Weeping Statues are they tears from heaven or a hoax? A look into the strange and wonderful world of weeping statues and weeping paintings, how they happen, and why, is it a real phenomenom, or is it fake, and also a look at if it is a valid way to come into the faith and form a basis of someone's faith?
There's been a lot of reports recently with regard to weeping statues or crying statues hence this article. This is one of those unexplained topics with a supernatural but Christian twist and is heavily Catholic in overtones and is similar to say "mysterious moving statues" and "Marian or Mary Apparitions" and "Mary Statue survival stories", that to this day defies any sort of rational explanation from Scientists and Vatican alike. They are very rarely officially confirmed or verified by the Roman Catholic Church who have a department that specialises in such things, for whatever the reason that is. But these Weeping Statues are nothing new and have resulted in mass pilgrimages of thousands of people to witness this occurrence. Sometimes miracles are associated with these sightings such as healing. I'm not a Catholic by the way, just a plain old Vanilla Church of England, but even the C of E does have some Catholic elements within it's services and teachings.
Statue of the Virgin Mary is Weeping in Fresno 2016
The main statues that hit the headlines tend to be in Catholic Churches or in the homes of heavily religious Catholics and tend to be either Mary or less so Jesus, but it mainly seems to be Mary, with Jesus being a rarer occurrence. The weeping or tears are either water based or oil based, can be scented and sometimes blood based or sometimes a mixture. This is where it gets interesting. Statues as we know are not human and are cold but many times the tears of blood or water have been reported as being warm and more to the point at exactly body temperature. The tears tend to come from the eyes but not always.
The Weeping and Bleeding Jesus statue in Bolivia. Bleeding crying statues and miraculous manifestations associated with this Christ statue.
It's not limited to statues either. The Orthodox Christian or Orthodox Catholic churches are renowned for their Icons in the form of paintings and these have demonstrated similar occurrences in their Catholic Churches.
The question is, if they are real what do they signify. Are they a sign of impending doom or some catastrophic event on the horizon and are a form of warning, are they tears from heaven and a message from God?. Are they a blessing or a miracle from above? Do they happen on particular Holy Days in the Holy Calendar, or just on ordinary days. Is the whole weeping statue thing just a hoax, all engineered to create believers, or is it all real. This article will try to shed some light on the subject and try to answer the question "What do weeping statues signify?"
STATUE OF MARY WEEPS TEARS AND BLOOD IN IRAQ
History and cases of Weeping Statues. The last 10 years *mostly unverified"
March 2006 onwards Kerala, India tears of blood, appearance of oil, honey, milk — not verified
January 2006 till present Borġ in-Nadur, Birżebbuġa, Malta, tears of blood, appearance of oil, salt - unverified, self-published claims
November 2010 Windsor, Ontario, Canada appearance of oil, "smiles during the day" and excreted oil claimed to heal
July 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA appearance of dripping blood from hairline
October 2012 Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines appearance of blood in face, and excretes oil in palm in the statue of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace, the blood eventually revealed to be from a person of blood type O. It is also reported that several Marian images also weep blood in their home - Currently under investigation by the Archdiocese of Lipa GMA News
May 2015 Dunedin, NZ Appearance of dripping oil/sweat from brow.
May 2015 Barangay Liloan in Catarman, Camiguin, Philippines Traces of alleged blood were found near the eyes of an image of Mary inside the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Barangay Liloan in Catarman, Camiguin Tuesday morning, local residents said. Residents were also surprised to see that the image's hands were unclasped.Church administrators have yet to determine whether the image really cried blood.
Which Weeping Statues have been verified by The Vatican.
A very small number of weeping statues have been recognized by the Catholic Church. One in Syracuse which demonstrated the shedding of tears from a statue in the house of a married couple on August 29, 1953 was recognized by the Catholic bishops of Sicily on December 13, 1953. Our Lady of Akita was declared as worthy of belief by the Holy Office in 1988, and remains the only weeping statue recognized by the Holy Office.
Weeping Paintings
Weeping paintings or icons are a related phenomenon, but to date not a single case of a weeping painting has been approved either by the Roman Catholic or Coptic churches and most instances have turned out to be hoaxes. However, in Eastern Orthodoxy, some cases such as a weeping St Michael icon in Rhodes have been taken as miraculous.
As with weeping statues, the tears exuded are often said to be of a substance which appears to be similar to blood. A painting of the Virgin Mary is said to have exuded moisture from the eyes and the fingers at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Chicago on December 6, 1986. The event gained international attention and drew many onlookers to the church. The moisture ceased in July 1987, but resumed a year later at which time 19 other icons were said to have also started weeping after being "anointed" with the painting's moisture. A painting of Mary on plywood was said to have wept on March 10, 1992 in Barberton, Ohio;
Are they on the increase recently in these troubled times.
They do seem to be appearing much more frequently but again the same problem seems to manifest itself and that's the difficulty of proving if these are real or not. An article from the Independent just recently goes into this with the headline "Science debunks miracle of weeping Madonna"
Are Weeping Statues real, investigations. The Hoax and Fake Scenarios
Authorities of the Catholic Church have been very careful in their approach and treatment of weeping statues, and generally set very high barriers for their acceptance. For instance when a statue of the popular Saint Padre Pio in Messina, Sicily was found to have tears of blood one day in 2002, Church officials quickly ordered tests that showed the blood belonged to a woman and then dismissed the case as a hoax. Even at the local level, Catholic priests have expelled people who claim weeping statues from their local Church.
TEARS FROM HEAVEN - Jesus Tears of Oil & Blood ACTUAL NEWSMEN FOOTAGE
Why do statues and Icons Weep?
An interesting article with an Orthodox Catholic bias is over at Antiochian.org Why Do Icons Weep
So are they real or a hoax?
A website called the Skepdic realises that apparently, weeping Mary Statues are her way of letting us know that she weeps for our sinfulness, or some such thing, and that some people's statues are more worthy than others of her presence. The author of this website however is not convinced and has come up with some good reasons why these weeping statues are a hoax and is not convinved. Further details at Skepdic
An article from the Chicago Tribune from way back in 1985 going into detail that very few Weeping Madonnas Pass Vatican`s Test
Conclusion
Weeping statues and other similar mysteries are certainly at the controversial end of the Religious spectrum and seem to be confined to mainly the Catholic denomination of the Christian faith due to the fact they are the one denomination that have numerous Icons/Statues in their places of worship as an integral part of their faith. Scientific investigation and also investigations by the Vatican don't seem to reveal or confirm the reality of these sightings that easily. Very few are confirmed as "real" for whatever that reason may be.
My attitude is Who knows if this is a hoax or a miracle? The logical mind says it must be a hoax. But in these End Times with all the struggles and misery around the world right now, and all the devastation from natural and man-made disasters in the past year, statues weeping tears of blood doesn't seem too so far fetched anymore.
Real or fake aside, the worrying thing is many people get converted to Christianity and probably Catholicism as a result of these sigtings and can form a pillar or cornerstone of their faith based on just that event alone. I personally don't think that is a good foundation for any faith. If that sighting was proven to be a fake, what happens to your faith, does it not throw it into question?
Virgin Mary Statue 'Crying a Single Tear of Blood' Prompts Mass Pilgrimage to Columbia
The Bible also mentions many times in many books about "Graven Images". The Almighty doesn't like them periotd. But what is a "Graven Image".
The Hebrew word translated “graven image” means literally “an idol.” A graven image is an image carved out of stone, wood, or metal. It could be a statue of a person or animal, or a relief carving in a wall or pole.
The second commandment of the ten commandments is quite clear on idols and "Graven Images" in Exodus 20 4-5
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Other mentions in the Bible which are numerous but here's just 3 of them
Leviticus 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 5:8
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Habakkuk 2:18
What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
Unexplained Mysteries The Virgin Mary Crying Blood
About statues in Roman Catholicism: An interesting article from ReligiousTolerance.org in defence of the Catholic faith and statues states this
Rev. Roger J. Smith, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Seattle, WA, writes: "Catholics do not worship paintings, or statues. They are just a way of conveying something about God, and are not God themselves. It is quite clear to any thinking person that stone or paint cannot be God, but can only represent, or tell something about, some small aspect of God.....saints are venerated in the sense of having profound respect for them. Icons and images are venerated only in the sense that we venerate, i.e. show respect for, the person depicted."
Further details at this link including information on how to make a weeping statue.
John Paul II and the statue that cried blood
Faith in my opinion should be based on a number of factors spread over a broader timespan and spectrum made up of a number of elements or pillars. These form a rock solid foundation for a long lasting faith. This can withstand anything that is thrown at it. In these End Times that statement is more relevant than ever.
Elements of a Rock Steady Faith
Prayer Are your prayers answered in some shape or form?
The Bible Do you read and believe it? More importantly do you understand it, agree with it and live your life by it? Is it shaping your life?
Fruit Is your faith and life bearing fruit? Are changes occurring in your life that are positive, deep rooted and Christian in nature. Are you affecting other peoples lives? Is your lifestyle different from the world or are you living the same as everybody else?
Light Are you carrying a light that the people and the world can see that shines brightly and causes the darkness to disappear?
If that weeping statue sighting {authentic or fake} has not brought about these changes as confirmation then it does raise questions.
Everybody has had an experience on how they came into the Christian faith or any other faith {Read my Testimonial} Some like mine are dramatic and powerful, others are more subtle,it doesn't matter......but the end result does.
Here's some routes into the Christian faith that people report. Just 6 of many.
1. Inherited The person that gained their faith came from a Religious family and upbringing
2. Introduction by a friend who may have been Religious
3. Had a religious experience such as a Weeping Statue sighting, a Saved or Born Again Experience, Near Death Experience or similar
4. Decided to start going to Church and came into the faith gradually and continue to do so for years or decades or the rest of your life.
5. Got converted by a Street Preacher, a leaflet handed to you or at a Mega Preacher Event or Travelling Roadshow or maybe via TV Evangelism or somebody on a website, You Tube Channel that you bumped into mysteriously on the internet. Maybe even a religious book.
6. Started reading the Bible
Number 3 is the most dramatic and controversial one, normally involves some sort of emotional experience and this is the group the church are not too keen on, they call them Heretics and sort of outside the Church. People who are in this category who got converted or Saved by this method have to accept that people will listen to what they have to say ........ but nobody will believe them........and your sanity will be up for question!
Statue of Virgin Mary Cries Tears of Oil. Fake or Real?
Bible Quote
A final word from the Bible. The Parable of the Sower from Jesus. Matthew 13 18~23.
18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Messages from Heaven
There's been a lot of reports recently with regard to weeping statues or crying statues hence this article. This is one of those unexplained topics with a supernatural but Christian twist and is heavily Catholic in overtones and is similar to say "mysterious moving statues" and "Marian or Mary Apparitions" and "Mary Statue survival stories", that to this day defies any sort of rational explanation from Scientists and Vatican alike. They are very rarely officially confirmed or verified by the Roman Catholic Church who have a department that specialises in such things, for whatever the reason that is. But these Weeping Statues are nothing new and have resulted in mass pilgrimages of thousands of people to witness this occurrence. Sometimes miracles are associated with these sightings such as healing. I'm not a Catholic by the way, just a plain old Vanilla Church of England, but even the C of E does have some Catholic elements within it's services and teachings.
Statue of the Virgin Mary is Weeping in Fresno 2016
The main statues that hit the headlines tend to be in Catholic Churches or in the homes of heavily religious Catholics and tend to be either Mary or less so Jesus, but it mainly seems to be Mary, with Jesus being a rarer occurrence. The weeping or tears are either water based or oil based, can be scented and sometimes blood based or sometimes a mixture. This is where it gets interesting. Statues as we know are not human and are cold but many times the tears of blood or water have been reported as being warm and more to the point at exactly body temperature. The tears tend to come from the eyes but not always.
The Weeping and Bleeding Jesus statue in Bolivia. Bleeding crying statues and miraculous manifestations associated with this Christ statue.
It's not limited to statues either. The Orthodox Christian or Orthodox Catholic churches are renowned for their Icons in the form of paintings and these have demonstrated similar occurrences in their Catholic Churches.
The question is, if they are real what do they signify. Are they a sign of impending doom or some catastrophic event on the horizon and are a form of warning, are they tears from heaven and a message from God?. Are they a blessing or a miracle from above? Do they happen on particular Holy Days in the Holy Calendar, or just on ordinary days. Is the whole weeping statue thing just a hoax, all engineered to create believers, or is it all real. This article will try to shed some light on the subject and try to answer the question "What do weeping statues signify?"
STATUE OF MARY WEEPS TEARS AND BLOOD IN IRAQ
History and cases of Weeping Statues. The last 10 years *mostly unverified"
March 2006 onwards Kerala, India tears of blood, appearance of oil, honey, milk — not verified
January 2006 till present Borġ in-Nadur, Birżebbuġa, Malta, tears of blood, appearance of oil, salt - unverified, self-published claims
November 2010 Windsor, Ontario, Canada appearance of oil, "smiles during the day" and excreted oil claimed to heal
July 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA appearance of dripping blood from hairline
October 2012 Tanauan, Batangas, Philippines appearance of blood in face, and excretes oil in palm in the statue of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace, the blood eventually revealed to be from a person of blood type O. It is also reported that several Marian images also weep blood in their home - Currently under investigation by the Archdiocese of Lipa GMA News
May 2015 Dunedin, NZ Appearance of dripping oil/sweat from brow.
May 2015 Barangay Liloan in Catarman, Camiguin, Philippines Traces of alleged blood were found near the eyes of an image of Mary inside the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel in Barangay Liloan in Catarman, Camiguin Tuesday morning, local residents said. Residents were also surprised to see that the image's hands were unclasped.Church administrators have yet to determine whether the image really cried blood.
Which Weeping Statues have been verified by The Vatican.
A very small number of weeping statues have been recognized by the Catholic Church. One in Syracuse which demonstrated the shedding of tears from a statue in the house of a married couple on August 29, 1953 was recognized by the Catholic bishops of Sicily on December 13, 1953. Our Lady of Akita was declared as worthy of belief by the Holy Office in 1988, and remains the only weeping statue recognized by the Holy Office.
Weeping Paintings
Weeping paintings or icons are a related phenomenon, but to date not a single case of a weeping painting has been approved either by the Roman Catholic or Coptic churches and most instances have turned out to be hoaxes. However, in Eastern Orthodoxy, some cases such as a weeping St Michael icon in Rhodes have been taken as miraculous.
As with weeping statues, the tears exuded are often said to be of a substance which appears to be similar to blood. A painting of the Virgin Mary is said to have exuded moisture from the eyes and the fingers at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in Chicago on December 6, 1986. The event gained international attention and drew many onlookers to the church. The moisture ceased in July 1987, but resumed a year later at which time 19 other icons were said to have also started weeping after being "anointed" with the painting's moisture. A painting of Mary on plywood was said to have wept on March 10, 1992 in Barberton, Ohio;
Are they on the increase recently in these troubled times.
They do seem to be appearing much more frequently but again the same problem seems to manifest itself and that's the difficulty of proving if these are real or not. An article from the Independent just recently goes into this with the headline "Science debunks miracle of weeping Madonna"
Are Weeping Statues real, investigations. The Hoax and Fake Scenarios
Authorities of the Catholic Church have been very careful in their approach and treatment of weeping statues, and generally set very high barriers for their acceptance. For instance when a statue of the popular Saint Padre Pio in Messina, Sicily was found to have tears of blood one day in 2002, Church officials quickly ordered tests that showed the blood belonged to a woman and then dismissed the case as a hoax. Even at the local level, Catholic priests have expelled people who claim weeping statues from their local Church.
TEARS FROM HEAVEN - Jesus Tears of Oil & Blood ACTUAL NEWSMEN FOOTAGE
Why do statues and Icons Weep?
An interesting article with an Orthodox Catholic bias is over at Antiochian.org Why Do Icons Weep
So are they real or a hoax?
A website called the Skepdic realises that apparently, weeping Mary Statues are her way of letting us know that she weeps for our sinfulness, or some such thing, and that some people's statues are more worthy than others of her presence. The author of this website however is not convinced and has come up with some good reasons why these weeping statues are a hoax and is not convinved. Further details at Skepdic
An article from the Chicago Tribune from way back in 1985 going into detail that very few Weeping Madonnas Pass Vatican`s Test
Conclusion
Weeping statues and other similar mysteries are certainly at the controversial end of the Religious spectrum and seem to be confined to mainly the Catholic denomination of the Christian faith due to the fact they are the one denomination that have numerous Icons/Statues in their places of worship as an integral part of their faith. Scientific investigation and also investigations by the Vatican don't seem to reveal or confirm the reality of these sightings that easily. Very few are confirmed as "real" for whatever that reason may be.
My attitude is Who knows if this is a hoax or a miracle? The logical mind says it must be a hoax. But in these End Times with all the struggles and misery around the world right now, and all the devastation from natural and man-made disasters in the past year, statues weeping tears of blood doesn't seem too so far fetched anymore.
Real or fake aside, the worrying thing is many people get converted to Christianity and probably Catholicism as a result of these sigtings and can form a pillar or cornerstone of their faith based on just that event alone. I personally don't think that is a good foundation for any faith. If that sighting was proven to be a fake, what happens to your faith, does it not throw it into question?
Virgin Mary Statue 'Crying a Single Tear of Blood' Prompts Mass Pilgrimage to Columbia
The Bible also mentions many times in many books about "Graven Images". The Almighty doesn't like them periotd. But what is a "Graven Image".
The Hebrew word translated “graven image” means literally “an idol.” A graven image is an image carved out of stone, wood, or metal. It could be a statue of a person or animal, or a relief carving in a wall or pole.
The second commandment of the ten commandments is quite clear on idols and "Graven Images" in Exodus 20 4-5
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Other mentions in the Bible which are numerous but here's just 3 of them
Leviticus 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 5:8
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Habakkuk 2:18
What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
Unexplained Mysteries The Virgin Mary Crying Blood
About statues in Roman Catholicism: An interesting article from ReligiousTolerance.org in defence of the Catholic faith and statues states this
Rev. Roger J. Smith, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Seattle, WA, writes: "Catholics do not worship paintings, or statues. They are just a way of conveying something about God, and are not God themselves. It is quite clear to any thinking person that stone or paint cannot be God, but can only represent, or tell something about, some small aspect of God.....saints are venerated in the sense of having profound respect for them. Icons and images are venerated only in the sense that we venerate, i.e. show respect for, the person depicted."
Further details at this link including information on how to make a weeping statue.
John Paul II and the statue that cried blood
Faith in my opinion should be based on a number of factors spread over a broader timespan and spectrum made up of a number of elements or pillars. These form a rock solid foundation for a long lasting faith. This can withstand anything that is thrown at it. In these End Times that statement is more relevant than ever.
Elements of a Rock Steady Faith
Prayer Are your prayers answered in some shape or form?
The Bible Do you read and believe it? More importantly do you understand it, agree with it and live your life by it? Is it shaping your life?
Fruit Is your faith and life bearing fruit? Are changes occurring in your life that are positive, deep rooted and Christian in nature. Are you affecting other peoples lives? Is your lifestyle different from the world or are you living the same as everybody else?
Light Are you carrying a light that the people and the world can see that shines brightly and causes the darkness to disappear?
If that weeping statue sighting {authentic or fake} has not brought about these changes as confirmation then it does raise questions.
Everybody has had an experience on how they came into the Christian faith or any other faith {Read my Testimonial} Some like mine are dramatic and powerful, others are more subtle,it doesn't matter......but the end result does.
Here's some routes into the Christian faith that people report. Just 6 of many.
1. Inherited The person that gained their faith came from a Religious family and upbringing
2. Introduction by a friend who may have been Religious
3. Had a religious experience such as a Weeping Statue sighting, a Saved or Born Again Experience, Near Death Experience or similar
4. Decided to start going to Church and came into the faith gradually and continue to do so for years or decades or the rest of your life.
5. Got converted by a Street Preacher, a leaflet handed to you or at a Mega Preacher Event or Travelling Roadshow or maybe via TV Evangelism or somebody on a website, You Tube Channel that you bumped into mysteriously on the internet. Maybe even a religious book.
6. Started reading the Bible
Number 3 is the most dramatic and controversial one, normally involves some sort of emotional experience and this is the group the church are not too keen on, they call them Heretics and sort of outside the Church. People who are in this category who got converted or Saved by this method have to accept that people will listen to what they have to say ........ but nobody will believe them........and your sanity will be up for question!
Statue of Virgin Mary Cries Tears of Oil. Fake or Real?
Bible Quote
A final word from the Bible. The Parable of the Sower from Jesus. Matthew 13 18~23.
18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Messages from Heaven
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