest Rev Sotirios Dimitriou – known as Father Sam – said: "The first thing out of my mouth was 'What do I do?' You don't expect anything like this. It's breathtaking. It's so powerful to see such an act of God before your eyes."


http://www.christiantoday.com/artic....orthodox.icon.weeping.drops.of.oil/85042.htm
 
Why would God, if such there be, act to make oil drip down a picture? What's the message of that. If it were to make his presence known then surely somethng more direct and clear would be the sensible choice..like.. I don't know.. a written message, a voice that everyone could hear, that sort of thing.
 
Weeping icons are a familiar miracle in the Eastern Orthodox faith. If I were in that city, I would go along to see it.
 
gattino said:
Why would God, if such there be, act to make oil drip down a picture? What's the message of that. If it were to make his presence known then surely somethng more direct and clear would be the sensible choice..like.. I don't know.. a written message, a voice that everyone could hear, that sort of thing.
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God's power level is declining:
Beginning of time: Creates the Universe
Biblical times: Floods the planet
Bit later: Walks on water
Present Day: Appearances on toast
 
kamalktk said:
God's power level is declining:
Beginning of time: Creates the Universe
Biblical times: Floods the planet
Bit later: Walks on water
Present Day: Appearances on toast
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Excellent point there.
What happened to all those magical powers?
 
He's like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, you have to believe for Him to be revived. And possibly clap your hands.
 
GNC said:
He's like Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, you have to believe for Him to be revived. And possibly clap your hands.
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He has got a great beard though .. and I thought it was Jesus (as it was written) said to have walked on water? ..
 
Christ was God in human form, just as the Holy Spirit is God in spooky form. Together they form the Trinity in Christianity. Basically three flavours of the Almighty in one, like Neopolitan ice cream for the religious.
 
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GNC said:
Christ was God in human form, just as the Holy Spirit is God in spooky form. Together they form the Trinity in Christianity. Basically three flavours of the Almighty in one, like Neopolitan ice cream for the religious.
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As stated by KSC the Lord is one, yet represented by 3 separate forms. This is a mystery one will never solve accept or reject it. However to put ones faith in weeping pictures or bleeding statues (this phenomena happens in Latin America as well) is just so much smoking mirrors. I'm not saying such a event are impossible but just inexplicable at best.
 
Especially when there's always the possibility of subterfuge or tomfoolery, often for the most pious of reasons. I think faith can be tested quite reasonably, but when something like this tries to confirm it I can get suspicious.
 
Logic dictates me to think that the reason icons weep and bleed is because The Grand Mystery is so fed up with the deceit, agression and self centredness that those in power show - and then there are those that raise their eyes to the heavens and shake their fist, crying, why oh why God did you let this happen, when for the majority of situations, we only have ourselves to blame.

I think that sometimes, the saying 'jesus wept' is not taking the lords name in vain, more an observation, or a statement of fact.
 
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A VIRGIN MARY STATUE IN A FRESNO HOUSE IS BEING CALLED A MIRACLE

Monday, May 09, 2016 05:41PM
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --

A statue of the Virgin Mary in Fresno appears to be weeping. The family who owns the statue calls it a miracle and said it's been happening for a while.

To the faithful, Maria Cardenas said the statue of the Virgin Mary is a blessing. Tears seem to well up in her right eye and stream down her face to her chin.

Cardenas said it's beautiful the way she looks right now. Every tear, she said, is nothing short of a miracle. So she collects them in a glass and shares them with those who find their way to this home.

A lot of people come and they can't believe it, she said, but they come with faith.

"I wanted to come see for myself," said Richard Quintana, neighbor.

Quintana just moved in across the street and he was invited in to take a look, for the first time.

"That's amazing. It takes the words out of my mouth-- like wow. I'm so amazed," said Quintana.

Cardenas said I don't understand why she's doing it but it's something good.
She said the statue was a Mother's Day gift she received 10 years ago almost to the day. But it didn't start weeping, she said until a year and a half ago when her cousin, Jessie Lopez, was murdered.

Sometimes she doesn't cry for weeks or months Cardenas said, but when she starts, she will cry again.

Action News cameras watched one of the tears fall. It was oily and smelled like roses. And another tear immediately started building up.

http://abc30.com/1330917/
 
Czar bust in Crimea reportedly appears to shed tears
Updated: MARCH 5, 2017 — 7:49 AM EST

by The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian news reports say curious and pious people are visiting a bust of the last czar in the Crimean capital after reports spread that the sculpture appeared to be weeping.


The bust of Nicholas II was erected near the Crimean prosecutor's office in Simferopol in 2016, two years after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine.

Nicholas II, like previous czars, is considered a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church.


Reports of statues and other inanimate objects appearing to weep periodically surface in various religions.

Natalia Poklonskaya, the former Crimean prosecutor, called the appearance of moisture "a miracle that neither scientists or anyone can explain." She noted that it corresponds with the 100th anniversary of Nicholas II's abdication from power.

"The sovereign in helping us," she said Friday on Tsargrad TV.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20170305_ap_f22c138b00364d00817311083403e499.html
 
Pass me the tissues, we have another crying statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary...

Virgin Mary Statue Spotted 'Crying' at Church in Mexico
Parishioners at a church in Mexico were astounded during a New Year's Eve service when they noticed that a statue of the Virgin Mary kept behind a locked glass case had seemingly begun crying. The strange scene reportedly unfolded at the San Antonino Obispo chapel in the town of Cerro Armadillo Grande. As is often the case with such potentially miraculous events, word of the eerie event soon spread throughout nearby communities and people began flocking to the church to pray at the weeping statue.
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https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/virgin-mary-statue-spotted-crying-at-church-in-mexico
 
Real-life 'miracle' as Virgin Mary statue filmed 'crying' with eyes turning 'red'

The 'crying' figure in El Chanal, Mexico, has attracted believers and sceptics, with hundreds reportedly visiting the church to witness the weeping Virgin. Videos on social media show tiny water droplets seemingly coming out of the statue's eyes and running down its face.

1_JS316842955.jpg


Local resident Victor Ramos said: "Similarly, when we cry, and our eyes become red, the same happens to the image. So a couple of tears started flowing. This is the event, the phenomenon that is happening here in the church."

But some reckon there could be a scientific reason behind the odd event. Professor Luigi Garlaschelli pointed out that certain statues can soak up water due to the porous materials they're made from.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/real-life-miracle-virgin-mary-31432905

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
But some reckon there could be a scientific reason behind the odd event. Professor Luigi Garlaschelli pointed out that certain statues can soak up water due to the porous materials they're made from.

maximus otter
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Which begs the question, why does it come out of the eyes, near the top of the statue? You'd expect puddles to form at the feet.
 
SimonBurchell said:
Which begs the question, why does it come out of the eyes, near the top of the statue? You'd expect puddles to form at the feet.
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A cynic - totes unlike me - might suggest that a priest who knew of this phenomenon, and who had a penknife and 30 seconds alone, might transform his church from Saint Meh!, to the Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Unique Selling Point™.

:rolleyes:

maximus otter
 
maximus otter said:
A cynic - totes unlike me - might suggest that a priest who knew of this phenomenon, and who had a penknife and 30 seconds alone, might transform his church from Saint Meh!, to the Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Unique Selling Point™.

:rolleyes:

maximus otter
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Which leads to a further question, if the priest needs to perforate an impermeable layer with a pen knife to release the water, how did so much water get in the statue in the first place?
 
maximus otter said:
I'm not a potter, but the water is obvs in there or it couldn't be coming out. Perhaps the varnish is a semipermeable membrane?

maximus otter
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Hmmm. And yet we are talking about alleged paranormal phenomena, which brings to mind poltergeist outbreaks where water drips, or even pours, from ceilings and walls, with no traceable source.
 
maximus otter said:
Real-life 'miracle' as Virgin Mary statue filmed 'crying' with eyes turning 'red'

The 'crying' figure in El Chanal, Mexico, has attracted believers and sceptics, with hundreds reportedly visiting the church to witness the weeping Virgin. Videos on social media show tiny water droplets seemingly coming out of the statue's eyes and running down its face.

1_JS316842955.jpg


Local resident Victor Ramos said: "Similarly, when we cry, and our eyes become red, the same happens to the image. So a couple of tears started flowing. This is the event, the phenomenon that is happening here in the church."

But some reckon there could be a scientific reason behind the odd event. Professor Luigi Garlaschelli pointed out that certain statues can soak up water due to the porous materials they're made from.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/real-life-miracle-virgin-mary-31432905

maximus otter
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Or maybe...weird...stuff just has no reason for not doing it?
 
Looking at the close up photo there does appear to be a small mark from where the tears appear to be emimating from.
 
The 'water' looks too viscous to be tears.
 
Another Italian statue, this one is someone's garden, from the Guardian:

Blessed are the leaks: Italian home plays host to another ‘weeping’ statue

Figurine sits in front garden of family that previously claimed to have seen tears of blood from another statue

containing a tiny, rusting statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by plants and flowers. The figurine was bought from a souvenir shop at the Catholic pilgrimage site in Medjugorje, Bosnia.

In late April, as a group of pilgrims huddled around the grotto to pray, the statue purportedly exuded a scented oil. It was not the first time it was said to have sweated oil, but the moment, filmed by some of those present and shared on social media, reignited fascination in Italy over claims of the supernatural, pitting believers against naysayers. The story was all the more intriguing because the Gregoris were the protagonists of another mysterious weeping statue case in the mid-1990s.

[...the article continues]
 
Bleeding Image , Paris, 1518

Hone, William. The Every Day Book, Vol.I, 1826, pp.895.jpg

Hone, William. The Every Day Book, Vol.I, 1826, pp.895
 
Weeping Statues, Weeping Gods and Prodigies from Republican to Early-Christian Rome". Tears in the Graeco-Roman World
Abstract:
Among the numerous prodigies recorded in our sources from ancient Rome occur a few examples of the statue of a god shedding tears. The traditional apparatus for treating prodigies during the Republic viewed these occurrences as ruptures in the pax deorum, ruptures that signal an indeterminate problem in the relationship between human society and the gods. The sources that discuss these crying images assume that the statues are expressing grief over human mortality. Two phenomena related to this assumption will be considered: first, a literary tradition that maintains that gods are not subject to tears, and second, the critique of Augustine regarding weeping statues in pre-Christian Rome and the relationship between that judgement and the tears that Jesus Christ sheds in the gospels.

Source: Corbeill, Anthony. "Weeping Statues, Weeping Gods and Prodigies from Republican to Early-Christian Rome". Tears in the Graeco-Roman World, edited by Thorsten Fögen, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2009, pp. 297-310​
 

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"Mystic" Gisella Cardia seems to have pushed her luck too far by foolishly using her own blood on her blood-weeping Virgin Mary statue. Rookie error I'd say in the current era. Perhaps she didn't think the forensic scientists would get involved. (I expect she'll put forth some supernatural explanation of the results though?)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...er-dna-match-with-bleeding-virgin-mary-statue

Also the article mentions how, since last May, only the Pope can decide whether bleeding statues, pictures of Jesus on toast etc are genuinely supernatural. Bishops used to be able to, but now they can only make lesser pronouncements. The new guidance is called the "Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena." and bishops have six options
https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/v...supernatural-occurrences-new-apparition-rules
 
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