Summary of Randall Sullivan's The Curse of Oak Island

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The first apparition of the Virgin Mary in Boardman, Oregon, lasted 24 hours exactly and was witnessed by nearly 1,000 people. It enthralled many of the devoutly Catholic Mexicans in Oregon’s Hispanic community.

#2 The media made the Madonna’s appearance a Mexican thing, when in reality, nearly half the people who came to the trailer were Anglos. The apparition in eastern Oregon was the first appearance by the Madonna ever captured on videotape.

#3 The apparitions of the Blessed Mother and Jesus in Boardman were reported by Marge Rolen, a mentor to the young visionary, Irma Munoz. Marge’s rosary had turned to gold.

#4 Irma was a much earthier sort than Mary, with a musical laugh and huge eyes. She had been to church just once since her baptism, when her father was sick and her grandmother insisted the family pray for him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822582729

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Randall Sullivan's The Miracle Detective

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The first apparition of the Virgin Mary in Boardman, Oregon, lasted 24 hours exactly and was witnessed by nearly 1,000 people. It enthralled many of the devoutly Catholic Mexicans in Oregon’s Hispanic community.

#2

The media made the Madonna’s appearance a Mexican thing, when in reality, nearly half the people who came to the trailer were Anglos. The apparition in eastern Oregon was the first appearance by the Madonna ever captured on videotape.

#3

The apparitions of the Blessed Mother and Jesus in Boardman were reported by Marge Rolen, a mentor to the young visionary, Irma Munoz. Marge’s rosary had turned to gold.

#4

Irma was a much earthier sort than Mary, with a musical laugh and huge eyes. She had been to church just once since her baptism, when her father was sick and her grandmother insisted the family pray for him.

#5

The trailer remained full of people who wanted to see the painting or touch it. The family made a second video when the image of the Virgin reappeared six days after the first sighting, at the same hour of day, and in the same place on the painting.

#6

By March 1994, Irma had brought in three women to help her with her search for meaning. They formed a prayer group, and prayed to discover what it was. They weren’t getting much help from their parish priest, Father Paco Vallejo.

#7

The apparition was very difficult for Irma to deal with, and she was scared of those who spoke of the Devil. But she was also blessed, and began to believe in God and a Heaven.

#8

The apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Boardman attracted people from all over the country. The miracle of the peach tree astounded them also.

#9

In 1995, a Portland land developer named Joe Locke formed a nonprofit corporation to develop an Our Lady of Grace shrine in Boardman. Securing a site was a problem, however, and the project languished until a local Catholic family offered to donate ten acres outside Hermiston.

#10

The Our Lady of Grace Shrine was eventually built, and it was a tribute to the Munoz family’s vision. It was not, however, sold to the church. The priest did not believe that the family had received a private revelation, and he was troubled that they had not experienced a conversion.

#11

I had never been interested in religion, but I was shaken by the thought of the Virgin Mary receiving Secrets from God. They were a list of ten events that would occur in what sounded like an end-of-the-world scenario. They were given to Mirjana by the Virgin, and she said they would occur during her lifetime.

#12

I had begun to outline a book about the apparitions in eastern Oregon, which I believed were being investigated by the Catholic diocese. I didn’t understand what I was doing, but at the time, I thought I might get what I needed by looking over someone’s shoulder.

#13

I had planned to go to Bosnia and cover the siege of Sarajevo, but my publisher decided that I should go to Europe and cover the visionaries in Medjugorje. I was concerned about the smell of roses that surrounded Mirjana.

#14

I was able to meet with Father Milan, who would help me get in touch with the people I needed in Medjugorje. He also gave me the number of a woman who would provide me with a room in Mirjana’s house during my stay in Medjugorje.

#15

I phoned Father Steve Sunborg, the head of the Oregon Curia, to ask if he knew anyone who could open doors for me at the Vatican. He suggested I contact two priests who were most involved in presenting proof of miracles before the College of Cardinals: Italians Father Paulo Molinari and German Father Peter Gumpel.

#16

I made the trip from my hotel in Rome to the Vatican, which was a long walk in wet heat. I was apprehensive about meeting with Father Peter Gumpel, who was in charge of the wedding planning.

#17

The process of proving miracles and naming saints was tied at the Vatican. Without dying a martyr’s death, no person could be canonized.

#18

The Vatican’s investigative process is rigorous. To get a case to Rome, the diocese where the supposedly miraculous healing occurred must conduct its own investigation, which includes securing testimony from every doctor, nurse, and technician connected to the case. Only then can the Vatican consider the case.

#19

The more fantastic a healing was, the easier it was to prove as an instance of divine intervention. This standard made some cases simple to resolve, as the senior American priest at the congregation, Monsignor Robert Sarno, would explain to me a few days later.

#20

The process of certifying miracles and canonizing saints was