She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 208)

“your hour of suffering has come.”

With these statements, Conchita thought she was performing her last services for the cause of Our Lady of Garabandal prior to her entrance into religious life, where she would have to keep silent and remain in seclusion.
She was impatiently looking forward to this time. But at the same time it seems she felt an instinct of foreboding for the future.
Two days after the meeting with the Americans, she wrote to Fr. José Ramón de la Riva.
She deliberately used for her letter a piece of paper on which the message of June 18th was photocopied, and she wrote:
«San Sebastián de Garabandal 9-16-1965

Dear Father José Ramón,

Just a few lines to tell you that I found out that you were here a few days ago. That made me feel bad since I wanted to speak with you for a few minutes, if not longer . . .
You know that within a few weeks, or perhaps a few days, I’ll enter the convent. I want to enter soon in order to do —or try to do— what the Virgin wants.
I don’t know if I have a true vocation. I think I do, although I have some doubts. The Virgin didn’t tell me to enter.»

________

These last lines are revealing. They show that there is something deeply troubling Conchita. She does not know God’s plans for her. Up to now, during the ecstasies and locutions when she had asked personal questions about her future, she had so many times been left unanswered, or else had been answered in words that clearly evaded the question.
And the day would come on which she would clearly feel herself not chosen by Jesus to form part of what the Church considers His spouses. This would be for her a cause of great suffering and a perilous spiritual crisis.

But as summer ended in 1965, she was counting on leaving immediately for the convent at Pamplona to begin her religious life. The day of departure had even been set: September 29th, the feast of St. Michael, the Archangel. Could she have chosen a better date?
But that day came, and Conchita had to stay in Garabandal while, with tearful eyes, she saw her friends and companions, Loli and Jacinta, leave for Saragossa on September 30th.
Fr. Luna had arranged everything so that the two girls could enter free of charge as boarders in the college of the Charity Sisters of St. Ann in the Aragon town of Borja.
Jacinta and Loli were 16 years old at the time, in the flush of youth. They had never lived outside of San Sebastián de Garabandal, and the parting from the village on that day, even with their eyes on the future, must have been nostalgic. While saying goodbye before leaving, Loli soaked two handkerchiefs with her tears.
Understandable sorrow! Beside the pain of separation, could it have been due also to the ending of the most unforgettable period of her life?
Perhaps she was beset also with the premonition that her way would soon turn into a most narrow and difficult one.
Almost on the night before leaving, she had a locution, and heard from the Virgin: «Loli, if in the future I do not appear to you again, it is that your hour of suffering has come.»
Actually both young girls, Loli and Jacinta, suffered considerably in the school at Borja. I know this expressly from Jacinta’s admission that she kept a painful remembrance of the school year there. All the blame could not be put on the religious teachers. According to Fr. Luna, the principal cause of their unfortunate troubles were certain Garabandalistas of the first rank, who could not resign themselves to the girls being outside of their presence and control.
Jacinta probably cried less than Loli at the time of farewell. Not because she was less sensitive, but because she had a different character, less prone for expansion.
Before Fr. Luna could arrange for her to stay at school, Jacinta was talking about entering into a convent of cloistered Carmelites. Fr. Luna himself requested her admission to the Carmelite convent at Saragossa; and the community, by a secret vote, accepted the request. Why then, didn’t she go?(7)
Perhaps the one who was most pleased by this change was her mother, María; it seemed that she would lose her daughter much less this way. Not surprising. Nothing is more difficult than complete generosity toward God.
On that September 30th, 1965, as Jacinta and Loli went down toward Cossío, the dispersal of Garabandal began. As they turned the bend in the road to cast a last look at their village, their minds could not fathom all the things that they were leaving behind.

* * *

Still in the village, keeping her suffering to herself, was the one who had looked forward with such longing to September 29th, the day set for her leaving to be a novice in the Discalced Carmelite Missionaries: Conchita.
Her mother, who had given her consent originally, later changed her mind, refusing to allow her daughter to leave before . . . Before what?

It had been mentioned to Aniceta about the possibility and feasibility of Conchita going to Rome, to be interviewed by the highest hierarchy of the Church, and to see perhaps, if it were possible, the Holy Father himself. And Aniceta came to the conclusion that this had to be done before anything else, and the sooner the better; therefore, before the girl shut herself in the convent. In August, it had seemed a simple matter to finish the trip before the middle of September; and thinking along that line, she gave her consent to Conchita to leave for the convent on the feast of St. Michael. But complications delayed things.
Fr. Laffineur wrote:
«On September 8th at Torrelavega, Conchita announced to me her departure for the convent of the missionary sisters of the Discalced Carmelites at Pamplona. The departure should have taken place on the 29th of that month. During the same period Loli and Jacinta were to leave for the province of Saragossa to stay with the Sisters of Charity.
Why was the end of September chosen? Because Conchita and her mother had good reason to believe that their voyage to Italy would have taken place well before the date fixed for the inauguration of the Council’s last session, that is to say, before September 14th. But complications developed and after September 29th the two of them had to pass some extremely difficult months.»

___________

Why did complications arise? Fr. Luna undertook against wind and sea, as a true man from Aragon, to bring Conchita to Rome, in accordance with Cardinal Ottaviani who then was still the head of the Supreme Congregation of the Holy Office. But the chancery at Santander, as soon as it learned of the project, deployed all its connections in Rome and outside of Rome to crush the matter. The chancery must have been afraid of something.
Let us see how Fr. Luna himself recounts this in the introduction of a book he wrote about another site of apparitions:
«In September we got our passports in order. However . . .

Toward the end of August, I offered my services to the new Bishop of Santander, Bishop Puchol, so as to put him in direct contact with the girls. He told me that he didn’t consider it necessary, or even wise, to know them.(8) He assured me that he was already well informed, and he confided to me his plan: to put a young priest(9) in charge of the village and “the girls should remain there."
I answered that it seemed an excellent idea to send a well-chosen priest; but with regard to the girls, neither he nor I had authority to determine whether or not they were to stay. Aniceta had already authorized the admission of her daughter at Pamplona, and the parents of Loli and Jacinta had also consented for them to leave for Borja.
—In writing?

—Yes, Your Excellency. Yes, in writing. I have signed authorizations.
I have always kept my principle of respecting the hierarchy, but also I have required respect in return. I have conscientiously been courteous before whoever represents God; but not weak.
On that same day, I said to Bishop Vicente: I don’t want to do things behind your back. For that reason I offered to bring the girls to you. Today I’m going to tell you a secret: A person of high station is working in Rome for the girls to be received by the Pope. The bishop smiled broadly, as if dubious . . . We were alone, seated in a room on the first floor of the seminary at Santander. I then took two telegrams out of my briefcase, and unfolded them for him to see.
—Are you from Aragon?

—From Saragossa, Your Excellency!

The news got out and the departure was delayed . . . until, in the middle of December, I received a telephone call from Santander, announcing the arrival of a person from Rome with a letter from Cardinal Ottaviani that read: With the permission of the bishop, or without it, bring the girls.
I asked the person who spoke to me to take the letter to be read secretly and personally by the bishop. But he lacked the patience and enthusiasm not to be overcome by the defenses at the bishop’s door! And my envoy didn’t have sufficient rank; the copy of the letter remained in the hands of the vicar general.(10) On my return from Rome in the winter of 1966, when I was with the bishop, he assured me that he hadn’t received it. I think he was sincere.»

7. It appears that the decision that stopped Jacinta from entering into the Carmelite convent came from her father Simón. The good man was categorically opposed at the final hour, believing that it was a barbarous thing for his 16 year old daughter— who had never left her house or had the least experience with the world and life— to forever commit herself like this in something so difficult.
Actually Jacinta was not sure of her vocation. During the time of the ecstasies, whenever she had talked about, or asked about his particular thing, the Virgin had never given her a definite answer.

8. Why would Bishop Puchol need to know the girls and thoroughly study the matter if he were fully set on the progressivist theory that apparitions and revelations are superfluous for the Church?
Shortly after his «Nota» of Sunday March 18th, 1967 (which was given the maximum publicity, even television exposure), by which he thought to definitely bury Garabandal, Bishop Puchol went up to the village to see if he could effectively and smoothly liquidate it.
He was eminently educated and eloquent. It was a Sunday and the entire village attended his Mass. It was expected that his sermon would clarify the matters that were preoccupying everyone. But the bishop avoided the main subject, and all had the impression that he had limited himself to talking about the Gospel. Nevertheless Aniceta, who was very attentive and watchful not to miss anything, caught this, which later she confided to me as absolutely sure: The bishop at one time during his speech, lowering his voice in an off-hand remark, came out with this: We know that after what Jesus Christ brought, there can be no more apparitions or revelations.

A gross imbecility, much repeated today, which gives us an idea of the bishop’s poor theological background. It is obvious that this is not in communion with the Supreme Magisterium which has told us: "From heaven Christ always looks with great affection at His spouse (the Church) exiled in this world, and when He sees it in danger, either through Himself, or through the means of His angels, or through the intercession of the one whom we call Help of the Christians, or through other intercessors, takes it away from the tempest waves . . . and consoles it with that peace which surpasses all knowledge."
(Enc. Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943)

9. The priest assigned was Father José Olano, who had recently finished his seminary studies. Thus a novice priest was sent to Garabandal, a man almost without experience, as if nothing were happening there, and as if it were simply a parish without special problems.

But if the new priest came without proper pastoral experience; he came well provided with instructions. It did not take long for the effects of the instructions to show themselves.
It seems that the bishop’s viewpoint was this: The problem of Garabandal would resolve itself if the girls and the villagers were indoctrinated (brain-washed), and the visitors were treated with a firm hand. The new priest came with this program.
A remark might be made about the way he said goodbye to his parishioners from the valley of Polaciones before going to Garabandal. A man from the town who was present at his farewell Mass on that Sunday noted the things that were said and the remarks made by Fr. José Olano in his sermon. After the Mass, Father’s friends from the place joked with him about the stories about Garabandal that were going to end soon.
10. Bishop Puchol had brought with him to Santander, as his vicar general, a priest from Navarra, also a late vocation and a man rather arbitrary in his actions: Bishop Javier Azagra. Later he was auxiliary bishop of Cartagena-Murcia.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 207)

“a tremendous terror”

THE WARNING, GREAT SIGN,

 CHASTISEMENT

Four days later, on September 14th, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, there was another meeting with new statements and clarifications about the things that had been hanging in the air at Garabandal. It was said that the young visionary, before her departure for the convent—which she thought very near—was more fluent than ever in answering the questions that interested everyone. This time, her questioners were Americans. They had given their questions in writing, and in writing Conchita gave them these answers. We have an accurate copy of this, but we are only reproducing the points of major interest, because many of the others have already been sufficiently repeated:
«—The Warning, will it be a visible thing, a personal thing, or both at the same time?
—It is something that comes directly from God, and will be visible throughout the world, in every place that exists.
—Will it reveal his own sins to every person in the world, including persons of other religions and even atheists?
—Yes, the Warning will be like a revelation of our sins. Believers and non-believers alike will see and experience it, whatever religion they are.

—Will the Warning cause people to remember the dead?

—The Warning will come to purify us for the Miracle, and it is like a catastrophe which will be felt in our conscience. It will make us remember the dead in the sense that we will prefer to be among the dead, rather than endure the Warning.(5)

*****

—Please tell us what you can about the Chastisement, and what will be felt when it is seen.
—The Chastisement, if we do not change, will be horrible. Loli, Jacinta and I have seen it; but I’m not able to say in what it consists, since I don’t have permission from the Virgin. When I saw it, I felt a tremendous terror, in spite of seeing the Virgin at the same time in all her beauty and indescribable goodness!
—When you prayed the rosary with Our Lady, did she teach you how to pray it?
—In the beginning, the Virgin prayed the rosary ahead of us very slowly, as she wanted us to pray it. Because of this, she herself recited the Hail Mary too, so that we would learn how.
—Is it true that the body of Fr. Luis Andreu will be disinterred on the same day as the Miracle, and will be found incorrupt?

—The Virgin told me in a locution: “The body of Fr. Luis Andreu will be found incorrupt, just as he was buried".
(We have already described in another chapter that Conchita wrote to Fr. Ramón Andreu, assuring him that the day after the Miracle they would find the body of his brother just as it was when he was buried.)
—What value will the articles kissed by the Most Holy Virgin during the apparitions have, before and after the miracle?
—The Virgin told me: “Jesus will perform miracles with these articles. Those that wear them with faith and confidence will have their purgatory on earth."(6)
(This means that they will have the suffering here that they would otherwise have to endure in the next world after their death.)
—Did the Most Holy Virgin tell you anything about the perfume of flowers that sometimes emanates from the articles kissed by her?
—No, I never heard anything about that. She did say that they will work miracles and prodigies.
—Did the Virgin teach you any songs?

—No. The Virgin helped us make up some songs.

(By this is meant that the Virgin did not teach them in advance the verses that they sang. Rather she aided them in saying small poems at the time when they sang them. They were apparently inspired and all three were able to sing at the same time, with the same words, and with the same tune.)
—Did the Most Holy Virgin or Jesus say anything about the conversion of Russia?
—In a locution with Jesus, the only one that I have had with Him up to the present, He told me that Russia would be converted.
—Could you explain the ‘sign’ that will remain at the Pines after the Miracle?

—It is a ‘sign’ that will remain forever. It will be able to be photographed, televised, seen; but it will not be able to be touched. It will be evident that it isn’t a thing of this world, but of God.
—Many believers in Garabandal want to work for the spread of the Virgin’s messages. But they are concerned because of the obedience that they owe to their bishops . . . What do you have to say about this?
—That’s very pleasing to the Virgin. She likes that very much. She desires us to work at spreading her message. But also she wants us to obey the Church, so as to give more glory to God. And she will give time for the message to be spread, with the permission of the Church.

* * *

5. For a long time Conchita was the only visionary who talked about the Warning. This had caused it to be believed that she was the only one who had received communications concerning this important thing. (This had led me to hold the Warning as having the least guarantee among the future events that were predicted at Garabandal.)
But on being able to speak with Jacinta in Santander on November 10th, 1973, I discovered that the Warning has a broader foundation. In the presence of several persons, Jacinta affirmed with complete clearness:
* That the Virgin had spoken to her too, and more than once, about the Warning that would come before the Chastisement.
* That she knows of what it consists, although she does not know the date; if she does not say anything about what it is going to be, it is because the Virgin has commanded her to keep it secret.
* That, on the contrary, she doesn’t know anything about the Miracle that Conchita is predicting because the Virgin never told her that it was going to come. Whenever she inquired about it like the other girls, the Virgin either didn’t answer or only said: «They will believe, they will believe.»
The little bit I was able to draw out from her about the Warning coincided with what was already known from Conchita: that it was going to be worldwide, that it would oblige us to face our consciences, that it would be terribly impressive!
More recently I have come upon proof that the Virgin told Loli about the Warning. It appears that this came very early in the revelations received at Garabandal, although the girls receiving them (this is my impression) were slow in understanding the importance and special characteristics of the supernatural phenomena that were predicted.
Mrs. Sagrario Aguirre from Oveido informed me by letter in 1978:
«Before the Warning was talked about, actually more than a year before Conchita predicted such a thing for the world, Loli told me one day, One night you will be struck with something tremendous. (I can’t say for sure that she said ‘night’, but I was certainly left with the impression that it would be at night.) During the night on that day, and also the following night, I couldn’t sleep, waiting in terror. . . But talking with Loli again, she told me, Do you think it’s going to be for you alone? No, it’s going to be for the whole world. And she made me keep it secret . . . And she added that, the Virgin had told this to Jacinta and her from the beginning of the apparitions.
6. No one can enter into heaven without being purified, or said in another way, without expiating the debt due for sin. That is the reason for purgatory. To suffer in this world for the debt that we owe for our sins is much better than to suffer in the next; since here, at the same time as making satisfaction, we also obtain merit. On the contrary, all that it is possible to do in purgatory is to make satisfaction for sins.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 206)

“Her denials today are due to the mysterious work of the devil.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FAREWELL IN THE
RAIN

During the ecstasy on June 18th, among the few words that Conchita was heard to say were these: «July 2nd . . .»
What was predicted for this date? We do not know; or at least, I do not know.
We do know that on July 2nd, the fourth anniversary of the Virgin’s first apparition, she condescended to visit the young visionary. She came by way of a locution.
Conchita had another locution on the 18th of the month, which was the village feastday and the third anniversary of the Miracle of the Host.

It might have been thought at the time that the events would hold their usual course; that everything was going to continue as before.
But the most astute observers soon could not avoid the impression that June 18th had come as a finale or end, to public manifestations at least, of all that had taken place at Garabandal.
The events would not be repeated. The seers had changed. The circumstances had changed too.
And the girls no longer had a reason to remain in the village, waiting for interventions from heaven. It was time for them to think of their futures, to try to arrange their later lives.
The most singular things that they had experienced would remain only in their memories—confused, at times—leaving them with the obligation of showing a conduct shining before God and man.

* * *

As if his departure were also necessary for the new phase that was to be experienced by Garabandal, on August 16th Bishop Beitia left Santander forever. The feast of the assumption with its liturgical celebrations, its bouquets of flowers placed at the foot of the Virgin’s statue as it is carried in front of the cathedral, was his last day in the diocese that he had headed for three years. Two days later, on August 17th, Bishop Vicente Puchol Montís was installed as his successor.
With the new bishop, many felt a great euphoria. He was young, with a late vocation,(1) extremely personable. Others could not avoid feeling wary and uneasy. The Spanish Church had already begun to experience in a dramatic way the confusion of mentalities and ideologies that would burst out later in violent confrontations. Although the new bishop appeared to be opposing the innovators, it was said of him that he was the initiator, if not the author of the complete change — some spoke of an actual revolution — that was happening in the diocesan seminaries.
With regard to Garabandal, the future did not augur well with the new bishop. As soon as his nomination was known, a priest in Madrid, a former student at Comillas, notified Father Lucio Rodrigo:
«Walk cautiously. I know Vicente Puchol, and I know that he is against Garabandal. He is a declared enemy of the apparitions . . .»

* * *

Although the one thing that had nothing to do with the other, on the day after Bishop Puchol’s installation, Conchita wrote to Fr. Laffineur, to communicate her great joy:
«My mother has allowed me to enter into the convent. For me, it is a great thing to be able to consecrate myself completely to Christ like this — from my 16th year — for the rest of my life . . . Pray for me, so that I will be able to go as soon as possible to the Missionary Sisters of the Discalced Carmelites.»

_____________

Thinking perhaps that Conchita’s departure was imminent, Fr. Laffineur arranged another trip to Spain, to obtain certain clarifications from her. The meeting took place in Torrelavega (Santander) on September 8th, the feast of the Nativity of Mary.
With Fr. Laffineur were some travel companions who served as witnesses; at Conchita’s side, as usual, was her mother Aniceta. Fr. Laffineur submitted 45 questions to the young girl and carefully recorded her answers. Part of these have been published in the L’Etoile dans la Montagne; the rest have been reserved for the future.

These are the most interesting of the ones that have been published:
—«Yes, I wrote the date of the Miracle to the bishop. (It seems that this letter never came into the hands of Bishop Beitia.)
—I had a locution on July 2nd. I already explained it to you by letter. And I had another on the 18th of the same month; I gave that in writing too.
—My companions and I thought about the convent from the first days of the apparitions. No priest put it into our minds.

—The Pope will see the Miracle, wherever he is; Padre Pio will see it too.

—Yes, the Council will have an extraordinary outcome.

—After Paul VI, there remain only two popes. Following that, the ‘end of times,’ which is not the same as the ‘end of the world.’ I do not understand this well, but the Virgin told it to me like this.

—My leaving Garabandal is no obstacle to announcing the date of the Miracle. I’ll be able to tell the date to my superior, and if necessary, also to my spiritual director . . .
—After the miracle, a chapel will be built in honor of St. Michael the Archangel. (2) I would prefer that it would not be done as at Lourdes, which I got to know in May of 1963; I would like it to be more simple and unadorned.

—The greatest danger for the village of Garabandal is pride.

—Mari Cruz certainly saw the Virgin. Her denials today are due to the mysterious work of the devil. After the Miracle, she will reaffirm the truth of her ecstasies.

—The best time to go to Garabandal will be when the four of us have left the village; then it will be solely for the Virgin.»

* * *

Two days after this meeting in Torrelavega, on September 10th, there was another meeting in Garabandal itself. It occurred under the awning of a tent that a French family had pitched a few steps from Conchita’s house. Conchita went to visit a woman there with the two smallest of her eight children.
—«You are fortunate to set up your tent here; it was right here that Mari Cruz had an apparition with the Virgin.(3)
—You are certainly the fortunate one in having been specially chosen by her.
—When the Virgin appeared to me, her look didn’t stay fixed on me; it roved from one side to the other, over the mountains, taking in the whole world, and her face seemed to smile at all the universe. She didn’t come for me.
—You have a large picture of the Virgin in your house. It’s very beautiful. Does it resemble your vision?
—Oh no! That’s nothing. It’s less than wax to the real thing. There’s no way of copying the Virgin’s beauty . . . You know about Fatima?
—Only a little. I have heard talk about the miracle of the sun.
—The miracle of Fatima is nothing in comparison with what will happen here. This will be much, much greater.
Then the interpreter, Eloísa Deguía, whispered to the French woman: “Perhaps the Virgin herself will be seen in person." Conchita, overhearing this, replied vigorously:
—No, no! It won’t be that . . . If it were that, then it would be an apparition, not a miracle.
Lifting up her arms and spreading them out, Conchita continued:

—The Miracle here will be much greater, more tremendous than Fatima. It will cause such an impression that none of those who see it will be able to leave with doubts. It would be well if all the world were here, since that way there surely would be no chastisement, since everyone would believe.
—Will all the sick who come be cured?

—The Virgin didn’t tell me “all" or “some," but: “The sick will be cured."

The Virgin smiled, she smiled very much. She didn’t inspire fear!

—Then she is very kind. Kind like a mother.

—No, much more than a mother! She is kind like one who, besides being a mother, is a best friend, for we could tell her everything that came to our minds. And she understood us and helped us.

She laughed and even played with us. One
day, she even handed down her crown to Loli, so that Loli could amuse herself by putting it on her head, although Loli was afraid of burning herself on the flaming stars.

With a mother one doesn’t feel so free and confident as with the Most Holy Virgin. No one confesses his own faults to his mother, nor does he reveal his secret defects.»(4)

* * *

1. A late vocation refers to those who did not begin study for the priesthood in early youth.
After the bloody Spanish Civil War, in the fervor of the Catholic reconstruction that followed, there were many of these late vocations. They came to be overestimated, as if from them could be expected much more than from the others. Time has gone by and in the face of the end results the special esteem for those vocations has declined.
2. Obviously this has nothing to do with the chapel built by some people below the Pines in September of 1967.
3. We have already spoken about this rather notable apparition in chapter VIII of Part One.

4. Conchita speaks from her own situation. In Aniceta she had a very strict and demanding mother, although one full of solicitude for the welfare of her daughter.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 205)

“We have not found any reason for ecclesiastical censure.”

The Fourth "No" from
the Bishop

Perhaps the feverishly antagonistic reaction from that group of priests pushed the Commission at Santander to publish a new «Nota» on the matter of Garabandal. Bishop Beitia Aldazábal, who was no longer titular bishop of the diocese, but who continued at its head as Apostolic Administrator, honored this «Nota» with his approval and signature, although there are reasons to doubt that he personally was in full accord with what was officially declared. The «Nota» was dated July 8th, and inserted into the Boletín Oficial del Obispado of that month:

«Our pastoral duty obliges us to write this Nota . . .

The Bishopric of Santander has received extensive documentation during these years on everything that has happened there. It has not closed its file on this matter. It always gratefully receives all the evidence for judgment that is submitted to it.

There have been three official Notas that have appeared up to this moment, trying to orientate the judgment of the faithful. This Nota will be the fourth, and its conclusion: the same as that of the preceding Notas.
The Commission that studied the credentials of these matters has not found reasons to modify the judgment already pronounced, declaring that there is no evidence of a supernatural character in the phenomena of which it made a careful examination . . .»

___________

As an illustration of the «extensive documentation» received and of the «careful examination» made, we cite here an extract—up to now, never responded to by the chancery—from Fr. Laffineur in the book, L’Etoile dans la Montagne:
«This is the fourth anniversary of the apparitions. Yes, four years earlier, on June 18th, 1961, everything began . . .
But in four years the Commission has never had the time to bring before them either the visionaries, or their families, or even the pastor of the parish (and for our part we might add: nor any of the witnesses who might have shown themselves favorable to the supernatural character of the phenomena). Inconceivable, the French would say, and all those who know the history of Lourdes and Fatima. Yes, inconceivable, but true. More than true, unfortunately!
The Commission was content with emissaries, some of whom we know; and we know all the harm that they caused in the little village, left to itself in the middle of events that we infinitely beyond it.»

___________

Fr. Laffineur and his French companions had a good occasion to see how the Commission of Santander carried on its work—by their personal experience on the morning of June 24th, six days after the message, during their return trip from Garabandal . . . Anyone wishing to know the remarkable and astounding experiences they had with the Commission, can read them in the L’Etoile dans la Montagne.(13)
But let us return to the bishop’s «Nota».

«Nevertheless, we state here that we have not found any reason for ecclesiastical censure with regard to condemning either the doctrine or the spiritual recommendations that have been promulgated in this affair, in so far as they are directed to faithful Christians. Rather they contain exhortations to prayer and sacrifice, to Eucharistic devotion, to devotion to Our Lady in traditional
praiseworthy forms, to the holy fear of God offended by our sins.

They simply repeat ordinary Church doctrine in these matters.

We accept the good faith and religious fervor of the people who go to San Sebastián de Garabandal, and who merit the deepest respect; and we wish to call upon that same religious fervor so that they, relying fully on the hierarchy of the Church and its magisterium, comply with the closest exactness to our repeatedly published recommendations.»

___________

It can be assumed that these paragraphs were the personal part of Bishop Beitia; perhaps the sole part of the whole «Nota» that was composed by him. But there are serious indications that he, in the middle of his confusion with regard to Garabandal, personally came to be closer to its acceptance than its rejection . . . And so? Mysteries of God. Or, perhaps, simply mysteries of man.
During the days in which the fourth «Nota» was composed—the second and last «Nota» from Bishop Beitia—his bewilderment on this matter had to be increased by the abrupt change taking place in Father Luis López Retenaga.
From the end of 1962, that priest, mentioned so many times in our story, had been confronting the bishop of Santander as the most convinced and qualified defender of the authenticity of the Garabandal events. But, suddenly, inexplicably—or perhaps it was too explainable, as some might say—he made a complete about-face, changing his enthusiastic defense not just into doubt, but into an outright opinion that all the events could well be considered the result of diabolical intervention. Something of what happened to Father Retenaga can be read in Star on the Mountain: «A priest stopped believing in Garabandal.» (His name is not given).
Upsetting? But not too much. Garabandal was continuing to be, more and more fiercely, a sign of contradiction. But was that not the same thing that had been prophesied for Jesus Himself? (Luke 2:34)
Here on earth, we remain suspended between light and darkness.
Only a fool would pretend that the affairs of God have the 2+2=4 clarity that we like to see in the affairs of men!

13. On May 1st, 1969, Father Laffineur gave a conference at Lisieux, France and in it he reminisced about his meeting on June 24th with the one who had been the secretary, lawyer, judge, and everything else in the Commission:
«All my responses were interrupted beforehand, giving a feeling that there could be nothing else than what was unfavorable to Garabandal . . . And listen to this. When I had finished my statements (which took place in a restaurant! The ultimate scandal in canon matters!) he said to me, Sign it.
I answered, I won’t sign this thing.

Then I saw what none of you could have imagined: with his own handwriting, at the bottom of what had been written, he calmly put my first and last name in large capitals . . . How can this be called canon law? When some of my friends from Germany passed through Santander sometime later, he assured them that I had given a deposition in front of the Commission against Garabandal, and that the deposition was signed by me.»

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 204)

“Mari Cruz told the truth.”

The Aftermath of
June 18th

The huge crowd that had come to Garabandal from afar, left the village for the most part consoled and inspired. They had assisted at another manifestation from God: one more sign that we are not alone in the troubles of our world and our time. The majority of them would have endorsed the final lines with which the reporter from the Le Monde et la Vie concluded his article: «Toward 4 o’clock on the afternoon of June 19th, we left the village to head for Santander, exhausted, but at the same time, fulfilled.»
The reaction was neither as unequivocal nor as favorable among the people of the village and neighboring towns. Their attitude was reflected in the remarks they made.
Father Laffineur, perhaps fortuitously, had kept himself at a discreet distance during those eventful days. Finally, with the departure of the crowds, he was able to walk freely through the village. Soon he ran into the stonemason Pepe Díez, a witness of the first rank for many of the happenings.
—How is it going, Pepe? What do the people say now?

—This time, it’s for real. Everyone seems to be believing again.
But the enthusiasm was not so general, and there were exceptions.
Dr. Ortiz’ wife Paquina, and her sister, Eloísa, took advantage of their stay in the village to make several interviews with Mari Cruz’ mother, Pilar. On June 18th, the night before the event, they found her upset:
Look—she said to them almost in tears—Now everyone slanders us. There are papers going around saying that we are the ones who go to church the least. What they say about me isn’t important; but what they say about Mari Cruz . . . And her father . . .
On the following afternoon, in the midst of everyone’s anticipation of what was to happen, she seemed calmer and even happy.
But when the two women from Santander went to say goodbye to her on Sunday, June 20th, they found her in a very different mood.
She was writing, and on seeing them, hurriedly put the writing paper away.
—I don’t write to anyone except my sister.

—Please continue then, we don’t want to interrupt you.

—No, you aren’t interrupting me. Come in . . . Today I gave Mari Cruz a lesson. I gave her a good scolding. Because she’s stupid. Since, instead of giving an explanation when they say something to her, she keeps quiet . . .
(Then she changed the conversation). What a stupid thing Conchita did yesterday! I could do that myself, if I wanted to . . . That’s all a lie. What I should do is go tell the bishop about the whole thing.(12)
—That seems good. He’s the one that all of these things should be told to, not the others.
—I would have gone already, if I had a car waiting for me, rich people in my house, and a lot of money to spend! Yes, then, I’d have the means to travel.
—If it’s for that, my car is at your service. I will take you to the bishop. Or, if you prefer, there is Plácido, who will certainly take you too.
—Look, he’s the only good person who comes here. I’m going to tell you something. (She became agitated). If you didn’t come, and no one else came, this thing would have ended.
—We haven’t taken part in this for nothing. We have come to pray . . . And if we’ve spoken with the girls, we’ve been satisfied with whatever they wished to tell us . . .
—Listen to me. If you didn’t come, they would not have a reason to do these things, and all this would have been ended. Since you want to make something out of nothing . . . My daughter is sincere and tells the truth.
—Well, Pilar, when this began, no one came here. We didn’t even know the village existed. Then why did they make this up? To fool people?
—Oh! I don’t know. But in the beginning, my daughter told the truth. I believe she now does too, since she is honest.
—In the beginning, Mari Cruz told the truth and now does too, since she is honest. In the beginning, she said that she saw; now, she says that she never saw . . . Where is the truth?
—I don’t know. But my daughter was honest before, and is now too . . . Only if the Miracle would come!
Many enlightening thoughts occurred to me in reading this dialogue; but I think that they would have occurred to the reader too.
It was on a group of priests near Puente Nansa that the events of June 18th had their greatest impact. Fr. Laffineur wrote about it in L’Etoile dans la Montagne:

«On the evening of June 18th, we were invited to a conference planned for the following day at Puente Nansa. An engineer, who represented himself as a member of the Commission of Santander, wanted a meeting attended by himself, the local priests, and us. We confided this to the pastor of Garabandal, Fr. Valentín Marichalar, who ultimately opposed it.
Perhaps we involuntarily lost a valuable occasion to inform ourselves. This engineer and the circle of listeners that we would have met were determined enemies of the apparitions. The ancient Romans were right in their maxim, It is useful to be taught by one’s enemies.»

___________

What was the result of this meeting at Puente Nansa? According to the author just mentioned, the meeting was initially brought to order because the priests of the area thought that the statement, The priests: many are on the way to perdition . . . Applied to them personally. Later they broadened their interpretation, declaring heatedly that it referred to all priests; and finally they traveled to Santander to present a very irate protest to the bishop.
Actually, I do not understand such a nervous reaction on the part of those priests. Unless, in their case, they were convinced that the message had a basis . . .

12. Pilar was not long in finding an occasion to tell this to the bishop . . .
When many days later, on June 24th, Father Laffineur and his companions stopped in Santander to present their respects to the bishop and pass through the Commission, they learned that Mari Cruz and her mother had also been through there, and had been interviewed extensively by the canon Odriozola. He had taken them to the bishops’ place . . . and in his presence, as a concrete demonstration that everything about Garabandal had been false, Mari Cruz started herself making an "ecstasy." The affair had to be shocking, so that after a minute the bishop interrupted the trance, saying with disgust: That’s enough!

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 203)

Warning of Disaster

—I tell you that this is the last message.

—You are in the last warnings!
I do not know if the first of these two statements should be taken in its absolute sense, or if it has only a relative meaning.
Understanding it in its absolute way, it would affirm categorically that there will be no more communications from heaven until the great hour comes; we are already sufficiently warned. In which case, we would have to reject as not authentic the many messages which have been proliferating during recent years in many sites of “apparitions?" by numerous “visionaries?" of all types.
But if the statement is taken in its relative sense, then it only alerts us that there will be no more messages at Garabandal.
The same could be said with regard to the second statement, that we are in the last warnings.
Which of the two interpretations is the correct one? I honestly do not know.

What is very definite is that Garabandal has warned us in an unequivocal way about the imminence of a very grave, decisive period that I do not hesitate to classify as eschatological. As we are not paying attention to this last announcement-admonition for amendment, a tremendous flood of God’s justice will inexorably fall on mankind. Moral decay and apostasy are reaching their limits.

Call to Repentance

—You should avoid the wrath of the Good God.
—I want to tell you to amend your lives.

—You should sacrifice yourself more.

—Think of the Passion of Jesus.

We provoke the wrath of God upon ourselves by our own rebellion, our own disobedience, our own self-will. All evil consists in trying to follow our own ways, instead of seeking the ways of God.
Our ways are very easy to follow; it suffices to allow ourselves to be led. But ours are ways of sin— and not only the sin of the world that so many new books now propose—and they lead us to destruction. On the other hand, the ways of God, how difficult they can be at times! His are the ways of triumph and salvation; but they can only be traveled through effort and sacrifice: two things that our weakened nature abhors.
The world—men prone to serve the flesh—inclines to ease and not to combat, to pleasure and not to service, to leisure and not to work, to the good life and not to good living. This manner of living—spread throughout the Church—is inflicting mortal wounds.
Psuedo-prophets, with their distorted nuances ranting about renewal and liberation, are attempting to discredit the ascetic and penitential way of life, as though asceticism were not an evangelical sign, but the despised remnant of a naïve and misled monastic spirituality unworthy of esteem. Self sacrifice? Self denial? Self renunciation? How absurd! Neither the clergy nor the laity want any of this. Anti-asceticism is the order of the day.
But for whom did Jesus say, If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross? (Mt. 16:24) Certainly this is not for those who never mention Him except to speak about self-determination, self-fulfillment, self-advancement . . .

Thus many things explain themselves. How could a person like this accept the message of June 18th that insistently requests things that they themselves are trying at all costs to renounce?
—You should sacrifice yourself more.

—Think of the Passion of Jesus.
The Passion of Jesus! They are not interested in this. They are only interested in talking of things more to the liking of the man of today.
For them the only things that matter are actions and words favorable to their self-expression and lifestyle, which is far removed from, He made Himself obedient to death, the death of the cross!(11)

11. How much some would like to efface one of the principal declarations of the Gospel: Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter that way. How small the gate and narrow the way that leads to life! And few there are who find it. (Matt. 7:13-14)