"In all that I have read in your articles on disasters and signs, I do not recall any that address this particular phenomenon," says Peggy Clores of Huntington New York. "My question is two fold:  I have come to believe that the sun and the  moon are positively a sign and symbol of the Host.  Is there anything that validates this perception?

"Also, in this past year, I have never in all my life observed so many perfect and clear full moons. I am not one to follow the frequency and order of the different phases of the moon, but is it my imagination -- or does it seem that the full moon is out and most pronounced in this year in particular? 

"It seems to radiate in a way I have not observed over the course of my lifetime. In the same vein, I have noticed amazing things with the sun. It appears in a perfect shape with far more frequency, bearable to the eye. 

"In both cases, the sun and the moon are often encased with clouds that surround them in a particularly dramatic way, so as to further emphasize the image and draw our attention in a particular way and with particular emphasis. 

"Each time, I stop in my tracks and gaze at this phenomenon, for I don't recall ever seeing so much of this and I have wondered if this has anything to do with this being the Year of the Eucharist. I'm also wondering if it is part of the signs, along with the disasters and all else you have spoken about, to keep our attention on the Eucharist, which is God Himself."

We'll let all you consider those questions and decide. Perhaps you have seen similar things. Literally millions have reported the sun miracle at places such as Betania, Venezuela, Medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina, the tomb of St. Padre Pio, and the highlands near Cuenca, Ecuador -- along with dozens of other locales.

"We found a place about forty feet from the Cross to 'set up camp.' Since our boys are relatively young (aged 11 and nine), we thought we could share two pillows for the four of us. Then I laid down our own towels for our boys to lay on and gave each a bed sheet. 

 

"Anyway, the four of us lay down (coincidently in the shape of a cross), and started to pray together as a family, holding hands, taking turns thanking God, presenting petitions, and then concluding with the Our Father and Hail Mary. 

"While I was thanking God, I saw a very vibrant shooting star and paused briefly to see what would happen to the 'star.' I was particularly interested since I had a deeply moving 'shooting star' experience 15 years earlier during my last trip to Medjugorje when the star 'exploded' into countless pieces just above Cross Mountain when [seer Ivan Dragicevic] was having a public apparition while we were on Apparition Hill -- August 3, 1990.  

"As far as I know, I was the only one who saw that shooting star. This event was a significant impetus to my conversion-reversion.

 

"So, after we finished our family prayer,  I explained why I had paused during the prayer and all my family had seen the shooting star, too. A few seconds later, we saw another. My younger son, Clayton, started counting them. I had actually seen one earlier in the night. Without going into loads of detail, it was tough to close our eyes and get some sleep because we kept seeing shooting stars. I counted over thirty shooting stars while my younger son counted 22 (he also said he twice saw two simultaneous shooting stars). 

"To me this was a gift and confirmation that we are on the 'right track' praying together as a family, as our Blessed Mother has requested.

 

"About three a.m. I opened my eyes and saw light emanating behind the Cross. 

"As I leaned forward to see where the light was coming from, I beheld a double crescent moon. 

"I blinked my eyes, shook my head, and looked again; sure enough two distinct moons.

"I could hardly believe it!" continues Torrez. "I nudged my wife and called her name trying to wake her, but she was sound asleep. I didn't think to take a picture then, but rather thought about what an awesome God we have and how lucky I was to be in Medjugorje on top of Cross Mountain. I prayed for every family member and deceased relative and acquaintance I could remember. When I arose about a half hour before sunrise, the moon still looked peculiar, but the 'extra' moon was now more of a effervescent 'shadow' of the real luminous moon."

Oh, yes, the moon. Didn't the prophet Joel write of that? And many are those who report the very same shooting and "exploding" stars.

It sounds far-fetched until we see the stable and often sophisticated orientation of those who report such phenomena. In many cases, observers -- at times by the hundreds -- have witnessed what seem like meteors but then again don't seem like meteors. In some cases the stars seemed to change colors. 

 

Signs in the moon. Signs in the stars. Those who slough it off do so through pride, and forget or don't know that such "signs of the times" were particularly prevalent in the 14th century, which they need to study more fully, as the past holds the keys to the near-future, particularly the mid-point of that long-ago century, when strange aerial lights were also seen, along with terrestrial events.

10/19/05