Signs and Wonders
April 17,2005
Melissa McEver
Valley Morning Star
At the Fountain of Living Waters Church in San Juan, the walls vibrate
with exuberant singing, the buzz of a band, and something more intangible.
Something like hope.
Ripples of hope have spread through this congregation in recent weeks,
bringing more testimonies of healings and answered prayers. During one
Wednesday night service, two women spoke about their fervent wishes to get
pregnant finally coming true. The church's pastor, the Rev. Daniel
Villarreal, said that two people diagnosed with colon cancer in the church
are now cancer-free.
And to think it all started with a picture, which many church members
believed to show the image of Jesus.
After seeing the photo, which passed through many hands before reaching
church member Sara Garcia, the church's morale "just went sky high,"
Villarreal said.
"We decided to pray and fast during April," he said. "It's really moved a
lot of people . it gave us a reminder that we need to get closer to God."
The photo, which according to experts is unlikely to be authentic, seems
to show the figure of Jesus emerging from light-filled clouds. Although
Garcia said her sister knows the woman who took the photo, and that she
supposedly took the picture one March evening in McAllen, no one seems to
be able to identify the photographer. Villarreal said he's been told the
photographer doesn't wish to speak to the media.
In addition, a local news station reported that virtually identical photos
are posted on the Web site www.labyrinthina.com, with captions saying the
photos were taken in Mexico and New Mexico.
Garnet Gaither, department chair of the digital imaging technology
department at Texas State Technical College-Harlingen, agreed that this
latest photo is identical to the others, and the first versions were
possibly altered to include a rendering of Jesus.
But despite the questions surrounding the origins of this photo, members
say they still feel the impact of the image on their faith.
"I think the picture changed me, in a way," Garcia said. "It made me
believe he was more with us."
That remains true regardless if the picture is real or not, Villarreal
said.
"The picture still reminds us that Jesus is there and he is coming back
for us," the pastor said. "The picture may be a fraud, but the message,
Jesus, is not a fraud."
Seeing the face of God?
True or not, reported apparitions or images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary
in common objects, like a photo, are a frequent occurrence in the Rio
Grande Valley. Theories vary as to why reports of seeing Jesus or Mary in
the sky, in a tree or even a tortilla seem to abound in the area.
Regardless, these sightings leave an indelible mark on the beliefs of many
people, said experts.
"When you first hear about these things, you wonder, 'how can this be?'"
said Monica Delgado, who with husband Michael Van Wagenen directed and
produced a documentary on the phenomenon, Mundo Milagroso (Miraculous
World). "Then you meet the people affected, and you feel their sincerity
and see the good that comes out of it, the lives that are changed. They
talk about miracles and the good that happens in their neighborhoods. It
makes people feel that God does know who they are. He hears us, he knows
our pain, he knows what we're feeling."
The couple spent a summer in 1994 in the Valley visiting three "shrines"
to objects which supposedly bore images of the Virgin Mary or Jesus: the
"Madonna Tree" in Brownsville, a Chevy Camaro with the image of Mary in
Elsa, and yes, a shrine to a tortilla in Hidalgo.
"We weren't trying to say whether they were real or true - we just wanted
to understand it better," Delgado said.
Delgado was moved and intrigued by the experience, enough to write her
master's thesis on the appearance of deity images in everyday objects. She
wanted to find out, as she suspected, if these sightings occurred more
often to Hispanics of Mexican descent. That proved true, she said. She
traced that correlation back to an apparition story treasured by many
Hispanic Catholics - the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
According to Catholic tradition, Our Lady of Guadalupe first appeared to
an Indian, Juan Diego, on a hilltop near Mexico City. She asked him to
build a church on that spot. After her second appearance to Juan Diego, he
approached the bishop to give him an armful of roses, as the apparition
had directed. When he opened his cloak, an image of the Virgin Mary was
imprinted there - physical "evidence" of the apparition, Delgado said.
"There was a physical image, something left behind as proof," she said.
"That's what introduced the idea that an appearance could happen in a
cloak, so also it could happen in a tree or tortilla or car," making that
possibility a very real one in Mexican Catholic faith.
Catholics in general have a long history of reporting apparitions and
sightings, some of which have been sanctioned by the church as authentic.
The Rev. Edouard Atangana of the Diocese of Brownsville said these "real"
apparitions are miracles that help reinforce faith for Catholics.
"God manifested himself in the lives of people in a very real way (in
these apparitions)," he said. "They changed people and transformed them
spiritually."
Certainly some of these other sightings can affect people's faith as well,
Atangana said, although he advised that Christians practice discernment
with them.
"While God is free to manifest himself in different ways, no apparitions
could ever overshadow what we've received through Jesus Christ," Atangana
said. "I caution people not to become superstitious."
Reinforcing faith?
Bill Dinges, a religious studies professor at the Catholic University of
America in Washington, D.C., said that more often than not, stories of
apparitions or sightings reinforce whatever belief system a person holds.
"I don't think it necessarily changes anyone's feelings. (A person will)
take it as an affirmation of what they believe," Dinges said. "If you're
skeptical, you're likely to remain skeptical. I think few have been
converted or had their mind changed as a result."
Humans actually need and look for signs to affirm their belief system,
whatever it might be, speculated Brent Plate, assistant professor of
religion and the visual arts at Texas Christian University.
"We are forgetful people - we are people who need to have material objects
and visual images to remind us of what is ultimately important, whether it
's God, the Virgin or Buddha," Plate said. "Throughout religious history,
people have needed images."
Seeing apparitions often has been a uniquely Catholic experience, but it's
possible that people involved in Pentecostal or charismatic churches might
begin reporting such sightings as well, Plate said. Fountains of Living
Waters is a Pentecostal church.
"Their theology is based more on signs and wonders," Plate said.
"Typically those signs have come in different ways, like speaking in
tongues. But they're more open to it."
Perhaps even people in other denominations could become open to such
signs. Dinges said that Americans in particular are looking for signs of a
sacred presence beyond a materialistic culture. Pop culture shows like The
X-Files also open people's minds to the possibility of supernatural
occurrences, he said.
Experts said they don't want to discount the impact sightings and
apparitions can have on faith. The psychological reasons for wanting to
see signs doesn't make the faith or searching any less genuine, Plate
said.
"The sentiments are real," he said. "There's a lot of validity to people
seeing signs and wonders - it's a way to express their religion."
Despite the news that the "photo of Jesus" is likely fake, Villarreal said
the sentiments it stirred within the church will last.
"It should still help us to wake up to God," he said. "Miracles are
occurring around us all the time."
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