Saturday, October 18, 2025

"What Our Lady Wants Is Our Holiness"

 

santidad

The title of this article is taken from a report written by Fr. José María Alba Cereda, S.J. who stated: "According to the medical evaluation, a psychological or abnormal explanation is unthinkable; neither is it feasible to entertain the possibility of commercial, propaganda, or fraudulent interests on behalf of the family members or of the village as a whole." His report is a call to take a new look at the message given to us through these apparitions. He says that we are called to an "authentic reform of life," and that "what Our Lady wants is our holiness." He also states that "the message given to the girls by the Blessed Virgin Mary on October 18th has a very simple structure:  sacrifice, penance, and visits to the Blessed Sacrament."  And this is true.  What Our Lady asks of us is nothing different from what the Church's teaching has taught us since the beginning of Christianity, a teaching that we must turn back to, remember, and truly live. There is a real urgency in our time, where laicism and the loss of awareness of sin are increasing, for "a rectification towards an authentic Christian life." How can we respond to this urgency? It really does begin with us. We have to evangelize, lead souls to the Lord, do apostolate… yes, the more the better. But we have to also work on that continuous interior conversion, being more and more faithful to the Lord, to His Word, and to what He asks of us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that, "The free gift of adoption [as children in the Son] demands on our part continual conversion and new life." (CCC 2784) We find the word "demands". Love in a certain way demands love. Seeing God's love towards us, and meditating on it, (especially on the Passion, like Our Lady asked us), the least we can do is respond with our love. The same thing happens when we see everything that took place in Garabandal. How can we not respond? The Virgin Mary comes as a Mother, not to tell us anything new or beyond what we already know, but to remind us what we have to do in order to reach Heaven, and what we can do so that others may know and love the Lord. The Virgin Mary asked Conchita once, "And you, will you respond?" She's asks us the same question and she's waiting for an answer, she's waiting for your answer.

From  https://www.garabandal.it/en/

An Message not to be forgotten about

 


mensaje

It seems as though the first message of Garabandal was a disappointment for many people. One could ask why. We must remember that, many times, due to our lack of faith, we want to experience extraordinary, great, and extravagant things. Nonetheless, we have seen, time and time again, how God acts in silence, in the simple things, in a light breeze, not in a hurricane nor in thunder. This error of longing for something extravagant blinds us to God’s real and surprising way of acting. We should rather ask ourselves, “Who are we that Our Blessed Mother should come to us, speak to us, give us a message, and tell us what we should do? Do we perhaps deserve her visit?" A single word would already be a gift, and she has given us many. The simple fact that Our Lady has come to visit us is already something extraordinary and of such great value that we should not demand nor desire anything more. God's patience with us, His children, is astonishing. Just like the prodigal son's Father, He waits and longs for the return of His lost son, who has fallen into sin. He never tires of waiting. He never grows weary of forgiving, but we do often get tired and forget about this good Father who loves us, wants to receive us once again in His home, and give us the inheritance promised to His children. The Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Mother, came to remind us of this truth. She invites us to offer sacrifices and do penance. She urges us to visit the Most Blessed Sacrament often. In other words, she encourages us to revive our faith and our love for the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. On another occasion, Our Lady said to Conchita, “He waits for you day and night.” Yes, the Lord waits for us in the tabernacle. Many have forgotten about Him. Our Lady says that we have to be “very good.” This exhortation to be “very good” is a new call to conversion, to turn our hearts to God, to repent and to amend our lives. It is a call to holiness, to love God and our neighbor, and to purity of heart. Lastly, Our Lady announces that, if we do not change, a chastisement will come. The word “chastisement” should not scandalize us, given that it appears many times in the Bible. She tells us this to help us become aware of the graveness of sin. In the same way that those who love and do good will receive their reward, those who do evil and sin will be chastised, purified. God is not less merciful by being just. We should raise a hymn of thanksgiving in our hearts for this warning from God, for this call to conversion… We cannot excuse ourselves by saying, “I didn’t know,” because God Himself has told us, “Convert and believe in the Gospel.” He tells us this once again through His Mother, “If you do not change, there will come a chastisement.”
We must embrace this message wholeheartedly. We should not allow it to be abandoned. Our Lady loves us very much and desires our salvation. She feels a motherly concern for us and warns us. Let us renew our commitment every day to fulfil this beautiful message and to make it known, because it is the proof of Our Blessed Mother's love for her children, and of God's mercy and love towards us.

From https://www.garabandal.it/en/ 


Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Father Stefano Gobbi at Garabandal

 

 


Here's a picture I found on Facebook of the Servant of God Fr. Gobbi of our Marian Movement of Priests at Garabandal, Spain. Notice the statue of Our Lady in the tree. Those are the pines where Mother Mary appeared to the 4 children and will be the site of the great Miracle to come after the Warning. There will also be left a Sign from God there to prove the existence of God for future generations. It will be like the Pillar of Fire that led Moses and the Israelites to freedom from Egypt. It can be seen and televised but not touched. There's a story in the Old Testament about a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant and immediately dropped dead! 

And when they came to the floor of Chidon, Oza put forth his hand, to hold up the ark: for the ox being wanton had made it lean a little on one side.

And the Lord was angry with Oza, and struck him, because he had touched the ark; and he died there before the Lord. - 

 

 

Friday, June 6, 2025

The Sacred Heart at Garabandal

 


The Sacred Heart

Of all the visions that Jacinta Gonzalez had in Garabandal, one stands out over all the rest — her vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
While the other three girls were in ecstasy seeing Saint Michael, Jacinta was seeing Jesus. He was about ten feet away standing on a small, white cloud slightly above the ground. He was incomparably beautiful; "the handsomest of men" as Jacinta said. He wore a white robe with a red outer garment that hung diagonally down across His body from the right shoulder. His heart, exposed off-center to His left, was a brilliant red with rays of both white and gold streaming from it.
With His left hand, he pointed to His heart and with His right, He beckoned the girl to come. His entire body gave off brilliant rays that surpassed in brightness the subsequent appearances of Our Lady. The vision was set against a cloud-like background.
What most impressed Jacinta was the infinite love that seemed to radiate from Jesus' gaze, penetrating her heart, and His gestures that seemed to invite her and all mankind to enter into His Sacred Heart.

Interview with Fr. Benac

On December 23, 1978, Jacinta was interviewed by Father Francis Benac, S.J., at her home in California. Here are excerpts from that interview:
Father Benac: We have read about your vision of the Sacred Heart. Please tell me about this experience.
Jacinta: I recall a day when the four of us went a little further up [in the lane] from where the angel had first appeared — no one from the village followed us — when suddenly the other three fell into ecstasy seeing the angel. I was a little behind and seeing them in ecstasy I said to myself: "But I don't see anything." Then suddenly like a flash, I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus which made a deep impression on me. He did not speak to me, but His gaze penetrated deep into my heart.
Benac: What impressed you most?
Jacinta: His eyes, His look — a gaze that penetrated so deeply into me that I cannot explain it.
Benac: What were your thoughts at that moment?
Jacinta: Oh, Father, more than seeing Our Lady, this vision of the Sacred Heart had the greatest impact on me even though I did not see Him again. Whenever I see His image, I have an intense feeling of suddenly seeing someone very dear.
Benac: Do you still feel this?
Jacinta: Oh yes. Whenever I see His image or talk about Him just as we're doing now, I feel within me something I cannot explain.
Benac: When you passed through the period of the doubts, did you also doubt this vision?
Jacinta: No Father. This vision has always remained vivid in my mind. I remember telling my mother that I may have doubted seeing Our Lady or the angel, but regarding this vision of the Sacred Heart even if I were to die, I would insist on its truth. It is something I have never doubted.
Benac: Did this particular vision lead you to a greater love of God? Did you think that He wanted something special from you?
Jacinta: I can't answer that since He didn't speak to me. But my heart did grow much closer to His.

 

https://www.garabandal.it/en/live-garabandal/spirituality/376-sacred-heart 

Monday, May 12, 2025

What Sacrifice Does She Desire?

 

fidelidad

On November 4, 1961, barely fifteen days after the First Message's publication, the Virgin Mary gives the girls the new task of waking up early and praying the Rosary at sunrise in the "Calleja."

"Jacinta and Mari Cruz used to go at six o'clock in the morning. During Holy Week, [Our Lady] told me to go at five o'clock in the morning, and so I did, because the Virgin Mary always wishes that we do penance." (Conchita's Diary)

It would be frequent from now on in Garabandal for the girls (not in ecstasy) to have an intense prayer life marked by the penance of early hours and inclement weather. In spite of the fact that it truly was a sacrifice, they persevered in fulfilling the Virgin Mary's desire. In a letter she wrote on January 3, 1962, Jacinta revealed what the Virgin Mary's petition entailed, "At this moment, Mari Cruz and I have just arrived from praying the Rosary to the Virgin Mary. We had very bad [weather] yesterday morning. A river of water came down [the Calleja] and we could barely kneel down... Now, as long as it does not snow, everything is fine."

The words of the First Message, dated October 18, were palpable during these Rosaries, "We must make many sacrifices, do much penance." Notwithstanding, the Virgin Mary teaches the girls that penance is not the most important lesson in her visits. Conchita tells us about this lesson that they learned, "One day, during an apparition of the Virgin Mary, we were wearing the cilicio, although very loosely, and we would touch it every once in a while so that She could see that we were wearing it (it was on our waist). Finally, She said, "Yes, I know that you are wearing it. But that is not precisely what I ask of you, nor that which most pleases me, but rather your faithfulness in daily life."

Here the Virgin Mary teaches us that while She had asked them to make sacrifices and always do penance, these do not constitute the end that God expects of them. They are just a means to dispose the soul to be faithful, to love, and to be humble. If sacrifices do not produce humility but instead vainglory, they no longer please Her. What She expects from us is faithfulness in our daily duties and in the little things in order to be faithful in greater matters.

This is an important lesson to know: we have to do penance and sacrifices, but if they do not proceed from love and humility, they will not help us grow because they are not what God desires and nor what the Virgin Mary asks of us.

From https://www.garabandal.it/en/

Saturday, April 5, 2025

THE STORY OF OUR LADY'S VISIT TO SAN SEBASTIAN DE GARABANDAL