Blessed Virgin Mary in Photo of Sunset in Africa

Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been said to have appeared to many throughout the centuries. From the apostles themselves after she went to sleep, to the Fatima children, St. Juan Diego, and so on. She has appeared all throughout the world, from Lourdes Francs, Spain, even in the Bronx (see: www.ourladyoftheuniverse.com)  Many of these alleged apparitions have been confirmed by the Catholic Church to be credible and worthy to be believed but are not meant to add too or replace revelation. This is important to understand. There are some Catholics who rely on apparitions or alleged prophecies to attack the pope, bishops, and even Vatican II.  Apparitions are meant to augment the faith and not add to or replace it.  Jesus is the truth and cannot contradict Himself.  His Mother Mary was always obedient to the Lord and would never say things that contradict the revelation of God or say anything to add to it as if the revelation was incomplete.  

In Africa a photo was taken in which some are saying Our Lady is present.  If one looks carefully, one can see the image of what looks like Our Lady of Grace within the rays of the Sun.  The photo looks fascinating and captures the mind and imagination, however, we cannot know for sure if this is truly Our Lady. With today's technology and programming on computers, people can photoshop images and blend them into a natural photo in such a way that it looks authentic.  The image does look way too familiar to a large statue of Our Lady of Grace found in many parishes around the world. 

I for one am skeptical but will not deny the spiritual experience of the people. We must be careful into thinking any image is Our Lady or Our Lord. There is a psychological phenomenon called pareidolia which is when the brain looks for patterns, particularly faces in nature.  This is why humans often see faces or images in clouds and some claim to see Jesus in toast bread or trees.  Here are some of the images of the alleged apparition in Africa:

Again, we must be careful. I personally do not believe God or Mary would use created things to present themselves. They have, well, themselves!  Why would Our Lady or Our Lord need to use sun rays or anything else for an apparition when they already exist as beings with dimensions and can present themselves?  Jesus appeared to the disciples after the Resurrection as Himself and did not use sunlight or anything else.  Be it as it may, if these photos help increase the faith, then thanks be to God. However, they should not be accepted at face value.  There are many photos and videos on the internet showing giant remains which some fundamentalists try to use to prove giants existed as the Old Testament accounts. There are even photos and videos of alleged ghosts, demons, genies, and even strange creatures or aliens which people claim are real.  Again, with the technology today it can be very easy to create convincing photography and videography which can only be debunked by professionals who can spot the variations in pixels or interpolations involved.  

Source:

Blessed Virgin Mary Allegedly Spotted in Sunset of Viral Photo Taken in Africa - (churchpop.com)