From truck-stops to tree stumps, 'apparitions' are on the march

PRESENT TENSE:THE MOST illuminating aspect of last weekend's Knock "apparition" was what wasn't seen. A so-called clairvoyant had predicted that at 3pm on Sunday the Virgin Mary would make an appearance. The crowd gathered. The clock ticked down. And, sure enough, at 3pm . . . she didn't turn up.

Instead, a few minutes after that, some of those present say they saw the sun either spin, or shoot out rays, or that they did indeed see the Virgin Mary.

A Mayo Newsreporter wrote: "Standing beside some people from the parish of Knock, we witnessed something that we had never seen before. Whatever it was, and whatever the explanation, scientific or spiritual, it was spectacular and unforgettable.

“Tears rolled down many cheeks, people gasped in wonder, at the display of the sun. A small number claimed to have witnessed the host in the sun, several said they saw rays associated with many biblical visions emanating from the sun, while a handful said they saw the Virgin Mary.

“‘Isn’t she beautiful, so beautiful,’ said one young lady in a trance-like pose, kneeling on the ground and fervently praying the rosary with two friends.”

This lasted for a few minutes, after which many people left very contented. Not surprisingly, it became a popular newspaper story despite the fact that the story was that several thousand people turned up expecting to see one thing but didn’t. It’s fair to assume that when it transpired the original prediction wasn’t going to come true, some found a substitute “apparition” preferable to a day trip spoiled by an incorrect prediction.

Who knows why the Virgin Mary didn’t appear. Perhaps she was double-booked and had to appear in a taco somewhere. As it is, over the past few weeks she is said to have appeared in a water stain in a Texas truck-stop and on a Samoan wall. In June, a Texan driver claimed that the stain left behind when a bird defecated on his car had a resemblance to . . . well, you know who.

Closer to home, there are still small numbers tending to, and praying at, the famous Rathkeale tree stump.

There’s a bit of this about at the moment. A group of people recently claimed that a statue of the Virgin Mary at a grotto in Dungloe, Co Donegal, became animated and shed tears, while crosses appeared in the sky. Only one of the group – including children – claimed not to see it.

It must take a certain amount of guts to notsee something so wonderful when everyone else claims to have seen it. One blogger, though, has wondered why no-one brought a camera.

The same “clairvoyant” had predicted that event too, informing a group of people who had already visited him for a “healing” session. This is always the curious thing about apparitions: they are the preserve of those who already believe in apparitions. After last weekend, it was said that the dancing sun was a sign from the Virgin Mary. However, if you had been strolling along a few hundred metres away, you wouldn’t have seen it. Surely they should be aimed at the non-believers. As a message, they’re somewhat wasted on the faithful. It’s like advertising burgers to someone who already has a ring of ketchup around their mouth.

You can be pretty sure that, following the relative success of last weekend’s event, there will be more predictions, more crowds, more “apparitions”. Such things have punctuated the years, but there’s a sense that there may be larger gatherings to come.

Meanwhile, what is likely to happen after this column is that some people will write in and say that people’s beliefs should not be mocked, but should be respected. Often, such letters come from people of truly ferocious anger.

But should these “visions” be respected? Should people, who gathered to see a particular apparition and left having decided that they’d seen something else, have that experience treated with a quiet respect?

Or should it instead be pointed out that what they did was self-fulfilling silliness? That they turned up determined to see something; that there may be an evolutionary underpinning to religious belief and its more extreme symptoms but that this kind of behaviour makes you wonder how it is that the human race managed to survive this long at all.