[johntt]

Thank you, bluecross, for the info on Mate Vasilj and that he is the owner of the medjugorje.net website. But if we are to accept the authenticity of the photograph, then do we not need to recognise we have been given a sign from heaven?

Maybe a mechanism can be put forward to explain how such a glow can be 'given' or 'applied' to a statue but is that what is being suggested? I find it rather difficult to believe that a trick like that could be so impressively executed.

[ministryvalues]

Statues cry, why not glow..My real issue is that both sides go nuts ..often the Church ignores these events and lets them fester. I just wish the church would go into the place and quickly do a serious investigations without fanfare and say something about it.
It is really not that complicated IMO. Maybe Pope Francis's call to Bishops to "get out of the Church" can move this forward.

[bluecross]

No one is saying that it is “a trick” or that anyone is trying to deceive.

The phenomenon is natural, not supernatural and can be explained.

Here’s another clue. Two photos below, taken within 20 seconds of each other on May 17, 2008.

One the left: photo taken with flash. One the right, photo taken without using flash.

So what’s the explanation for the variance in colour, one photo shows a white statue, the other a green statue.

It’s not supernatural. Both images rely on a source of light to be photographed. The first photo uses the light source from the camera flash. In the second photo the light source comes from the lamps below the statue and around it.

So why the difference? Because the two light sources are different in “temperature”.

Sometimes the two light sources can “compete”. In the first photo you can see some stray light coming from below the statue that adds a “green” tinge in places. But in the second photo, because there is no light at all coming from the camera flash, then the light source that gives a green look to the statue is in total charge.

However, we all know that it isn’t really a green statue but a white statue. Isn’t it?

No light, no colour. Just blackness.

Try putting two different coloured T shirts beside each other, made of the same material, and under the same light. What causes the colours to be different when placed under the same light? I don’t think anyone would disagree that the dye used will dictate the perception of the colour.

So we know that different dyes (made up of different chemical compounds) will reflect or absorb light accordingly. And that’s another factor we have to consider when we consider the object the light is shining on (we could probably use this analogy in a spiritual sense of the light as well). The composite of the object, especially it’s surface will also dictate how light is absorbed and reflected.

A good example of this is sun-block. The chemicaal in the compound is design to keep out harmful ultra-violet rays and stop us changing colour, getting sunburnt!

And so, when considering the so-called phenomenon of the glowing statue in Vicka’s childhood home, all these points need to be considered. It’s not a matter of saying it’s a miracle or not a miracle, but first trying to make sense of the phenomenon and seeing if there is a plausible explanation which will help us better understand.

God does not confuse his people. He tells us that the Word is the true light, but which of us have never felt the attraction of chasing after false lights and illusions of life?

I received an email today. It read: “We do not want to escape the world, but we want to live in it without belonging to it.”

[MedjAdmin]

I'm really confused about this.

Maybe the photos that have been taken are not actually capturing the same glow that people are seeing... maybe the "glow" is something supernatural, and the photos are just showing the white as a greenish color due to the mechanics mentioned by Bluecross.

The problem is that the naked eye would not see this greenish color if it were simply due to those mechanics or camera filters.

So, I see two possible scenarios...

If the glow that people are seeing is only on the white part of the statue, and the glow looks like this greenish glow-in-the-dark color, then I feel like some prankster much have put glow in the dark paint on it. This would explain the reports of the glow fading as the night went longer.

If, however, the glow that people see is something different, such as the entire statue glowing, then maybe there's something to it. I really would think that any kind of supernatural glow would not manifest in the same color as all those glow-in-the-dark products (including small Mary statues sold in Medjugorje). I feel like it would be something more divine... like a white light.

Just my thoughts!

[johntt]

If a prankster is not involved with this, then I struggle to accept a 'natural' explanation. A chemical residue from a washing liquid could maybe cause some kind of fluorescence but that explanation seems so unlikely.....

There is an interesting report now on Spirit Daily at:

http://www.spiritdaily.com/A925medjstatueletter.htm

[bluecross]

John and Sean... there are chemicals involved if the statue has been washed some kind of detergent used.

Let’s suppose the statue was washed with water and detergent. Let’s suppose the statue was allowed to dry naturally and a residue of the detergent chemical has been absorbed by the plaster/chalk compound.

Let’s suppose that this chemical reacts to light. During the day it absorbs natural light through the window next to the statue. The light energy absorbed by this chemical is then released under the artificial light I mentioned earlier.

When this light energy is expent, the statue stops glowing until it is recharged again the next day ready to glow once again at night.

A little research on the internet will explain all of this in technical terms and in a more understanding way than I can express. But that is what I thing is happening.

I don”t believe anyone has painted the statue. It has ben washed all over. It may even be cleaned on a regular basis because there are so many pilgrims touching it in recent times. Whoever did the cleaning job most likely poured a bottle of cleaning detergent into a bucket of water, wiped down the statue, but didn’t dry it off.

[bluecross]

Something else to consider. Anyone who ever went to visit Fr Jozo for one of his talks will remember receiving a beautiful picture of Our Lady along with some plastic rosary beads. The beads were mostly of the ‘luminous’ kind, that is, they would glow a little in the dark or under the bedclothes!

Ask the question why these plastic beads would glow in the dark.

[bluecross]

I can’t help feeling that this ‘phenomenon’ is going to cause a lot of embarrassment to some people if ever someone comes along and provides a full scientific explanation with examples. I’m really surprised that Vicka has been quoted to suggest she believes the phenomenon is supernatural.

I guess there is a simple way she can solve this ‘mystery’. Just check with Our Lady. The visionaries used to ask her all sorts of questions at one time.

Maybe Our Lady will give it a mention in this evening’s mention to Marija, that’s of course if th Blessed Mother thinks it’s important enough for us to know the real answer on this one.

[MedjAdmin]

Well, the beads glow in the dark because they were made of glow in the dark materials, namely something called phosphors (I looked it up), mixed in with the plastic. Two common ones are Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate. They get energized by ultraviolet light and that makes them glow. I still have some of those rosaries. They look the same as many glow in the dark toys that my kids play with.

I've been searching for your explanation, BC, regarding the detergent, but I can't find anything that connects any cleaning solution, or related chemical reaction, to glowing in the dark. From what I understand, that cleaning solution would need to have phosphors in it, if it were to make anything glow. Did you find anything on the Net about this? Maybe you can post a link if you did.

[MedjAdmin]

I’m really surprised that Vicka has been quoted to suggest she believes the phenomenon is supernatural.

Which quote was this? I don't believe she said it was supernatural. Of course, that's what people will want her to say, so we have to keep in mind that any "quote" could have come down the line of a muddled "telephone game."

[bluecross]

Sean... a couple of links here to start with...

http://video.about.com/chemistry/How-to ... -Water.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/glowinthe ... -Light.htm

You are correct in saying that Vicka has not confirmed the light as supernatural. I misread. what was reproduced on MedjugorjeToday:

“But I have seen much more. All bright!” Laura Marcazzan Budimir tells Medjugorje Today.
The Italian-born local resident further informs that Vicka has seen the glowing statue in her room.
“Vicka said she was happy to have seen the light, and to kneel and pray before the statue” Laura Marcazzan Budimir tells.

[TimHaley]

White surfaces often will show green under exposure to fluorescent lighting at night as shown in the attached photo. Why would Our Lady show green instead of white? I believe there to be a prosaic explanation for all of this and certainly not supernatural. I am embarrassed that this would be reported as supernatural as it diminishes the true supernatural events at Medjugorje. Just more ammunition for the critics.

[MedjAdmin]

Thanks for the links. Both of those things say they "glow under a black light." A black light makes a lot of things glow, including the white colors in clothes. These links wouldn't explain why the object is glowing to the naked eye, unless of course there was a black light involved, which I'm sure is not the case. Black lights give off a purple hue from the source that is easy to see. Also, if it is a detergent residue on the statue doing this, that wouldn't explain why only the white part of it glows.

[MedjAdmin]

There is a streetlight outside of Vicka's old house -- Could that be serving as the ultraviolet source?

[bluecross]

Mixed messages...
http://crownofstars.blogspot.co.uk/2013 ... sages.html

[TimHaley]

Thank you BC for your rational thinking. A little more rational thought before marketing this to the world as supernatural, which is what a few news outlets have done, would have been preferred. While good-intentioned, these news stories end up having the opposite effect. Instead of bringing people to God, false information in the long run will distance people from God.

[bluecross]

Here’s another very visible, green-glow sign that can be seen every day at Medjugorje (probably in many other places around the world as well.)

[bluecross]

deleted by bc (post not relevant)

[TimHaley]

The Blessed Mother always points us to her Son, not to herself. I see the 'glowing' statue as a distraction from that which should have our focus. Unfortunately, this photo and story is spreading like wild fire across Facebook, apparently endorsed by some well-known pilgrimage directors.

[bluecross]

It has not been a good year for “Medjugorje” business. Numbers are down, tax inspectors are collecting their dues... still no news from Rome... worldwide economic downturn... so I guess there will always be the temptation to “seize the day”, so to speak. Gift horses and all that kind of thing...

But I’m sure the better times will return...

New line for shops in Medjugorje... glowing statues! Should sell like hot cakes!

[bluecross]

No sooner said...

I must say, I much prefer the blue glow!

Pictured in Medjugorje five years ago.

[TimHaley]

New line for shops in Medjugorje... glowing statues! Should sell like hot cakes!

Like this one?

[bluecross]

deleted by BC (not relevant)

[MedjAdmin]

Oh, wow, I totally need a Gospalampa.

[larc_en_ciel]

Is happening this evening too?