"What Our Lady Wants Is Our Holiness"

 

The title of this article is taken from a report written by Fr. José María Alba Cereda, S.J. who stated: "According to the medical evaluation, a psychological or abnormal explanation is unthinkable; neither is it feasible to entertain the possibility of commercial, propaganda, or fraudulent interests on behalf of the family members or of the village as a whole." His report is a call to take a new look at the message given to us through these apparitions. He says that we are called to an "authentic reform of life," and that "what Our Lady wants is our holiness." He also states that "the message given to the girls by the Blessed Virgin Mary on October 18th has a very simple structure:  sacrifice, penance, and visits to the Blessed Sacrament."  And this is true.  What Our Lady asks of us is nothing different from what the Church's teaching has taught us since the beginning of Christianity, a teaching that we must turn back to, remember, and truly live. There is a real urgency in our time, where laicism and the loss of awareness of sin are increasing, for "a rectification towards an authentic Christian life." How can we respond to this urgency? It really does begin with us. We have to evangelize, lead souls to the Lord, do apostolate… yes, the more the better. But we have to also work on that continuous interior conversion, being more and more faithful to the Lord, to His Word, and to what He asks of us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that, "The free gift of adoption [as children in the Son] demands on our part continual conversion and new life." (CCC 2784) We find the word "demands". Love in a certain way demands love. Seeing God's love towards us, and meditating on it, (especially on the Passion, like Our Lady asked us), the least we can do is respond with our love. The same thing happens when we see everything that took place in Garabandal. How can we not respond? The Virgin Mary comes as a Mother, not to tell us anything new or beyond what we already know, but to remind us what we have to do in order to reach Heaven, and what we can do so that others may know and love the Lord. The Virgin Mary asked Conchita once, "And you, will you respond?" She's asks us the same question and she's waiting for an answer, she's waiting for your answer.

From  https://www.garabandal.it/en/

An Message not to be forgotten about

 

It seems as though the first message of Garabandal was a disappointment for many people. One could ask why. We must remember that, many times, due to our lack of faith, we want to experience extraordinary, great, and extravagant things. Nonetheless, we have seen, time and time again, how God acts in silence, in the simple things, in a light breeze, not in a hurricane nor in thunder. This error of longing for something extravagant blinds us to God’s real and surprising way of acting. We should rather ask ourselves, “Who are we that Our Blessed Mother should come to us, speak to us, give us a message, and tell us what we should do? Do we perhaps deserve her visit?" A single word would already be a gift, and she has given us many. The simple fact that Our Lady has come to visit us is already something extraordinary and of such great value that we should not demand nor desire anything more. God's patience with us, His children, is astonishing. Just like the prodigal son's Father, He waits and longs for the return of His lost son, who has fallen into sin. He never tires of waiting. He never grows weary of forgiving, but we do often get tired and forget about this good Father who loves us, wants to receive us once again in His home, and give us the inheritance promised to His children. The Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Mother, came to remind us of this truth. She invites us to offer sacrifices and do penance. She urges us to visit the Most Blessed Sacrament often. In other words, she encourages us to revive our faith and our love for the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. On another occasion, Our Lady said to Conchita, “He waits for you day and night.” Yes, the Lord waits for us in the tabernacle. Many have forgotten about Him. Our Lady says that we have to be “very good.” This exhortation to be “very good” is a new call to conversion, to turn our hearts to God, to repent and to amend our lives. It is a call to holiness, to love God and our neighbor, and to purity of heart. Lastly, Our Lady announces that, if we do not change, a chastisement will come. The word “chastisement” should not scandalize us, given that it appears many times in the Bible. She tells us this to help us become aware of the graveness of sin. In the same way that those who love and do good will receive their reward, those who do evil and sin will be chastised, purified. God is not less merciful by being just. We should raise a hymn of thanksgiving in our hearts for this warning from God, for this call to conversion… We cannot excuse ourselves by saying, “I didn’t know,” because God Himself has told us, “Convert and believe in the Gospel.” He tells us this once again through His Mother, “If you do not change, there will come a chastisement.”
We must embrace this message wholeheartedly. We should not allow it to be abandoned. Our Lady loves us very much and desires our salvation. She feels a motherly concern for us and warns us. Let us renew our commitment every day to fulfil this beautiful message and to make it known, because it is the proof of Our Blessed Mother's love for her children, and of God's mercy and love towards us.

From https://www.garabandal.it/en/