Twentieth Anniversary of Taking The Picture of Our Lady of Fatima

 

September 23, 2018

 

It does not seem possible that twenty years have passed since the day I took a picture of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In that picture there is a burst of light that once your eyes have adjusted to the image you can clearly see the Face of Christ looking down on his Mother Mary. When I think back on the sequence of events and the circumstances that led up to me taking this picture on September 23, 1998 it makes me feel like crumpling to the ground. I have described this entire sequence of events by writing the papers that comprise my eye witness account of the apparitions of Our Lady of Emmitsburg despite the fact that as of the date that I took the picture I had not yet even heard of Our Lady of Emmitsburg.

S.C.C. and I had made plans to go to the Grotto of Lourdes today because it is the 20th anniversary and to take our son, C.R.C. out to lunch. C.R.C. works at the Grotto and is in the process of discerning a vocation to the priesthood. Only God’s Will and C.R.C.’s response will determine that.  I have written quite a few papers regarding a trip to Emmitsburg on this anniversary date and despite the circumstances being different each time the end result is always the same and that is a renewed and strengthened belief in the apparitions of Our Lady of Emmitsburg and the fact She Is Not Leaving.

When I woke up this morning I looked over at the clock next to the bed and before I even saw the clock I knew what it was going to say because I could also feel it. The time was 5:33. Later in the morning I got ready to go teach my CCD class at "Parish School". I had already been to mass yesterday evening at "Parish Church". CCD went fine and when everything was completed I left and as I walked out the door headed to Emmitsburg I glanced at my watch and the time was 11:13.

I picked up S.C.C. and we rode to Emmitsburg. It rained the whole trip, hard at times. We were further delayed by several traffic backups. It was not an enjoyable ride. Despite the weather and traffic delays we arrived at the Grotto in Emmitsburg and the time on the dash was 2:33 and the odometer was 1.3. We met up with C.R.C. after the Spanish speaking mass was completed as he was helping with that mass. After mass C.R.C. took his lunch break and the three of us rode to Brother’s Pizza in Gettysburg. When we lived here that was C.R.C.’s favorite restaurant. We had a nice lunch and it was great being all together. After we finished eating we got in the car to leave and when I started it the time on the dash was 4:13. We drove back to Emmitsburg and when we arrived at St. Joseph’s I stopped for just a minute to say a prayer and the time on the dash was 4:33.

We then rode back to the Grotto and dropped C.R.C. off so he could return to work and then S.C.C. and I left. I would liked to have gone to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima where I took the picture to pray a rosary but it was still pouring down rain so we left. We rode back into Emmitsburg and while driving decided to pray a rosary sitting in the car for C.R.C. at St. Joseph’s. We arrived at St. Joseph’s and prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary. When we finished I glanced at my watch at the instant I kissed the crucifix and the time was 5:13:33. I started the car to leave and the time on the dash was the last micro fraction of a second of 5:13.

 

 

 R.C.

Oct. 11, 2018

3:13:33 PM