The Picture at the Grotto

It was December 11th, 2016, when Bob Kloska took a picture that

changed his life and thousand of others. Kloska was on his was back to

his car after celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Basilica at Notre Dame.

Kloska stopped by the grotto where he saw one student kneeling down

in deep prayer. Kloska was touched by the sight and decided to take a

picture. The instant the picture was taken, his phone died at 42% and

Kloska went about his day. Later that night, Kloska sat at his dining

room table to delete things off his phone to create more space. He

looked at the picture he took at the grotto and was astonished to see

an image of a vertical cloud, which looked like to be Our Blessed

Mother, directly above the praying student. Kloska posted the image

on Facebook and it went viral. Kloska and his family have always had a

special bond with Our Mother. Growing up with 11 other siblings, their

family prayed the rosary together almost every night.

During the next week, Kloska was receiving numerous messages

from friends, family and strangers about the picture he took. There are

several reactions to this picture. Some say that the picture is just a

perfectly timed photo of snow falling. Others say that this is a photo of

Our Lady demonstrating her presence in our lives. Kloska said, I think

this photo is probably a result of Our Lady somehow arranging ordinary

natural elements with astonishing timing to remind the world that she

is with us, prayer is real, and everything is going to be alright. The

Notre Dame grotto was dedicated on the feast day of Our Lady of

Snows, which is another name for Mary.

Patrick Sullivan is the student in the photo that is kneeling down

in prayer. He is a freshman at Holy Cross

College and visits the grotto occasionally. His

father, Mike Sullivan is an administrator at

Notre Dame and also visits the grotto regularly.

Mike said, It took my breath away. I couldnt

believe the picture, plus with my son in the

background. I got emotional the more I looked

at it and called my wife. Many people have reached out to Patrick to

ask him if he felt anything special during the time the photo was taken.

However, Patrick had no idea that Kloska was behind him taking the

picture and he was actually praying to his grandmother, who was

extremely devoted to the Blessed Mother. Believe it or not, Patrick and

Kloskas son live right across the hall from each other in the dormitory.

Patrick discovered the picture on Facebook and that is when he

realized it was him. Patrick said, The more I looked at the photo and

thought about it, the more is resonated with me and meant something.

However, this photo is not a picture of me, its a picture of the grotto

and the amazing figure above.

No one can confirm or deny that this is a picture is Marian

apparition. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the era of

public revelation ended with the death of the last living Apostle. A

Marian apparition, if considered genuine by Church authority, is treated

as a private revelation that may enlighten some facet of the received

public revelation for a specific purpose. There are many people who

are Catholic and think the picture is just snow and not an apparition.

Jasmine Winston, a junior at Notre Dame said, The grotto is a very

spiritual place, but I dont think its a picture of Mary. I think its just

snow. This picture is not to confirm or deny that it is a Marian

apparition, but rather how it impacts people. One of the most famous

Marian apparitions is Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our Lady of Guadalupe

revealed herself to an old Aztec man, Juan Diego, on December 9th,

1531.

Our Lady told Diego to go to the Bishop and have a church built

in the spot where she revealed herself to him. The Bishop wanted

proof that it was actually Our Lady appearing to Diego. Diego went to

the spot where Mary had appeared to him and found roses. This was

remarkable for two reasons: it was the middle of winter and flowers

didnt grow and roses had never grown in that area before. Diego put

the roses in his cloak and when he opened it to reveal the roses, a

miraculous image of Our Lady was imprinted on the inside of his cloak.

Approximately nine million people converted to Catholicism within the

first seven years of seeing Juan Diegos cloak.

 Father Matt, a priest at the University of Notre Dame and an

expert on Our Lady of Guadalupe thinks the picture taken at the grotto

as similarities with Juan Diegos experience. Father Matt said, There

are similarities here. I think Mary comes when her children are in need

and in great despair. 500 years ago, people were in great despair with

new political power arriving in present day Mexico City. In 2017, I think

many people feel lost and are struggling with their faith life with

everything going on. Father Matt has visited Mexico City to see the

cloak with Marys image imprinted on it. Its beautiful. You feel invited

and at home, said Father Matt.

Dr. Tim Matovina is a theology professor at Notre Dame and

specializes on Our Lady of Guadalupe. When Matovina initially saw

the picture, he thought it was very beautiful and inspiring. Matovina

said, We modern people think a miracle is something that science and

technology cant explain, but theologically, a miracle is an event that

causes you to have an experience of wonder and awe. According to

Catholic.org, it is okay to not fully understand a comprehend miracles

because that is what faith is about. Matovina has traveled to Mexico

City to see Juan Diegos cloak and had a similar experience as Father

Matt. Matovina said, There is no feeling like the one you get when

you see Diegos tilma. People are so visibly moved by the picture;

theyre dancing, laughing and weeping. Matovina sees similarities

with Our Lady of Guadalupe and the photo at the grotto. The photo

has moved people in similar ways as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Church authority in the Vatican is who determines whether or not

something is deemed an apparition. CatholicOnline states that in my

cases, it usually takes over a century for an approval of apparitions.

Often in an apparition, a message is given to the seer, who is the

person who beholds the vision. It may be a warning about the need for

prayer and penance to avoid a coming war or disaster. After

apparitions at Fatima and Portugal, Our Lady of Fatima told Sister Lucia

de Santos that a pope would be shot. This prophecy was verified on

May 13, 1981, when Pope John Paul II was shot in Rome.

According to Father Salvatore M. Perrella of the Marianum

Pontifical Institute in Rome, of the 295 reported apparitions studied by

the Vatican through the centuries, only 12 have been approved. The

latest apparition was approved in May 2008 of the 17th and 18th

century apparitions of Our Lady of Laus. Whether people see snow or

the Our Blessed Mother in the photo at the grotto, it is really about

each persons individual experience with it once they see it. It is about

how the picture inspires someone and what he or she does with that

inspiration. Whether its the picture at the grotto or Juan Diegos cloak,

God gives us the free will to have our own perspective on these

experiences and to grow from them.