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Christmas Miracle :
Weeping Icon at Jesus' Birthplace



According to hundreds of eyewitnesses, a painting of Jesus is weeping red tears. The painting is no ordinary icon for it hangs in the Bethlehem Church of the Nativity, above the very spot where Christ is said to have been born.

Many hundreds of Christian pilgrims, of all denominations, together with Jews and Muslims, say they have seen the tears. The weeping was first noticed by the 60 year old Muslim woman who cleans that part of the church every morning.

Sadika Hamdan told reporters that she was working alone in the shrine when suddenly "… a light came from the column and the picture of the Messiah Jesus, peace be upon him, began to cry. It was beautiful, beautiful. He opened and closed his eye and later tears fell, red tears. At first, I was very frightened, and I wondered why Jesus was speaking out to me, a Muslim. But I went and got the brothers, and they saw it too, and we realised it was a miracle. I have been coming to this church for 22 years and it is the first time in history that I have seen such a sight."

At the time of the report about 600 people were visiting the shrine each day, and thousands were expected to attend the Sunday services. As well as the tears, pilgrims have also been reporting that the painting of Jesus was winking at them. There are of course no shortage of sceptics dismissing the whole story, but Stephanie Nolen, writing for a Canadian newspaper, had this to say :

"This reporter went to Bethlehem armed with the double protection of lapsed Catholicism and journalistic cynicism, and joined a crowd of about 100 kerchiefed Cypriot women clutching candles and videorecorders. 'Tears, tears,' they were whispering, some with tears in their own eyes. So I looked up - and Jesus winked at me."

( Source - Reuter 28 November, 1996; The Globe and Mail, Canada, 4 December, 1996 ; CNN )



Texas ( 1985 )

Since 1985, tears of myrrh have been manifesting on an icon owned by Christ of the Hills, a Russian Orthodox monastic community near San Antonio in Texas. The icon, called Our Lady of New Sarov, was commissioned in 1983, and depicts the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. It was in May of 1985 that tears of myrrh began to stream from the eyes of Mary and at times from the hands of Jesus.

Today pilgrims from all faiths and all walks of life come to the monastery. Each visitor is annointed with the sweetly scented myrrh and great miracles of healing have taken place as a result, including cancer, leukemia, blindness, mental diseases, and most importantly : peace of mind. Often the icon seems to weep when someone comes into her presence who particularly needs to experience the love of the Holy Mother.

In a pamphlet written by the community's founder, Father Benedict, it says :

"We are not worthy to have the spiritual treasure which has been entrusted to our care. However, we are profoundly aware of our deep responsibility to share it with all our brothers and sisters, regardless of their religious background. The Mother of God calls all to herself. The Mother of God calls all to repentance, prayer, fasting, and an other-worldly way of living. Like Saint John the Baptist, her cry is, 'Make straight the way of the Lord, Christ is coming again'."

( Source: Share International, October 1992 )

" 'Make straight the way of the Lord'- The weeping icon at Christ of the Hills"
by Bette Stockbauer


Nigeria ( 1988 )

Saint Mary's Catholic primary school, Aking in Akamkpa Local Government area of Cross River State (Nigeria) became a centre of attraction when the image of a man suspected to be Jesus Christ appeared on the wall of the school.

The picture of the man, clad in white garment with a lamb on the right hand side and a staff in his left hand appeared on the wall with light shining around the area, attracting various people to the scene.

Reports said the picture disappeared after 10 minutes but stayed for several hours on the wall on a second appearance. It was also gathered that after the second appearance the head of the man with a long beard appeared for a longer period.

According to the deputy headmaster of the school, Mr Bassey Itaya, the fingerprint of the man is still visible on the wall of elementary 3A classroom. Mr Itaya said that people from all walks of life thronged the school premises to have a glimpse of the mysterious picture on the wall which remained like a television screen throughout the scene.

The councillor representing the ward in Akamkpa Local Government, Mr Lawrence Effa, who was also present, described the incident as the first in the history of the area, saying that he was confused. He wondered what was the significance of the picture on the wall.

( Source: The Nigerian Chronicle, Cross River State, Nigeria, 3 October 1988 )


Texas ( 1991 )

Several parishioners of a Catholic church in Austin, Texas, say they witnessed a framed picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus bleed real blood. As word of the phenomenon spread, crowds of mainly low- and middle-income Hispanic worshippers began waiting in line to see the photo with its thumb-sized, blood-colored stain. The parishioners who originally saw the blood said they received messages from Jesus, with one reporting a similarity to those received by the children in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, from the Virgin Mary. Others reported visions of a war scenario similar to what subsequently took place in the Persian Gulf.

The pastor of the church, Father Fred Underwood, said that at one point he moved the tablecloth-covered table on which the photo rested. Underwood's staff later noticed he had blood on his right hand. But he had no cuts. Underwood said, "I didn't even touch the picture. And there's nothing on the tablecloth." Underwood and most of his parishioners are convinced the bleeding photo is a miracle. Some consider it a sign that people have turned away from Jesus, and a call to stop leading sinful lives.

But if the faithful were convinced of the miracle's authenticity, the Catholic Church was not. Austin Bishop John McCarthy, upon visiting the church, ordered the photo to be removed from public display until Catholic Church authorities had an opportunity to investigate it further. (Source: Austin American-Statesman)

Full report, including an interview with Father Underwood


"We feel so privileged to have the picture of the Sacred Heart here and Our Lord working so actively in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. You see so many external phenomena happening right before your eyes - visions and conversions and instantaneous healings. It is like watching Jesus heal people and work and walk the earth 2,000 years ago." ( Father Underwood )

Russia ( 1994 )

A religious icon in a church in Russia's far north has undergone a "miraculous" transformation, with its dark, faded paint becoming bright and fresh again. The icon depicts St Nikolai the Miracle Worker, who protects sailors, fishermen, travellers and miners, according to Russian Orthodox tradition.

Parishioners at Mother of God church in the mining town of Kirovsk said the transformation took place over several days, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

"Its darkened and faded colours began to brighten up. In a few days, it was hard to recognize the old icon,'' the head of the local religious affairs department, Vladimir Kisenko, was quoted as saying.

"It looked quite new, as if it had been freshly painted.'' Kirovsk is about 50 miles above the Arctic Circle near the port of Murmansk.

The report did not say how old the icon is.

(Source: Associated Press)


Chicago ( 1994 )

In a church near Chicago, Illinois, thousands of people are flocking to witness tears flow from the eyes of a painting of the Virgin Mary. The painting, on an icon screen in the St George Antiochian Orthodox Church in the town of Cicero, depicts Mary with the baby Jesus. Since the spring of this year when the liquid first flowed from Mary's eyes, about 120,000 people have visited the icon. There have been numerous reports of miracles, including healing from the liquid, and a Chicago gang member who reportedly turned his back on gang life after seeing the icon.

The Most Rev. Metropolitan Philip Saliba, head of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, visited the icon, declared it a miracle and gave the painting its name: "Miraculous Lady". Saliba said: "We dare not explain this phenomenon. This is a supernatural invasion of the natural order."

( Source: A Milwaukee newspaper, Wisconsin USA )


New York, USA ( 1994 )

The curious and faithful have gathered in the Bensonhurst neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York, to see a holy picture of the Virgin Mary that was weeping oil. The icon was in the house of a member of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox sect. Said one visitor: ìIf you smell it, it doesnít smell at all. You feel it when you go up to it. You feel like a chill going through your body.î The oil continued to drip for days and stopped when the picture was transferred to an Egyptian church nearby. (Source: New York Newsday, USA)


Australia ( 1994 )

Dear Editors,

In the tiny Antiochian Orthodox Church of St Mary, in the far western suburb of Mt Pritchard, Sydney, Australia, a miracle happens every day. Since the end of August, a life-sized icon of the Christ is exuding pure olive oil. It forms in beads all over the painted surface of the icon, and is captured in receptacles and on wads of cotton wool laid at the base. So far since it began, more than three litres of the oil has been collected. The priests anoint all who come to the church, and there are hundreds flocking there every day. The oil has been tested at a laboratory in Sydney, and without a doubt it is pure olive oil! The icon was painted in the usual way, on hardwood, and was shipped out to Australia about seven years ago. Nothing unusual happened until a decision was made to demolish the church and build a larger one in another location. Two days later the icon started to ooze oil, to the utter amazement of the clergy.

Several members of the Sydney and Canberra meditation groups have witnessed the phenomenon, and have also noted that the oil has an aroma of roses. Several healings have been said to have taken place, and Archbishop Gibran has asked that if a healing is claimed to have occurred a prior medical record should be produced.

In another Orthodox Church, about two kilometres from St Mary's, an icon of the Madonna is gradually renewing itself. Unlike the icon of the Christ, which was painted in one of the Greek Islands only seven years ago, the icon of the Madonna is about one hundred years old, and was painted in Russia. During the Russian Revolution it was caught in a fire, and totally blackened. Subsequently, it was smuggled out of Russia and taken to China, where there were many refugees from the Revolution. Years later, still in its blackened state, it was brought to Australia, and placed in the Intercession of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church, Cabramatta, where it remains. Father Peter, when he came to the church in 1981, remembers that the icon was still in its blackened state, showing no colour at all. Since then, the icon has been gradually renewing itself. The original colour is coming back, revealing the beauty and form of the Madonna and the Child Jesus.

Kathy Zawadski, Sydney, Australia

( Source: A letter to Share International, December 1994 )


California ( 1995 )

Icons in the possession of the Reverend Moueen Hana, a priest of the Eastern Orthodox church, have been seeping olive oil for the past eight years. Hana, who lives in Northern California, has had as many as 30 icons over the years, and currently has eight. Twice, his hands have dripped olive oil during prayers, he says. The oil has been responsible for at least three healings.

Hana traces the miraculous events to a woman named Myrna Nazoor from Syria. In 1982, Nazoor began exhibiting healing powers and having visions of the Virgin Mary. Each time Nazoor prays, her hands fill with olive oil, according to Reverend Hana. The oil is used for healing purposes. In 1988, one of Nazoor's icons seeped 57 gallons of olive oil. A sample was sent to a German laboratory, who reported the liquid to be 100 per cent olive oil, no impurities. "That means it's a miracle," says Hana. "Only a miracle could make olive oil so pure."

That same year, Nazoor visited Hana. She brought along a photo of her icons, and Hana made 8,000 copies, both by photocopying and by photographing it. "Many of these have exuded oil," Hana says. He believes this phenomenon is a continuation of the Syrian miracle, which representatives of at least three Orthodox churches have confirmed.

Hana says his icons are "…a sign from God. He's saying, 'Hey, I really exist.'"

( Source: San Jose Mercury News, USA )



Canada ( 1996 )

Icon picture


Hundreds of people have visited a small Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto,Canada, to see a painting of the Madonna shedding tears. A replica of a 750 AD icon of the Madonna began weeping profusely after a Sunday mass ended, leaving a large puddle below the painting, according to the Reverend Ieronimos Katseas. Visitors soon began pouring into the Mother Portaitissa, Sts. Raphael, Nikolaos and Irene Church as word of the miracle spread. The Reverend Katseas said the church will remain open to anyone wishing to witness what he and others have called "a modern-day miracle."

Katseas said he believes the phenomenon is a holy prophecy. "It means something good or bad will happen soon ... but it (the weeping icon) has powers to heal the sick, too."

He said the tears are being collected and preserved in a bottle. Visitors are allowed to smell the fragrance before they pray. One worshipper said: "This is a message coming down from heaven. It's a message from God."

(Source: Toronto Sun, Canada)

"Visit to the weeping Madonna icon in Toronto" by Connie Hargrave


Bethlehem ( 1996 )

Hundreds of eyewitnesses report tears coming from a painting of Jesus, at Christ's traditional birthplace in Bethlehem, Israel. Hundreds of Christian pilgrims, of all denominations, as well as many Jews and Muslims, say they have seen the tears, with some also reporting that the painting of Jesus had winked at them. See lead story at the top of this section.

( Source: Reuters and CNN )


Louisiana, USA ( 1997 )

Crowds are gathering at a church in Kenner, Louisiana, USA, to see a weeping portrait of the Virgin Mary that hangs beside the altar. The painting in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church reportedly began shedding tears last September. Up to 125 people per hour are now permitted by church officials to view the manifestation. Many visitors reportedly have come away from the site convinced they had seen a miracle. Catholic Church officials are taking a cautious approach, saying they may conduct an investigation, but only after media attention has waned. (Source: New Orleans Picayune, USA)


Lebanon ( 1997 )

Many citizens flocked to the Notre Dame church in the village of Jibrael (northern Lebanon), when news spread about a weeping icon of the Madonna. It all began on 13 April 1997 when Samer Younes and Nina Mekari, both 13, were praying before an icon of the Madonna. "At a certain moment," said Samer, "I took a glance at the icon and saw water flowing out of its eyes. We got nearer, to wipe the liquid before it could damage the icon, and that's when we found out that the liquid wasn't water but oil." Samer rushed out of the church, shouting "the Virgin is dripping oil on the table".

Next day, the parish priest, Antoine Jammal, took the icon (fixed in a wooden frame) and returned in the afternoon with the icon framed in aluminium and glazed.

"Last Sunday," Father Antoine told the newspaper Al-Anwar, "while we were celebrating the mass (taking place as usual between 6 and 6.30pm), one of the girls singing out prayers to the Holy Virgin suddenly ceased her chant and approached the icon, and saw oil flowing out of the eyes. The believers left their seats and gathered around the icon to be blessed by it. We continued the mass and around 10.30pm the oil was really covering the entire surface of the icon. We slept that night in the church," said Father Antoine. "The 'oil-flowing' phenomenon has now stopped," he added. (Source: Al-Anwar, Lebanon)


Chicago ( 1997 )

Daily, hundreds of believers are flocking to the home of Salim Najjar in North Hirschberg, where an image of the Madonna has appeared in a window and a small picture of an icon is also giving off tears. An Orthodox Christian bishop has officially proclaimed these events to be "an extension of the miracle of Our Lady of Cicero" - an icon at the St George Church in Cicero which three years ago began weeping ( see Chicago story above ).

Salim Najjar said that when the image of the Madonna appeared on his front window, the amazed family, who attend the St George Church, taped a small reproduction of the weeping icon to the window. To their astonishment the small picture began giving off oily tears.

Chicago Sun-Times May 22, 1997

Cyprus ( 1997 )

In just one month five weeping icons have been reported in churches on the island of Cyprus. The first icon to weep tears was at Kykkos monastery where thousands of people have flocked to witness the miracle. Since then weeping icons have been reported at Mammari and Ayios Georgios churches in Nicosia, and on 24 February 1997 icons in Ayii Trimithias and Peyia churches also started shedding tears. (Source: Cyprus Mail, Associated Press )


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