Saturday, March 27, 2010

The Lord Speaks in Mysterious Ways: Quincy's 'Jesus Tree'


It takes a bit of faith to see the so-called Jesus Tree, located in the Roman Catholic Calvary Cemetery in Quincy.

Maybe quite a bit of faith.

Sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, a cemetery worker was strolling through the cemetery grounds when he stopped to look at an ancient birch tree. The tree, estimated to be more than 150 years old, had a protruding knot on one side.

As the worker looked at the tree he saw, for the first time, that the growth and surrounding darkened bark resembled a life-sized, bearded, longhaired man in a long robe, standing with his arms wrapped around a lamb---clearly the image of Jesus Christ, he thought.

At first, he kept his discovery to himself but then decided he had to share it with others. Word quickly spread about the miraculous image of Jesus on the tree and stories soon appeared in the local media.

Within a short time, thousands of visitors were stopping by daily to view what became known as “The Jesus Tree” or “The Good Shepherd Tree.” A nearby guest book recorded more than 30,000 signatures.

The cemetery responded by roping off the area around tree, primarily to keep true believers from striping off pieces of bark to take home as souvenirs.

These days, the number of people wanting to see the Jesus Tree appears to have dwindled. Still, it’s said that the best way to view the image is to stand 15 to 20 feet away from the tree at the northeast corner of the roped off area. From there, you can clearly see the big knot, which, from the right angle and in the right light, does appear to look like a person holding something. If you stare long enough you begin to see eyes and long hair in the bark.

It could look like Jesus. Or just a tree with a big knot on its side.

2 comments:

kristinahojholt said...

I needed to draft you this very small observation to be able to say thank you as before over the spectacular tricks you have contributed on this site. This is really seriously generous with you to present freely exactly what most of us could possibly have offered for sale for an e book to end up making some money on their own, principally now that you could possibly have done it in the event you considered necessary. The suggestions likewise acted to provide a great way to realize that other people online have the same dream the same as mine to know the truth whole lot more with respect to this condition. I believe there are numerous more pleasurable opportunities in the future for folks who find out your site.
investment property insurance

UplayOnline said...

Thanks for the important information I managed to get from your website.


UPLAY365