A SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

 A TESTIMONY AND REFLECTION 

Picture #1
Click on the photograph for larger image

DECLARATION: This photograph of the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Picture #1 was taken by me at the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland, Oregon on August 15, 1991, Solemnity of Our Lady's Assumption, with my sole intention to have a replica of the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in our living room. After this photograph was developed and printed, I and my family found some unexpected new images in the photograph, which may have some significance to the faithful in the Church. The reports of the facts and our experience are in this testimony. The official discernment of this photograph and this testimony belongs to the proper Church authorities. I swear that the contents of this testimony are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and conscience. Additional information will be provided when requested by the Church authorities to the extent of our knowledge.

The location of the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother
8840 NE Skidmore St., Portland, OR 97220 USA
in the northeast part of Portland and
only 4 miles from the Portland International Airport

Left, Picture #2: The chapel at the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland, Oregon (also called "The Grotto").
Right, Picture #3: The inside of the chapel, after the 10 a.m. Mass on August 15, 1991 when the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was on display in the front of the chapel. The little boy praying in the back of the chapel is Chris, our 11 year-old son, an eyewitness of the special photograph of Our Lady of Guadalupe since August 15, 1991.

In Picture #3, on the front wall above the altar in the chapel, there is a large and beautiful drawing of the Blessed Mother receiving the royal crown from the Holy Trinity, which confirms that Our Lady is truly the Queen of the World and also that the Holy Trinity bestows on her the power necessary for defeating Satan and repelling him along with all his subordinates from this world and thus winning her Triumph (cf.: Gen. 3:15 & The Apocalypse 12). Following the cleansing of the world and Our Lady's Triumph, the Holy Spirit will open a new world of true faith and peace reigned by Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. This drawing in the chapel is an excellent depiction of what is most needed for us who live in this current world, which is mired in errors, pride, vanity, moral laxity and disorder, and loss of the faith. What we need most is God's help through Our Lady so that we may repent our sins and rebuild healthy families and societies according to God's teachings and moral laws. Our Lady told us through Sr. Natalia of Hungary (1901-1992) about her essential role for our salvation: "My power over the world as a Queen is a blessing and grace to all souls, to all nations, and to the whole world. If I do not talk to you, you cannot speak to my Son. If power over the world were not given to me, the world would have sunk into the hell of annihilation long ago. My power is the power of Mother over her little ones, who without that protection would have been destroyed."

The following is an excerpt from the book: "The Victorious Queen of the World" written by Mr. Stephen A. Foglein (1936-2002):

"The title of Our Heavenly Mother 'The Victorious Queen of the World' was recognized by Pope Pius XII in 1954 and May 31^st was designated to honor Mary as Queen of the World. This title is not foreign to the mind of the Church. For centuries we have prayed daily in the Rosary the Glorious Mystery of the Coronation. God does not give empty titles, His words are full of power. Mary was venerated since the earliest times as Queen by the Saints and the people as well. Proof of this can be found in the many churches that were erected to Mary as Queen."

It seems most appropriate that the special photograph of Our Lady of Guadalupe was taken under the solemn image of the Holy Trinity crowning Our Lady as the Queen of the World and entrusting the task of defeating Satan to her for the purpose of rescuing her children from Satan's bondage.

The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was on a nationwide tour in the USA with the approval of the Mexican Episcopal Conference (The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most accurate photographic replica of the original Image of 1531 made in several copies in Mexico in the 1940s for the purpose of making the worldwide tours of the Image possible.) This Image landed in Portland International Airport on July 31, 1991 and began visiting a number of Catholic churches in Portland and its vicinity. The Image was displayed in the chapel at the National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland on August 15, 1991, its last day in Portland. On July 29, 1991, two days before the Image's arrival in Portland, there was an unusually severe hail shower in the afternoon. The clouds were thick and dark and the hails were as big as golf balls and came down making extreme noises. We have never seen such large hails in the Portland area before or after July 29, 1991. After the hail shower ended, there was a strong and pleasant fragrance in the outside air, which we had not smelled before. Then, a huge rainbow was formed in the northeastern part of the sky. We have never seen a rainbow so bright and clear. The sky surrounded by the rainbow was intensely bright and shining with the color of a mixture of yellow and white. I remembered a book: The Poem of Man-God, in which it is said that a spectacular and bright rainbow appeared in the sky on the day Our Lady was born more than two thousand years ago. It is also said that the sky was bright with the alabaster color, which sounded to be the same as the color and brightness of the sky in Portland after the hail shower on July 29, 1991. After the rainbow disappeared, the entire sky suddenly turned into a sea of blazing fire and black smoke. It was a scary scene that could be compared to hell. I think most people in Portland missed these spectacular presentations in the sky because they were indoors to avoid the hail shower. My family were deeply impressed and wondered if it was a sign of something very important coming. We were gradually convinced that this rainbow was a sign of the coming of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Portland two days later, as the same-kind rainbow had appeared in the area of and on the day of Our Lady's birth more than two thousand years ago. We also thought that this special rainbow in Portland probably was a sign of the importance of the photograph of Our Lady of Guadalupe taken on August 15, 1991 as a great blessing as well as a warning to America and the world. I took several photographs of the sky that day, but the photos seem too limited to describe such an awesome, spectacular event.

On August 19, 1991, four days after the photograph was taken at the Grotto (but it was not developed until after we returned from the trip to Europe), Chris and I went to Lourdes, France. It was our first ever trip to Europe. My 85 year-old mother and my wife stayed home. The 3-day stay in Lourdes was an awesome and spiritually productive experience. We realized later that the day we arrived in Lourdes by train was the early morning of August 22, 1991, the Feast of Our Lady's Queenship. On the same day, the three-day coup by the radical Communists in the Soviet Union failed and Gorbachev was released. After Lourdes, we went to Frankfurt, Germany for my business reasons. We came home on August 30.

One and a half months after our return from Europe, I had to go to Seoul, Korea for a business meeting. On October 19, 1991, Saturday, I took an express bus from Seoul to Naju, which took about 5 hours. I had wanted to visit Naju for several years, as I had learned about it through Pittsburg Center of Peace and the video: Marian Apparitions of the 20^th Century. I was excited about this first visit to Naju in Korea where I had been born and grown up. In the chapel in Naju, I saw some tears in the Blessed Mother's left eye. Her statue was smaller (about 20 in. tall) than I had thought but very holy and beautiful. After attending the Saturday vigil Mass at the nearby Naju Parish Church, I came back to the chapel. When I entered the front yard of the chapel, I smelled a strong, pleasant fragrance. At first I did not know where it was coming from, but soon remembered the fragrance of roses mentioned in the Lives of the Saints. My joy was great, feeling that I was smelling the fragrance from Heaven. As I entered the chapel, the fragrance became stronger and lasted all night until morning. I learned that it was the 5^th anniversary of Our Lady's first shedding tears of blood in Naju and there was an all-night prayer meeting in the chapel. So, I did not have to look for a place for sleep. The chapel was packed with people and prayer meeting began in the atmosphere of genuine faith, joy, and love. The participants all seemed to have come to the prayer meeting many times and seemed to take the powerful fragrance for granted. Julia's testimony also was filled with good spirits and encouragement.

In the early morning, I was invited to Julia's house next to the chapel for breakfast. I told Julia that I would translate the Blessed Mother's messages into English and she was happy to hear that. After saying Good Bye, I took the bus to Seoul. After the arrival in Seoul, I could still smell the fragrance from my cloths. A few days later, I returned to the States and shared the amazing information about Naju with others who were so eager to know more about Naju. Soon I began to translate the Naju messages and, in October 1992, Chris and I went to Korea carrying two heavy boxes of the new English message book, one to Naju and another to Fr. Raymond Spies, Julia's spiritual director. At that time I was not even imagining the possibility of working full time to spread the Catholic Faith and the information about Naju, but gradually I felt the calling and decided to follow it. We eventually closed our small family-owned export company and started a non-profit organization called Mary's Touch by Mail and registered it with the State of Oregon and the IRS. We began publishing books, pamphlets, and DVD's and also opened a website: www.marys-touch.com. I was happy, because, since my conversion to the Catholic Faith from the Protestant faith during my high school years in Korea, I liked to study and spread the Catholic Faith. Our English message book was translated into dozens of other languages by the volunteers in different countries. Our spiritual director is a very holy priest in Los Angeles. Also, five Bishops (3 in the Vatican, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Korea) had been spiritually supporting us but three of them passed away and two retired. Spiritually, they continue to be with us. Mary's Touch by Mail is small, but we make efforts to reach more people in the world. We believe that our simultaneous connections with Guadalupe and Naju were significant. The Blessed Mother came to Guadalupe in 1531, when the period of one thousand years of the strong Catholic Faith in the Western World ended; many Protestant denominations were sprouting; and the Americas were being explored. The 500 years since 1500's have been a period of a critical war between Our Lady and Satan. The war is at its climax now and is rushing to its conclusion. All of us are called by Our Lady to assist her with our maximum efforts.

After our return from Europe on August 30, 1991, we had several rolls of film developed including the photograph taken in Portland and others taken in Europe. Before photographing the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on August 15, 1991, I had one serious anxiety that, because the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was covered with glass, it was certain that a reflection of the flashlight would appear in the photograph. I could not think of any way to avoid it. I felt helpless but took the photograph anyway. When we had the films developed later at Costco Warehouse, we indeed saw the large reflection of the camera flashlight in the middle of the photograph. I felt frustrated thinking that it was a failure.

At the same time, we were puzzled by a small white and round image at the tip of the Blessed Mother's fingers looking like the Eucharist. When I looked at the image closely, it was not a perfect circle as the Eucharist should be. But as soon as I looked at it at some distance, the image was perfectly round. The size of the image was about the same as the hosts used for lay people. The hosts used by the priests celebrating the Mass are larger. My family was amazed, but could not say that it was truly an image of the Eucharist, as the evidence was insufficient. Nevertheless, it was still amazing that the image appeared exactly at the tip of Our Lady's hands, a very appropriate place for the Holy Eucharist to be. In the original Image of 1531, the Blessed Mother is folding her hands to pray for the past 500 years for all of her beloved children worldwide. Everything in the world and in our daily life can be called "a miracle", as it was made and is being supported by God. We, humans, cannot make anything out of nothing. We cannot even make a little bird or ant that is alive. But sometimes God sends us the signs that can be noticed by our senses but exceed the natural laws for His special purpose and these can be called the genuine, supernatural miracles. If the new image of the Eucharist in the photograph satisfied the qualifications of true miracles, we should handle and treat it with utmost respect and care. The fact that it came through a lowly and unworthy person is irrelevant. For several months, we were wondering and not ready to admit that it was a miracle.

I showed this photograph to several people at the Marian center in Portland and they were amazed. Then, over the next several months, some more images were found in the photograph (See Picture #4 below), sometimes by me and sometimes by others. These additional images may appear not clear at first glance, but, after one recognizes them, the images become clear and obvious. Besides, these multiple images all seemed to contain some important theological meanings not in a random and disorderly manner but in harmony with the authentic Catholic Faith and converging to one same theme which is our salvation. We also wondered how all these new images appeared simultaneously in one photograph. Besides, the original Image has already been approved by the Church, brought about millions of conversions in Latin America, and have been loved by billions of people in the world for the past 500 years. Who can dare even imagine any new images added to this sacred and solemn Image unless it is by God Himself? A priest, who is a highly respected expert on the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, sent an e-mail to a friend of mine saying that he believed this photograph to be miraculous, but he will keep it private until the Bishop recognizes it. The priest also said that the new images in the photograph were not additions to the original Image but a revelation of the facts that had been contained but hidden in the original Image until now, as buds blossom into flowers at the right time. We fully agree with him. Through this blossoming, Our Lady of Guadalupe can work more actively in the whole world to convert sinners, end abortions and other sins, and save more souls. The new images found in the photograph are listed below:

1. A Holy Eucharist at the tip of Our Lady's fingers.
   
2. The Holy Spirit, in the shape of a dove, close to Our Lady's right shoulder. (See Picture #4 below)

This image can be seen as the Holy Spirit looking at Our Lady or looking at us, the people in the world, with an olive branch in his bill meaning "peace". This image of the Holy Spirit was formed by the high window in the chapel and the tree leaves outside the window. For several weeks, I only saw it as a reflection of the window and trees, but a visionary lady in Scottsdale, Arizona telephoned another lady at the Marian Center in Portland and told her that it was an image of the Holy Spirit.

3. Our Lady of Naju kneeling and praying while shedding tears (or tears of blood) and holding a rose in her hand. In her head and heart, there are images of the babies (probably their souls) who were aborted. There is even the image of a serpent (its ugly head) near the bottom of Our Lady's back, waiting for Our Lady to give birth to her Child. The most amazing aspect of this image of Our Lady kneeling and praying is that more than a half of this image was already in the original Image of 1531 as Our Lady's folded dress, which now forms her back, legs, and feet. One of the rays of light from the reflection of the camera flashlight was bent to complete the shape of Our Lady's head. This observation leads us to think that these new images had been planned by God before the original Image was sent down in 1531. The appearance of the image of Our Lady of Naju within the larger Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe strengthens our belief that Guadalupe and Naju are connected with each other as the start (in the 1500's) and the end (in our current age) of Our Lady's war against Satan.

Picture #4
Click on the picture for larger image

4. Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. We can see in the original Image of 1531 that Our Lady's turquoise mantel is lifted up on her left side, while the mantel on her right side is not lifted up at all. Now, it seems very plausible that Our Lady had a reason for doing that. She created an empty space or a bag with her mantel lifted up and hung on her left arm. In the photograph of August 15, 1991, this part of her mantel is formed into a large image of her Heart. In her messages in Naju, Our Lady said that her Immaculate Heart is a huge refuge larger than the universe and she intends to protect her children in her Heart. This also implies that the new images had been planned before 1531.
   
5. This is not indicated in Picture #4, but became clear later. There is a cross under Our Lady's Heart and above a steep mountain. I was wondering about the meaning of this cross for years. I found the answer when I received from a lady in Los Angeles a drawing of the Third Secret of Fatima Vision in 1917 based on Sister Lucia's testimony. Sr. Lucia said that, in the vision, there was the Blessed Mother of Fatima standing on clouds and radiating bright light (the grace) on the earth from her hands. There also was an Angel in the sky shouting loudly: "Penance, penance, penance!" He was holding a sword in his hand and also ready to pour down fire on the earth because of the overflowing sins in the world. Sister Lucia also saw the Holy Father, Bishops, priests, and lay people climbing the steep mountain toward the cross on the top with much difficulty. They were tired, attacked by the enemies, and bleeding, and some were even killed. The Angels were collecting the blood in jars. When we look at Our Lady's mantel below the cross in the photograph of 1991, we can recognize that the part of the mantel there forms the image of a pipe. This pipe may be the channel through which people can climb the mountain, reach the cross, and lifted to Our Lady's safe Immaculate Heart. This means that those who truly rely on Our Lady and follow her words will be rescued and protected.

The Third Secret of Fatima according to Sr. Lucia's testimony

Concluding Words

The area below the bright light in the photograph of August 15, 1991 contains many images about sufferings, sorrows, and devil's attacks, which exactly describe our current world. The area above the bright light in the photograph describes the world after the cleansing, with the images of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Spirit, Our Lady's Immaculate Heart, and Our Lady's black hair without the veil on her head for her coronation by the Holy Trinity. There are even little unborn babies on Our Lady's left shoulder who avoided abortion and survived. Thus, this photograph taken on August 15, 1991 shows us the details of the current world so miserable and dangerous and the new world to be reigned by Our Lord of the Holy Eucharist and filled with love, truth, order, and peace. One may question why there are so many little images and signs in the photograph of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but that was also the method of teaching that Our Lady used in the original Image of 1531. Finally, we may learn some lessons from the signs in the Image of Our Lady: "Avoid sins!", "Do constant penance for our sins and others'!", "Have total trust in the Lord and the Blessed Mother, as we alone cannot defeat Satan or sanctify our souls!", "Adhere firmly to the authentic Faith and moral discipline!", "Restore love, forgiveness, and prayers in our families, society, and world!", and "Restore the devotions to the Holy Eucharist and Our Lady as these are the two pillars of the Church as seen in St. Don Bosco's prophetic dream."

"Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe! As long as you are recognized
as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe."

― Pope Pius XII in October 1945

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