This morning at about 10 am I pulled into my driveway after going to the store ... the end of my short drive way ends near a wooden fence which (facing the driveway) is always shaded (the other side is the sun side).

As I stooped the car ... I was stunned.

There ... on the fence was a well formed (near perfect) white cross. About 30 inches high. With beams of maybe 5 inches wide. It was being caused by light. To the right of it there was another cross - a bit smaller and not as well defined.

Fascinated - I went up to it and placed my hand in front of it and confirmed that what was causing it was light coming from somewhere. So I placed my face into it and turned around to see where the light could be coming from.

Low and behold ... it was sunlight being reflected off of my own bed room window (2nd floor) but I did not see anything in the windows that could cause the reflection to take the perfect shape of a cross ... let alone a Benedictine cross.

I tell you the cross on the fence was a brilliant white .. very very bright. And this is full daylight. The beams were in perfect proportion. There was no "Well .. yes.. it might look like a cross maybe .." this was as if an artist had painted it on the fence.

I went into the house and had my wife look at the fence - and she also was stunned. "Get the camera!"

Of course .. both cameras in the house were out of commission (dead batteries) so I could not take a picture. I did try.

The crosses slowly faded and lost shape. Strangely ... they did not move (as one might expect a reflection cause by the sun to slowly move across the surface) - they actually faded as they slowly lost shape while seeming to stay stationary.

I estimated that the time I saw them was about 10:10 am .. that time must have been the peak. So I will be looking to see if they appear again on Sunday.

In the mean time ... the shape of the cross was very similar to a Benedictine cross (a cross with a Benedictine medal at the center). This is somewhat similar to what some call a Celtic cross (but the beams are not flared). It is actual my favorite style of cross. In a cross like this (original design) I believe the circle at the center where the beams meet - is a circle of light.

Which just so happens to be the shape of a cross which I wore (on a neck chain) for years. A large Benedictine cross (but I do manual work and it kept popping out of my shirt and if it got caught on tools or equipment it could be a danger so I stopped wearing it).

What I am wondering is ... does anyone know or has heard or read .. what a white cross might mean.

I do have an idea (two meanings) but I would like to know if anyone else has any idea what a white cross .. may mean in spiritual traditions.

If it is there tomorrow I will certainty take a picture of it but on the other hand 'once the message is delivered the messenger is no longer needed.' I will give my two ideas as to meaning after listening to anyone else who might have a clue. That is .. if anyone is interested.

-ray

White or not white--what I take it to mean is that you and your wife have been blessed to see this 'sign' sent from heaven just for you.

In Christ,
Alice

I do hope I am able to take a photo for *private* view of my friends here. We will see ... He had a mind of his own. If the message 'has been delivered' I expect it will not be there tomorrow. In the mean time I have not touched the bedroom windows and will not disturb the windows in any way. Everything even in side the bedroom will be just as it was. I am not even going to move the window blinds when I go to bed tonight. I go to bed without the lights.

There is something my heart has been bothered with recently. He seems to have now given me a 'persuasive' argument. Time will tell what this is all really about.


But what might be the significance of the second cross (smaller and less defined, and to the right)??

I really should not trouble my head too much about this and just accept it as is.

Oh ... I just had the thought that the second cross may be .. me. Do you see? Do you get it? A lesser cross (a lessor image) of the first.

Alice ... you may delete this tread if you think it wise to do so.

Peace be to you and to your church.
-ray

Dear Ray,

I think that you are correct in that you should not trouble yourself trying to make meaning of this sign...Often there are some components to signs from heaven (dreams, visions, etc.) that we cannot understand completely. Sometimes, in due time and in retrospect we might.

So, rather you should console yourself in having received this gift from God. I don't think that you will see it again tomorrow.

God bless and have a very good and blessed, grace filled night!
Alice

Wise words Alice. Thank you for your advice which is 'spot on'. You can delete this tread if you think it wise to do so. It matters not to me. I will be happy either way you choose.

-ray

It was there again today.

I did get photos.

I will pick the best photo and all I need is an online place to put it and I will post a link in this thread.

Yes. It did move across the fence with the sun.

The crosses are more defined at certain angles and fade a bit or sharpen a bit from time to time. No, there are no clouds in the sky. It may be just the eyes that make it seem to slightly blur and then become sharp again. Or maybe it is due to moving slowly across the curved slates.

Tomorrow IS my birthday Thanks! God. I'll save you some cake!

-ray

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30496733@N05/3053294542/

I posted one photo. Paste that link into your browser.

It seems to have a foot rest beam at the bottom also like some Eastern crosses. A nice mix of East and West (just like me


-ray

WOW!!!!

It seems like God wanted to wish you a very happy and blessed birthday, dear brother in Christ!!!

MANY BLESSED YEARS TO YOU!

In Christ,
Alice

Ray--the photo is most impressive. Is it me or does there appear to be a heart around both crosses as well?

As to the meaning--I wouldn't even try to interpret that. It will unravel itself at the right time.

Tim

I now see that too - it is kind of like a aura glow around the big cross - especially noticeable on the left side.

-ray

I don't know what it means. But once when I was extremely discouraged, I smelled roses at the end of my driveway as I was unlocking the gate. It was December 8th and there are never roses at that time of year in upper East Tennessee. With time, I realized I was being given a sign of hope and encouragement. Perhaps that's what you are being given.

I am glad you thought and replied to remind us of that.

-ray

Dear Ray,

As I have Roumanian blood on my mother's side . . .

A white Cross, whether it appears in one's dreams or elsewhere, is always a sign of blessing and good fortune to come, even if, when it does come, we are not even aware of it.

"White" symbolizes purity and holiness and so is a most positive symbol.

Blessings to you!

Alex

I think you have nailed it down for me.

-ray

A real blessing.

I wouldn't read more into it than that. You open yourself to spiritual fancy.

but a blessing to be sure.

ray:

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!

I'd have to give a second to the posts you've received. Don't read a lot into this. The fact that you have seen a white cross or any cross should be seen as a blessing, but also seen as a warning. Remember the the Enemy can disguise himself as an angel of light to puff us up for a fall.

Thank God you recognized a white cross, remember He is the source of our hope through His Cross, and let it not be something that stops your pilgrimage.

In Christ,

BOB

Yes. Such things (the unusual) are at times a part of life - but not an escape from life.

I go to work on work days, I have my responsibilities at home, I enjoy a good movie about once a week, I like eggs for breakfast, .. and there was a white cross on my fence for two days.

There is no reason to be afraid of such things ... nor any reason to forgot one's place in life and go chasing such things.

Some night time dreams also have great meaning and when we (any of us) might have them - we all do ponder them for awhile as to a possible meaning. A man who ignores his dreams is just as empty of the meaning of life .. as the man who lives in his dreams.

So for awhile I pondered what possible meaning the white cross might have within the context of my life journey.

Which thoughts .. brings a subject to my mind which I have recently been meditating on.

As we grow from children to adults .. we tend to compartmentalize life. We label and categories our experiences. This division (separating experiences into neat packages) allows us to deal with them quickly and (we assume) more accurately.

We separate dreams from wakeful daily reality.
We separate work from home life.
We separate Sunday from other days.
We are one way with our friends and we are another way with strangers (we separate friends from strangers).

We take the whole and chop it up into categories so that we can deal with things in set ways according to what category they fall into.

What I am getting at is that we have learned to divide and separate the events of life ... into categories. All the easier to deal with each item if we have a set method for each category.

However .. now cast your memory back to childhood. Way back. Bring up some very early memory and if you examine it well you may find that you had not yet learned to categories yet. The division between dreams and 'reality', intuitions, emotions, feelings, facts, etc.. had not taken place within you yet. Reality (experiential) was a whole. All things came into play and every experience flowed into the next experience. It would even be the wrong words to say that everything was linked or connected (to say linked and connected assumes a division of separate parts).

Now (we are no longer children) we make the division between dreams and reality. We keep reality (that has some value) while we toss out dreams as fantasy and useless. We eventually habitual ignore any dreams as having no real value to our everyday waking reality. The result of this habit is that is that we dream a lot less. Eventually we are only conscious of having had a dream every now and then on rare occasions.

Do you think schooling did that to us (a separate math class and divided from sciences, language, history, politics, each in its own room with its own book and different teacher)?

While it is sometimes useful to experience life in divisions and categories ... do you think we might lose the overall meaning of life that way?

Have we not ... dissected Providence like a frog is dissected in biology class? Do we REALLY get to know what a frog is by cutting it into sections, dividing it on the table and categories its parts? Do we obtain the meaning of a frog - by killing it and reducing it to categories?

Reducing reality into parts. Have we killed it like we killed the frog we dissected?

I believe it is one of the healthy aspects of contemplation that (during it) we reunite experiential reality to its original wholeness. We leave off following our thinking and logic and ... and we allow all the divisions to melt back together into one thing - one experience in a simple glance.

Providence. In yer face and coming at ya. We are surrounded like a fish in water.

(just some thoughts and nothing more)
-ray

There are, for some of us, those special dreams which come along rarely, but when they do, and they are from God, you absolutely know it, and you know the difference between it and a regular dream...so I understand, Ray, what you mean about pondering...

Remember, however, that often the meaning will often come at a later time, when you will look back and say: 'OH, that is why I saw this or that'...or it can come after a heartfelt prayer...

I have been told by monastic priests that dreams and visions which are of God, are often given as a means of comfort and support of sorts for the distress of some trial being experienced or to come. Sometimes they are granted to strenghten our faith, or for us to be able to hold on to it...and it is the kind of experience that, even after forty years, one will never forget.

I think what everyone is saying, is ponder: yes, but don't get too worked up over it or become over analytical about it...as some people may be prone to do, though I am sure you don't.

The reason will most definitely come to you in God's time...In the meantime, hold on to the memory and the spiritual elation and grace which you felt during those two days, and be joyous for the miracle of heaven coming to earth to visit you!

In Christ,
Alice

This reminds me of Carl Jung who wrote in his book Sychronisity (spelling!)...

something to the effect that science uses the method of compiling data and then tossing out the anomalies in order to define a constant.

Jung wrote that these anomalies ARE part of reality and to remove them essential leaves us with a picture which is not reality.

Just my thoughts tonight.

Peace be with you and with your church.
-ray

You got it. I am not home yet Awesome sights or frightening sights - roses or thorns - keep my feet on the path and ... keep walking the only time ya stop for a bit is (like the good Samaritan) when someone crosses your path who needs a some care and compassionate help. And after that ... keep walking.



-ray

All that you say Alice is good.

Thank you.

-ray

As we grow from children to adults .. we tend to compartmentalize life. We label and categories our experiences. This division (separating experiences into neat packages) allows us to deal with them quickly and (we assume) more accurately.

We separate dreams from wakeful daily reality.
We separate work from home life.
We separate Sunday from other days.
We are one way with our friends and we are another way with strangers (we separate friends from strangers).

We take the whole and chop it up into categories so that we can deal with things in set ways according to what category they fall into.

What I am getting at is that we have learned to divide and separate the events of life ... into categories. All the easier to deal with each item if we have a set method for each category.

However .. now cast your memory back to childhood. Way back. Bring up some very early memory and if you examine it well you may find that you had not yet learned to categories yet. The division between dreams and 'reality', intuitions, emotions, feelings, facts, etc.. had not taken place within you yet. Reality (experiential) was a whole. All things came into play and every experience flowed into the next experience. It would even be the wrong words to say that everything was linked or connected (to say linked and connected assumes a division of separate parts).

_________
Ray,
The Master said, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Mk 10:15

How would a child accept this vision? It should be a comfort and a sign to accept your crosses, with God's grace and blessing. Not to "cling" to the vision, but to use it as an encouraging exortation.

Fr Deacon Paul