The people of Rathkeale in County Limerick are proclaiming a miracle.
People outside of Rathkeale are probably grumbling about residents of a certain town partaking of far too much poitin.
Has Mary, the Mother of Jesus, paid a call?
At the moment, there is a continuous vigil being held at the stump of a tree on the grounds of St. Mary's Church. Folks are convinced that there is an image of Herself on said stump, and the religious-minded are flocking from all around, to say a rosary in this miraculous place.
The image was discovered earlier in the week, and already Rathkeale is overwhelmed with pilgrims who flock from all over.
Scientists will tell us that the human brain creates imaginary pictures, driven by some biological urge to interpret shadows and light as a face. The man in the moon is used as an example, where we all know there's no eyes up there but our minds play little tricks. There's been images of the Virgin Mary perceived in water stains on concrete. The face of Jesus has been viewed on a grilled cheese sandwich.
Carmel Conway, visiting Rathkeale with her mother Brigid, put it best. While she thinks it really is the miraculous image of Mary, she's aware that it doesn't matter if the stump face is merely imaginary. It's brought people together to pray, and in the end, that's all to the good.
As for the good people of Rathkeale, they may be thinking of the benefits that fell to the town of Knock when Our Lady made her appearance. There's not much for doing in the west of Ireland, and if the Church authorities would put their stamp of approval on the stump, there's no telling what kind of tourism explosion the little town would see.
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