She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 144)

This must certainly have been a gripping scene since years later the chief of the Civil Guard mentions in his memoirs:

«The scene that occurred around the lamppost was imprinted on my heart, and I think that it will never be erased. The same had to happen to the others who were there at the time.»

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«The rest of the rosary»—continues Mercedes— «was like an ascent to heaven. I remember that I handed my cane to Rosario Santa María and seized Mari Loli’s arm; never in my life have I felt so light and so secure. Still crying, we continued with the rosary, walking forward, onwards into the early morning. I think that I prayed more with my eyes than with my lips, since Mari Loli kept repeating,
Don’t cry, don’t cry. But it was impossible for me not to; I had so many reasons for crying!
I didn’t need a flashlight, nor did I look at the ground; holding onto Mari Loli’s arm and full of faith in the Virgin, I walked the remainder of the time looking only upwards. Never have I seen a sky so full of stars and so clear! Each star was a smile.
Toward 3 in the morning, we went into the tavern of Loli’s father, talking about the things that had occurred on that memorable night. Still bewildered by what had happened to me, I saw that Rosario was whispering to Loli . . . A little later she came toward me, Mari Loli says that the message she gave you is not complete; but since you started to cry so soon, she wasn’t able to continue telling you about it.

The girl confided to me what was missing, and what left me still more perplexed.
She also told me that your son is very happy, most happy, and that he is with you every day . . . I know that your son is in heaven! I found this out yesterday when the Virgin told it to me. But I had to keep quiet about it since she said to me, “Do not tell it to the woman until after the Easter Mass tomorrow."
Certainly such finesse could not have come from the young girl . . . »

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It is easy to understand the reason for this statement. Heaven’s response to Mercedes Salisachs’ tremendous worry had to be too complicated, in effect, too intermeshed with the liturgical season, to be attributable to the inventive genius of an uneducated young farm girl.
During Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the time of the suffering and annihilation of Our Savior, and also of Mary, the co-redemptorist, this woman had to pass through long hours of humiliation and darkness . . . And only after the liturgy proclaimed the first alleluias of the Easter morning Mass, in the most sacred night, did she receive the gift of that unexpected and wonderful joy.
«After that moment»—continued Mercedes— «everything changed for me. Soon the girl fell into ecstasy again. To demonstrate that the game of silence of the previous days was concluded, she immediately came to me and applied the crucifix on my lips, once, twice, three times . . . Then making with it the sign of the cross on my forehead, on my lips, and on my chest, she gave it again to the Virgin to kiss. And to definitely seal everything that she had just confirmed, she offered it to me again. Afterwards, without offering it to anyone else to kiss, she went out on the street.
Outside the house, Ceferino, the girl’s father, waved for me to come near. She was talking about you with the Virgin, he told me. Briefly, this is what she said: “I told her that she shouldn’t cry, that she had to be happy . . . But she didn’t pay attention . . . And if she cries again when I tell her about it?"
As soon as the ecstasy was ended, Mari Loli came toward me and whispered that she had another message. She waited until we were alone and then said to me:
—While I was speaking now with the Virgin, I saw that she was laughing very much; and that she was looking upward. On asking her why she was laughing so much, she answered me, “that at the same time in which she was speaking to me, he was looking at you. And that his joy was great."
—Mari Loli, to whom are you referring? About . . .
I didn’t get to pronounce his name, for she interrupted:
—Yes. Miguel. The Virgin told me, “Above all, tell the woman that while I am speaking with you now, Miguel is looking at her, and that he is very happy; he is pleased, very pleased."

—Tell me, Mari Loli! How did you know that his name was Miguel?

—Because I asked the Virgin, “Who is Miguel?" And she answered me, “The son of that woman."
When this all ended in the early morning, our return to the house where I lodged was like walking on a cloud . . . The village nestled under a sky full of stars. The sun was rising on the other side of the mountain.»