The Greenwood Community Church Cross Appears

A cross of light appeared, like a strange and beautiful hologram, while I was changing a light fixture at the Greenwood Community Church in Elk recently. I noticed that the lens glass was producing the cross of light by the light refracting through it. I felt a quickening as I recalled reading an article in a Southern California newspaper about miraculous crosses of light that were appearing in windows throughout the Hispanic community. The article described how the community residents were inspired by the crosses. As a predominately Catholic Community, many of the homes were graced with devotional shrines to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. Various healing episodes were reported, including one spontaneous remission from breast cancer, and, in the case of one youngster, the disappearance of the desire to take drugs. There were other claims of healing as well, some verified by doctors..

I quietly put the fixture back together, wanting to research the phenomenon before making any extraordinary claims. I found the article I had clipped a few years ago called the "Miracle Crosses of El Monte." The picture showed an identical cross. Awhile later, I was replacing more light bulbs at the church while preparing for an art auction. I noticed, while the lens glasses was all apparently the same in the six church light fixtures, three of the lenses refracted the holographic crosses, and three did not. You can't see the cross unless the light source is some distance from the glass, so it doesn't show when the lights are in normal use. After some months passed, I found an opportunity to show one of the crosses to a person who claims to be "sensitive" to such phenomena, and who also had knowledge of the other miracle crosses that by now have been appearing world wide. The story I was told, though seemingly fantastic, was that the crosses are a sign of a great soul descending into the every day world, and the beginning of a golden era for humanity. I showed the church committee the cross, demonstrating its holographic qualities. I received permission to put it on display at the church. It is an inspiring sight, regardless of how one feels about the qualities attributed to it.

The Milk Miracle

I have made an effort over the years to keep track of paranormal phenomena, hoping to one day prove to myself that there is more to life than flesh and bone. Though proof is elusive, there are lots of miracle stories in the media lately. One that received world media attention recently, (though played quietly by the US media) is the "World Wide Milk Miracles". Last September, it was reported that Hindu statues were "drinking" milk offerings. It began at dawn in a temple on the outskirts of Delhi, India, when milk offered to a statue of Ganesh just disappeared into thin air. Word spread so quickly throughout India that soon thousands were offering milk to the gods and watching in amazement as it disappeared. Life in India was brought to a virtual standstill as people rushed to the temples to see for themselves the drinking gods. India was in pandemonium. The government shut down for several hours and trading ground to a halt on stock markets in Bombay and New Delhi. Soon the news spread to Hindu communities in Singapore, Hong Kong, Nepal, Thailand, Dubai, the United Kingdom, the USA, and Canada. People all over the world were converging on temples with large quantities of milk which, except for some minor spillage, was all "consumed" by the statues.

Another amazing manifestation occurred at a major Hindu temple in Wimbledon, South London. There, milk offerings to the statue of Ganesh disappeared, and simultaneously, in a shrine room containing a large photograph of Sai Baba, vibuti (holy ash) poured from Sai Baba's forehead, and amrit (nectar) flowed from his feet. Sai Baba is an Indian holy man considered to be an Avatar or living god.

Mary Statue Weeps

A Kuwaiti woman named Nasreen in a small community east of Los Angeles regularly hosts a roomful of mostly Hispanic and Arabic women. They recite the rosary in several different languages and sing devotional songs. An altar is filled with dozens of statues of Mary, Jesus and Joseph. The walls are covered with pictures of the three venerated figures. The largest statue of Mary on the center of the altar looks as if it's weeping, as a bead of oil reflects light from below the right eye. The other statues also have droplets of oil. As the session ends, the women converge on the altar to see the new oil. It is said to be pure olive oil. The oil is diluted into 100% pure "Extra Virgin" olive oil, is used for healing, and is distributed to the group.

Nasreen has a photo album filled with pictures of miracles: the statue crying tears of blood (because of the wars); the head of the statue facing at different angles (it once 'bowed' its head in front of a crowd of 150 people to thank them for being faithful); a dramatic image of Jesus superimposed on a photo of her garden; and so on.

The oil phenomenon started in October 1988. The smell of oil filled the room. A picture of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus began leaking oil. The priest from the local church was informed. 15 days later, Nasreen began receiving messages from the Virgin Mary. Then the Virgin Mary appeared to Nasreen .She was the only one who could see her. More people started to come to visit, hearing news of the miracles by word of mouth. The priest took samples of the oil and the messages to the Vatican. The oil was tested and found to be 100% olive oil, over 500 years old! It apparently takes the Vatican many years to verify a miracle.

More Miracles

The list of miracles goes on: Crop Circles, beautiful and intricate impressions which appear overnight in fields of grain world wide; healing water springs in Mexico, Germany and India; numerous apparitions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus; and UFO activity increasing.

The Dutch Christian daily newspaper TROUW ran an article about the phenomenon known as "A Mysterious Hitchhiker": A member of the Dutch Reformed Church heard the story at his bible class: a motorist picks up a hitchhiker along the motor way. A conversation develops on spiritual matters and the subject of the future Kingdom of God crops up. The hitchhiker then announces that Jesus will appear again soon and disappears in the same way as at the supper at Emmaus. The motorist is so shaken by the experience that he parks his car on the hard shoulder to recover from the shock. Here he is approached by some traffic policemen to whom he tells the story. They reply, "You are the eighth motorist who has told us this." Similar stories are reported from New Zealand, Mississippi, Florida, and numerous other places, all with a similar outline.

Angels

Interest in angels is ever gaining popular appeal. We even have an angel store in Mendocino. A cover story of Time magazine called it a grass-roots revolution of the spirit. The article, "The New Age of Angels", states: 69% of Americans believe angels exist. The New York Times ran a recent editorial discussing the renewed interest in angels in popular culture and the number of current books about angelic visitations. The New York Times did not acknowledge the possible veracity of the stories, but also did not overly disparage them. As the editorial put it: Many people, it turns out, still believe that in their hour of need...the mysterious stranger who came to their rescue was not an earthly friend, but another kind of guardian.

In regard to the current popularity of angels, the editor reflected: "We cannot give a definitive answer. We can guess, though. In a sectarian age, when people are being slaughtered for their differences, angels are nonsectarian well-wishers, common to Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Zoroastrianism. Bodhisattvas fulfill the same role ... in Buddhism, as avatars do in Hinduism. They are universal exemplars of grace and innocence ... a sweet antidote to the nastiness of most popular culture."

(Benjamin Creme's Master confirms that the cross at the Greenwood Community Church was manifested by Maitreya.)

• See Greenwood Community Church page