| |
*Unedited version
Published by The Star-News--April 25, 2003
Miracle On Third Ave?
Bold moves by business owners George and Susan Munther of Chula Vista's Nature's
Storehouse, 307 3rd Ave, are sparked by a visions of the Virgin Mary. The faithful
from Mexico now make pilgrimages to visit, strangers are coming because of dreams,
and healings are taking place. You may have seen the odd mixtures of health food
and religious items as you pass this downtown Chula Vista main street. But what started
all this?
"I had made it a habit to fast every Wednesday," George said. "I was
fasting early Wednesday morning on December 19, 2001, when I noticed a bright light
at the back of the store. I couldn't believe it. It was brighter than the sunlight
and extremely beautiful, so I called for another employee to see it too." What
George and later his wife and several other witnesses saw was a divine vision of
the Blessed Mother herself calling him to serve her and giving him a message: "Come
closer to me. I want to show you this because you believe." Although the Munthers
have owned Nature's Storehouse since June of 1994, George said, "It was only
few years ago that the visions started. Nothing like this had ever happened before
then." According to witnesses, the vision appeared as a light on the back wall
and gradually took on the shape of the Virgin Mary. The apparition slowly descended
to a resting spot in an arc motion. Was it just an anomaly? Not quite. Ten days later,
on Friday, January 4, 2001, at exactly the same time, 9:15 a.m. George had just completed
his prayers of the station of the cross when she came back again! He called out to
his wife, who had been suffering from anxiety attacks and an undiagnosable illness
that baffled her doctors. "I had severe anxiety attacks and a bothersome numbness
to my forehead," Susan Munther said. "When George told me to come out and
see the Virgin, I saw the light and placed my hands on it. Then I stuck my hand on
my forehead in an attempt to receive healing." One week later she was completely
healed.
Soon religious icons were being sold alongside vitamins, herbs, and various health
remedies. Far from being a sales gimmick, George and Susan initially lost revenue
from alienated clientele of different religious persuasions. The Munther's faith
held steadfast however, and they continued to show their devotion by increasingly
decorating the store with various religious items of Jesus, the saints, crusifixes,
and of course, Mother Mary. " It was a gradual process," Susan said. "We
never planned we were going to do all this. It was done little by little, it just
grew...It doesn't make much business sense really, but we feel we have been blessed."
The seemingly suicidal business decisions were only magnified when Virgin Mary expressed
her desire for a chapel to be built inside their store. Although the Munthers didn't
have the money, they went forward, displaying the religious faith and tenacious resolve
typically reserved for only saints and martyrs. George bought a life-size statue
of the Maddonna to be imported straight from Rome at approximately $3,000 and ordered
100,000 Rosaries to be given out for free. The cost of chapel was miracleously answered
one day when Steve Espinosa, the owner of Custom Doors and Windows, 1128 Bay Blvd,
Chula Vista, came in with his fiancee. "I came in because my girlfriend, Denise,
was very sick. We were looking for some health suppliments when George told Denise
that she only needed to pray the Rosary to be healed. She did and she was!"
So moved was Steve Espinosa, that he decided to donate his skills free of charge
to the construction of Mary's Chapel. "God blesses and we have to give back."
Steve explained.
Apart from the many healings that have happened since, including an unconfirmed teenager
cured of stomache cancer, perhaps the strangest of all was a 20 something Shiitea
Muslim woman who was visiting from La Jolla for a doctor's appointment. "I had
a dream the night before" Adibi Noosha said " I saw the most beautiful
woman I have ever seen. The love of this woman reminded me of my mother, but she
was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. She showd me a small, simple, chapel
made of wood and told me to go there. The next day when I was wandering around Chula
Vista after my appointment, I found this place on pure chance. My heart went to my
throat. I was seeing the exact chapel I had been told to go to in my dream the night
before!" Adibi says that she has no intentions of converting to catholisism,
but she now attends the chapel on a regular basis. "I guess that my experience
has taught me that all religions are different paths to the same end. I wish everybody
could have the joy of knowing that."
The Munthers hold the Rosary every Friday at 5 p.m. inside the chapel in their store.
Contact J.D. Hawk |
|
