Formula AS newspaper – Year VIII, No. 341, December 1998

Christian miracles in Ioneşti

The Prodăneşti Hamlet Trinity Cross, Uncle Ion Marin, next to the cross on Teleorman river's bank, The Fountain with Living Water !

When they happen far away, in other countries, miracles are easier to accept. Taken second hand, from the pages of western papers, they are already endorsed, assumed by others; the responsibility falls upon them. But what to do when they happen right next to you, a few steps away, when it’s your destiny to witness and certify them, revealing their reality on large newspapers pages? A totally different reality, other than what we are used to, but a reality imposing its evidence through proof and trial. It is the case of the „Ioneşti miracles”, a locality in Argeş county, Romania, where Jesus and Virgin Mary showed themselves to children and villagers. The Trinity Cross raised to mark the holy events has become a spring of christian miracle ever since. The Christian miracle in Ioneşti-Argeş started last year, when uncle Ion Marin, an old believing peasant had for three days in a row the same vision. Somewhat scared, he went to see the Priest Cornel Popescu and confess. The Mother of God, apparelled in a shining mantle, asked him to raise a Trinity Cross at the periphery of the village, in Prodăneşti hamlet, where seven lonely and helpless widows used to live. A few months later, three little girls from the village (Alexandra, Bianca and Cristina) saw how, on Teleorman river’s water, the face of Christ came into view, sorrounded by fish and bearing the thorn crown on his head. Impressed and somewhat scared, they rushed to bring their parents to that place. Many villagers from Ioneşti saw then and afterwards the Savior’s face as He showed Himself several times in the water. The day the Trinity Cross was consecrated, they saw three big crosses raised in the sky. Not one person was present but hundreds. Ioneşti tends to become a Chrisian phenomenon – the most significant since Maglavit, especially because of the miracle healings having happened at the Mother of God’s Trinity Cross. There is no room for gossip or doubt. The evidence is too overwhelming for everything to be a mere impression, a simple happening game. The same as in Medjugorje, The Mother of God made a dwelling place out of children’s innocence, sending empowering and penitence messages to the people. Poverty and candor please God. Uncle Ion Marin speaks of all these weighing his words with great care. They are not to be taken easily. While taking us to the Trinity Cross, his words seem to follow the rhythm and measure of his steps: firm, slow, unassuming. He repeats several times that nothing belongs to him. He is just an intermediary, a messenger. „Who gives me my thoughts? Not myself. It is Him who knows everything”. The dreams and visions of Virgin Mary completely changed his life. Out of a retired man with four children and lots of worries upon his shoulders, he ended up living much like a monk. „I used to love children, trees, animals. Now I only love Him”. The signs he and the villagers have seen are astonishing, no matter how skeptic one can be. On many occasions the candle by the Trinity Cross lit up by itself. A woman from Mediaş washed her eyes with water from near the Trinity Cross and left without needing glasses anymore. Another woman, whose face was covered by abscesses, washed her face with this water and was instantly cleaned. The miracle healings in Ioneşti get more and more numerous every day. Encouraged and full of hope, people gather here from all parts of the country – some brought here by their many sufferings, some driven by curiosity. Regardless of our belief

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Formula AS newspaper – Year VIII, No. 341, December 1998

or disbelief, something happens. Many sings and wonders have happened in our country lately. Is Romania a country chosen by God, like some visionaries and church people say? In the Ioneşti visions, The Mother of God talked about a huge church, of all the earth’ peoples, which is to be raised in Romania, on the top of a hill. In his dreams, uncle Ion Marin has seen lots about the future, but - as he confesses himself – these are things he is not yet allowed to talk about. The word of God is strong. Not anyone can listen to it and, just the same, not anyone can understand how the Holy Virgin Mary could choose as her dwelling a poor and forgotten hamlet, with such a simple name, that sounds like a family name: Ioneşti.

The Virgin’s Apparitions

„From Christman until the Shrove, the Mother of God kept appearing in my house”, uncle Ion Marin remembers. „One night, after a good sleep, I woke up and I was laying in bed, looking at the walls. And suddenly I saw steam coming into my house and I was thinking „has the house taken fire?” and inside that patch of steam appeared a hole, inside of which there was a luminous wonder – a face. Then what was I to see? It was the Mother of God! She was so shiny as if golden. The rays were moving like this (he gestures). I am speechless about the golden beauty of Her face. And she was dressed in red, with a long cloak. (Fridays only, at the Trinity Cross, she was dressed in white. She takes the world under Her protection in this way and she is as beautiful as a bride!). Looking at Her, I started to get up slowly out of the bed and as I was getting up I was startled, looking at my wife sleeping and thinking „who knows what is going to happen to me?”And then the Mother of God began to speak and said: „Make a dwelling place for me, because I’ve been all around the Earth and it is so dirty, so soiled, there are children thrown amid dirt, in the waters, everywhere, and I have nowhere to rest. Make me a dwelling place!”Then I was thinking: „How am I supposed to make a dwelling? What kind of dwelling?”. Then She added: „Make a dwelling for me to rest”. And I said to the Mother of God: „How am I going to make a holy dwelling, as I am a sinner?”. Then the Mother of God disappeared. I sweared not to tell anyone, to seal my lips, as nobody would believe me. But the second or the third night, the Mother of God came to me again, the same sorrounded in steam and shining in gold and the mystery was lighting up and the face of the Saint appeared. And again did She lift me out of my bed, about half a meter, so that I saw everything from above. And again did I tremble with fear and the Mother of God told me: „Make a dwelling for me, as I have nowhere to rest!”. And I was thinking: „I’ll make it by my gate”. But the Mother of God said „No!”. You see, I was only thinking and she answered me. Then I was thinking: „I’ll make it on the Burzii Hill, at the crossroads. There is a road there; people will pass by and worship”. I was thinking to make a Trinity Cross there, a particularly beautiful Cross. The Mother of God again said „No” and disappeared. And I remained tourmented by thoughts, not knowing what to do anymore. Then at night the Mother of God came and She told me: „Go to a village nearby and you will see the fountain and the place”. I was got up, the same as before and she appeared the same as before. And as I was floating about, I was thinking: „Which village – there are many villages around here: Şerboieni, Cornăţel, Vulpeşti”. And the Mother of God, showing Her powers, took me and put me in the middle of the path, in Prodăneşti hamlet, next to Uncle Victor’s water well, so that I saw Father Florica’s house. It was at night but there was clear daylight. And then I told myself: „So this is where the Saint wants to have Her dwelling place”. And with that thought of mine the Mother of God disappeared and I found myself in my bed again, not knowing how I got to that place or back. This is the truth. God is high up and I am just unworthy and weak. The next day I went to see that place again. And when I got near Uncle Victor’s well, I could not step any farther, as if something stroke me and I could not pass. And the earth was braking beneath my steps. I kneeled and made the sign of the cross, then headed home, convinced of the divine intention. And again did the Mother of God come at night, but now I was waiting for Her, I was not scared and I found the strength to ask Her: „Saint Mary, Mother of God, what do You want the holy dwelling to be like?” And She replied: „Make me a dwelling with three little towers, three steps, three little chairs and not larger than 3 square meters. And make it with three craftsmen. Do not make any mistake, as this is My will”.

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Formula AS newspaper – Year VIII, No. 341, December 1998

The Raising of the Trinity Cross

The following day I mustered up my courage and told Priest Cornel Popescu about all these. His wife did not believe me; then in an instant her blood burst through her nose and mouth. And she asked for forgivness: „Saint Virgin, forgive me, the sinner!” and that was only when the bleeding stopped. And seeing the power of God once more in this way, the priest told the people about these at the liturgy, then they started to put together money and the construction of the Trinity Cross began. And when we needed materials – we’d run out of money – The Mother of our Lord took care to bring about a believer who would help us with what we needed. When we ran out of autoclave concrete, one believer donated us about one hundred pieces, left from a constuction. One other time, when we were about to cover the roof, somebody offered to give us the plates. When everything was ready, after having painted the saints the way the Mother of God indicated me to, She appeared to me and said: „At the consecration of the Trinity Cross, bring three virgins, who are to wear long white dressses with adornments and white shoes, who are to carry a carpet folded in three that you will put on the steps, as somebody will stand there and it is ought to be waited for with honour”. When I told that to the priest, his wife wanted her daughters to carry the carpet, but the Mother of God said „No!”. And one day when I went to the Cross, Bianca – the painter’s daughter – was there and when I saw her so small and so happy to see the great saints painted on the walls, I asked her: „Do you know Our Holy Father?”. „Yes”, she replied. „Go ahead...”. And she said the prayer so beautifully that I asked her father: „Năiţă, will you let your daughter participate in the consecration? The Mother of God asked for it”. And as we were talking, the little girl said: „Yes, I want to come, but let me bring my friends, because they can also tell Our Holy Father and they like to please God.” „So be it, child, as you say.” And I was glad that God brought her into my way. And when the little girl met with her friends, they went all together to the river and they saw the face of our Saviour on the water. That is when I knew that they were chosen by the Mother of God. I told myself „Praise you, God!”. And I went to see the girls’ parents and I told them what they are supposed to dress like, the way Saint Mary wanted them to be exactly.

The three angels and the crosses in the sky

And the day of the Holy Trinity came, the day The Trinity Cross was consecrated.... As I woke up, I washed, then I went in one room to pray and I said: „My God, show Your powers, because many believe me, but more do not”. And as I was praying there, three stars formed right under my eyes and I told myself: „My God, today is the miracle day”. And I happily left for the consecration. But on the way I was thinking: „How am I going to stand in front of the people, in front of everybody? There will be educated and knowledgeable people and I am not good with words. How am I going to respond to those priests, archpriests? If any of them asks me anything, I won’t know what to answer”... In that instant, the Savior appeared in front of me, like in a picture, in a hole surrounded by golden light and he said: „What are you afraid of?” And I was so frightened of Him, as He was so close I could almost touch Him with my hand. And I told myself that even if He would burn me or take my speech, I needed to ask Him what to do. And I said: „God, I am unworthy and weak. How am I to stay in front? Why didn’t you choose a priest or a knowledgeable man? I have no education, I have only made it to the fourth grade. I cannot explain to all the wonders I’ve witnessed if they ask me to. „Why are you afraid?” – the Savior said. „For I will tell you everything. And they will not listen to you, but to Me”. And He vanished. I took the little girls from their homes to the Trinity Cross and I unfolded the carpet. And three angels came to the Cross – I saw them – and they were shining like the Sun. And I asked the crowd of people: „Do you see anything on the carpet?” An hour later I asked again. But nobody saw them. And when the liturgy was over, the angels disappeared as if they had never been there. And I said: „God, you’ve deserted me now!”The Liturgy was held by seven priests. Venerable Father Calinic, The Bishop of Argeş and Muscel and Venerable Father Teoctist, the Patriarch of Romania were invited too, but seemingly could not attend. When it was my turn to speak to the crowd, I had no courage left at all, my feet were trembling and I thought I was going to make a fool of myself, that nobody would believe what I’ve seen. And as I headed towards the microphone, a dove appeared

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out of nowhere. And the people, when they saw the dove, raised their heads towards the sky. And what were we to see? At the south, there was a cross formed out of clouds. The crowd shouted: „Miracle!”. And I spoke for half an hour and in the meantime I felt at times very cold, then hot and suddenly the Savior was right next to me and my words were His words. And at the end I felt there would be a miracle. Suddenly two crosses appeared in the sky at north. And again did people wonder and I said: „Praise you, God!” I was so intensely happy they had believed me! - Has the Mother of God appeared to you ever since? - No, but now I see Jesus. He comes to me four – five times a day and tells me what and how to do. Even during the consecration He used to say: „ Do not be afraid. For I will cover you all the way. And go on telling people that the time is near”. And it’s for everybody to know that this is the calling to believe. It is the call of the people to repentance. It is the call of God to see His chosen ones.

Miracles

See – Uncle Ion Marin added – this fountain holds living water, not made sacred like the one priests make. Do you see that marble bench in front of the fountain? Someone in rags came and talked to the crowd and nobody knew who he was. He will come in golden clothes and will talk to the crowd and again will nobody know who that is. Then He will come in glory to judge us. That is the calling about. The truth, further on, I will not tell. I will not tell you about what that day will be like. That is not allowed for the world. This sacred fountain is also a sign sent to the people, for them to heal from all disease, for them to remove the devil’s work curtain from their eyes. God is forgiving and merciful, like He was with the robber who believed in Him on the cross. If we come back with faith to do good, to give love, if we go to the holy churches to pray, God forgives our sins. And I tell you again: „Praise and help God with His work. The day will come. Jesus said: „If the world comes back to My Father, I would go up to Him, in the seventh heaven, and I would stay beside Him and I would love you with great love”. That means the End would not come near. But if we do not come back to Him, the time is near. The messege must be passed on! God said: „I don’t need the righteous ones. They are with Me anyway. I need the lost sheep, to make My flock whole”. You will see oppressing times. Earthquakes, floodings, heavy winters, star rains – these are all signs. One day a large cross will appear in the sky. Big. And red. It is for you to know that this is the prediction. It’s coming! A beautiful boy came to see me once – an archangel – and said: „Do not be afraid, for the time is near”. It was Archangel Michael, as He is the first one to predict the time. When the time comes, the Sun and the stars will disappear, there will be a teeth gnashing and a darkness like never before. Much suffering will fall upon us. Then we will realize the truth and in vain will we say „My God, my God”, for nobody will forgive us anymore. We still have time, before the romp takes the world in one blow, before His voice ceases to be heard. But not mine. I am weak and helpless. He speaks through me. If we go back to believing and spead this news, maybe God will bear us some more. God said: „There are three more steps”. Do you understand? Three steps can be three thousand year, but it can be three days, weeks or months. So that we need to return to faith. I need to go further on saying it. To the peope it is frightening. If we do not return to faith, this time will no longer be. On a hill top there will be a church raised by all the peoples of the earth. And it will be here, in Romania. And it will not only be us, but all the countries will come to build it and it will not be known why. And one step will be nine meters long. And it will have three doors and twelve steps in height. And it will shine stronger than the Sun, when there will be no Sun anymore. Who will shine then? It will be God. And it will be the Judgement Day. Here. Nobody knows where. Until that time, there will be outbreaks all over. There will be nothing crashed in our country. You know... that it because Romania, I almost said it, will be more believing than the rest of this part of the earth. The Savior is here, close to us. That is His face, His image....

Jesus’ face on the water

„My name is Alexandra Gabriela Georgescu, I am 10 years old and I am in the fourth grade at the General School No. 8 in Piteşti. I went to the countryside last summer, at my grandparents, in Ioneşti village. I

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Formula AS newspaper – Year VIII, No. 341, December 1998

was playing with my friends, Bianca and Cristina, on the bank of Teleorman river; we were looking at the water, throwing with little stones and listening to their ripple as they were going down. The water was turbid; it’d rained a few days before.... Suddenly, in the middle of the river the water cleared and I saw there the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was beautiful beyond compare. He was so much alive. I pointed that to my friends and they saw the same. We were astonished by what was there. The Savior was like in icons: bearing His thorn crown on His forehead, with much sorrow in His eyes and His long hair was moving with the waves. There were lots of small fish around Him. I rushed to call my grandmother and show her what we’d seen, but she won’t believe it. She told me that it only seemed to be that, that it must have been some frog feet or the shadow of some trees or anything else in the water. I ran back. He was still there, so beautiful like I had seen Him never before. Cristina’s grandfather and Bianca’s mother came over and they saw Christ’s face as well. Bianca’s father, the painter who painted the Holy Trinity Cross, also saw Him. Until the consecration of the Trinity Cross, Christ did not show up anymore. On the river bank, on the place where He keeps appearing since, a cross was raised and Uncle Iliescu Nicolae painted an icon with Christ’s face, the way It was at that time. What I could see back then is unbelievable. Everything I saw keeps coming back to my mind and every night I pray God to make me worthy so as to live again moments like that.”

Epilogue

The Ioneşti Trinity Cross was consecrated on June 8, 1998, on the Trinity Day. The historic of the event, written by the village priest, sounded like this: „ By God’s will, the Holy Trinity Cross of the Holy Trinity, built at a widow’s gate, in front of another widow’s fountain, was consecrated through the means of the Holy Spirit. The Ioneşti congragation, the twelve families from the Prodăneşti hamlet – out of which 7 are widows –, people from the neighbouring parishes, other guests, estimated to around 1000 people, received from the Holy Trinity a sign of holy recognition – the sign of the Holy Cross – in the sky, in three different places, from south to north. With this sign the beginning of the Final Judgment will be marked and that is a sign that can never be used by Satan.” „The Cross is the sign to the peoples”, said Prophet Isaiah; „To us, the ones who are to be redemped, the power of God is shown”, Saint Apostle Paul said. There was a divine revelation three days before the consecration of the Trinity Cross: the three girls playing on the bank of the Teleorman’s river saw the face of Christ mirrored on the water, the way it is painted in the icon on the cross. Divine revelations will cover the earth, for what pleases God to be fulfilled. We will all have to open our eyes and see the reality set in order by our Creator. To submit to His divine will, despite all reluctance we’ve shown before. With fear of God, with faith and love let’s get close, for that who is afraid of God with will ashamed of people. The belief war has started. The Romanian Little Canaan in Prodăneşti will become the new Jerusalem on earth. Protected by the Mother of God, we will be happy if we live with faith in God in these times and will endure them comforted by the Holy Spirit. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of our Father God and the share of the Holy Spirit to be with you all, Amen.

Evidence

Aurelia Ion, Piteşti: „I thank the Saint Virgin for, having washed with water from the Trinity Cross, the curtain on my eyes, that I had suffered from for years, fell apart”. Popa Emilian, Săpânţa commune: „I prayed by the Trinity Cross for having a child and God listened to my ardent wish, after years of waiting”. Sima Ioana, Bascov commune: „My hand was stiffened, so that I could not use it anymore. I prayed by the Trinity Cross, I poured holy water on it and here I am hurrying to write these thankful words”. Vasile Maria, Curtea de Arges: „I used to have a nervous condition. I couldn’t sleep and I was trembling all over. I left the Trinity Cross completely healthy”. Niculina Gheorghe, Căteasca commune: „I had six surgeries and the doctors did not give me to live much longer. They sent me home saying that it would only be God who could save me. And so He did!”

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Rizea Dumitru, Buzoieşti commune: „My right leg was paralyzed. I came to the Trinity Cross in a friend’s car, carried on arms. I left walking by myself”. Bogdan Vieru, Hioreni village: „I could not see with one eye. The Doctors said it was compromised for good. I washed with water from the Trinity Cross and now I can see.”Marin Mirela, Ioneşti-Argeş: „I prayed by the Trinity Cross while I was pregnant, for giving birth easily. That night I dreamed of Saint Mary who was helping me to give birth. The following morning, when I woke up, before I opened my mouth to speak, my husband, Petrică, told me he dreamed of Saint Mary who was helping me to give birth. We both had the same dream”.

Sorin Preda

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