Crying Virgin Mary? Hoax or True?!

[Soba]

While signing onto AIM, I saw the photograph below and the words 'Believers Flock to 'Crying' Virgin Mary'.
[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/soba/20051126203109990002.jpg[/IMG]
I became very interested, since not too long ago (actually, it was a few years) there was a show on little miracles (there was a bust of Jesus crying red tears.)

I'm not really sure what to think. Half of me says that its true, another says that some random bored person triggered something.

Read (or just skim through) and tell me what you think.

[quote= AOL News: Juliet Williams]SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Nov. 26) - 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.

[size=1]Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.[/size][/quote]

[HRBEK]

A definate hoax, I believe.

Thanks,
HRBEK.

[STEELIX]

this reminds me of when chemicals in a hospital were accidently poured on a window and made a picture of marys face
oh and the grilled cheeze sandwich that was sold on ebay cause the burn mark had a face of jesus in it

[DeFJaM]

i heard about that one, how much did that go for on ebay?

[Jack]

Well, Judging by the fact that people go crazy over those little things, prolly $1000 +.

Anyways. Bavck on topic.

[U][B]HOAX[/B][/U]

[Nova]

no i think it true. she is trying to tell us that something bad is gonna happen and she is sad cause all of her children are in war with each other.

[Sister of Metal]

but why then the 'mother mary' and not jesus or any other saint?

[Nova]

mary is the mother of all the people on earth

[Soba]

I was kind of wondering why the other Saints weren't 'crying' too.

There's already been a news thingy on the Jesus bust, but that was a long time ago.

[Invader_gir]

what happened with the jesus bust?

[Some1]

[QUOTE=DeFJaM]i heard about that one, how much did that go for on ebay?[/QUOTE]
more then 30,000$

[Soba]

[QUOTE=Invader_gir]what happened with the jesus bust?[/QUOTE]

Same thing with the Mary statue. It had red streaks going down it's face, and the eyes had turned a different color (I think red from the tears).

*shrugs* They said they did a catscan and all that other high tech stuff and found nothing unusual.

But I saw it on TV. So...m'eh...

[Sister of Metal]

sooo...either that are some kids with red waterpaint and a bad case of rebelliance....orr..there is something else to it...

[MORSN417]

[QUOTE=STEELIX]this reminds me of when chemicals in a hospital were accidently poured on a window and made a picture of marys face
oh and the grilled cheeze sandwich that was sold on ebay cause the burn mark had a face of jesus in it[/QUOTE]


i saw something simaliar to that

there was this guy selling a piece of chees "w/jesuses face on it"
personally i couldnt see it and thought the guy was crazy
it sold for over $1300
pretty good for a piece of cheese

[HRBEK]

I agree with Sister of Metal (assuming you believe that this was the act of a group of idiots). This was most likely a hoax, whereby some dumb-punks have either used red paint or blood to make it seem like she is crying. Those people must have had nothing better to do I guess....... Dumb-punks!

It could also have been done by highlt religious people to convince more people about the existance of God.

Thanks,
HRBEK.