Garabandal cannot be reduced to simple "events of the past"; it remains mysteriously contemporary as we await the fulfillment of the "Warning", "Miracle", & "Great Sign."
"Therefore, judge not before the time: until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. And then shall every man have praise from God." (I Cor. 4:5)
Father Gustavo E. Morelos
was 87 years old.
He was born Feburary 7, 1928 and
died March 7th, 2015.
He was in Garabandal
at the time of the apparitions
for approximately three months.
He spent his time there
interviewing the four girls,
their parents, and a number
of the villagers.
Father Morelos with Loli's children
Our Lady of Carmel kept him to the end, so Jesus could
place him with His other priests that worked only for love of Him while
they were on Earth preparing each person for Heaven. I met him in Italy,
and at that time I questioned him about Garabandal. He told me that it
was his firm opinion that the Miracle would happen in the month of “April.”
To read what he told me,
click here. He also told me he was a priest of the Community Sons of
Divine Will. And when we parted, he blessed me with the “Glove”
of Padre Pio.
Father Gustavo was a very holy man. I believe he is in Heaven, and from
now on I will pray for his blessing.
There will be a viewing on
Saturday, March 14TH...
the 56TH Anniversary of
Father Gustavo’s priesthood. The Porta Corta Funeral Home
2801 East Osceola Parkway
Kissimme, FL 34743 Since Father Gustavo’s funeral
celebration will be in Mexico, the Community Sons of Divine Will
suggested not to send flowers.
Instead, if you wish, you may send
a donation, which will assist in the
cost of transferring Father’s body
to Mexico.
With the coming of August, summertime monthpar excellence, when Santander and its seaside resorts were overflowing with people, the influx of visitors coming from all regions into Garabandal acquired an accelerated pace. And at the same time, the events themselves also seemed to follow an accelerated pace as they increased in number and became more attention-getting. On the first day of the month, as we have mentioned, things began with the beautiful addition in the recitation of the Hail Mary: Holy Mary, Mother of Godand our Mother. On August 3rd, the first ecstatic falls occurred together with many other phenomena, culminating in Conchita's return back to town after eight days in Santander, as previously described. On August 4th, a Friday, the episode of the tape recorder took place. On August 5th, among other things, everyone'sattention was strongly attracted by an ecstatic march at tremendous speed going from the Pines all the way down to the church. Conchita was heard ardently asking pardon for having gone to the beach, and with no less ardor she implored the apparition to make a visible miracle so that everyone would believe. Father Valentín wrote down in his notes: «At two in the afternoon Loli, Conchita, andJacinta went up beyond the Pines; there they knelt down and asked, Where are we going? To the church? And they undertook the descent in ecstasy.
At the church they stopped first before the main altar. Then they went to the altar of the Immaculate Conception and prayed a beautiful rosary—Conchita leading, the others answering. All this lasted about an hour and a half. In the evening, toward 9:30, they returned inecstasy to the church. I was at the gate when they came and I wanted to stop them, but I was unable. They went in front of the main altar, knelt down and began to speak. Conchita asked pardon for having gone to the beach and movie theater. Conchita wept. They also asked very insistently for her to perform a miracle. And they asked why Mari Cruz was not seeing her.»
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The absence of Mari Cruz can be explained asdue to pressures exerted on her parents, who were already doubting and upset, so that they kept her secluded far from the locations and phenomena of the other three. We know for example that during the days of August one of her aunts from Madridwas there, and she and some other people told the mother, The child is sick and so are the others. For that reason, they took her to the pastures whenever they could.
Although I cannot say with certainty that it occurred on this day, I am inserting something here which has been told to me and which reveals quite well the visionaries' concern during those days. Mari Cruz and Jacinta were taken up into ecstasy near the water fountain, and the people gathered around them. the final light of day was fading. The wife of Augusto Fernández saw that her son, crippled with infantile paralysis, was next to the children in the middle of the crowd, and she feared that something might happen as the crowd pressed against him. She boldly made her way up to him to protect him from a possible avalanche of curious spectators. She reclined on the ground at his side, trying not to interfere with the vision of those behind her, and he had the chance to have her head almost leaning on Mari Cruz, whom she heardsaying in a whisper: «Look. The people don't believe. They onlybelieve that we are crazy and foolish. Come. Perform a miracle. Even though it is only a little one . . . So that they might believe. Let three stars fall now.» A few seconds later—to everyone's surprise andwith almost everyone unaware of the reason—three shooting starts crossed brilliantly across the sky.
On Sunday August 6th, the girls had an ecstasyin the evening at 9:30 sharp. During the recitation of the rosary, heavenly music was heard that lulled those hearing it and stirred up devotion as the girls were heard chanting the Hail Marys slowly, rhythmically, and fervently. They came out of ecstasy at 10:12; and then to conclude this ineffable evening of communication with heaven, as on so many other occasions, they went to pray a Station before the Blessed Sacrament. The girls did not pray badly, far from that; but the spectators were struck by the contrast between the two prayers. The second, although devout and well said, did not have either the voice, or the rhythm, or the feeling, or the cadence of the first. It was evident that the girls in ecstasy were before something or someone that transformed them.(10) On August 7th, a Monday, there were more ecstasies.For example, one occurred at 2:00 in the afternoon to all four girls together.(11) It appears that this was one of the days in which the Virgin told the girls to stay in their homes without going outside because of the deluge of strangers. In this way the Virgin protected the girls from the crowd's indiscreet enthusiasm and curiosity and allowed them a little rest.
10. Fr. Valentín ends his notes of August 6th like this: «Afterwardsthey prayed a station in the natural state. What a difference in their prayer!» 11. Another, still more interesting, after it had become dark. During it they made their way to the places where they had previously had apparitions; the village fountain, the apple tree in the calleja, the cuadro, the Pines. In each one of these places they knelt down with devotion for some time, and then departed. The tour ended in the church. «It was a dark night; but they told me that they saw as though it were daylight.» (Fr. Valentín)
The person who took these notes was one ofthe two Jesuits who had come up to the village without believing anything. Let us listen to what he said as recorded in the French edition of Conchita's Diary.
«We discussed this subject with Father RamónMaría Andreu. The following is part of the dialogue.QUESTION: In speaking of Loli and Jacinta'secstasy in her 'Diary,' Conchita maintains that you considered Mari Loli's gesture as a sign. Is that true? FATHER: Yes, that is certain, but the story is a little more involved than that simple allusion by Conchita in her diary would make one think. QUESTION: Could you give us a more definite idea of your attitude and feelings on the day you first went up to Garabandal? FATHER: As you might imagine, during that firstvisit to the village I didn't have the least belief in the world that events could take place there that were worthy of close attention. The first time they asked me to go, I answered, I don't have any time to waste.I'm usually very busy. Although I finally agreed to travel to Garabandal, it was only because of my friends' insistence and the great need I had for a rest after having preached several retreats on the Spiritual Exercises one after another.QUESTION: Did your brother Father Luis believein it?
FATHER: No, no more than I. At that time wedidn't have any authentic proof. And like everyone else, we needed some minimum evidence to make an evaluation on events of this type.QUESTION: Concerning the episode mentioned by Conchita, exactly how did it happen? Can you tell us?FATHER: Gladly. It was, as I said, the first timethat I had made the ascent to Garabandal. That day we had the opportunity of witnessing several of the childrens' actions and movements. At the end of the afternoon we were at the Pines. Loli and Jacinta were in ecstasy. There were only a few witnesses around the children. I myself was very close to them; I could hear them speaking to the Vision in the soft low-pitched voice that was typical of their ecstatic state. Now and then I could understand some of their words.After eight or ten minutes, I thought that this had to be a case of hypnotism. I have to admit that this was no brilliant idea and lacked originality, but it was what I was actually thinking. I looked around to find the originator of this case of hypnosis. I saw Father Valentín, Ceferino, Julia, and the other spectators. They all had such an expression of admiration and astonishment that I considered them more disciples than masters. Obviously the hypnotist wasn't there! I had already seen both the children go into the ecstatic state and come out of it at the same time. This gave me the impression that they had only one mind. What I thought then doesn't seem to make much sense, but I was thinking nevertheless, that one of the two children would return to consciousness while the other remained in ecstasy.(6)At that exact second, Loli, who was next to me,came to, turned slightly and looked at me with a smile. I then asked her,—Don't you see the Virgin anymore? —No Father, She answered. —Why is that? I asked. —Because she is gone. Jacinta was still in ecstasy. I said to Loli:Look at Jacinta. The child looked at her and smiled on seeing her in ecstasy—for it was the first time that she had seen one of her companions in this situation, being herself out of the apparition. I asked her another question, What did the Virgin tell you?She was about to answer, when she fell intoecstasy again, throwing her head backwards. Then I heard this conversation between the two childrenand the Virgin: Jacinta: Loli, why did you leave? Loli: (talking to the apparition) Why did you go away? Then after a short pause, Oh! It was for that. So that he would believe! Hearing this, I rejoined my brother Luis andsaid to him, Be careful about what you are thinking. The transmission of thought here is lighteningfast! My brother responded: Did something happento you? Yes, I answered him. I'll tell you about it later.(7)
QUESTION: Father, did you believe from then on?
FATHER: Without question all this attractedmy attention and made me think that it wasn't a comedy, and that there must be material here for profound study. I also took notice that we were face to face with exciting phenomena both for the doctor and the theologian.From that point to believing, there is—in spite of everything—a step that one doesn't make so easily. However, one thing remains certain: if I look back on the ensemble of events in which I have assisted with a sometimes excessive skepticism, I can testify and affirm again that we aren't dealing with a comedy or simulation on the part of the four girls.Unfortunately, saying that amounts to saying nothing at all. To present the problem is not to solve it.The question remains the same: What is the cause of the phenomena at which I have assisted as an eyewitness and of which the story that I have recounted is only the smallest part, a drop of water in the sea?How many are the persons with whom I haveshared my intense desire to understand? How many times have I asked for a convincing explanation? And I am still waiting for an answer to my questions.»(8)
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Thus on the 29th of July, 1961, two brothers, (9)both priests, both religious, initially skeptics in their first impressions, would enter into the history of Garabandal where they were to play a major role in the unfolding and development of that history.
6. Father thought that if all had been caused by the externalactions of a distant hypnotizer, those actions should have affected the two girls in the same way at the same time.
7. «When the ecstasy ended; I began writing down what had just happened . . . While doing this, the girls entered into a trance again. Soon two nuns appeared walking from the other side of the hill. Seeing them, Father Valentín turned excitedly toward me: —Look, Nuns! —Yes, nuns, I answered, not understanding immediately. —That's the Virgin! He shouted out very excited. And then I understood; this was the explanation of what the girls had said in the Cuadro: that the nuns could also be near to them. Not a single nun had been seen in the village, and so Father Valentín was disturbed in the beginning. Now, after a long time, the secret guests were appearing!» (The two nuns can be identified. They were two religious from a congregation little known in Spain: Daughters of Our Lady of the Scared Heart which at the time had only one house in Cataluña. One of the religious, a native of Santander, was staying temporarily with her family in Roiz, a village not far from the valley of the Nansa River; she was Sister María of Jesus, later Provincial Superior of her congregation in Spain.) «The nuns arrived in time and were thrilled by the girls' ecstasy. When the girls came back to themselves, they said, The Virgin said that everyone can go up. No one took it upon themselves to give out the news, and they asked me to do so. I went up to the edge of that little flat area by the Pines, and I saw the crowd who had been waiting so long. I made a sign to them and everyone hurried up in great confusion. The Lord obliged them with a new ecstasy by the girls, truly very beautiful.» (Father Ramón Andreu, at a conference in Palma de Mallorca.) Following such a day, we can imagine with what sentiments the Andreu brothers left Garabandal after their first visit. 8. Journal de Conchita, Nouvelles Editions Latines, Paris, 1967. 9. We have already described one of them, Father RamónMaría. The other, Father Luis, was younger; he was 36. He had made his ecclesiastic studies in Oña, Innsbruck (Austria) and Rome, and for some time he had been a professor at a theological seminary that the Jesuits had in Oña (Burgos). I say had because some years ago it was transferred to Bilbao. Oña is a small historical city northeast of the capital of Burgos,situated between mountains covered with pines on the picturesque bank of the Oca River not far from its outflow into the Ebro. It had been the seat of a seminary of the ancient monastery of San Salvador—formerly belonging to the Benedictines— abandoned after the laws of Mendizabal in 1835. After the Jesuits vacated recently, the government officials of Burgos made the seminary into a psychiatric hospital.
Thanks to this providential help, Father Ramónfound himself unexpectedly in the best spot for observation, right up against the visionaries, and next to his brother whom he discovered there conscientiously making entries in his notebook, calmly caught up in what was going on. The first thing that attracted his attention wasa man at his side who was bending over, very interested in taking the pulse of the girls. Every now and then he would raise his head toward the people and say, Normal . . . Normal. . . . The captain of the guard began hearing Normal . . . and asked him, Hey, are you a doctor? —No sir, I'm a journalist. —Well then, please get out of here at once. —Gladly. Pardon me. These rather ridiculous details, and those thatpreceded them, caused Father Ramón to think to himself, This thing has neither head nor tail. Soon both the children came to themselves atthe same time, perfectly simultaneously, and looked innocently around them. Everyone was at a loss for words. Then Father Valentín, who already had experience in these matters—over a month of association with them—came near and asked them with his typical stammering. What? What? What did the Virgin say? —The Virgin said that we should go to thePines—we, our families, the guards, the priests and the nuns—and that the others should remain below. Father Valentín turned toward Father Andreuand said nervously, But what nuns? What nuns? There are no nuns here! What nuns? This isn't the Virgin! Father Andreu remained quiet. What did heknow? This was the first time he was here and he was rather confused. They all went up to the Pines and there the children unaffectedly pointed out the places where the various groups should situate themselves.(2)
It appeared that the Virgin had told the childrenthat the people could see, but should not hear (3). Only two little children of six years of age, Mari Carmen and Sari (sisters of Jacinta and Loli), could be near the visionaries as witnesses. The ecstasy and the apparition began. The nearestspectators were able to notice that the faces of the visionaries took on an expression of profound sorrow. One of the girls' mothers could not contain herself. They are crying. Since he could not manage to hear the conversation,the parish priest called to Mari Carmen, the child witness, in order to question her. The little girl approached unhurriedly, and when she heard the questions of the priest, answered in a bored and indifferent manner: They are telling the Virgin that she shouldn't say bad things.(4) Everyone knew that this apparition was differentfrom the others, that the Virgin was explaining and showing very grave things, surely in relation to some great chastisement that would come upon the world if men did not return to the ways of God by doing penance. From statements made later on by the children, it was learned that on this day the Virgin had confided a secret and had completed the message which would be made public on the night of October 18th.(5) A witness present at the time noted: «They raised up their hands as if holding up something. One pulled in her arms. Kisses were heard . . . They extended their arms . . . They smiled . . . They listened to something . . . And they cried . . . When they returned to normal we surroundedthem and saw that one of them still had tears. Why are you crying? We received no answer.» While some of the people were speaking withthe girls, the third ecstasy of the day occurred there in the same location of the Pines. This timethe children could be heard with notable clearness. —The Apparition had come with the Child, since they asked how old He was. They requested her to give them His crown, and they said that it was little. —The Virgin told the girls that she was pleased with the way the people had acted, since they had docilely obeyed the things she had said about their positions during the ecstasy. —She advised them to say the rosary one moretime, and to do it at the Pines. As soon as they returned to normal, Jacinta and Loli began right there to say the rosary. On reaching the fifth Ave María of the third mystery, the two children stopped at The Lord is with . . . without pronouncing the next word. This ecstasy lasted about an hour. Here are some of the things that were heard: «Why do you come? If the people hadn'tobeyed, would you have come? . . . So that they believe . . . (They offer something. They give a kiss.) How beautiful you are! You're very kind . . . Tomorrow we will come while fasting, without eating anything, not anything . . . I am kissing your scapular . . . Today some Carmelite fathers came . . . I remember a Dominican . . . Show us your dress once more . . . It's white with white flowers . . . A guard brought a little girl who couldn't speak or walk . . . I promised him . . . Cure her! Cure someone, so that all the people can see it.»
2. «Midway toward the Pines, Loli turned around and pointed with her finger, No one should pass beyond here, indicating a path that crossed over from the side. It wasn't easy to make all that crowd of 500 persons obey immediately. It could be imagined that some hadn't heard what the visionary had said. Three or four of the Civil Guards took charge of implementing these orders. I passed at the side of one of the guards as he was trying to block the passage of some people who wanted to go ahead of him. One of the people said, And who are you to stop me from seeing a miracle? The guard answered, God commands and He should be obeyed.» (From a conference of Father Andreu at Palma de Mallorca.) It is not easy to allocate each scene and episode precisely tothe corresponding ecstasy that took place at the Pines on the afternoon of July 29th. 3. From information that I was able to gather with difficulty,it appears that only the two small witnesses whom we have first mentioned were able to circulate around Jacinta and Loli in ecstasy. Those of the privileged group—their parents, the guards, etc.—had to stay a little farther away, in such a position that they could see, but could not hear; while the crowd—down below to one side, without even seeing anything— remained waiting. At a second stage, those from the privileged group were able to draw closer and encircle the girls. Finally the whole crowd went up to the Pines.
4. Distressing things that were terrifying and painful. 5. Concerning this July 29th, so outstanding in the events of Garabandal, Police Chief Juan Alvarez Seco testifies: «I remember that María Dolores said to me, Chief, you and my father can come up a little closer, about 100 meters to the right of the Pines. The Pastor and the nuns may come to about 100 meters too, but on the left side; the rest of the people below and far away. We all did this. And I was able to observe that during the ecstasy the visionaries cried a lot, frightening the little girls . . . Later I learned that the reason for the visionaries being alone and isolated like this was so that the people wouldn't be too stricken on seeing up close what they were suffering, since the Virgin had to be speaking of the message, showing them something of the chastisement and how the cup was being filled with sins. This was what they had to make public later on October 18th. On this day, the people from the village made a little altar with fruit cases, and they placed it at the foot of the Pines; it was well made and they decorated it with flowers from the fields.»
If I were to use the strong language of Christian tradition, I would say the first martyr. If I were to adapt my language to the 20th century political movements, I would speak of the first victim. Takinga medium position between these expressions, I am going to write without pretension about the first death at Garabandal. He was a martyr because he was an exceptional witness for the cause, even to giving up his life. He was a victim because he sacrificed his life as a consequence of his total devotion in the service of a cause.
Who was he?
Skeptic at the Start
We have already mentioned these lines fromConchita: In those days while I was atSantander, there were in the village two Jesuit priests . . .
Now let us go back a little in our story, returningto the 29th of July, the date on which the presence of these priests began to be noticed in Garabandal. The two Andreu brothers, Ramón María and Luis María, had come like so many other people, led on more by curiosity than the expectation of finding anything really important. They went simply to see what was going on because people were talking so much about what was happening there. They came like many others, withoutbelieving. Then one day Loli and Jacinta had an apparition at the Pines. And the priests were there, and seeing them in ecstasy, believed. But they believed not only because of that. Conchita mentions only a small part of what occurredon July 29th. Now we can complete her description with some detailed accounts of the first visit of the Andreu brothers to Garabandal. Upon arriving, they were extremely amazed on hearing Chief of Police Juan A. Seco tell the actual story of what had happened on the preceding two days: how the children (in their ecstasy at the Pines on July 27th at nine o'clock on Thursday evening) had learned from the lips of the Virgin all that was happening to their companion Conchita at the same time in Santander, first on Alta Street and then later in the rectory of Our Lady of Consolation parish. And how Mr. Seco had immediately checked the accuracy of what the children had said by making an official telephone call to the police chief in Santander. After hearing this, the two brothers were astounded with a feeling they could not describe. —What is this? What's going on? exclaimedFather Ramón.
—Regardless of what it is, it is going to be something really worthwhile, answered Father Luis. They asked if something else was going tohappen that night. Definitely, someone answered. There should be an ecstasy at seven o'clock because yesterday the Virgin told the girls while leaving that she would return today. Then one of the Fontanedas, who had come withthe Andreu brothers from Aguilar de Campoo, could not hide the inner shaking that the waiting was causing him and said to Father Ramón María, This is terrible, Father! Watching the clock while waiting for a supernatural event like this in cold blood! About three or four hundred visitors were in the village on that last Saturday in July. As the hour drew near, Father Ramón meandered around thetown with the others who were showing the excitement of expecting something, without knowing what it was or where it was coming from. Some started going toward the calleja. Slightly later a young child appeared who told the group that were waiting, There has already been one call. The news spread immediately and Father Ramónasked with astonishment, What's that? Someone explained, First the children receive three calls and then, after that, she comes. That added another surprise to the many thepriest had already received. Certainly this was an intriguing mystery to be carefully examined.(1) Soon Loli and Jacinta appeared, running towardthe cuadro. The commotion this caused was tremendous. Everyone raced toward the place in a disorganized avalanche. Father Ramón María—in order not run over anyone, and also not be run over himself—kept himself to the side as much as he could to let everyone else pass by. All he could do at the time was resign himself to staying on the fringe of the spectators without being able to follow closely the phenomena that were so intriguing him. In order to be able to follow what was going on, he started to climb up on top of one of the low walls of loose stones that line the calleja in places. Unfortunately the stones began to scatter and fall, making a lot of noise. The people turned to stare, complaining that with such a racket they could not hear a thing that the children were saying in the ecstasies. Then the poor priest tried to hide himself as much as he could to escape from glances that were not overly benevolent. He was in this situation when he felt someonebehind him grab his arms. He turned and saw a giant—or at least at the time that is what he appeared to be—who lifted him up and began to force a way through the crowded circle of enthralled people around the children, while saying forcefully to one after the other, Make way for the authority of the Church.
1. Several days after what we are relating here, the famousbullfighter Alvaro Domencq, who was fighting in a nearby village, came to Garabandal with his father and retinue. He was amazed at what they told him about the events. He followed the visionaries around saying in typical Castellian manner, Did you see the Virgin, Sweetheart? Did you see the Virgin, my Angel? These men from the bull ring were amazed and amused by the calls that the girls were receiving in their ecstasies. On arriving and having heard someone saying, Be ready, they have already received two "calls," the father of Mr. Domencq joked with his son, Be careful, Alvarito, not to have one tomorrow! (In bullfighter's jargon, a call is a warning that the head of the bullring gives to bullfighters who are not performing well.)
“the sensation that we surely have her there—in front of our hand.” Behind the Mystery, Our Lady
Here I would like to say something about Garabandal using someone else’s words.
"Garabandal has the same spiritual theme asthe other great Marian apparitions approved by the Church. Our Lady has come on the earth one more time because she is a Mother not only for the visionaries and for a few chosen souls, but for the whole world—this world which is becoming worse, as Loli has said. At San Sebastián de Garabandal, tears do not flow from the Virgin’s eyes as they did at La Salette. Instead she has chosen four innocent younggirls. Through these children, all generous souls are called to partake of the Virgin’s solicitude for the world. One day the children in ecstasy recited therosary under the Virgin’s direction and said, ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us sinners.’ Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus, lived from the manger to Calvary with her Son and for her Son. She knew the prophecies and the aged Simeon had enlightened her about the sword of sorrows that would one day pierce her heart. During Christ’s life Mary lived with serenity of soul and anguish of heart. Mary’s compassion for her Son was a thing so deeply moving that it is almost necessary to be a sorrowful mother oneself to comprehend it.
More than others, the tragic spirit of the Spanish people seems to have penetrated into this mystery. In Spain we see statues of Our Lady clothed in black, and of the Virgin pierced with seven swords, holding in her hands a cloth to collect her tears.
It was in Bethlehem, the gospel says in speaking ofthe birth of Christ, that Mary brought into the world her first born Son. Her first-born Son? Actually her motherhood did not end with her Son Jesus; at the cross, she became the mother of all innumerable sinful human beings. After being the sorrowful mother at the foot of the cross, she remains the suffering mother who fears losing the children that Jesus had given her on Calvary. Now, perhaps more than at any other period of history she sees the de-Christianization of entire countries. At Fatima she showed the three children many souls falling into hell. Few listened! Can we not understand then why she calls to the world at Garabandal to hear her message, in order to save it from the chastisement that she fears for it?
At Garabandal the children were astoundedone day by the attitude of the Virgin, and Mari Cruz asked her, You too . . . you pray too? They did not yet understand that—after having joined with the angel in praising the Virgin full of grace— our Hail Marys ask her to pray for us sinners. She knows that a terrible chastisement can fall upon her children on earth if they do not convert. She makes an almost desperate effort to warn us, to implore us to prevent our souls from falling into hell and our bodies from being chastised. She then entreats us to pray for the world with her. Our Mother in Heaven stands before the throneof God. She asks devoted souls, her little children, and those that resemble them to join her prayer andpray with her to snatch the victory from Satan, and gain the triumph that Jesus wants to grant her."
(Star on the Mountain)
Yes it is she, the mother concerned for her children, who is beyond the mist and mystery of Garabandal.
The duration of August 14th was profuse with wonders. If the tape recording had occurred in the morning, in the evening occurred another series of remarkable phenomena beginning at 8 P.M., first at the Pines and later in the church. Again Loli and Jacinta were the participants. Conchita and her mother Aniceta, who had been working from early morning harvesting hay far from the village, returned straight home to rest awhile and finish their housework. At a late hour Maximina went to see them. She related: When she came, Aniceta was saying to her daughter, You troublemaker! Don’t you see that your apparitions aren’t true? Why hasn’t the Virgin called you today like the others? The child answered very seriously, You want me to tell you all about the ecstasies of the other girls? Yes! Exclaimed Maximina, Tell us about them. Tell us about them since I’ve just come from seeing them. Then Conchita explained in detail everythingthat had happened, with the stops that the visionaries had made, and the things that they had done. On hearing this, Maximina said, My hair is standing on end! Oh! This is fantastic! That’s exactly how it happened! Maximina later related: «Then Aniceta said to me, But Conchita has been with me all this time shut up in the house.She turned to Conchita and asked her, How can this be? —This is how. While I was in front of the living room, I felt the Virgin calling me by my name. And she told me everything that the others were doing and where they were walking. And I know more, what the others don’t yet know . . . What the Virgin told me. She told me that we would hear a voice, and then we were to go where it took us.(13) —Oh heavens—exclaimed Aniceta—and if it takes you over a steep cliff? —The Virgin would never do that. The Virgin would never take us to a bad place. She also told me that the time would come when we ourselves would deny, for we would come to doubt everything. And almost everyone would come to doubt.» And so during the evening of August 4th, 1961, when she had barely arrived back from her change of environment stay in Santander, Conchita would receive the first secret and confidential communication about something that no one then could have possibly imagined, and which afterward would fall down terribly like a weight of darkness on the mystery of Garabandal: the denial of its visionaries and the falling away of a great number of its followers.
The Veil Does Not Completely Fall
The seers of Garabandal saw and heard what we ourselves now, in the time of faith and hope, can only hope to witness. But what the girls saw and heard was not the perfect fullness of face to face(14) contact with heaven. The mysterious veil was not pulled completely away from them. Plácido Ruíloba, a businessman from Santander, one of the witnesses who has seen many things in Garabandal, recalls those times in 1961: «One day I asked Mari Loli what it was that she saw during the ecstasies and visions in her home, since the ceilings were rather low and would not permit anyone to be in ecstasy above her. —When I see the Virgin, I don’t see the ceilings of my home. I see her, surrounded with great light. I also asked her if the Virgin leaned over to kiss the articles that they offered to her. And the girl told me that the Virgin did not lean over, but descended gently from her high position until the articles were in front of her lips. Another time I asked her whether, when they held the infant in their arms as they had stated many times, they felt his weight like other infants. The girl answered that when the Virgin handed her the infant she felt a great pleasure in holding him; but she noticed no weight, and neither could she press against him. And that she had a similar sensation, very difficult to explain, when the Virgin kissed her.»(15) Let the theologians see if all this does or does not agree with what has been taught in the Church about the reality of visions and apparitions. Can such extraordinary concordance with Church teaching, in matters that even many priests are not cognizant about, come from the girls’ environment? Can it be the result of the girls’ abnormal psyche, or their genius for invention? And let the theologians look at other evidence, collected by this man who questioned the girls intensely: «Having learned all this from Jacinta’s mother (that the Virgin at times gave them the Infant), I took advantage of an occasion to question Conchita. —If you held the Infant Jesus in your arms, then you would have touched Him. —No. One can never touch either the Virgin or the Infant. —But don’t you hold Him in your arms? —Yes, we hold Him in them, and because of that we are not able to bring our arms more than a certain closeness to our chest. —Is He heavy? —Not at all. —And when you kiss the Virgin, do you feel the freshness and the softness of her face? As an answer, Conchita took the hand of one of the spectators and raised it toward her face so as to cover it without touching her mouth and her eyes. And she said, Do you understand now? As if you would kiss your own hand, without feeling it on your lips. Well it is something like that; one sees that he kisses, that he embraces, and nevertheless he feels no touch. Certainly it is she whom we kiss; but we cannot say that we feel either the freshness or anything from her face. —How can this be? —We don’t know; but it’s definitely that way. If we wish to reach her with our hands, our hand reaches a point beyond which it can’t go, for she is there. But we don’t feel anything, outside of the sensation that we surely have her there—in front of our hand.»
___________
Moreover, we know that when the children offered the Infant pebbles or caramels that they had saved for Him, both the pebbles and the caramels were found afterwards lying on the ground.(16)
12. In his book, Sanchez-Ventura gives the name, age and address of seven of these.
13. I admit that I can give no explanation for this enigmatic passage. Let us hope that some day it will be made clear to us, since the great mystery of Garabandal is still unsolved. Note from 1976 — I was finally able to question Jacinta in her home about this puzzling episode . . . without obtaining much light. But something led me to think that the Virgin — with these words spoken to Conchita — might have been referring to the voice of a person who was then alive and was soon going to die: Fr. Luis María Andreu. We know that after his death the girls heard his voice in ecstasy without seeing him. (See the next chapter.) And that mysterious voice gave them much instruction and advice.
14. We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face, now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known. (Cor. 13: 12)
15. Taken from a June 28, 1969 article in the weekly Que pasa? Written by González-Gay.
In a report by Father Andreu, we have another illustration on this subject that apparently belongs to the ecstasy ofAugust 31, 1961:
«Father Valentín indicated to the girls that they should ask the Virgin if she was appearing to them in body and soul . . . The girls asked her, and the Virgin answered that she was not appearing to them in body and soul, but in another way; but that it was she.
Father Valentín had asked this as a proof, since he had read that apparitions are not accustomed to be in body and soul, and the girls were not capable of understanding these things; they knew only to say that they saw the Virgin.» 16. Material taken from Star on the Mountain.
I have written about a coming “Illumination of
Conscience” or “warning” or “mini-judgment” or “great shaking.” They all
mean essentially the same thing, as confirmed by several mystics and
saints in the Church:
I pronounced a
great day… wherein the terrible Judge should reveal all men’s
consciences and try every man of each kind of religion. This is the day
of change, this is the Great Day which I threatened, comfortable to the
well-being, and terrible to all heretics. —St. Edmund Campion, Cobett’s Complete Collection of State Trials, Vol. I, p. 1063.
St. Faustina experienced this “illumination” herself:
Suddenly I saw
the complete condition of my soul as God sees it. I could clearly see
all that is displeasing to God. I did not know that even the smallest
transgressions will have to be accounted for. What a moment! Who can
describe it? To stand before the Thrice-Holy-God!—St. Faustina; Divine Mercy in My Soul, Diary
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837), known and
respected by popes for her astoundingly accurate visions, also spoke of
such an event.
She indicated
that this illumination of conscience would result in the saving of many
souls because many would repent as a result of this “warning”… this
miracle of “self-illumination.” —Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi in Antichrist and the End Times, P. 36
And more recently, Servant of God Maria Esperanza (1928-2004) said,
The consciences
of this beloved people must be violently shaken so that they may “put
their house in order”… A great moment is approaching, a great day of
light… it is the hour of decision for mankind. —Ibid, P. 37 (Volumne 15-n.2, Featured Article from http://www.sign.org)
The
Priesthood and the Eucharist are the heart and life-blood of the
Church. For some time now, both have been – and still are – the object
of one of the most furious onslaughts of the evil one ever witnessed in
Church history. The Church is presently experiencing a terrible crisis;
some say it is the worst of all time, because it is being seriously
threatened from both without and within.
Our Lady
saw this ‘double threat’ long before it was apparent to most of us. She
began to warn us as early as 1917 at Fatima. Her warning became even
clearer and insistent from 1961 to 1965 at Garabandal. There she spoke
openly of the crisis in both the priesthood and the Eucharist. And she
continued to speak almost daily over a period of a year and a half, from
the middle of 1961 to the end of 1962. With the exception of the
rosary, she talked most about this crisis to the four visionaries during
the 2,000 apparitions which took place in the tiny village of
Garabandal high in the beautiful Cantabrian mountains of north western
Spain. That she talked so often of both the priesthood and the Eucharist
is not surprising since they are so intimately connected.
Focus On The Eucharist
At Garabandal, Our Lady spoke of the Eucharist in each of her two
formal messages; that of October 18, 1961 and that of June 18, 1965. In
the first message, she said, “We must visit the Blessed Sacrament
frequently.” In the second, “Less and less importance is being given to
the Eucharist.” This and the other parts of the first message, were
brought to the attention of the seers before October 18, 1961. St
Michael, the archangel, was the first to appear at Garabandal. He came
initially on June 18, 1961. On June 24, the fifth time he appeared, he
had a sign beneath him inscribed with the first message of Garabandal,
but the girls were too attracted by the beauty of the angel to pay
attention to the sign, and the angel said nothing. However, on July 4,
the third day Our Lady came, she communicated the message that had been
on the sign and told the girls to announce it publicly on October 18,
1961. Later, she explained the meaning of the message to them. In fact,
she instructed them many times, telling them how to fulfil it and
reproaching them when they neglected to do so. In a letter to Fr Jose
Ramon Garcia de la Riva, dated May 26, 1962, Mari Loli wrote, “She
(the Blessed Virgin) tells us every day to be better, to visit the
Blessed Sacrament more often and to say the rosary every day.”
Before The Tabernacle
Our
Lady’s messages and teachings to the girls were meant for us as well as
for them. Some of the instruction was conveyed not only through her
words to them, but through their actions, through the things they were
led to do. Two of these “teachings in action” deal with Our Lord in the
tabernacle. During the early days of the apparitions, Our Lady quite
frequently led the girls into the village church and had them kneel and
pray before the tabernacle.
Fr Jose de la Riva describes his
witness of this event the very first time he visited Garabandal on
August 22, 1961. It was in the evening, after the daily rosary. The
girls had gone into ecstasy outside the church and went inside once
without going to the tabernacle. Then later, they returned: “Several
times the girls came back into the church, two by two: Conchita and
Mari-Cruz, Jacinta and Mari Loli. They came and placed themselves beside
me on the first step of the altar (where I was praying at the time).
All I had to do was turn my head slightly and I could observe perfectly
the unfolding of these phenomena that at first glance appeared to be
mystical. They prayed with fervour and in a low voice before the
tabernacle. Their entire bearing was a thing of admirable beauty. Their
heads were tilted backward slightly and their faces were transparent as
though lighted from within by a light that would have been dazzling if
it had not been tempered by an unctuous sweetness.”
Mary’s Motherly Wisdom
So it was that Mary, with motherly wisdom, supplemented and reinforced
her verbal message to visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently with the
powerful teaching of this example. Even after the ecclesiastical
authorities at Santander had forbidden the girls to enter the church in
the state of ecstasy, Our Lady continued to use them to teach the lesson
of visiting the Blessed Sacrament. She led them in ecstasy (when they
walked in ecstasy, it is because they followed the vision, as she moved)
around the church, reciting the rosary or singing the Salve Regina. On
other occasions, she led them often at the end of an apparition, to
within inches of the door of the church – as close as they could get –
and had them fall on their knees. In these miraculous ways, the girls in
ecstasy still “visited” the Blessed Sacrament as best they could. These
acts, perhaps more than anything else, reveal the importance the
Blessed Virgin attached to “visiting Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. “
Respect for Our Lord’s Presence
Our
Blessed Mother used the girls in ecstasy to teach us still another
lesson regarding the Sacrament of Christ’s Love - namely, the respect we
should manifest. After bringing the girls to kneel and pray for a short
while (“one minute”, ”a few minutes,” according to early Notes of the Pastor,
Don Valentin Marichalar), at the foot of the main altar and just a few
feet from the tabernacle, Our Lady led them, still in ecstasy, but
walking backwards, from the main altar and tabernacle to either a side
altar to say the rosary, or out of the church completely. The deeply
religious and highly sensitive Simon, Jacinta’s father, was struck by
this and grasped its meaning. Here are his comments:
“I also
noticed something else. Whenever, in ecstasy, the girls left the main
altar to go to another altar or to leave the church, they always moved
backward until they reached the door of the Church. Never in ecstasy did
they turn their backs to the Blessed Sacrament. Never, never! In
reality, their manner of acting was a lesson for us, but they never
boasted about it.”
Of course, it was the basic message of
respect toward the Blessed Sacrament and not this particular manner of
expressing it that Our Lady was teaching us through this unusual conduct
of the girls.
Our Lady’s Message – Prophetic
It is
important to note the prophetic nature of Our Lady’s message in regard
to the Blessed Sacrament. She foresaw that the number of people visiting
the Blessed Sacrament would decline and that there would also be a loss
of respect toward it. It is as though she were saying, “Be careful,
I am warning you in advance, the time is soon coming when people will
rarely visit the Blessed Sacrament and when many will fail to maintain a
respectful attitude in its presence.”
Here is what Conchita
had to say in a February 7, 1974 interview concerning these two points.
Her remarks were made in reply to a question asking what she thought
offended Our Lord most in regard to our attitude and conduct toward the
Blessed Sacrament. “Indifference”When we are in church, we
talk with one another and do not think who it is in the tabernacle. If
the pope or the president were sitting in this room, would you waste
your time to talk to me or to someone else? No, your attention would be
on the great person present. In too many ways, people forget that it is
Jesus on the altar and in the tabernacle. We must believe in faith that
it is He. Besides daily Mass, Communion and the rosary we must go often
to pay a visit to Our Lord in the churches where He is alone.”
Lack of Faith the Real Cause
Conchita
put her finger on the real cause of all our failings toward the Blessed
Sacrament – our lack of faith in the Real or Divine Presence. It is
because we do not have a lively faith in Jesus’ presence in the
tabernacle that we talk in church, fail to genuflect properly, make no
real effort to greet Him, and pray to Him after we have entered our pew.
Moreover, there is the whole question of proper and modest attire,
especially in the summer and on Sundays at Mass. We need to acknowledge
that we have been led, little by little, step by step, to a point of
widespread, and at times appalling, lack of respect for our heavenly
Father’s house. As a result, our attitude often differs little from our
behaviour in the parish hall. Our Lady wants you to visit her divine Son
in your churches. She also wants you to maintain a respectful attitude
when in His presence. Remember, only you can satisfy her prayers. Have
you the heart to deny her?
In
numerous ways, Our Lady at Garabandal has re-confirmed the Church’s
centuries-old teaching regarding the Living Presence and Power of Jesus
in the Eucharist. Fr. Pelletier, in this first of several articles,
discusses one aspect of the Euchaistic Message of Garabandal.
One of the powerful signs of the authenticity of the Garabandal message is that it is Christ-centered.
Its Christ-centeredness comes principally from its Eucharistic thrust:
Communion (taught by way of the mystical Communion given to the girls by
the angel), visiting the Blessed Sacrament, prayer for priests and
thinking about the passion of Jesus. Mary’s mission was, and always
is to draw us to Jesus, and it is by this drawing to Jesus that we are
able to recognize her authentic presence.
Mary did not
mention herself in the two, “Official” messages of October18, 1961, and
June 18, 1965. The recommendation of the rosary, which she made every
time she came, was done in a more informal manner in the course of her
conversations with the girls. So, too, with the scapular. It was
recommended in an indirect fashion-by the title Our Lady chose, that of
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and by the large scapular which she always
wore over her right arm.
The first message of 1961 was a call to
penance and repentance, a plea to seek “forgiveness with sincere
hearts”. It contained another reminder of the “Eucharist to which less
and less importance is being given.” It called out attention to priests,
sorely in need of prayers-priests, the ministers of the Eucharist. It
asked us to “think about the passion of Jesus”- Jesus, the High Priest
who perpetuates the sacrifice of the cross through the Mass.
It
would seem that we are just know beginning to understand the full
meaning and importance of the Eucharistic message of Garabandal. This
message was seen at first as a reminder and defense of the traditional
Catholic view of the Eucharistic and especially of the reality of the
divine presence. This understanding of the Eucharistic message of
Garabandal is, of course, correct and was very much needed in the days
of unbelievable confusion that followed the Ecumenical Council Vatican
II.
However, the Holy Spirit, with whom Mary is inseparably
bound, is leading the Church to a fuller and richer understanding of all
of the channels of grace, among which the Eucharist is one of the most
important and far-reaching.This fuller and richer understanding is
not really something new. It is more accurately a return to the
belief-and practice- of the early Church. The Holy Spirit is reminding
us of something that, at least in practice, we had forgotten, namely,
that the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and Penance, have
important functions of healing.
In regard to the Eucharist, most
of the stress in the past was on the “food” or strengthening aspect of
the sacrament. This certainly is an authentic and important aspect of
the Eucharist. But the risen Christ who comes to us to strengthen our
souls and help them grow in the love of God also comes to us with the
fullness of his healing power, the same healing power that flowed from
his person during the years of his public ministry. In those days it was
enough to touch the hem of his garment with faith and expectancy to be
healed both physically and morally.
How far greater is the
intimacy of our contact with Christ through the Eucharist! Christ knows
the tremendous need for healing we all have today, physical,
psychological and spiritual healing. He loves us no less than he loved
the Jews of His day. His power is not lessened in any way, and at
Communion we are in unbelievably close contact with that power. What is
the matter then? Why aren’t we healed? Very simply, because we don’t
believe that He wants to heal us. And not believing this, we don’t ask
Him to heal us. It is truly as simple as that.
Faith and
expectancy, believing and asking, are most important if we want to
receive God’s gifts. He imposes nothing on us. He has given us a free
will and respects that will. HE waits on us. He invites us but we must
accept the invitation. In the book of Revelation, we are told: “Here I
stand, knocking at the door. If anyone hears me calling and opens the
door, I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me”
(2:20).
Jesus stands and knocks, but will not force His way in. We
must open the door. We must want Him to come in and we must indicate
this to Him. We do this in prayer by asking. To ask is to open the door.
He stands at our door with all His power, the same power He used during
his mortal life to expel demons, cure the sick and raise the dead. But
we don’t ask Him to come in and use that power. We stand there facing
each other, Jesus and us, with only a door that we can push to open
separating us. And if we fail to push the door open, Jesus’ power
remains unused and fruitless to the pain and sorrow of His loving and
merciful heart.
Yes, Jesus is pained and sorrowed at not being
able to use His power for us, at our lack of confidence in His love for
us. We offend His love when we do not ask, we are in reality saying to
Him; “I do not dare to ask because I do not think you will give me what I
want. I am not sure that you love me enough to give me what I ask.”
It
all reduces itself to our faith, or lack of faith, in His love. If we
truly believed in His love, we would ask Him to move the mountain of
physical, psychological and spiritual ailments that are crushing us and
breaking our spirits and removing all joy from our hearts.
“Let
him drink, who believes in me. Scripture has it: From within him rivers
of living waters shall flow,” Jesus said (Jn 7:37-38). Not a little
trickle of water will moisten our lips, but flowing rivers of water
shall refresh our body and soul if we believe and ask, expecting to
receive and “never doubting” (Jas 1:6). Jesus also said, “I came that
they might have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10). Have life to
the full! This is what He came to bring us with His power.
Jesus
was really quite clear in what He said. Also, knowing “what little sense
we have, and how slow we are to believe” ( Acts 24:25), He repeated the
same thing many times. One of his clearest and most complete statements
concerning this is found in John 14:12-14: “I solemnly assure you, the
man who has faith in me will do the works I do and greater far than
these. Why? Because I go to the Father, and whatever you ask in my name I
will do, so as to glorify the Father in the Son. Anything you ask in my
name I will do.”
When Jesus performed miracles during His life,
he glorified his Father. When he performs miracles today at our asking,
He also glorifies the Father. He wants to glorify the Father in this
way, and we deprive Him of opportunities to do this when we do not ask
Him to perform “great works” in us and through us.
The glory of the Father is the ultimate purpose of all Jesus did and does.
The immediate purpose of what Jesus did and does concerns us. From our
point of view, He performed and wants to continue performing miracles
and healings so that we might “have life to the full.” Fullness of life
includes joy and happiness: “Ask and you shall receive, that your joy
may be full” (Jn 16:24).
Jesus wants to heal us so that we may
know full joy and happiness. This is not to say that He wants to remove
the cross completely from our life, that He does not want us to suffer.
He explicitly told us we would have to take up our cross and follow His
example of suffering. But there are many forms of suffering besides
physical, psychological and moral suffering. There is the hardship, the
fatigue and often the anxiety that go with the fulfillment of our duty
of state, the monotony of daily tasks, the problems of raising a family,
of priestly and other ministries and services.
The healing which
Jesus wishes to perform above all is inner healing, healing of the mind,
of the spirit, of the soul. There are so many things in our minds, our
memories, our subconscious, our weak nature that are obstacles to God’s
love in our lives. These are the things He ardently wants to see removed
and healed, so that His love may take over more completely in us. And
these are the healings that are in fact being obtained most frequently
The
promises obtained in Scripture and mentioned above are indeed being
claimed in faith and are being fulfilled with ever growing frequency
today. We know of what we speak. We have heard and observed these things
ourselves. God loves us much more that we can ever imagine. He is not
failing us. We are failing Him by not believing in His love and by not
claiming in faith His loving promises. Those who are stepping out in
faith and are asking, expecting to receive and never doubting, are
finding out that God does indeed love us dearly and is pouring out His
love in a lavish manner. They are discovering what St. Paul and all the
saints have discovered, that Jesus is indeed “Him whose power now at
work in us can do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine” (Eph 3:20).
This power of the risen Christ is most likely to be released in us at Holy Communion.
It is especially then that we should ask Jesus for inner healing, but
not only for inner healing. We should not hesitate to ask him to cure
our physical or bodily ailments, too. It is not harder for Him to do one
or the other, or indeed both at the same time. But it is generally
better to ask for one thing at a time. However, do not put any limits on
His love for you or on His power. Ask for everything you need. Remember
that healings are generally slow and gradual and normally take time.
Our faith and our virtue is perfected in patience and perseverance.
But
do not overlook or neglect the divine friend who remains with us, night
and day; in our tabernacles. It is the same risen Christ that we
receive in Holy Communion. His power can pierce the tabernacle door and
reach us in the church pew as easily as it does at Communion. We should
not be satisfied with a monthly Eucharistic vigil. If we had lively
faith, we would “visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently,” as Our Lady
requested in her first message at Garabandal.
Remember
what Conchita has said: “The Blessed Virgin told us that it is a
greater grace to receive Jesus in Holy Communion than to see her.”
St. Faustina experienced this “illumination” herself: