Today Marks 21 Years Since I Took The Miraculous Picture in Emmitsburg
September 23, 2019
I don’t know where the time goes. To me it almost seems like just yesterday I was at the Grotto on September 23, 1998 and took a picture that came out completely different than what I saw when I took it. There are many people who instantly see the Face of Christ in the burst of light as soon as they see the picture. There are others who see it after it’s pointed out to them, there are others who don’t or won’t see anything at all no matter what. I fall into the 2nd group. It was my mother, B.C. who first spotted the image in the picture and pointed it out to me.
I can’t explain it but I do not understand how I did not see the image right away because after I saw it I realized it was the same, exact image of the Face of Christ I saw in a dream the night of my 2nd visit to the Thursday Night Prayer Group in St. Joseph’s. In the “Forward” to my papers I have written I described that dream and it went like this:
I found myself in pitch dark. It was the darkest darkness I had ever experienced. In the dream I actually waved my hand in front of my face and could see absolutely nothing. Suddenly in the dead center of this intense darkness I saw a small pinpoint of light. This pinpoint of light was coming directly towards me at a fast and constant rate of speed. As the light got closer it got bigger and the darkness got smaller. As the light got closer and closer I could see it was the side profile of the face of Jesus Christ. The light continued to advance towards me until all of the darkness was gone and replaced with the light of His Face. It never slowed down and traveled straight through me. In the dream it was my natural reaction to turn around and watch Him go the other direction but that was not to be. I instantly woke up and again the time on the digital clock next to the bed was 3:33.
I don’t understand it and it seems impossible to me but I did not see the image in the picture despite the fact it is identical to my dream until it was pointed out to me by my mother. In any event I made a promise to God that I would come to the Grotto and visit the spot where I took the picture every September 23rd. I regret to say I have missed a few of these anniversaries.
My 64th birthday was this past Saturday. In our family we always try to get together on each others birthday and have dinner. We have done this for years. Now that C.R.C. is working at the Grotto in Emmitsburg S.C.C. and I rode there to meet up with C.R.C. and go out to lunch. Doing this would also fulfill my promise to God to go to the Grotto on this particular day. S.C.C. and I made the trip and when we arrived at the Grotto of Lourdes the odometer on the car was 1.3.
S.C.C. brought along several jugs for us to get Grotto water. After filling the jugs we decided to walk to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima and pray the rosary before we were supposed to meet C.R.C. at 1 PM. On the way there I stopped at the statue of St. Thersese, The Little Flower and thanked her for a wonderful visit to her shrine in Royal Oak, Michigan. As I thanked her from my heart I felt a surge of peace run through me. I glanced at my watch and the time was 12:33.
S.C.C. and I then walked the few remaining feet to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima where I took the picture 21 years ago today. We prayed both the Luminous and Glorious mysteries of the rosary for C.R.C.. Just at the instant we finished the rosary C.R.C. came walking up and gave both of us a hug. The timing was just so perfect I knew to glance at my watch and the time was 1:13.
The three of us then rode to the Shamrock Restaurant and as a family had my birthday dinner. It was a very nice time. We talked about our trip to the Shrine of The Little Flower and what a good trip it was. We then left and while driving back to the Grotto I had a sudden thought that we should stop at St. Joseph’s. We drove to St. Joseph’s and when we pulled up the time on the dash was 2:32. I walked up to the front door and like always it was locked. I thought about how sad it is that our churches are so frequently locked. The thought made me sad as I thought about what Jesus says about locked churches in In Sinu Jesu. As I pulled on the locked door I glanced at my watch and the time was 2:33.
We then rode back to the Grotto and dropped off C.R.C.. S.C.C. and I were going to leave to go home at that point but suddenly I felt like we should go back to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima and complete the rosary by praying the Joyful and Sorrowful mysteries for C.R.C.. We did that and I felt like I had kept my promise to God and glanced at my watch as I turned to leave and the time was 3:33:33.
S.C.C. and I drove home and there were traffic delays because of a detour caused by a railroad track repair that was taking place. We arrived home in our driveway in <Home Town> and I glanced at my watch and the time was 6:33:33.
R.C.
Sep. 30, 2019
12:33 PM