The "Epiphany Moon"

 "Who is this arising like

the dawn, fair as the moon,

resplendent as the sun?"

~ The Song of Solomon, 6:10



Tonight, something really special happened.  At around 8:30pm, a close friend of mine - Dre' - from Mililani Town called me on my cellphone with an odd request.  She asked me to go outside to look at the full moon because "Our Lady's face is in the moon and she's smiling down on us."  At the time, I was in the middle of exercising but I immediately stopped and went outside to see the sight for myself.  When I first looked up at the moon, I didn't see any special images on it other than the dark patches that are normally visible on its surface... but my friend kept insisting that there were religious images appearing in the moon - one of Our Lady with the Baby Jesus and another of just Our Lady's face.

In the meantime, three of my family members overheard me talking on the phone, and one by one, they came outdoors to join me. I told them about what Dre' was seeing in the moon and all of them immediately exclaimed that they could see Our Lady holding Baby Jesus!  I continued looking up but I still couldn't see the images that were being described to me by everyone else.  Talk about disappointment - I admit I was totally deflated!

Simple sketches I quickly did of what I saw

in the moon (click to enlarge the images)

Frustrated, I said a heartfelt prayer to our Blessed Mother and asked her to let me see what the others were seeing.  I also added several Hail Marys followed by the Memorare, and it was then that I saw the shadowy figure of a woman cradling a child coming into focus within the moon (Left - Drawing #1).  It started off looking hazy at first, but the figures slowly became distinct.  With joy, I exclaimed that I, too, could now see the holy images.  

After several minutes, Dre' stated that Our Lady's face was now appearing in the moon and, sure enough, the two figures were replaced by a gentle, smiling face of a woman (Drawing #2) - it was amazing!  I attempted to photograph the image but with no success so I went back into the house to quickly draw the apparition so we could all compare what we were seeing.  I texted my sketch to my friend and she confirmed that it was exactly what she and her mother were seeing from Mililani.  A relative who isn't artistically inclined also did his best to sketch what he saw and both our drawings corresponded closely (see below).  We stayed outside for a long while afterwards, praying and enjoying the wonderful vision until large clouds finally obscured the moon.

What a relative saw in the moon
(click to enlarge the drawing)

Afterward, when I pondered tonight's events, I thought it was highly significant that the Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated by the Church today.  The word "Epiphany" means "a manifestation" and tonight, we all definitely experienced a special manifestation.  Also of great relevance is the fact that the moon is often associated with Our Lady (refer to Revelations 12), as the sun is representative of her Divine Son, Jesus Christ.  The sun is the source of all light, warmth, and the energy necessary for life on earth, and we simply can't live without it (as we also can't live without God)... and while the moon (Our Lady) also has its gentle brilliance, it's a brilliance that's reflected from the sun (Jesus).

Dre' later encouraged me to post about our shared experience.  Our hope and prayer is that the next time you happen to look up at a full moon, you will fondly think of our Blessed Mother... and, perhaps, see her lovingly smiling down at you, too.