http://www.jonholato.com/2007/06/11/south-african-girl-having-apparitions-of-the-virgin-mary/

I am not a fan of removing articles that have been posted (and have never done so) because it removes the knowledge gained by all from discussing the topic.

As for your updates from South Africa, I very much appreciate them thank you as I have not seen much media coverage on it since the initial story broke. Now allow me to respond from my perspective.

With respect to the woman who was allegedly blinded by looking into the sun upon Miss Zackey’s recommendations, I find it hard to believe that a) she would tell her to stare into the sun, and b) someone would be dumb enough to stare into the sun to the point of blindness. I think rather, if she said that, that it was more than likely a metaphor, meaning the Virgin Mary is a source of light and purity, if that makes sense.

With regard to the Catholic Church advising her to stop pending investigation, I think that is pretty common practice when anything with a supernatural aura gets reported. With well over one billion followers, they must take every precaution to ensure that everything getting pushed in the name of Christianity is real and true. At the same time, this level of bureaucracy in the Church can have negative effects. So it’s kind of a double-edged sword, because the fact that the Church needs to watch its back also prevents Miss Zackey from potentially helping and strengthening the faith of others.

With regard to the South African Council of Churches saying how would one know what the Virgin Mary looked like, I find that an ignorant comment by someone of little faith. Recall that when Jesus returned from the dead the disciples didn’t recognize Him at first and were frightened by Him, but then they came to feel Jesus’ presence and realized that the Lord had returned. (Forgive me for not having a passage to support this, I’m writing this from a train. However I think it’s in the Gospel of John.)

And finally, regarding our different interpretations of biblical passages, agree to disagree. I think that is the beauty of discussion though, because our different interpretations not only lead to us understanding each other’s points of view, but also anyone reading this is able to see how the Bible can be interpreted more than one way but for the betterment of all. Because let’s be real, our disagreements on how the Bible should be interpreted are petty in the big picture. You and I are both Christians who believe in one God and His only Son Jesus Christ. The important thing is to keep the discussion going in the face of non-believers, so that our faith in God and Jesus Christ may continue to be strengthened and that some may come to know the word of the Lord as we do.

God Bless!

I stay in South Africa personally and so have been in touch with this story.I am sure you might have missed some other developments of that story. You can check out this link.

http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=497928

It is alleged that a certain lady lost her sight after being advised by the same girl (Francesca Zackey) to look into the sun inorder to see the virgin Mary.

She (Francesca Zackey ) has now been advised even by the Catholic Church to stop “blessing” people until the Church completes its own investigations into the authenticity of her claims.

The South African Council of Churches has also expressed doubts about the matter. Check it out on this link.

http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=496932

The South African Council of Churches general secretary Eddie Makue said, “I doubt it very much… We know that people in desperate situations search for answers from God. The God we know reveals himself in a meaningful manner …………………. Has this girl seen the Virgin Mary before? How did she know what she looks like?” You can read more about this story on the above link.

You see Jon Holato, people usually see visions in relation to what they believe. That is why my argument was the bible should guide us because people can have all sorts of strange ideas and beliefs that eventually lead people to ruin. Imagine someone has had her eyes damaged because of those claims that have not even been supported by her own (Fransisca) church. I like what the position the Catholic Church has taken…. investigate before beliving! Thats what people should do…. test your beliefs! Do not just belive just because you were born into it.

You can check out more of this story on this other link as well.
http://www.24.com/news/?p=tsa&i=561256

Well thanks. I will not respond to the comment by “the voice of reason” because i did not see reasoning in that article. Your won response Jon I am afraid did not carry the meaning you assigned to it. I thought there was a difference between being called “blessed by all generations” and having all “genarations praying to you.” I am not an English person myself but I am sure even the Queen of England would agree with that the difference between those statements is like the difference between heaven and earth or the difference between day and night.

@ Florchakh - you must be younger than me lol, wait till you’re my age then there’s no way you’ll be able to go on 4 hours of sleep

@ Christine - are you kidding? never! p.s. I’m having DnD withdrawls.

Anyways, can’t wait for your new posts, too!