A brief piece at archdiocesan-friendly MyFoxNY has spokesman Joseph Zwilling responding as follows:
"Joseph Zwilling, chief spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said this is not an official apparition. He added that people tend to see this image in various places but they are not endorsed by the church. But he concluded that people taking inspiration from these images is a good thing.
When asked about the closed Holy Cross Church across the street, Zwilling said the image would not cause the Archdiocese to take any action.
This brief statement includes the word "not" 3 times and the powerful poetry of the words "official" and "endorsed." Interestingly enough, one of the "nots" referred to taking action regarding the the Holy Cross Church. It would be interesting to see the full text of the question that occasioned the terse response.
When I am down and discouraged, I tend to see the faces of old friends in the middle distance on a crowed street or subway platform and my heart leaps. As the person comes closer I see a stranger who bears a resemblance. While I do not meet my friend, I am consoled by the remembrance. As the Feast of the Assumption nears I am happy that Our Lady is in the hearts and minds of so many people who hunger for her loving presence.
Attention all metro traffic reporters: As you hover over the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, please take lots of video if the roofs of the waiting cars form a mosaic that looks something like this:
1 comment:
I'm reading Andrew Greeley's "The Catholic Imagination" and will offer a few quotes, taken out of a much larger context, which seem relevant to these recent image sightings. Both quotes are from the chapter titled 'The Mother Love of God.'
"The image of Mary the mother of Jesus distinguishes the Catholic religious sensibility from all others. She pushes the envelope of the Catholic imagination as far as it can be pushed ..."
"When it links the fertility of nature and the fertility of a woman with the fertility of God, the Catholic imagination risks being profoundly offensive."
That's how we wind up being called Satanists and devil-worshippers - but we have ninety year old women who attack our detractors with flowers. That's such a wonderful Catholic image in itself!
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