Following is an account of the most widely
witnessed and well-attested
Marian apparition in history.
Source: Meetings with Mary: Visions of the Blessed
Mother by Janice T. Connell
~
DAMASCUS, SYRIA
(Meetings with Mary
p 248-257)
Christians and Moslems witness Marian miracles in 1982
Maria Al Akharas, or Myrna, age eighteen and married to Nicholas, lived
in the old city of Damascus as a nominal member of the Melkite Byzantine
(Greek Orthodox) Rite. In November 1982 Nicholas’ sister Layla
became gravely ill. Myrna prayed for her together with other
Christians and a Muslim.
Suddenly Myrna’s hands began to exude oil. Excitedly the other
women told her to lay her hands on Layla, which she did. Layla was
healed instantly.
Several days later a small household icon of Mary and the Infant Jesus
began exuding oil. Relatives were summoned and watched prayerfully
as the oil filled four cups within an hour. Suddenly, Myrna’s
natural sense of hearing ceased and she could only hear “incredibly
beautiful words” spoken to her “Mary [Myrna means Mary],
do not be frightened. I am with you. Open the doors and do
not deprive anyone from seeing me. .Light a candle for me.”
Oil continued to flow for several days.
Outsiders, including clergy and civil authorities were summoned and
searched for indications of fraud, demanding various tests and proofs.
No naturalistic explanations could be offered. The oil’s source
from either the icon and her hands remained a mystery. Prior to the
miracles, Myrna had not been particularly pious and enjoyed dancing.
One day as she prayed in the presence of a priest and bishop she said
she felt that “the Virgin has entered me!” upon which the clergy
saw brilliant aromatic liquid flowing copiously from her palms.
At last, medical doctors and scientists attempted to find a
naturalistic source of the healing oil that exuded from Myrna's hands when
she prayed. Word spread, and thousands of visitors would stream to
her home to watch. Sick people came to ask for anointing with Myrna’s
oil. Phenomenal cures resulted. Crowds grew even larger and
became demanding.
On the night of December 15, 1982, at midnight approached, a huge group
prayed before Myrna's icon. She felt herself being escorted by an
invisible entity to the roof garden. Somewhat fearfully she knelt.
“When I raised up my head,” she later recalled, “I saw the
Virgin Mary in front of me. She shined as if she were covered with
diamonds. I was afraid, and I ran away screaming.”
Three days later Myrna was again escorted by an unseen entity the roof
garden, accompanied by ten others. Across the street, in the boughs
of a large tree she saw a dazzling Marian apparition emerging from a large
glowing white globe. “The Beautiful Lady… had a white
veil that covered her hair. The veil was a part of her dress.
Over her right shoulder was a sky-blue cape that wrapped around her back
and over her left side…”
Below, a father raced to the courtyard exclaiming that his crippled son
was healed and could walk, and the boy himself ran up, jumping and dancing.
On December 31, 1982 the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim,
after investigating the phenomena, gave his official recognition to the
events as supernatural, and proclaim this throughout his dioceses.
On January 5, 1983, a completely blind Muslim woman miraculously
recovered her sight.
Oil has continued to exude from Myrna's hands, and in the ensuing
years, claims of innumerable healings and miracles, witness by over
100,000 people, have been made. Documentary films of Myrna and
miracles were produced.
In 1988 Myrna, along with her husband and their two children, traveled
to several places to convey the message from Mary. Oil from her
palms continued to exude when she prayed, followed by many healings.
On June 18, 1990, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Damascus confirmed
that he also had witnessed the oil on multiple occasions.
On two occasions Myrna also bore the stigmata: On Good Fridays
in 1984 and again in 1987, coinciding with two years in which Easter
celebrations for the Orthodox and Catholic Church fall on the same day.
A videotape of her shows gaping wounds in Myrna’s palms and the bloody
outline of a crown of thorns on her forehead. The ordeal was
extremely painful and lasted three hours.
On May 31, 1984 Myrna beheld a vision of Jesus Christ. At 3:00
p.m. that day, oil exuded from her face, neck and hand and
eyes, and she entered an ecstasy, in which Jesus spoke to her.
On October 15, 1986, Myrna received this love-filled message from
Christ:
“My daughter, how beautiful is the earth.
In this place I shall establish my Kingdom and My peace.
I shall give you My Heart in order to have yours.
Your sins are forgiven because you are looking for Me.
He who looks for Me, I shall imprint My image in him.
Tell My children to come for Me, for
I am with them at all times.”
THE PHILIPINES, 1986:
Marian Apparition at Marcos Ouster
Televised, massively witnessed apparition
In 1986 throngs of Filipinos demonstrated peacefully for the ouster of
their corrupt government, the Marcos regime. This is a nation of
profound piety, and instead of chanting angry slogans, the crowds recited
the Rosary, sang hymns, fasted and prayed for divine guidance. The
following account of supernatural apparitions at the time of the political
upheaval is provided by author and television personality June Keithley,
and recounted in Meetings with Mary: Visions of the Blessed
Mother, by Janice T. Connell.
Keithley’s news crew broadcast the extraordinary outpouring of
peaceful, religiously driven demonstrations. Protesters carried
statues of “Mama Mary” and offered garlands of flowers to armed
soldiers, or lay down bravely in the paths of government vehicles to stop
them. Food and drink were freely shared, even with the soldiers in
the Presidential bunkers. Then, suddenly—
A “Beautiful Woman encased in immense bright light and dressed as
a nun,” appeared. Her beauty, said Keithley, “stunned” her. The light dazzled onlookers. The
Woman stood before the tanks to disperse them, then extended her arms
outward and spoke in a voice that was clearly audible to everyone.
“‘Do not kill my people!’
Immediately the soldiers disarmed themselves.
This took place on live television. Elsewhere, thousands of
exuberant Filipinos took to the streets, many believing that the Divine
Mary had arrived. President Marcos evacuated that same night.
Keithley next visited Lipa where a famous Marian apparition had taken
place in 1948. Teresita Castillo, a novice Carmelite, on fifteen occasions saw a divine woman dressed in white, who identified herself as
Mediatrix of All Grace.
It was reported that in the convent, “extraordinary showers of
rose petals fell within the convent walls on several occasions.
Many of these rose petals still exist nearly fifty years later and have
not spoiled. In May 1949, hundreds of Filipinos reported that they
all saw the Blessed Mother as Mary Mediatrix of All Grace appear briefly
in the sky above Sampaloc Lake …” A second apparition was
reported in a nearby cathedral.
Keithley’s report continues:
“The rose petal showers continue into present times in various
places, often indoors. Many people showed me their rose petals.
Some were fresh: They still bore the sweet scent of the flower,
though it was said they were weeks old—or, in some cases, nearly a
half-century old. Each petal was beautiful. Images imprinted
upon the petals were of the Blessed Mother, the Lord Jesus, an angel, even
Saint Joseph.
“The people who showed me their petals believe that the Blessed
Mother desires her children to spread the fragrance of the rose petals
throughout the world by prayer; fasting, almsgiving, and other good
works… ”
Mary spoke this as her final message to the visionary Teresita:
“Pray. The people do not heed my words. There will
be persecutions, unrest, and bloodshed in your country. The enemy
of the church will try to destroy the faith which Jesus has established
and died for. The Church will suffer much. Pray for the
conversion of sinners throughout the world. Pray for those who have
rejected me and for those who do not believe my message in the different
parts of the world. Spread the meaning ~ the Rosary because this
will be the instrument for peace throughout the world The love of my Son
will soften the hardest of hearts. My motherly love will be their
strength.”
UKRAINE
Apparition, Celestial Phenomena
Witness by Hundreds
In 1954 amidst the darkness of Communism, a young girl sees Mary in a
village Church. Outside, onlookers witness supernatural proofs of
authenticity.
As she prayed after Mass, Anna was privileged with a vision of a Lady
so beautiful that she wept with joy. The apparition was clothed in
a gloriously radiant dress of white, a blue sash and golden crown with
twelve stars. She brought this message:
Outside the church, a group of Christian listened to Anna repeat the
Lady’s message from within a grotto. There, suddenly, Anna again
saw her. The Lady turned and gazed into a valley, whereupon a
shrieking wind whipped by. Ominously, it extinguished the candles
and covered the witnesses with dust. The Lady extended her hands
consolingly and said:
At that moment a sudden darkness descended upon them, although the
nearby valley was bathed in sunshine. Anna watch as the Lady wept
and told her:
On fifteen more occasions Anna saw the Beautiful Lady, many times
accompanied by phenomena such as a spinning sun, shooting stars, powerful
winds, and unusual cloud formations. Faith increased in the
community. On May 15, 1955 Anna saw Michael the Archangel “shining like the sun with a flaming sword which he brandished three
times in a swooping gesture, leaving a trail of fire blazing through the
heavens to eternity.” In the flaming Heavens the Lady appeared
amidst rays of brilliant light. She spoke an apocalyptic oracle.
As a culminating vision, Jesus appeared to her during a Mass, seated on
a throne. At his left side stood a priest in golden vestments
blessing the congregates with a chalice, but a foreboding shadow fell upon
the priest.
The fame of Anna’s visions spread, drawing thousands of
pilgrims, as many as tens of thousands daily.
On one occasion the son of a KGB officer fell gravely ill and lay near
death. The father, in desperation, fell to his knees and prayed for
a healing. He promised to cease all violence and stop opposing the
chapel’s continued presence. That same evening his son was
restored to perfect health. Word spread, drawing more pilgrims and
television coverage. The program showed an unusually bright light
covering the crowd and the surrounding area. From the Lady came
more apocalyptic warnings and calls for repentance. Meetings
with Mary, p 267 - 276
