[Nidsstese]

Hello, This is my first post here . . . please be kind in your response as some of you might find me silly in my thoughts. We have several icons hanging on the wall above my 4 year old son's bed. We have a camera in his room and a monitor in our room for night time. We have Tender Kiss (Panagia and Christ), a crucifix, St. George, Jesus walking on water, and the resurrection icon. At night I see a form (light and shadow) on the wall that seems to be coming from the icon(s) . . . It was there when we only had the Tender Kiss and the crucifix up and still there when we added the others but seems to have move over a bit. I have looked online for any discussions of anybody else having this type of thing happen . . . it does not seem to be because of any object in front of his night light or in between his bed and the night light . . .We pray every night for God to send 'angels to surround us and protect us.' Am I silly for thinking that it might be an angel or the presence of the Blessed Mother? Comments? Thoughts? Please be kind . . . it might sound stupid to some. Thank you!

[Rchzygnc]

Well, it might be an angel; who knows? Consult your priest. But it would take an elder gifted with clear sight to tell you with any degree of certaninty.

[medprof]

At night I see a form (light and shadow) on the wall that seems to be coming from the icon(s) . . . Am I silly for thinking that it might be an angel or the presence of the Blessed Mother?

Not silly at all, although if you were certain it was an angel or the Blessed Mother then I'd think you were "jumping the gun" a bit.

As long as you're only seeing an indistinct form that doesn't seem to "do anything", my opinion - for what (little) it's worth - would be to ignore it. The primary possibilities I see are:

(1) Optical effect (reflection on the camera lens, off the icon, etc.) If this is the case, it's nothing to worry about.

(2) Purely a product of imagination (i.e., nothing is there). Obviously, this would also be nothing to worry about.

(3) Positive spiritual presence (angel, saint, Theotokos, etc). If true, great! But it wouldn't call for any changes in what you're doing (in other words, keep praying). Ignoring it makes no practical difference.

(4) Negative spiritual presence. Believe it or not, ignoring this also makes no practical difference. You said you pray every night for angelic protection, so you're already dealing with this possibility. Plus, I tend to doubt a demonic presence would decide to hang out right in front of the icons, so you can probably treat this one as the least likely of the four.

The other option besides ignoring it would be to follow Dr. Owen's advice and consult your priest. Of course, if this form starts moving around and/or taking on some specific shape(s), then you'd certainly want to talk to your priest about it rather than ignore it. But for now, given your descriptions, ignoring it seems safe. However, if you aren't able to really ignore it - for example, if you have fears or concerns about it, or if you start feeling pride in thinking an angel is visibly present in your house - then you'd definitely want to talk to your priest.

In Christ,
Michael

[topbonusescod]

I'll second Michael's advice.

Monk Cyprian

[Pasy]

The direction of the fathers in reference to experiencing any phenomena similar to the above is consistently to ignore it and ask God to remove the temptation from you. If it persists, go to your priest and show it to him. If the priest (or his bishop) finds any spiritual aspect to the phenomenon, then I would guess the first thing that would happen would be for the priest to come to home, read the prayers of exorcism (the same ones read over the catechumen prior to baptism) and bless the home.

Fr David Moser

[massons]

Thank you all for your comments. We had the home blessed a few months ago. And while the thought of a 'bad' presence crossed my mind at one point, I pray for my son's protection a lot and ask for the Blessed Mother's intercession as well . . . and so I trust and have I never been afraid. The comment to pray for pride is a wise one. Thank you for the reminder. I'd love to see an angel---but I also know that I should not hope to see apparitions, angels, etc.---that is up to the Lord to reveal according to His will. It sill could be an optical effect of some kind. Thank you all. I will ignore it and continue as usual to pray. AN ASIDE: What a wonderful web site this is!

[retrahdggd]

Thank you all for your responses. I am reading and re-reading them this morning. My husband thinks that what I see is due to reflections and materials on my son's bed. I am not sure since the 'image' stays pretty much the same regardless of what sheets or covers or stuffed animal friends are in his bed with him. The thought of it being a bad presence briefly entered my mind. But we have had the house blessed by my priest a few months ago. And I pray so much for George's protection. George himself prays for the angels most nights, which I love because a prayer request like that from an innocent 4 year old . . . I have to believe will be granted. Thank you for the wise suggestion of ignoring it. And the very wise advice of not taking any pride in it. Of course I'd love to see the Blessed Mother or an angel. But I know that I am not supposed to ask or focus on wanting these things. I have enough pride I am working on, I certainly do not need another thing to have to work on. I do my best to ignore it and I when I cannot, I just pray again. But I am not fearful, so I have no worries there. My husband says we can do a few tests to try to manipulate reflections etc. and see what happens. Thank you all! I just stumbled upon this web site and from the little I have seen, I think it is a great service to the Orthodox community. I find MANY Catholic sites full of inspiration, information, debate, discussions, etc. I wondered why the Orthodox did not have the same.