She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 129)

“Communion from the Angel”

This is the first time that he gives dates for this type of Communion. So we can gather from this that it was on July 11th, Tuesday, that the girls first received Communion from the Angel's hands.
And perhaps this updated paragraph in Fr. Valentín's notes refers to July 11th:
«Conchita and Mari Cruz went at 8 o'clock to receive Communion, and they said that he did it the same as I give Communion (understood, of course, outside of Mass). The other two, Loli and Jacinta, went about noon and received Communion at the Campuca, higher than at other times (Probably meaning higher than the usual place of apparitions). And afterwards the Angel showed them where the Virgin was, and the Virgin beckoned them with her hand.»
Father Valentín does not tell us where the Communions of Conchita and Mari Cruz took place; but if this refers to the first reception from the Angel's hands, consulting Conchita's diary, we would have to conclude that their first Communion took place at the Pines. The reception of the other two girls occurred at the Campuca, a small meadow at the end of the calleja, below the Pines, which today has the little chapel of St. Michael located on its right. As a point of interest here stood what was called the Stone of St. Michael, because he appeared over this stone when giving Communion to the girls.
Here is a more recent and exact confirmation of this. In the previously mentioned conversation of the painter Isabel de Daganzo with Conchita at the college of Burgos during November of 1967, this remarkable description is found:
Isabel: I would like to paint an ecstasy of Mari Cruz, since I like her so much.

Conchita: Yes, I like her very much too. Mari Cruz is very good. Look. Mari Cruz and I received the first Communion from the Angel at the Pines at 5 in the morning. At six on that morning, Loli and Jacinta received Communion close to where the chapel of St. Michael is now— where the Angel's stone is.
We see that Fr. Valentín and Conchita do not agree on the time. Why this discrepancy? Perhaps it was due to the pastor who had to write down so many things on the run. Or perhaps it refers to Communions received on different days.

The circumstances of this first Mystical Communion at Garabandal are enticing, taking place at the beginning of a long and sunlit day in July, in the freshness of morning as things began to take shape in the emerging dawn light, accompanied by the singing of birds, the heralds of the sun.

There high toward the sky,
beyond the troubles and cares of men,
in the marvelous landscape of the Pines,
are three angels and two girls.

St. Michael brings the Lord . . .
The girls' guardian angels adore Him . . .
Prostrate on their knees, the girls receive Him.
This is the mystery of our faith!

O Sacrum Convivium.

When Conchita and Mari Cruz returned from their world of miracles, they could look out over a splendid panorama that would make them feel the truth of the Credo. I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of what is seen (spread out now before our eyes!) and of what is unseen (how many proofs have we received of its existence!) and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, (in whom the two worlds meet joining them eternally in glory).
From Fr. Valentín's notes of July, 1961 can be seen the accuracy of Conchita's tense remark in her diary: And he gave us Communion for a long time.
Why then, if this began so early and had such importance, did the girl write it down so late, after having spoken of so many other things?
Perhaps this was due to the young writer trying to explain first of all what appeared most interesting, what she liked the most, and what was striking for the people: the appearance of the Angel and the Marian Epiphany, with their incredible series of exceptional phenomena.
Regardless, it cannot be doubted that this series of Holy Communions through the Angel's ministry, although it did not occupy the earliest position in the narration, is an integral part of the mystery of Garabandal.