Is it a sign? Two images of Jesus show up on a tree and a pizza tray

Is it a sign? Two images of Jesus show up on a tree and a pizza tray

 

They've shown up on rocks, windows and even a grilled cheese sandwich.

And now two more images of Jesus have emerged in the U.S, six weeks before Easter.

Josh Mather, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, claims he saw an image of Jesus and Mary on a pizza tray from his old restaurant.

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Visions: An image of Jesus and Mary was spotted on a pizza tray in Massachusetts, left, while another was seen carved into a tree in Virginia

While the Norton family, of Mclean, Virginia, say they noticed an image of Jesus carved into a tree in their front yard, right where a branch once was.

Mr Mather was sorting through some kitchen equipment in his garage when he noticed the distinctive markings burnt onto the tray.

'As I opened the doors this image was right on the left door, looking at me in the face. it totally stopped me,' he told Msnbc News.

Life changing: Some might see an oddly burnt tray, but Josh Mather was convinced the markings on the pizza tray were that of Jesus and Mary

He says the vision has changed his life and inspired him to go to church for the first time in 20 years.

'I don't know how to say it happened or if it will ever be explained,' he added.

Meanwhile the Norton family say their tree Jesus started to appear a couple of weeks after they had the branch cut down by a specialist. 

Sign: Lamya Norton, left, and her 12-year-old daughter Bella, right, said the image of Jesus on the tree in their back yard was most clear on Ash Wednesday

'It turned white,' Lamya Norton told WUSA9 News. Her 12-year-old daughter Bella, said: 'I noticed the hair and then the beard and then it came together.'

'It's a sign that we're all safe and everybody is loved in our family,' she added.

Mrs Norton said her husband first noticed the image weeks ago but didn't want to believe it. Then on Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar -  last week, she looked out of her dining room window and saw it clearly.

'It was a little emotional for me,'  she said.

Similarity: Mrs Norton is now sharing the vision with her six children and has even called her priest, who reminded her to go to church more often

Mrs Norton is now sharing the vision with her six children and has even called her priest.

'Of course, my priest reminded me maybe it's a reminder you should be coming to church more,' she said.

This is not the first time that images of religious icons have shown up on trees and, oddly enough, pizza pans. 

In 2003 thousands of people made their way to a tree stump in Passaic, New Jersey, after some thought it had taken the form of the Virgin Mary.

In 2007 a kitchen employee at Pugh Elementary, Houston, Texas, saw an image of Jesus in a pizza pan she was scrubbing.

Images of Jesus and Mary have also shown up on lumps of firewood and a pretzel.

The grilled cheese sandwich which supposedly bore an image of Mary was bought for $28,000 by online casino GoldenPalance.com in 2004.