By Sabrina Rodriguez
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (abc40) - The image in the window of Mercy Medical Center has drawn hundreds of on lookers, and that's to be expected.
Whenever a religious sighting occurs, people are bound to show up and see it for themselves and psychologists say that reaction and the display outside Mercy Medical's window is nothing out of the ordinary.
"I think the old phrase ‘seeing is believing' is really the other way around it's, ‘believing is seeing'," said Dr. Derek Paar a psychology professor at Springfield College. "It's true for everybody and not just religious matters. When you believe something is true you see it everywhere."
Dr. Paar adds that all the excitement over the window is common when a religious icon is involved.
"People want to believe something because the world is so vast and so infinitely large and infinitely small, and to try and make some kind of sense out of it is an impossible task. So each of us picks something to believe in as comfort."
And each onlooker has had their own personal interpretation and experience with the window.
The first sighting said that the image was of the Virgin Mary, since more people have gazed at the glass some say it's Our Lady of Guadalupe, there are some who think it's the Madonna, and then there are those who see nothing at all.
With all those different interpretations Dr. Paar says it's similar to an ink blot test. "It's not that there's anything coherent about what's on the ink or in the ink, it's what you bring to the picture and that's pretty much what we do in life anyway."
And it's that personal experience and meaning that's brought hundreds of people to look at one lone window. And it's meaning that matters.
"It makes me feel as if he's with me," said one woman.
Another woman said the image delivered a very important message, "Just be caring and there for one another."
And that's a pretty good mentality to have.
"People use things to feel comfortable through the long nights and as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, who cares?" said Dr. Paar.
