At this time of the year we tend to think of Saint Faustina Kowalska of Divine Mercy and that message she received from Jesus of a coming great sign: the Cross that putatively would be seen in the sky, and great light from the openings where the Hands and Feet of the Lord were nailed, illuminating the earth for a period of time.

That prophecy connects with an event recorded over Jerusalem in the fourth century by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, a doctor of the Church. In a letter to the Emperor Constantius, he wrote, "On the nones of May, about the third hour, a great luminous cross appeared in the heavens, just over Golgotha, reaching as far as the holy mount of Olivet, seen, not by one or two persons, but clearly and evidently by the whole city. This was not, as might be thought, a fancy-bred and transient appearance: but it continued several hours together, visible to our eyes and brighter than the sun. The whole city, penetrated alike with awe and with joy at this portent, ran immediately to the church, all with one voice giving praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God."

The "nones" would be May 7 and when related to hours of the day in the ancient Church meant the fifth of seven canonical hours and came at the ninth hour of the day or at about 3 p.m. -- which Saint Faustina was to proclaim as the "hour of mercy" almost 1,600 years later! 

But there is more -- in the way of signs.

On Sunday, October 27, 1940, for example, villagers near Lewes in England were startled to look up at the sky and note a white line expanding across the blue. From it formed a figure of Christ on the Cross -- slowly and clearly. Some also claimed to have seen an angel.

In 1138, and again in 1164, monks and townsmen in Dunstable asserted the same type of spectacle. Such phenomena were seen throughout the Middle Ages -- that most difficult time that saw great upheaval, including from catastrophes of plague.

And in Bath, Somerset -- fast-forwarding again to 1905 -- frightened people were recorded as having gazed upward at a Cross or crucifix in the heavens, which a woman who recorded it described as "a wonderful manifestation of the truth of mystical Christianity." It was seen after a violent thunderstorm.

Is there a message in that?

Perhaps how storms can clear the air -- in meteorology and also our souls?

In 1594, near Harmstedt -- in Transylvania -- people swore they observed the letters "INRI MDLVII ARE INENDEDISES REGIS" in the sky. This is of course before skywriting planes!

That same year, in Frieburg, people reported the sight of Jesus seated on a rainbow.

[resources: The God of Healing]