Spirit Daily

For your discernment:

In 1996, many were intrigued to watch news accounts or read of a financial building in Clearwater, Florida, that seemed to reflect an image of the Blessed Mother. Photographs of the building's exterior glass showed a color silhouette that all but perfectly matched the famous image from Guadalupe, Mexico [see below].

The image remains to this day, but with an addition: now photographs seem to show what many interpret as the face of Jesus. It's below the silhouette of the Virgin in the lower half of the image. At any rate, it bears a striking resemblance to a mournful, pained man. We'll let you discern. The building has been purchased by an Ohio-based group called Shepherds of Christ (www.shepherds-of-christ.org) whose ministry is prayer for priests. According to the group's president, John Weikert, a computer engineer in the Cincinnati area, pilgrims light candles in the parking lot and some report healings. The building is now used as a distribution center for the group cause, with the offices behind the glass plates reflecting the image kept empty for security reasons (except for a special monthly Mass).

Often, there are controversies around supernatural claims. If there are any in this case, we don't intend on becoming involved with them. Let us simply report the alleged phenomena. "At night, in the lower left hand quadrant of the window, you can see the Face of Jesus that looks a lot like the Shroud of Turin," asserts John. "It was first noticed on July 5, 1998. That was the first time it was photographed successfully. It's there every day, although the light on the window is so interactive that it looks different from day to day but is always there. It's not a reflection of any statue. It's in the glass."

While some have tried to explain it away as the effect of corroding metallic elements in the glass's coating, George Pecoraro, a scientist with a glass company, told a newspaper that "we're not able to explain how the shape appeared or why it appeared. It could be an accident or maybe it's Divine intervention." The main image of the Virgin can even be seen at night. More than 1.5 million have visited here, and the original owner, Mike Krizmanich, allowed them to install what has become a permanent shrine, believing the image is "a gift from God to be protected and shared." A hush falls over crowds as they view it, and even police managing the throngs showed reverence. It has been reported that vandals threw an unknown liquid at it, but the image healed itself, showing no lasting effects.

Weikert says the main Blessed Mother image, which can be seen very clearly during the day, is always there "but can sometimes put on light shows that would cause the physicists to scratch their heads. No way is it a coincidence. At night, as the sun is setting, when it's dark, the window sometimes gets brilliantly lit up and looks like it's glowing."

The two-story building once housed a bank, and a message received at the site by an alleged mystic quoted Mary as complaining that "you've made money your God." Behind the face of Mary is the altar used for the monthly Mass, which is permitted by the diocese's vicar general. "We've seen different things," Weikert told Spirit Daily. "On the right side I really think there's a child in the womb that I've seen. People get the grace to see different things."

Like all allegedly miraculous images, it is a snapshot of the spirit world, and sometimes includes the "other side"; a while back we noted an image from Clearwater that seemed to show a sphinx-like face in a small part of the periphery. But the focus is goodness -- and the Blessed Mother. According to Weikert, the woman who first spotted the reflection told him she felt "led by the Holy Spirit" and upon seeing the reflection, called local television stations, which then broadcast it.

"We never talk about it much, but there are physical healings at that site, quite a few," claims Weikert. "Inoperable brain tumors that disappeared. Super-severe varicose veins. But the main purpose of that site is spiritual renewal, not physical healings."

In future weeks we'll be exploring more of the extraordinary miracles in Florida (as well as the spiritual warfare)

Image of Virgin in Clearwater [left], and then in middle and right with image of Guadalupe superimposed to show similarities

Note behind and above statue to left of palm tree Man's face

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