Misplaced Pages

#417582

48-470: With leafy forest and meadows, Cúa has a population of 123,000 (2004), mainly dedicated to services and industry (plastic pipes, paper rolls) it's a dormitory town. The most important districts of Cúa are: Nueva Cúa, Lecumberry, La Fila, Mume, Santa rosa and Aparay . The local Sanctuary of the Virgin of Betania has become famous for its attributed Marian apparitions . Cúa is one of the locations served by

96-552: A break-in at the coffee house. This phenomenon can even take political meanings, such as the cross-shaped reflection seen on the East Berlin TV Tower , nicknamed "the Pope's revenge" and cited by Ronald Reagan as an example of the survival of religious ideas in the secular Communist society. In at least two instances, the images of deceased Anglican clergymen allegedly appeared on the walls of their church. In 1902,

144-651: A chemical reaction like that often seen on old bottles, perhaps due to the action of the water sprinkler. On March 1, 2004, the three uppermost panes of the window were broken by a vandal. Other Marian apparitions of this type that have received substantial press coverage include a fence in Coogee, Australia in 2003; a hospital in Milton, Massachusetts in June 2003; and a felled tree in Passaic , New Jersey in 2003. Images of

192-497: A frequently-reported religious perception is the image of the word "Allah" in Arabic on natural objects. Again, the discovery of such an object may attract considerable interest among believers who visit the object for the purpose of prayer or veneration. Examples of this phenomenon have been reported on fish, fruit and vegetables, plants and clouds, eggs, honeycombs, and on the markings on animals' coats. The Arabic script for

240-677: A number have been bought by the Golden Palace casino. When such images receive publicity, people frequently come considerable distances to see them, and to venerate them. On April 30, 2002 the Hubble Space Science Institute released new photographs of the Cone Nebula , also known as the Space Mountain, to showcase a new extremely high resolution camera. Shortly afterwards some began to call it

288-483: A participatory event parsing experience into meaningful units. The crossroads or intersections of evolutionary psychology of religion , pattern recognition , neuroaesthetics and symbolic communication lend to the construction of meanings as group cohesion and bond-forming in human society . The Virgin Mary accounts for many sightings of this type. A typical example is the "Clearwater Virgin", an image of Mary which

336-605: A particular image of herself that incorporates elements of the local culture." Apparitions can become a part of national identity, as Our Lady of Guadalupe is for the majority-Catholic population of Mexico . Apparitions often result in the establishment of Marian confraternities, movements, and societies that seek to heed and spread the messages of a particular apparition, such as the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima . Occasionally, apparitions will introduce prayers that become incorporated into widespread Catholic practice, as for

384-446: A physical artifact is reportedly left behind, such as the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico, 1531), which is said to have been miraculously imprinted on the cloak of Juan Diego . The Catholic Church believes that it is possible for actually-supernatural Marian apparitions to occur, but also believes that many claimed apparitions are fabricated by the seer or the result of something other than divine intervention. For this reason,

432-571: A possible supernatural phenomenon, ranging from a declaration that an event is not of supernatural origin to authorizing and promoting piety and devotion associated with a phenomenon without affirming its divine nature." The bishop is to submit his findings to the Dicastery for review before publishing them. Occasionally, an ecclesial authority will decide not to investigate the veracity of an apparition in itself, but will permit religious practices related to it. Pope Leo XIII , for example, authorized

480-524: A religious reality that human existence is immersed in a world containing such beings. The principal reason he believed in religion was because he believed himself to be wired to believe it, just as he believed human beings are wired to perceive inference (if ... then) and other mental logical phenomena as representing truths about the external world that can be learned from, rather than representing purely internal phenomena to be characterized as error. He chose to believe in his wiring for religious perception in

528-501: A reported phenomenon. Even if a Catholic bishop sees no objection, belief in the apparition is never required of the Catholic faithful. The Catholic faith is based on so-called Public Revelation, which ended with the death of the last living Apostle . A Marian apparition, however, is considered private revelation , which may emphasize some facet of the received public revelation for a specific purpose, but can never add anything new to

SECTION 10

#1732775916418

576-426: A seer not only says that they have experienced a vision, but that they expect it will reoccur, causing people to gather to observe) appear to be a relatively recent phenomenon; up until about the seventeenth century, most reported apparitions happened when the individual was alone, or at least no one else was aware of its occurrence. Physical contact is hardly ever reported as part of Marian apparitions. In rare cases,

624-468: Is generally characterized as a form of pareidolia . This is a false perception of imagery due to what is theorized as the human mind's over-sensitivity to perceiving patterns, particularly the pattern of a human face , in otherwise random phenomena. It is suggested that a tendency of religious imagery in Islam to be perceived as Arabic words is made more likely by the general simplicity of letter forms in

672-460: Is known for its publicity stunts . Another image often reported is that of Jesus Christ . Sightings of this type have been reported in such varied media as cloud photos, Marmite , chapatis , shadows, Cheetos , tortillas , trees, dental x-rays, cooking utensils, windows rocks and stones, painted and plastered walls, and dogs' hindquarters. Again, some of these items have been offered for sale on Internet auction sites, and

720-625: The Cumanagotos natives, from the Carib language that means Crab , meaning that Cúa is the place where the crab abounds. Others affirm that its name is associate with Apacuana , a brave native woman from the region, that fought against the Spaniards . Others think that that name was giving in honor to the native Cue , ally of the Spaniards, that helped in the foundation and consolidation of

768-654: The Arabic alphabet (especially in the everyday Riq'a ); a tradition of massive typographical flexibility in Islamic calligraphy ; and the particular shape of the word Allah (الله). These factors make the word easy to read into many structures with parallel lines or lobes on a common base. The author C. S. Lewis wrote about the implications of perception of religious imagery in questionable circumstances on issues of religious belief and faith. He argued that people's ready ability to perceive human-like forms around them reflects

816-486: The Catholic Church , in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian apparition, the person or persons who claim to see Mary (the "seers") must claim that they see her visually located in their environment. If the person claims to hear Mary but not see her, this is known as an interior locution , not an apparition. Also excluded from the category of apparitions are dreams , visions experienced in

864-619: The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in May 2024. Investigations into alleged apparitions still ordinarily fall first within the jurisdiction of the local ordinary (i.e. diocesan bishop ). The document recommends incidents of phenomena should be carefully assessed, to make sure that they are not fraudulent or for monetary gain. "Six possible conclusions that can be reached when discerning

912-575: The Hanuman , the monkey deity in the Hindu pantheon , created a social phenomenon. There are two nearby trees which also resemble deities. One features an apparent outline of Guan Yin , the goddess of mercy, and another resembles the Hindu elephant god Ganesha . In some cases, apparent religious images have been deliberately created from natural materials as part of an artistic endeavor or investigation into

960-683: The IFE Ezequiel Zamora Mass Transportation System. The first establishments of Cúa dates from the pre-Columbian period, being the first founders the Quiriquires natives, has like nickname The Tuy Pearl , because its location at the borders of the Tuy River . After the officially foundation on October 6, 1690 by Fray Manuel de Alesson , under the invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary of Cúa,

1008-544: The Muslim world, structures in food and other natural objects may be perceived as religious text in Arabic script, particularly the word Allah or verses from the Qur'an . Many religious believers view them as real manifestations of miraculous origin; a skeptical view is that such perceptions are examples of pareidolia . The original phenomena of this type were acheropites : images of major Christian icons such as Jesus and

SECTION 20

#1732775916418

1056-706: The Virgin Mary that were believed to have been created by supernatural means. The word acheropite comes from the Greek ἀχειροποίητος , meaning "not created by human hands", and the term was first applied to the Turin Shroud and the Veil of Veronica . Later, the term came to apply more generally to simulacra of a religious or spiritual nature occurring in natural phenomena, particularly those seen by believers as being of miraculous origin. Scientifically, such imagery

1104-565: The deposit of faith . In the Catholic Church, approval of a Marian apparition is relatively rare. The majority of investigated apparitions are rejected as fraudulent or otherwise false. Recently rejected apparition claims include those of "Our Lady of Surbiton", denounced as fraudulent in 2007, and those associated with Holy Love Ministries in Elyria, Ohio , condemned in 2009. Some whose apparition claims are rejected have seceded from

1152-552: The "Jesus Nebula", believing they could see Jesus's face in it. The new camera was installed on Hubble by astronauts during a Space Shuttle mission in March 2002. The Cone Nebula, located in the constellation Monoceros , is a region that contains cones, pillars, and majestic flowing shapes that abound in stellar nurseries where natal clouds of gas and dust are buffeted by energetic winds from nurseries of newborn stars. One controversial incident that received considerable publicity

1200-617: The Catholic Church as a result and initiated new groups, as in the case of the Mariavite Church , the Palmarian Catholic Church , and the Fraternité Notre-Dame . In many cases, apparition seers report a request from Mary for the construction of a shrine on the place of the apparition. Such Marian shrines often become popular sites of Christian pilgrimage . The most-visited Marian shrine in

1248-652: The Catholic Church has a formal evaluation process established for assessing claimed apparitions. In 1978, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith promulgated investigation guidelines in a document entitled "Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations", better known as Normae Congregationis , a shortening of its Latin title. The 1978 norms were superseded by new guidelines issued by

1296-845: The Virgin have also been reported on a rock in Ghana , an underpass in Chicago, a lump of firewood in Janesville, Wisconsin ; a chocolate factory in Fountain Valley, California ; and a pizza pan in Houston, Texas . A grilled cheese sandwich, a pretzel and a pebble said to resemble images of the Virgin Mary have been offered for sale on Internet auction sites, the former being purchased by Internet casino GoldenPalace.com , which

1344-536: The case of the Fátima prayers , or the legendary revelation of the Rosary to Saint Dominic . Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena People have been found to perceive images with spiritual or religious themes or import, sometimes called iconoplasms or simulacra , in the shapes of natural phenomena. The images perceived, whether iconic or aniconic , may be the faces of religious notables or

1392-482: The case of the disputed apparition entitled The Lady of All Nations (Netherlands, 1945..1959). Some Marian apparitions have only one purported seer, such as that of Our Lady of Lourdes (France, 1858). Other apparitions have multiple seers; in the case of Our Lady of Fatima (1917), there were only three seers of the apparition itself, but miraculous phenomena were reported by a crowd of approximately 70,000 people, and even by others located miles away. In other cases,

1440-490: The deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller 's office, which oversees accountancy . Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality. Cúa has a total area of 273 km (105.4 mi), with a population of 123,000 (2004), the city limits by the north with

1488-702: The entirety of a large group of people claims to see Mary, as in the case of Our Lady of La Vang (Vietnam, c.  1800 ). Some modern mass apparitions, claimed to have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands, such as Our Lady of Zeitoun (Egypt, 1968~1971). Most alleged apparitions involve the verbal communication of messages, but others are silent, such as the apparition of Our Lady of Knock (Ireland, 1879). Some apparitions are one-time events, such as Our Lady of La Salette (France, 1846). Others recur over an extended period of time, such as Our Lady of Laus (France, 17th/18th centuries), whose seer claimed 54 years of appearances. Public, serial apparitions (in which

Cúa - Misplaced Pages Continue

1536-465: The first inhabitants came from different regions motivated by the agriculture, due to the fertility and strategic location of the valley. However, this town was founded initially at the site known as Marín in 1633, this first village was destroyed in its totality by a violent earthquake that affected a great part of the Tuy Valleys. The name of Cúa, according to some historians, has it origin from

1584-461: The image of a Dean Vaughan allegedly appeared on the walls of Llandaff Cathedral , while the image of Dean Henry Liddell allegedly appeared on the walls of Christ Church, Oxford in 1923. Another example, either a miraculous sign or a face recognition pareidolia , originated in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral , when a few observers claimed to see Jesus in the flames. In the Muslim community,

1632-416: The imagination, the claimed perception of Mary in ordinarily-explainable natural phenomena , and miracles associated with Marian artwork, such as weeping statues . Believers consider such apparitions to be real and objective interventions of divine power, rather than subjective experiences generated by the perceiving individuals, even in cases where the apparition is reportedly seen by only some, not all, of

1680-578: The manifestation of spiritual symbols in the natural, organic media or phenomena of the natural world . The occurrence or event of perception may be transient or fleeting or may be more enduring and monumental . The phenomenon appears to approach a cultural universal and may often accompany nature worship , animism , and fetishism , along with more formal or organized belief systems. Within Christian traditions, many instances reported involve images of Jesus or other Christian figures seen in food; in

1728-484: The municipalities Cristóbal Rojas ( Charallave ) and Guaicaipuro ( Paracotos parish), by the south with San Casimiro municipality ( Aragua state ), by the east with Tomás lander municipality ( Santa Bárbara and Ocumare del Tuy parishes) and by the west again with Guicaipuro municipality ( Tácata parish). The main routes of communication are the Charallave-Cúa highway, that communicates this cities with

1776-456: The name of Allah is purported to be visible in a satellite photograph of the 2004 Asian tsunami . This was taken as evidence by some Muslims that Allah had sent the tsunami as punishment. Several Hindu murtis are held to be "self-manifest" or Swayambhu . Most are lingams of Shiva . In Jurong West , Singapore in September 2007, the discovery of calluses on a tree which look like

1824-459: The people present at the event's location. Marian apparitions are considered by believers to be expressions of Mary's ongoing motherly care for the church. The understood purpose of each apparition is to draw attention to some aspect of the Christian message, given the needs of a particular time and place. Apparitions are often accompanied by other alleged supernatural phenomena, such as medical cures. However, such miraculous events are not considered

1872-631: The perceiver is indelibly mediated or filtered through culture, politics, and worldview. As Gregory Price Grieve states: What you see is not always what you get. Instead, what we see depends on mediation. That is, because our descriptions of religious images are culturally located, our "naïve" descriptions are neither innocent nor objective. Rather, all social objects are mediated by intervening socially grounded, culturally generated, and historically particular mechanisms. Moreover, these intervening mechanisms are not only by necessity material, but are marbled through and through with power relations. Psychology of

1920-460: The purpose of Marian apparitions, but are alleged to exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the message. Some Marian apparitions are associated with one or more titles given to Mary , often based on the location of the apparition, such as Our Lady of Pontmain in Pontmain , France (1871). Others use a title which Mary purportedly applies to herself during the alleged apparition, as in

1968-519: The rest of the Tuy Valleys and Caracas , in addition to the connection with the Regional del Centro Freeway, and the road to the Venezuelan plains, the highway to Ocumare and the highway towards Tácata . Marian apparitions A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary the mother of Jesus , or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In

Cúa - Misplaced Pages Continue

2016-465: The sacred, taking stock of the human condition , conveys that people construct meaning from that which is without meaning; stated differently, culture gives context to lived experience. Therefore, both meaning and absence of meaning may be perceived as being co-existents. Cultural context as constructed meaning and memetic transmission engenders social, existential, and spiritual comfort in a tenuous and arbitrary lived experience and millieu : perception as

2064-475: The same way and for the same reasons that he chose to believe in his wiring for logic , choosing to use and rely on both as guides to learning about the world rather than regarding them as purely random in origin and discarding them. People continue to have faith in the phenomenon of logic, despite the fact that they sometimes make demonstrably mistaken inferences. From an etic perspective, perception of an image, icon, or sign of religious or spiritual import to

2112-488: The town. Cúa has one municipality: Urdaneta Municipality . Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the mayor , who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors , charged with

2160-410: The use of a scapular described in the messages of Our Lady of Pellevoisin (France, 1876), but did not pass judgment on the supernatural character of the apparition itself. Under the new norms, a bishop or national conference will not make a declaration that these phenomena are of supernatural origin, but indicate by a "nihil obstat" (meaning "no objection") that they find no problematic elements with

2208-743: The world is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City , which draws 10 million pilgrims each year. Other popular apparition-related Marian pilgrimage sites include the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal (6–8 million per year ) and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France (1.5 million annually). "When Marian apparitions occur, Mary addresses those who see her in their native language, and often promulgates

2256-462: Was reported to have appeared in the glass façade of a finance building in Clearwater, Florida , and attracted widespread media attention. The building drew an estimated one million visitors over the next several years and was purchased by an Ohio Catholic revivalism group. A local chemist examined the windows and suggested the stain was produced by water deposits combined with weathering, yielding

2304-460: Was when the face of Mother Teresa was claimed to have been identified in a cinnamon bun at Bongo Java in Nashville, Tennessee on 15 October 1996. Dubbed the "Nun Bun" by the press, it was turned into an enterprise by the company, selling T-shirts and mugs, which led to an exchange of letters between the company and Mother Teresa's representatives. On 25 December 2005 the bun was stolen during

#417582