Chocolate Virgin Mary DISCOVERED!

[matcom]

<snip>

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. --As a chocolatier to the rich and famous, Martucci Angiano has posed with many celebrities -- but on Thursday she held in her hand a figure that dazzles her more than any Hollywood star.

Workers at Angiano's gourmet chocolate company, Bodega Chocolates, discovered under a vat a 2-inch-tall column of chocolate drippings that they believe bears a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary.

Since the discovery Monday, Angiano's employees have spent much of their time hovering over the tiny figure, praying and placing rose petals and candles around it.

"I was raised to believe in the Virgin Mary, but this still gives me the chills," Angiano said as she balanced the dark brown figure in her hand. "Everyone should see this."

Kitchen worker Cruz Jacinto was the first to spot the lump of melted chocolate when she began her shift Monday cleaning up drippings that had accumulated under a large vat of dark chocolate.

Chocolate drippings usually harden in thin, flat strips on wax paper, but Jacinto said she froze when she noticed the unusual shape of this cast-off: It looked just like the Virgin Mary on the prayer card she always carries in her right pocket.

"When I come in, the first thing I do is look at the clock, but this time I didn't look at the clock. My eyes went directly to the chocolate," said Jacinto, dressed in a hair net and apron as she paused from her work. "I thought, 'Am I the only one who can see this? I picked it up and I felt emotion just come over me. For me, it was a sign."

The chocolate, on display for most of the week in the front of the company gift shop, now rests in a plastic case in a back room and is brought out only for curious visitors.

The stack of hardened confection has a wide base and tapers gently toward a rounded top, giving the appearance of a female figure with her head tilted slightly to the right. The dark brown melting chocolate hardened into subtle layers that resemble the folds of a gown and a flowing veil.

A tiny white circle, about the size of a pencil eraser, sits in the upper center of the creation, just above a slight ridge that runs across it. Cruz says the white speck is the head of the Baby Jesus as he is held in Mary's folded arms.

For Jacinto, the discovery came just in time. Raising a son on her own, she has struggled with marital problems for months and says she was about to lose her faith.

"I have big problems right now, personally, and lately I've been saying that God doesn't exist," she said, pulling the dog-eared prayer card out of her pocket. "This has given me renewed faith."

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/08/17/workers_discover_chocolate_virgin_mary?mode=PF

[qnr]

1. Hmmm, kinda looks like a chocolate falcon or owl to me. n/t

[LynneSin]

6. Yeah I see it too

I don't see a virgin mary but if you're that much of a nut job you'll be convinced you see the Virgin Mary somewhere in my post

[qnr]

9. Why is Will holding her upside-down and hitting her with a stick? n/t

[Katina]

8. that's what I thought

pretty pathetic if all it takes to renew his faith is a chunk of chocolate.

[qnr]

10. hmmm, dirty run-off, down amongst the mouse-droppings - that's where I'd

expect to see her and have my faith renewed.

[Callalily]

2. Yeah I agree

The Maltese Falcon and the Chocolate Virgin Mary. Guess the world is a safer place now. :rofl:

[sarge43]

3. "This has given me renewed faith."

Honey, whatever gets you through the day, but stop and think about it: Do you really want to base your faith and spiritual life on a lump of chocolate?

[xchrom]

5. i was just going to say chocolate always gives me faith.

i'd love it if the did the eucharist with a choco wafer.

[sarge43]

12. Good point

Chocolate may be proof for a benevolent cosmos.

I sit corrected.

[deucemagnet]

32. Chocolate communion wafers would be an improvement...

... this little experiment seems to indicate that few dips, toppings, or condiments go well with the body of Christ.

[Chan790]

20. How about tortilla rounds

*The catechism of the RCC says that the mass must be performed with unleavened unprocessed-wheat bread, anything else is an incomplete and thus invalid sacrifice. Other grains are considered to not transubstatiate, meaning the body of Christ cannot be a corn chip.

When I was in college, the kid who lived across the hall from me was a seminary student. When he wasn't trying to convert me to Christianity, he used to practice his rites because he couldn't remember them. Problem was he also swore like a sailor every time he made a mistake. Of course, he believed that swearing in the presence of the corporeal body of Christ was a sin and as Christ was the most important thing in his life, this was not personally acceptable to him. Thus, he used to use tortilla round chips so that if he messed up he could swear with impunity. Afterward, just to make sure, he had to properly take heed of the chips (meaning he couldn't just throw them away...just in case they were Jesus), so we used to have massive dorm-wide nacho parties. Those were some good nachos.

[xchrom]

23. considering who jesus hung with -- i'm thinkin jesus swore

like sailor.

and good nachos -- and a party?

now you know jesus would be there with an endless bota bag.

i can't ever believe that jesus was dour -- not ever.

[LaurenG]

4. It looks like a poor imitation of Mary

in fact I'm going out on a limb and cry "fowl" because it looks like a bird.:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. It looks like a horned owl to me.

:shrug:

[Jamastiene]

19. Somewhere in storage, I have a statue

of an owl that looks just like that. That was my first thought too.

[MountainLaurel]

11. Wonder who'll get to bite her head off?

Just like the chocolate bunnies at Easter? I can just see a demented Sally Forth parody, with Sally and the kid fighting over who got to eat Mary first.

[Arugula Latte]

22. I usually bite the feet off of my chocolate Marys first

Well, they're usually covered, so I eat the bottom of her veil. Then I eat the hands (so much better if she's holding a rosary or a Bible). Lastly, I eat the heads. :9 With my chocolate Jesuses, I go for the thorny crown first.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

13. Looks like an effing owl, not their precious Mary.

Hmmm....

:evilgrin:

On edit: And what is that thing in the Bible about not worshipping false idols? Isn't it a Commandment?

[underpants]

14. and we are supposed to believe that she had a WHITE baby?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x818212

[LisaLynne]

15. Ok, what sort of person are you ...

if a piece of chocolate gives you "renewed faith"? That just boggles my mind.

[Dora]

16. Whatta bunch of pooey cynics. I think it's a lovely story.

If a chocolate manifestation of La Virgen gives even one person a glimmer of hope, it's good.

If it gives ten people a balm for their aching heart, it's good.

If a hundred people sleep more peacefully tonight because they saw the hope that is love embodied in that chocolate chunk, it too is good.

These are dark, sad days for all of us. I'd like to embrace hope in all its forms.

Especially the chocolate kind.

[dolo amber]

17. That looks more like a doodie

[Aristus]

18. Looks more like a chocolate Ringwraith to me.

[leftofthedial]

21. I saw a virgin mary pile of dog shit down at the park yesterday

in fact, I saw seven or eight of them

[Haole Girl]

24. That's a bird!

Can't they tell the difference between the Virgin Mary and a bird?

I just don't get all this religious food stuff.

:rofl:

[RedCloud]

25. If she's chocolate, she won't be virgin too long!

But on the serious side, the real Virgin Mary has eyes that glow, like a Goa'Uld.

Maybe somebody has a true to life photo of her, so we won't be confused any longer.

[matcom]

27. here

[RedCloud]

28. Thanks... I heard you were sick...

I feel sick after wolfing down an assortment of chocolate manger scene characters...

[matcom]

30. well you have a 'good' sick

me? i have the flu x(

btw, how did the Ass taste?

[RedCloud]

31. It tasted more "chocolaty" than the others...

Can't figure out why... :shrug:

[LSK]

26. I hope they dont leave it out in the hot sun

:D

[NewWaveChick1981]

29. The faithful will worship it, then some idiot will pay thousands

of dollars for it on ebay. :eyes: If Homer Simpson's around, though, that chocolate's GONE... :rof:

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. And then, one sunny day, she'll go back from whence she came...

Leaving a bunch of fools standing around a puddle. :rofl:

[Deja Q]

34. You sure that's not an old turd, that basked in the sun until dry?

:wow:

[texanwitch]

35. I thought it was an eagle, still do.

I don't see Mary in it.