Faces of Jesus and Mary Appear on Log

An Oak Lawn man claims to have discovered a log bearing the likenesses of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on alternate sides.

Dan Aaron came across the log last year after cutting down his neighbor’s cherry tree on the 9800 block of West 98th Place.

“I was cutting firewood and put this piece aside on the back porch,” the self-employed carpenter said. “About a month later, it started glowing. I looked at it and I saw the picture of Mary.”

A few days later Aaron flipped the log over where he discovered the face of Jesus.

“I realized it was a blessing,” he said.

One side of the wooden slab bears the image of Mary holding the Infant Jesus; on the other side the face of Jesus appears.

“You have to look at it from a distance,” Aaron said.

Until now, nobody knew about the “miracle log” except for Aaron’s immediate neighbors and wife, Sonia.

While the supposed image of Mary holding Baby Jesus was more apparent, it was harder to make out the face of Jesus on the log's flip side.

“Right there I see his eyes and nose,” Aaron said. “It happened because of the knots.”

Aaron hopes to sell the log to fund his daughter's college education.

“I’ll sell it for whatever Jesus says it’s worth," he said. "He’ll give me the price.”

While Jesus hasn’t yet sent him a number, Aaron figures the right person will come along and buy it. In 2004, a grilled cheese sandwich bearing an image that a woman claimed was the Virgin Mary sold for $28,000.

Meanwhile, the log was displayed on Aaron's dining room table next to some vegetabls and dip on Christmas Eve.

"It's a Christmas miracle," he said.