A Mexican statue of The Virgin Mary reportedly began crying real tears, sparking questions about what the sign may mean in these times. To some, this is seen as a message of the end times, something that many evangelicals say may be upon us soon as the war in Israel continues to drudge on.
The tears began in October, according to reports, and onlookers traveled to the Mexican state of Colima to see the phenomenon take place from all across the country. The statue, named the Virgin of Dolores, is now a hot topic of debate in Christian circles, with plenty of questions being raised about the possibly divine nature of the tears and what the message may entail.
Víctor Ramos is a witness of the statue who was quoted by Fox News Digital speaking about the statue’s bizarre weeping. He said, “So, a couple of tears started flowing… Similarly, when we cry, and our eyes become red, the same happens to the image.”
The Mexican State of Colima has been embroiled in violence, being dubbed on of the most violent states in all of Mexico. Given that, Ramos speculates that the tears may very well be shed for the locals of the drug and cartel-ridden region that long to end the violence and bloodshed.
Ramos explained that the tears may be present due to the “violence rates that are being experienced here in the state of Colima, also here in the community.”
Despite social media images floating around online, the Catholic Church has not been eager to endorse these rumors of the crying statue as true. In fact, Fr. Thomas Petri, president of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, explained that the church is looking into this matter with a speculative eye.
He said, “These phenomena have to be subject to the judgment of the Church, which usually comes from the local bishop after an investigation and hearing experts on the matter… Often, there’s a natural explanation for these sorts of things… Catholics are not obliged to believe in these phenomena.”
Fr. Paul Hedman, a priest from Minnesota, also weighed in on the verifiability of the scene. He said, “People should remain indifferent and not get too excited until the Church is able to investigate… I would generally encourage people to maintain a healthy skepticism — the truth will come forward, and it is better to be cautious than to pour your soul into something that turns out to be inauthentic.”
With so much editing and tomfoolery taking place in this age of readily available video cameras and tools, it is really hard to know whether the images and videos shared can be corroborated by the Catholic Church. It will, however, be interesting to see the way that the investigation takes place.
Is this a foreboding sign from God? It is too soon to know. What is clear, however, is that Catholics all around the world are eagerly awaiting the verdict on the factual evidence surrounding the phenomenon.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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