She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 29)

It appeared to be the eye of God.(8)

Today some might find the figure of the eye not with the times and too naïve to find in an apparition, like a picture from an old catechism book. But the children from Garabandal were not familiar with catechism books and were not concerned with showing themselves as being with the times. They simply described what they saw. The eye was seen as a sensible sign to inculcate in them and in us the insensible truth, the great truth that so many today want to ignore; that everything is written down . . . that we are going to have to render an account of all our actions. Everything is observed and recorded, ending in final judgment. Today free will controls the situation, but at that time, no one will escape. In the end, the Last Judgment. And complete justice for neither is there any creature invisible in His sight, but all things are naked and open to His eyes. (Heb. 4: 13)(9)

That day we talked much with the Virgin.
And she talked to us.
We told her everything . . .
«When the visionaries came to the time of the ecstasy, their faces would change expression completely. They would take a position with their faces looking upward toward the Pines: on the right, María Dolores; in the middle, Conchita and Jacinta; on the left, Mari Cruz. I was at the side of the latter. They all were holding rosaries in their hands, and they began to tell the Virgin the things that they had done. Although they spoke very low, they could be heard perfectly.

At one time María Dolores showed her teeth; later it was learned that the Virgin had mentioned that they were very pretty. After this, Conchita opened her mouth and twisted her lips in an unusual way; later it was learned that she wanted to show the Virgin a tooth that was decaying. At another time, the Virgin must have asked them about Father Valentín, since they said that, He was plain-looking, but very good. Father Valentín himself heard this as did others who were close. I myself heard them speak to the Virgin about the police guards and petition for their benefit because they protect us from the crowd and prevent them from hurting us.

With the greatest confidence they also asked the Virgin to hand her crown down to them; and she must have yielded to their desires, since we could all observe their gestures in taking in their hands something that was coming from above them, and then passing it from one to the other. Conchita dared even more. She asked the Virgin to give her one of the stars in her crown in order to put it on her head in a manner that all present might see it, and so believe the truth of the apparitions. It appeared that the Virgin answered, They will believe.» (Testimony of Don Juan Alvarez Seco)

And so these simple children of the earth were thus in intimate converse, full of familiarity, with the Queen of Heaven. For she who is a Queen is also a Mother. Mother above all! Not just a mother, but THE MOTHER. It is She who bears in herself all the right of maternity without limitation or restriction.

We can picture these simple children of the earth in their expressions, their gestures, their plain peasant clothes. But how can we conceive the appearance of the Mother and Queen from Heaven?

8. According to Police Chief Juan A. Seco, «the four visionaries, on beginning the ecstasy, shouted out together, The Virgin!»

A little while later, Conchita was heard to say, «Oh! What an eye!»

This mysterious eye must have been marked out by an especially striking light. According to the same witness, the girls appeared for the first time with tears in their eyes, showing more rigidity than before, and were very pale, «with a face of wax.» «The one who cried the most was Mari Cruz, whom a doctor grabbed by the lower jaw in order to twist her face so that she would not stare so fixedly. He was not able to accomplish this in spite of the force that he applied. I heard a crack and I feared that he had done more harm to the girl.»

9. In the Apocalypse, (1: 14) the Lord is shown with eyes like a burning flame, indicating His penetrating Divine Knowledge, which is aware of everything, even the most hidden.