We start the day by dabbling in religion, namely the ‘weeping’ statue of the Virgin Mary in a small town in the north of Israel called Tarshiha.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of pilgrims have flocked to see the statue in the living room of a family living in the town near the Lebanon border. The owner of the house Osama Khoury and his family believe they are in the presence of a veritable miracle.

Looking at the statue, it appears that parts of it are slick with moisture, which seems to just reappear when wiped away. Osama says his wife Amira found the statue covered with oil one day. He also says that the statue “spoke to Amira, telling her not to be afraid.”

When a neighbour popped in and witnessed some oily tears, word got out and the rest is history. The family believe that up to 2,000 people have visited them during just one week.

The only tears in our house are normally from me, shortly after checking my bank account.