The Warning of Garabandal

Written by Barry Hanratty

The first of the three great prophesied supernatural events of Garabandal will be unprecedented in human history. It's been called different names. The Warning is the most common in the English language although this is not the best translation of Conchita's Spanish word for it: Aviso. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi referred to it as the Illumination of All Consciences which seems like a good description based on what has been revealed about it. And there is yet another name, the one the Blessed Virgin herself gave it that Conchita says begins with the letter "A" in Spanish but which she has never disclosed. Universal Every human being on the face of the earth will experience the Aviso from the smallest babies to the most elderly senior citizens, from the mentally retarded to the greatest intellects, from people of faith to agnostics and atheists. All races and all religions will experience it and people of all conditions of life. There are very few mystics in the world, probably only a small fraction of one percent of the total population. And yet at the moment of the Aviso, everyone on earth, for however long it lasts, will have a mystical experience. Its Purpose The Aviso will serve a number of purposes. The first although not the primary one, will be the most expedient from a practical point of view: to put an end to the communist aggression which will have engulfed the world. The second is the primary, as Conchita has said: "to correct the conscience of the world and prepare it for the great Miracle." And how the conscience of the world needs to be corrected, much more today than at any time from the apparitions until now! The last purpose of the Aviso is "to serve notice" which, by the way, is the principal translation of the word aviso. But serve notice of what? That we're being given the last chance to avoid the Chastisement. What Will It Be Like? It's been said, and rightfully so, that one cannot imagine what one has never experienced. What's it like to jump out of an airplane if you have never done it? So no matter what the visionaries tell us about the Warning we will not really know what it is until we go through it. And it may well be an act of God's mercy that we don't know. What we can say, based on the statements of the seers, is that it will be a devastating experience—the sinner suddenly seeing his soul in the light of the All Perfect One. St. Catherine of Genoa once said regarding the judgments of God: "He finds fault with everything." What our reaction will be remains to be seen. Conchita has said: "I think that those who do not despair will draw great good from it for their sanctification." (1) When Dr. J. Dominguez asked Conchita how long it would last, she said five minutes would be sufficient. Due to the intense interior suffering which the experience will entail, it might seem like a long time, and if it lasted any longer who could stand it? (If you O Lord laid bare our guilt who could endure it?). Reflecting on this impending event ought to be sufficient incentive to "do much penance, make many sacrifices, visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently and lead good lives" in preparation. When Will It Happen? …This excerpt is taken from the German book by Albrecht Weber, Garabandal—Der Zeigefinger Gottes (Garabandal—The Finger of God) (2): Conchita told the author in 1965 when everything would be set in motion: "When communism comes again everything will happen." The author responded: "What do you mean by comes again?" "Yes, when it newly comes again," she replied. "Does that mean that communism will go away before that?" "I don't know," she said in reply, "the Blessed Virgin simply said 'when communism comes again'." In Conclusion There have been major before and after events in human history. The first came at the very beginning when Adam and Eve sinned, irrevocably changing the course of that history. The Deluge was another, and the greatest of all was the Incarnation when God became man and dwelt among us. There have been many others not of the same magnitude of the above but nevertheless of great significance, and the Warning promises to be one of them. How could the world ever be the same again afterwards? In a letter dated December 11, 1965 to Fr. Jose Maria Alba, S.J., Conchita said: "The Blessed Virgin told me that we Catholic Christians do not think about the other world, heaven or hell. She said that we should think about them and that if we did, our lives would be united with Christ." The Warning will certainly cause us to think more of our final destiny. This article was republished with permission from Garabandal Journal, PO Box 1796, St. Cloud, MN 56302-1796, U.S.A. Notes 1. Father Joseph Pelletier, Our Lady Comes to Garabandal, p. 149. 2. Translated by Hans Enderle.