Throughout Catholic history, Mary has allegedly appeared to men, women, and children giving messages that are to be communicated to the faithful. In harmony with a good portion of occult tradition, most of these appearances have occurred to children (usually girls) and the illiterate poor. The Church has officially accepted many of these visitation including those at Guadalupe, Mexico (1531), Paris (1830), La Salette, France (1846), Lourdes, France (1858), Knock, Ireland (1879), Fatima, Portugal (1917), Beauraing, Belgium (1932-1933), and Banneaux, Belgium (1933).
(The John Ankerberg Show )
Its easier for a child to believe in God for some reason. Religion in Denmark is not very important. Most are protestants but only 2% actually attend Church. This does not mean that religion is not important as many do believe in God. Religion is just considered a private matter by the Danes. Its nothing to publically admit or boast about.
My name is William and this story takes place in a small town in Denmark when I was 11 years old. For those that do not know, Denmark is a small country in Europe. We are supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and one of the happiest! So you see, living in Denmark was not a bad childhood for an 11-year-old boy.
We lived in a small house and both my parents had good jobs, so I never needed anything. I was the only child and had a good relationship with my parents. I often got in trouble, but they treated me well and overall I was a good kid. I had a lot of good friends at school and got good grades. I suppose you can say that I was a happy boy!
I was not that religious. We never went to Church and we never read the Bible or prayed. I did believe in God, but I just never prayed to him. It would have help if he spoke back to me. The only real connection I had with God was that I heard Bible stories at FDF, which is like the scouts here in Denmark. It's not like we were praying all the time. We did things as all scouts do. Its fun to be at FDF, because my friends are there and we do everything different every week.
We had to go to a Church service once. I liked the singing and stories. I just wondered was God listening to us? I mean if millions of people say the same prayers and sing the same songs in Churches across the world, would God listen to them all or just one Church? I could understand why people came to church. In a way it was peaceful. It was like I had time to think. The songs made me feel good.
Later that night when we were eating supper, I asked Mom and Dad why there were protestants and Catholics. I really did not get an explanation except we believe in some differences and protestants did not think the Pope should have the last say. This made me think of how stupid people were. I mean he was the same God and did it make a difference how we worshipped him, as long as he was our friend.
That was if there was a God! I mean when I prayed to him, he didn't bother in talking with me. People used their entire life trying to prove there was a God and he existed. Millions believe in him or choose to believe in him. I suppose this is a good insurance policy. When you die and there is no God, then you would not know as everything would be blank. On the other hand, if there was a God, you can say you tried to believe and pray.
The next day I was walking home from school when I decided to take a short cut through the park. I was walking on the path when I suddenly saw a huge light from the area the bushes are. This got my interest, so I walked across the grass to the bush. There was this woman floating in the air. She had a white robe on, with a light blue veil and a crown of flowers. She had gold sandals and a light blue belt. The woman must have been a ghost as she was flowing above a bush. Behind the bush was a rock garden. I never really did believe in ghosts but this woman was a ghost as how could she float in the air? She was also like a lamp, as there was light flowing out from her. I tried asking her if she was a ghost and what her name was. She did not say anything but smiled. So I just looked at her and looked around to see if anyone else was looking. It was just me.
I should have been afraid because I could see a ghost. I was not afraid as she was just standing there smiling. The light that went out of her was also warm. This ghost was not evil and wouldn't kill me. So we just stood there looking at each other. I honestly do not know how much time went by. It was not boring just standing there. After all, how many times do you see a ghost?
In the end, it was like the light around her faded and she slowly faded away. Before she was gone, she whispered that I should visit her again.
When I came home, I told mom about the ghost and how she looked. Mom told me that I should draw a picture of her. This frustrated me as I thought why did I not take a picture with my cell phone. I felt so stupid that I did not take a picture. So I spent the next hour drawing a picture of her. I am not a good drawer and the only nice part of the drawing was the bush. It is hard drawing a ghost. She was so beautiful, so how could I draw that? I was not satisfied with the result, but people could get the idea of what I saw.
Mom looked at it and said she looks like someone from a child's Bible. I told mom that the ghost said nothing except she hoped I visited her again. This made mom laugh as she told me that it must just be my imagination. She gave me a hug and explained that children had overactive imaginations. Some children could see fairies while others had imaginary friends. She told me not to think about it anymore.
I sat in my room looking at my drawing. Mom was always honest with me and she was wise in many ways. This being said, she must have been wrong about the whole thing just being my imagination. When I thought back on the experience, it seemed so real! I kept on asking myself if I was so tired that she was just my imagination. I remembered that no one else was standing there looking at her. I chose to believe that there are no ghosts and she must have been part of my imagination.
The school was normal the next day. I did not tell anyone about the ghost. They would not be as understanding as mom was. They would think I was crazy or just wanting some attention. The school was boring, so my mind kept on thinking about her. At one stage I took my picture out and just looked at it. I smiled thinking that it would have been so cool if I saw a ghost. However, life was not like a Hollywood film. There were no such things as ghosts.
After school, I thought I should go to the park and make sure. The other boys wanted to play football, so I decided that this was more fun. At least it would be real. So for the next hour, I was a normal 11-year-old playing football. I was good at this sport and it annoyed me when other boys did not play so well. This meant that I shouted at them and told them how they should play. I wasn't the only one shouting and being frustrated. It was part of the game. Even though I could be annoyed at a boy for kicking wrong, it didn't mean that I did not like him.
After the game, we went for a walk laughing and joking. I did not even consider that we were walking through the park. We sat on the grass plane close to a big fountain. I only thought about the ghost once, where I looked towards the bush. There was no strange light. So Mom must have been right. I was not disappointed, as I just continued to have a good time with my friends.
Then I could see the light. I asked my friends if they could see it. They must be blind that they could not see it. So I went to the bush and the ghost lady was standing there again. I told the boys that she was there, but they only laughed and said that I was playing a trick on them! I told them I was not. There was a ghost standing on the bush. They must have been annoyed at me or disappointed they could not see the lady, as one by one, they walked away.
I stayed there watching the lady that was once against smiling.
" Who are you?" I asked.
" It will be revealed to you who I am when you get home. I will ensure that I am not a ghost!"
I continued to look at her as time passed by. The other boys were long gone. The same happened. Her light started dimming as so did she. Just before she vanished, she told me she would be here every Friday, and asked me to come and see her. She made me promise that I would.
When I got home, I told Mom and Dad what happened. I told her the lady said she was no ghost and that the other boys could not see her. Dad smiled and asked was I so tired after playing football, that I was seeing things.
Mom was a bit more serious. She called me over to the computer and showed me a picture and asked did the lady look like the one on the picture? I smiled and shouted that she was the same lady.
Mom read the description under the picture, " Painting of our Holy Mother, Mary, the mother of Jesus."
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