She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 50)

Contents of the Ecstasies

«We have large fragments of dialogue from the girls in ecstasy. In general the speech is simple and to the point, with childlike expressions, and gives the appearance of dealing with the happenings of the day or the previous days. Similar to what happened at Lourdes with Bernadette Soubirous, some of those that heard the conversations took them lightly; that is to say, they considered them trivial.
The extremely simple and transparent souls of the girls could be seen by their conversations. They made exclamations like these: How nice it must be in heaven! Take me even if it would be to bring me down another time. They were heard alluding to sacrifices, to the sins that they had committed, to persons there who didn't believe . . . From which it came that they asked frequently for cures and miracles in order that the people might believe. But the normal topics
in their conversations were simple things that corresponded mostly to their everyday life.
Frequently in their ecstasies they sang the popular song:

St. Michael the Archangel,
Great warrior
Who in the fiery battle
Vanquished Lucifer
Who is like God?
There is no one like God! (19)

The girls said that the Virgin requested that a chapel to St. Michael be built on a site at the Pines. I myself heard this said in their state of trance and also in their normal conversation.
On other occasions the girls in ecstasy composed verses. Generally these corresponded to what are called ballads in poetic literature. They accompanied these with music, that is, they recited them while singing.
As the ecstasies continued into September, 1961, verses formed part of the nightly rounds that the girls in ecstasy made to the other girls sleeping in their homes since they had not been called by the Virgin. Some corresponded to well known songs like Noche de Paz; others were spontaneous and only had a meaning in the circumstances in which they were recited. I remember only three of these ballads, although there were more that they sang; but they could not be written down at the time that they were recited, and besides they were not always heard clearly.

The night on which the feast of the Assumption began (August 14-15), the youngest of the girls, Mari Cruz, was sleeping in her home. The other three together sang to her, without previous rehearsal, some stanzas that began this way:

Get up, Mari Cruz:
Don't you smell the lilies?
That the Virgin brings you
So that you will be good.

On another night Loli was by herself singing to the other three who were in their homes since they were not having a vision. I could only hear what was said to Conchita:

Get up, little Conchita,
For the Virgin is here,
With a bouquet of flowers,
To give a present to you.»

__________

Isn't this exceptionally charming? What nights, the nights at Garabandal in those days! The peace, the grace, and the favors of God rained down — by the intercession of the Virgin Mary, through the four girls — onto all those who were either still up or had gone to sleep in the humble village, so close to the clouds, so far from the baseness and vileness of the big cities. Paris, la nuit! Madrid, con sus noches! There so much dissipation and empty frivolity. On the contrary, what nights were those in Garabandal on that summer of 1961. It is not surprising that those who lived there and the pilgrims from afar frequently called that town a little piece of paradise, and some did not hesitate to declare, There I experienced the most unforgettable moments of my life.

· · ·

We have already mentioned the part that the little stones, the medals, the rosaries, the crucifixes, and the marriage rings played in the ecstasies at Garabandal. And there is more to be said on this subject. Let us listen again to Father Ramón:
«THE KISSES — During the visions it was seen that the girls kissed something . . . Their gestures were evident, and they said later that they had kissed the Virgin, the Infant, St. Michael. And they were kissed in return. The motions of kissing, being kissed, receiving the Child, and taking the crown came across perfectly clear, and all could recognize them.
In the numerous trances that I witnessed, I never saw in a simultaneous action the girls kissing together but always one after the other. I only saw the simultaneous action when it was clear that the kiss was not given directly, but instead given from afar—what is called throwing a kiss . . . Frequently on terminating a vision, the girl or girls having it would receive a kiss on the
cheek—or two kisses, one on each cheek—and they would give only one in return.

THE MIRACLES — After Father Valentín told the girls to ask the Virgin for a miracle in order to be able to demonstrate a sign and be able to believe, they requested this many times. In the beginning, the Virgin smiled.(20) Afterwards, it appears that she became serious . . . When the girls told her that many did not believe, that no one believed, she answered on several occasions, They will believe.
Actually the girls stated that they had heard from the Virgin that there would definitely be a miracle,(21) although they did not know when, or in what it consisted.

19. This is a song that was well-known in the towns and regions of Spain, at least in the northern provinces.
In Garabandal, as in all the other sectors of Santander, this song is a residual of a mission or retreat.
What is said here about St. Michael does not need explanation, if one has followed the train of this story with attention.
20. This request for an actual miracle, to serve as a sign for everyone, began very early, undoubtedly because the people were continually asking for it. On July 15th, a Saturday, Fr. Valentín wrote down:

«They were there at a quarter before nine; they were some seven minutes in this state as usual and they were talking in a low voice. I got up close and I heard the following: Perform a miracle for us! Let the night be changed to day. (Mari Cruz said this.)
And Conchita said: Yes, perform a miracle for us even though it's only a little one.

And the following day, a Sunday and the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, they said, We saw the angel smiling. When we asked him to give us a sign, he became serious.»
21. This miracle to come is part of the immense mystery of Garabandal. Later on we will give more details about the Great Miracle.