| As I type upwards of 20 thousand people have gathered outside of a church in Norwood, OH of all places, to witness the "final apparition" of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ.Is anyone here involved in this sort of thing, or this particular event? I sure would like to hear more about it from a grass roots level...from someone who was there as opposed to the media reports. Perhaps I lack vision or spiritual integrity, but quite frankly I rather doubt the validity of this, all the while appreciating the fact that it seems like hundreds of folks seem to need such experiences so that they can feel grounded in their faith and the future during these tumultuous times. People from all over the country are crowding the streets of Norwood tonight. I wonder how they all got word of this gathering...I wonder what they expect...I wonder what will happen to each and every individual there this evening. Sometimes I wish that I myself had that kind of trust and what I perceive to be Blind Faith, but I don't. Still, I can wish those pilgrims well from the depths of my heart. Along these lines, I have always wondered about such apparitions, particularly the spectacle of "stigmata". A dear friend of mine mentioned the other day that when Jesus was crucified he was pierced through the wrists, not the palms (piercing through the palms would not hold up the body, my friend said). Yet, when people, a majority of whom are women, experience stigmata physically, their palms bleed. I wonder what this is all about, and the degree to which this sort of phenomenon has been researched or documented.
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