She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 88)

The "Commission"
Intervenes

On August 22nd, Tuesday, the octave of the Assumption and then the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a young priest from Asturias made his way for the first time up the route that follows the Nansa and Vendul rivers to Garabandal; this priest will be forever closely linked with the village. From him we have a valuable book published: Memorias de mis subidas a Garabandal (años de 1961, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, y 68) "Recollections of My Trips to Garabandal from 1961-1968." His name was Father José Ramón García de la Riva, the parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrows in the village of Barro, in the archdiocese of Llanes of the archbishopric of Oviedo.
Father José Ramón put down his memoirs in writing with the sole intention of filling any possible gaps in the information obtained up to then as an aid to anyone taking on the important work of investigation.
After explaining in his introduction how he had attempted to make all his trips to Garabandal licitly, he begins to describe his first one:

«I was aroused by a conversation held with Father Manuel Antón, a parish priest from San Claudio in the city of León. This pastor was then spending some days in Barro (Llanes, Asturias). I had just come to this parish, and I did not have the slightest idea of the events that were happening 57 kilometers away in the neighboring diocese of Santander. Those events had begun on the 18th of June, 1961, and I took possession of the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Barro on August 10th.
In this conversation my curiosity was stirred up . . . »

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The desire to know the truth about what was happening brought Father José Ramón to Garabandal on August 22nd, a day of great Marian significance, as we have already stated.
He came with his father on a motorcycle, and the first question that he asked in the village was about the time of the apparitions. «At nightfall, after the rosary in the church; the girls are accustomed to go into ecstasy on leaving the church.» This information caused a problem for the new arrivals since they both could not remain till such a late hour. They decided that the priest's father would go down from the village, and return home in a taxi that was there ready to leave with other persons who also could not wait.
Father José Ramón continues:
«I set out walking through the village with a priest from Burgos who had come from Lora. The streets and lanes were crooked and rocky. Little by little I became acquainted with the visionaries. The first, Loli, I came upon near to her home next to a jeep.» (Her home was then at the entry to the Calleja.) «Later I came upon Conchita and Mari Cruz who at the time were accustomed to walking together. I didn't see Jacinta until night — in ecstasy. The girls gave me the impression of being normal, playful, pleasant, lively; but rather timid . . . I took some pictures, which I still possess.
I was surprised on seeing them with rosaries, gifts, and medals hanging from their necks. Later I learned that these were carried in order to present them to the Vision to kiss during the ecstasy, and that they belonged to the numerous persons who came up to San Sebastián, brought there either by curiosity or faith. Then I also learned that in the beginning of the apparitions the girls had presented small stones to be kissed, which they picked up beforehand from the ground, and later gave to certain persons at the request of the Virgin. I didn't get to see this, since at that time they were only presenting religious articles and marriage rings to be kissed.
At nightfall on the 22nd of August, I went to the church; it was simple and congenial . . . At that time there was an altar rail that separated the sanctuary from the main body of the church. I took a place on the left, kneeling on the first step; and I made the following reflection, If this is from God, the best part will surely be seen in the church. And I told my feelings about this to a woman who questioned me concerning the location for the apparitions. I began to pray with
devotion, and I implored the Lord to soon clarify the meaning of these events. It did not happen like this: the judgments of God are different from those of men — and have their way and hour for being realized.
On that day in Garabandal, I met five priests from Asturias, all belonging to the archdiocese of Llanes, and also a canon from the cathedral at Oviedo, besides other priests who were walking around the visionaries.
The holy rosary was recited, led by Fr. Ramón María Andreu, a Jesuit. I recall that before beginning he told us from the sanctuary that the events were very worthy of observation, and that there was a field of study here for theologians, mystics, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. He didn't say in public that this was supernatural, as some have falsely attributed to him.»

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She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 87)

Celestial music accompanied Jacinta.

After the apparent failure of the married couple's first trip (that day of the Assumption which seemed so indicated for a Marian demonstration), they probably would have waited before returning to Garabandal. However, the occasion came up of taking to the village some cousins of the doctor's wife who had come from Madrid with a tremendous desire to see what was happening in the publicized village. As Dr. Ortiz could not get away from his professional duties, his wife and some of her friends accompanied her cousins from Madrid.

On arriving in Garabandal, they took advantage of the remaining hours of daylight to wander through the quaint streets and alleys. And as it became dark they set out to witness the remarkable things that were happening there. Since it seemed dangerous and difficult to walk or run after the children in the dark night, they went to the church entrance to wait there, as they had heard that very frequently the trances began, or took place, or ended in that sacred place. Only Fernando, the brother of Mrs. Ortiz, on the recommendation of Fidelín, the taxi driver from Puente Nansa, decided to follow up close all the incidents of the phenomena that were taking place.
And the phenomena began. The only thing that came to those at the church were echoes, among them the cries from the children in the crowd, shouting out, There they come! There they come! This did not make a good impression. Mrs. Ortiz was reminded by this, not to her liking, of the running of the bulls in the fiestas at Pamplona.
Toward 10 o'clock in the evening, after a long and oppressive wait, there began to be heard in the courtyard of the church approaching footsteps— firm, rhythmical staccato. Mrs. Ortiz, her brother Pancho, and his daughter went out toward the street to see what it was, and they found a girl in ecstasy coming in their direction, followed by a small crowd.
The girl stopped suddenly at the side of a house in the little alley that leads up to the church, and stayed there several moments, gazing upwards, absorbed in the heavens. At the same time, Mrs. Ortiz, who was very near, was astounded by music like the warbling of many birds, but a marvelous warbling. She turned to her niece and said, Don't you hear anything?
The niece turned her ear toward the visionary, since she had learned that the girls in ecstasy spoke with the Vision. She said to her aunt,

—No, aunt, I don't hear anything. I only hear the singing of many birds, but very softly.
—That is what I hear myself!

The visionary — later on they learned that it was Jacinta — went back again toward the village, without coming to the church, and at that moment all the singing stopped.
Mrs. Ortiz recounted:«On joining our group, we were able to hear some young boys who were walking over the little bridge that stood in front of the courtyard.

—Mother! Mother! Didn't you hear a lot of birds singing?
—Yes, we heard it too, some women replied.
I asked my sister-in-law Maruja, who told me: I also heard it; it seemed like the flight of thousands of birds singing at the same time — and marvelously!
—Did you notice that everything stopped when the girl left?

—No. It didn't occur to me to connect the birds with the presence of the girl.

—Well, it is evident to me that the one thing was due to the other.»

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While they were talking, Fernando, who had gone to see the ecstasies near at hand, came. And everyone naturally questioned him:
—«Let us know, let us know. What did you see?

—I don't know how to explain it. I saw faces transformed with sensational sweetness . . .

—Didn't you hear a lot of birds singing?

—No, I didn't hear that . . . But really! What is this ridiculous thing you are asking me about? Birds never sing at night!»

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This remark left Doctor Ortiz's wife, who was not familiar with country life, completely bewildered . . . If birds never sing at night, then what was it that they had definitely heard? It could be said to her, Look Señora, those birds that sing in Garabandal are not the same birds that pass the nights perched on the branches of trees.
Besides, this was not the only time in which the most unusual and sweet songs of birds have accompanied the special communications of God with chosen souls. Anyone wanting to know more on this topic should investigate some of the pages from the life of St. Francis of Assisi, or read the chronicles of the ancient monastery of Leyre in the territory of Navarre and Aragón, which speaks of the holy abbot Virila.(31)
In Doctor Ortiz' family — because birds never sing at night, and in order not to be exposed to believing something ridiculous — it was decided for the moment not to speak about this. But later on when the family became sufficiently close with the girls and learned that Jacinta was the visionary on that night, they could not contain their desire of asking some explanation. The girl limited herself to smiling and saying evasively, «My grandmother also said at times that she heard swallows . . . »
31. The archives of the monastery have the name of this abbot listed as beginning in the year 928.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 86)

Conchita always said that the Vision
made them recite the rosary very often.

Besides this interesting report, we have another report from the same witness which also relates to those summer days of August, and which once more shows us the girls in close intimacy with the Mother.
«In front of his house Ceferino told me to go up immediately to the Pines, since Mari Cruz had already been some time in ecstasy. On this day there was a group of pilgrims assembled up there around the girls, listening to Mari Cruz say to the Vision, Ah! Then it is a Dominican Father who is here dressed as a civilian. (This fact is certain since later in the evening the religious himself, about 30 years old, told me that he was very impressed since he had not revealed to anyone either his condition or his identity.)
When I arrived, Mari Cruz gave the Vision a large number of rosaries and medals to kiss— perhaps more than one hundred. At the same time she began a backward descent toward the village . . . It would have to be seen: sometimes slowing down her walk; at others, speeding up with extreme swiftness, barely touching the ground with her feet, and then only slightly.

Halfway down the path near the Cuadro, Loli and Jacinta, who were accompanying her, went into ecstasy too. And the three, holding hands, walked toward the church, which in those days still was not closed to the visionaries. Before going inside, they made several trips (28) around it, counting out the Hail Marys of the rosary. The crowd around them had become very close together . . .
At that time, Conchita also went into ecstasy. The four joined arms, and in an incredible manner passed through the small door of the church courtyard. I say incredible since the door or gate was not sufficiently wide to permit the passage of the four side by side without either hitting or crushing the girls.
I was able to slip swiftly into the church, and there at my leisure I had the chance to be able to contemplate the stunning entrance into the sacred precinct of the four girls in ecstasy. They did this slowly, with a stiff and rhythmic step, like a military march, that resounded loudly in the silence and darkness of the holy place. They gave quite an impression of force, as Loli in passing barely grazed with her arm one of our friends of considerable size, and knocked her on the ground.(29) I think that all those who were there were seized with a salutary fear. As for me, I confess that I experienced a strong feeling of the fear of God and I was reminded of that part of Scripture that the Church applies to the Virgin, You are beautiful and full of charm, Daughter of Jerusalem, but you are also terrible as an army in battle array.» (30)

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During these trances, in which the girls were taken up from the world around them to enter into amazing conversation with persons and realities from another hidden world, only certain external manifestations could be seen by the spectators. What was really happening in the internal part of those phenomena only the visionaries could tell about; and up to now, there is little that they have been able to say. This would be expected since the language that we use is made to express realities and experiences of this world, not of the world above.
Conchita has stated in her diary that in the trances on the days that are now being recounted, the Virgin took special attention to bring the girls, who were lacking human instruction, to a habit of praying with the greatest care and concentration.
She told them to pray the rosary just as on so many other occasions; but in order to instruct them practically on the way of doing this, she told them on Friday, the 18th of August, I am going to pray first, and you should follow me. And she—states the girl—prayed very slowly. The girls then repeated word by word what she said first, trying to copy her manner, tone and pronunciation. The exercise followed completely the usual way of praying the rosary; but, Conchita tells us, very slowly. And at the Salve she told us to sing, and we sang it.
Attention should be given to this: She prayed very slowly. It is not important to do many things, but to do well the things that have to be done. The thing that matters is not the rapid recitation of many prayers, but rather always praying well during the time that is allotted. To give to each deed —especially to conversation with God— the time and attention that it deserves, has to be the style of the one called Full of Grace. It has been said that one cannot act fast and well at the same time. Always acting properly has been the characteristic of the Virgin's life; for this reason, her perfection is unique.
In the French edition of Conchita's Diary we read these lines from Fr. Ramón:
«From the beginning Conchita always said that the Vision made them recite the rosary very often. Sometimes it was chanted, other times simply recited. Also the girls often said it during the ecstatic marches. Then they would be seen stopping at the doorsteps of the houses, or even entering and going upstairs—always in ecstasy— to a sick person's room.»

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There are tape recordings of the recitations of these prayers. The Hail Mary is said very slowly in a voice both intense and slightly trembling; the words are pronounced very distinctly. Likewise with the Our Father; Hagase tu voluntad, (Your will be done) is said with special emphasis.
As unusual background music in the tape recordings, underneath the voices of the girls is heard muffled sounds made by the footsteps of the people accompanying them during their mystical marches through the village.
Many observations could be made about what has just been described; but it would be better that these observations be made by each person himself.
Certainly all these particular instructions and reprimands of the Blessed Mother should not be ignored, both for our own good and that of the Church.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On this 18th of August (exactly 2 months having passed since the beginning of the events), not only were salutary lessons given on how to pray well but heaven also presented to the onlookers unusual refrains of music, music not composed by man.
The wife of Dr. Ortiz remembers the day well, as it was the first on which she witnessed something.

28. Many times procession-like marches occurred around the church. These marches show the importance of the sanctuary for meeting with God. And also they indicate the importance of religious practices that many would like to confine to oblivion as if they lacked meaning.

29. It should be taken into account that Loli, during these days, was very diminutive for her age.

We have valuable testimony of the impression that the steps of the girls, rhythmic and strong, made in the silence of the night in the streets of Garabandal, drowning out the confused medley of footsteps made by those who followed while praying.

It should not be forgotten that the Virgin, so kind and charming, is also the Virgo Potens (Virgin Most Powerful) who battles the powers of evil and is capable of destroying, as the Church sings out in her liturgy, all the heresies that have ever been.

30. Related to this is an annotation made by Fr. Valentín for the 5th of August:

«At nine thirty at night, I was in front of the church gate. The children came, and I wanted to stop them. But I wasn't able. The force that they display during their marches is enormous; and though wanting to stop them, one can't, or it is extremely difficult.»

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 85)

“She contemplated the Holy Family.”

Back Again Close
to the Mother

The witness María Herrero de Gallardo continues her description about what she saw on Thursday, August 17th, the first day of her stay in Garabandal:
«After several very rapid tours through the village—at times they changed directions so quickly that several times I bumped into them—the girls made their way toward the church. There in front of the open door, they fell on their knees and prayed . . .
Then Jacinta laughed and said to the Vision that she didn't dare jump over the doorstep in order to go into the church. The Vision must have insisted. And then very smoothly, without any contraction of her body — just the way she was, with her hands joined on her chest and kneeling — she leaped(25) inside, hurdling over the obstacle of the doorsill to the amazement of all those present. She smiled at the Vision.

As if playing, the two girls made their way toward the altar; and there on the altar rail continued their celestial game, scandalizing some.»

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All this was brought to the Bishop of Santander, from whence came the formal prohibition preventing the girls from entering the church in ecstasy; and for this reason, it was closed during the trances.
«I can testify that the beauty of their attitudes during this play was truly captivating. Later they fell down very slowly, very smoothly, in front of the tabernacle: Jacinta on one side with her dress covering her legs very properly, her hands crossed on her chest; Loli, similarly, but leaning her head against Jacinta's knees. During this episode, certainly very moving — there were priest witnesses who regarded it with great respect — they carried on a very long and intimate conversation. This could hardly be heard, but it gave me the impression of being like the conversation of children with their mother, whom they tell all about their affairs and what is happening.»
We know through this witness that the ecstasies did not end here, but that the girls then continued their unusual and mysterious game in the choir loft, frightening many of the spectators when they glided along the rails of the balcony and moved toward the edge in obvious risk of falling and killing themselves.
«Sometimes they gave the impression of being about to fly. They told me later that the Most Holy Virgin had told them then that they should follow her without fear, but they didn't dare. If we'd have obeyed, we'd have flown.

After a long time they set out, still in ecstasy, toward the village square. Next to the house of Fania they fell another time on the ground, lying full length. Loli was the first to get up and knelt down in prayer with a magnificent expression and gleaming eyes. She recited the Salve Regina in a touching way with tears streaming from her eyes.(26) And she was like this at the time that she contemplated the HOLY FAMILY as if in a picture.
A priest at my side called my attention to the fact that the trance had already lasted two hours and 25 minutes. At this time a young couple came with a 3 year old girl, born without sight. With her eyes full of tears, the mother requested and requested again for a miracle from the Virgin. The girls in ecstasy joined in her petition. The silence during this scene was striking. Then suddenly the little blind girl burst out singing a charming song, full of happiness. Emotion overwhelmed us. (27)
Finally Jacinta and Loli departed for Loli's house. And very swiftly, without our being able to follow, they went up the first floor where the apparition continued. A little later the window opened suddenly, and we saw the two girls leaning outside and calling out requests to the Vision not to leave, and requesting that she take them with her. The earnestness with which they petitioned her was striking. A little later they began to make gestures of goodbye with their hands, as if the Vision were withdrawing toward the horizon at the left of the Pines.»

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25. The word leaped is used to describe the marvelous, instantaneous, inexplicable and very beautiful passage over the doorway that left the observers stunned with wonder.

26. Loli, truly transfigured, was on her knees like this for awhile imploring, «Mercy.» Then she recited an act of contrition with extraordinary fervor, and then a Salve as mentioned in the text.
27. This song of the three year old infant is full of meaning.

It was proof that the requests made for her were not made in vain. In place of the bodily sight that was asked, she received a more useful grace of interior enlightenment that unloosened her tongue with the mysterious inspiration to sing.
There is one thing that we have to hold for certain from the point of view of faith: we never have recourse to God without some benefit. If we do not receive exactly what we seek, and which sometimes is not the most appropriate, He compensates us in other ways, underestimated at the time, but which will show themselves more beneficial for us. After all, the here and now is not always the most important.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 84)

”If it could be known how she loves us, we would have
no other solution but to love her very much too.”

At that time a person, who was to soon become one of the best witnesses of what was taking place at Garabandal, came up to the village for the first time. Her name was María Herrero Garralda, daughter of the Marquese de Aledo, recently married to Enrique Gallardo Rodríguez-Acosta. Highly educated, good-hearted and deeply religious, she soon gained the confidence of the girls and meditated on the profound scope of the events.
For some time she was content to keep it to herself, revolving in her mind and piously pondering over what she had seen and heard. But later, when the anti-Garabandal storm began gathering due to the prelates at the Santander chancery, she wrote down in French for the Holy Office in Rome a memorandum of what she herself had witnessed. She did this on the advice of a Belgian priest, Father Laffineur, (22) and to him she directed the prologue:
«I present this little work. Now that I reread it, it seems very poor, and the reason for this is that it is almost impossible to put in words the feelings of the soul.
I am only mentioning here some of the many— at least thirty—apparitions at which I participated at San Sebastián de Garabandal, beginning on the 17th of August, 1961. I will try to give an idea of those events, although it is impossible to express everything that I have seen and heard. I wish to start this work with something that Loli expressed to me on October 7th, 1962. If it could be known how she loves us, we would have no other solution but to love her very much too.

* * * * *

It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon when I came for the first time to San Sebastián de Garabandal. Accompanied by my sister I went into the bar or tavern belonging to Loli's father, Ceferino. The place was vacant since the apparitions ordinarily took place much later, toward nightfall. (I only know of two or three cases in which they occurred in the afternoon.)
We asked to eat, and Loli herself began servingus. This had to be the first time that she did this since she asked me to tell her about the knife and fork. At the time the little children in those families ate from the utensils without using silverware.
We had just finished eating when Loli came running in from outside, very short of breath, and said to her father, Papa, come right now since Jacinta is having an apparition.
We all ran toward the little square in the center of the village. There under the bright hot sun was Jacinta, walking very slowly, with her big doll in her hand, her head turned backwards and that sublime expression on her face that cannot be described. Her family was following her in an attitude of great reverence. María, her mother, at one time wanted to take the doll from her hands; but Jacinta, absorbed in the vision, prevented her with a firm and brusque motion. Seconds later we saw the girl lift up her doll toward the vision, raising herself up as much as she could on the tips of her toes — aided by her two companions, Loli and Conchita, who held her up. Loli, who was as if overcome with joy on seeing her friend in a trance, took her by the arm and at that moment — with the rapidity of lightning — fell into ecstasy herself.

The two children, overwhelmed with joy, began to walk through the village, leaning against each other . . . It was then that I heard for the first time that laugh of Loli in ecstasy that has always had such an effect on me. It was a laugh of glory, full of joy; but at the same time, quiet, reverent, mystical. It had nothing in common with this world, nor did it have the feeling of light-hearted laughter; it was as if permeated with the things of heaven.

The two listened and responded to the vision with a speech full of mystery, hardly perceptible.

We were running behind them when, near to the house that now belongs to Mercedes Salisachs, their expressions changed completely. And they began to shout out in a terrified voice, showing on their faces the greatest anxiety and fear. Who are you? Tell us. Who are you? They were like this for a few minutes that seemed interminable.

It was at that time that María, Jacinta's mother, told me confidentially, Yesterday they heard that strange voice for the first time. And they were very afraid, even though the Virgin had warned them, saying that they shouldn't be afraid. It seems that the voice sounds from afar, as if it comes down from the mountains. It's like a hiss or a roar that cries, “Come . . . Come . . . Come . . . "»

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Once more I ask myself what might be the hidden meaning of that voice, so powerful and unsettling. It would not be surprising if it were the devil trying to disturb the children. In the life of many saints there are abundant proofs of what he is capable of doing — with all types of sensible means — to frighten and block the road of those who are on the right way toward God. However, I have already indicated what seems to oppose such an interpretation.

Could it then be understood that such a voice might be coming from the Most High? On a few occasions, Scripture has exalted the creative power and force of the voice of Yahweh, the Lord, especially in Psalm 28:

The Voice of the Lord is in power;
The Voice of the Lord in magnificence.
The Voice of the Lord shatters the cedars . . .
The Voice of the Lord brings forth flames of fire.
The Voice of the Lord shakes the desert . . .

But if the strange voice that came down from the mountains onto Garabandal proceeded from the Most High, why did it disturb the girls this way, without declaring who it was? Does it have a secret purpose which only later will be revealed?
In this case, perhaps we can attribute to this voice a certain apocalyptic (23) sign, like the blast of trumpets in the 8th chapter of this unexplained book when the action of heaven will accelerate its pace and deploy itself against the power of the anti- Christ of this world and of the abyss. And still more could the voice be related to that triple Woe, woe, woe, which will be poured out upon a mankind so wrapped up in the things of the world.(24)
Is Garabandal coming as a sign to call attention to the unforeseen things which must shortly come to pass?
(Apocalypse 1: 1)

22. Died on Saturday, November 28th, 1970 in France, where he had lived and worked for many years. He was a main figure in the European Garabandal movement, signing many of his writings and letters with the pen name Doctor Bonance.
23. Apocalypse — Revelations —is the name of the last book of Sacred Scripture. It is extremely difficult to interpret. By means of figures, visions, and symbols, it gives the mysterious course of the work of Christ on earth and His final triumph in order to strengthen us for tribulation with the security that we are not alone, and that the Hand of God holds a firm grip on the progression of events.

24. And I beheld, and heard the voice of an eagle flying through the midst of heaven, shouting: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: because of the remaining voices of the three angels who have yet to sound their trumpets. (Apocalypse 8: 13)
St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate gives these statements of the eagle like this, Vae, vae, vae!

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 83)

“She said to us, Don’t be afraid.”

A Voice Coming Down
From the Mountains

Conchita's diary terminates her brief summary of the mysterious conversation on August 16th with the dead Father Andreu in these words:

On that day the Virgin told us that on the following day we would hear a voice. But that we shouldn't be afraid, and that we should follow the voice. (20)
This seems to indicate that something unusual is going to happen, something that is going to bring one more new element in this succession of singular phenomena.

On the next day and at the same time as on the previous day, (that is, at nightfall) the Most Holy Virgin appeared to the four of us.
And for several minutes she was smiling very much.
And she didn't say anything to us.
After a few minutes, darkness came upon us, and we heard a voice call us.
Then Mari Cruz said, Tell us who you are; if you don't, we will go home.
While we were hearing the voice, it was very dark.
And we didn't see the Virgin.
But afterwards she came.
And it became very light.
And she said to us, Don't be afraid.
And she spoke to us for awhile.
And that night was the first night that she kissed us, one by one.And then she left. (21)

This raises many questions. From where and from whom does the voice come? What is the reason for it? What purpose does it have? What relation exists between the voice and the Virgin's kisses to the frightened children? Is there some connection with the voice and the announcement made by Conchita on her return from Santander?
I admit that I am not able to give any answers to these questions. Even today this voice remains one of the enigmas of Garabandal.

Because it caused fear in the girls and also because of the darkness that surrounded them, together with the disappearance of the Virgin from view, one might say that it was a voice of the evil one, the voice of the world of darkness, the powers of evil, rabidly furious before this admirabile commercium that was being established between the heavens and the earth. But the words of the Virgin that Conchita relates in her diary, that we should not be afraid, and that we should follow the voice, seem to rule out this interpretation. Could it be that the girl is somewhat confused and is not able to express clearly such an obscure matter? Someday—we hope—a clarification of this mystery will come forth.
But we do have something very clear and also very marvelous from that memorable day: the kisses of the Mother that the Apparition begins to lavish on her children.
That day was not the only one on which the strange voice was heard.

20. This announcement must have occurred during a brief conversation on August 15th, since the hearing of the voice in a trance occurred at nine or ten on the night of August 16th.
21. It is no surprise that the girl remembers the exact beginning of the marvelous gift Our Lady's kiss . . . After that time the spectators knew when the end of the ecstasy would take place — then the visionaries held their faces in an attitude of giving and receiving kisses, which customarily preceded or followed a slow and very pious sign of the cross.

She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Page 82)

Father Luis María Andreu

O Admirabile
Commercium

There is a liturgical antiphon from the Christmas season that begins with these Latin words and speaks of the marvelous interchange or commerce established between God and mankind through the Word Incarnate. It seems that an extraordinary ramification of this commerce or interchange took place in Garabandal. It was as if through the Virgin (and sometimes through the Archangel St. Michael) direct conversation took part between heaven and earth.

Many examples of this have already been mentioned, but we fill find many more occurring during the days in August that we are still recounting.

Wednesday, August 16th, liturgically the feast of St. Joachim, the father of the Blessed Virgin, and popularly the feast of St. Roche, was a day of direct communication between the departed Father Luis María Andreu and the girls. What Conchita wrote down briefly in her diary about this conversation has already been mentioned; but we have much more information at our disposal from the writings of Father Ramón.
He places the ecstasies of the girls at 11 o'clock in the morning, while Conchita speaks of these ecstasies occurring at eight or nine at night. Are two different ecstasies being described here or could it be that the girl, who wrote down these things many months later, was mistaken as to the time? (10) Father Andreu wrote down:

«I was going to say Mass; I had put on the amice when they called me: Hurry, Father, hurry. The girls are coming in ecstasy.»

__________

Father put off the Mass until later and went to observe the phenomena. The girls made their way through the village for a while, and then they marched toward the church. Father must have been surprised that there were only three — Jacinta, Loli and Conchita — and he took advantage of the routes they were taking to enter into Mari Cruz' house to see what had happened. The girl told him, «I am hurt that the Virgin hasn't called me.» However, she joined Father and they went to the church looking for the three girls in ecstasy. They found them sprawled on the ground in a group of singular beauty.

Father took out his notebook and began to write down what he was able to hear of the mysterious dialogue:

«Oh what a voice! I don't know that voice.»

__________

Up to this time the girls in their ecstasies were only accustomed to the voice of the Virgin, and to a lesser degree that of St. Michael.

«Tell me. Who are you? She repeats this question anxiously, Oh you are Andreu!
Loli: Yes it is your voice; but now it is softer . . . We want to see you. Why aren't we seeing you? Hold out your hand . . . Tell us what you saw at the Pines when you said "Miracle! Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!" On the branch of the center tree? . . . I will go see and pick a pine cone.»(11)

Undoubtedly the mysterious voice must have spoken of what he had seen and of the exact location where he saw it.

«How happy you must be now! (12) We know the last words that you said: that it was the happiest day of your life. (A long silence took place, during which they seemed to listen carefully.) There is already a St. Luis. St. Luis Gonzaga. Oh! That's it. St. Luis Andreu . . . I thought that heaven was flat like the laundry when it is spread out.»(13)

__________

A remark like this could be expected from a child living in a mountain village who would associate daily living with the monotony and the everyday fatigue of her way of life, continually climbing up and down steep hills.

«Do you cut your hair? Then you must have very long hair. Do you eat? Then you must be very thin!(14) Oh, I understand!»

__________

(Questions concerning the mysterious state of the departed; the final exclamation shows that he gave them certain explanations with which they seem to have been satisfied.)
«Your brother is here? . . . But he is saying Mass, since the bell has rung . . . He is with us? . . . Next to whom? . . . We will ask him later to see if that's right.»

__________

During the trances the girls did not see anything that was outside of the apparition. Because of this, they did not see Father Ramón, whom they thought was celebrating Mass at the time. While talking about him, they learned that he was there with them, and right next to one of them. When the ecstasy ended, the Father asked them which one was next to him, and the three answered together very happily, «Loli». They were well informed.
«Loli: I found the rosary where the Virgin told me, and I gave it to your brother . . . Yesterday (Feast of the Assumption) he said a high Mass, and he preached first to the men, then to the women, and then to the children, and he looked at us . . . Your brother said "Dominus Vobiscum" and I thought that it was Dominus Vobispum, as Fr. Valentin says . . . Oh! You! How well you say it! . . . Your brother has taught us a song.»
__________

And Loli began to sing:

«When I see myself with a headdress
and shoes without heels!
What goes on in the cloister . . .
Oh! How does it continue? . . . The part about the heart?»

__________

The mysterious voice must have sung what the girl had forgotten, and she cried out in surprise:

«Oh! You know it too!

Everyone said that on the day you said the Mass here, that you said it very well. Your brother also says it very well.(15)
Conchita: We told a secret to your brother; First of all he said it was for the men, but then he told it to Carmen. I was so embarrassed!(16)

Your brother has told us that if you want to take him away, that you could take him away, as you . . .»
The mysterious voice must have explained to them that it was not like that.

«Ah! So that he can be with us . . . He's going to come three weeks as the pastor. Very good!

Tell us something for your brother . . . Come, repeat it, so that we don't forget . . . Now I'm going to repeat it to you . . . That he should make sacrifices, that he should make sacrifices.(17)

When will you return? . . . Monday? . . . Why not Thursday?(18) . . . Until Monday is going to seem a year to us.»

__________

This long conversation—of which we have only noted some items of special interest—was regarded by Father Royo Marín as a wonder. During it, the visionaries fell and got up three times. And they concluded everything by praying a Station to the Blessed Sacrament; three of the six Hail Marys were prayed by the girls in the normal fashion, andthe other three according to the formula used by the Andreu brothers. (19)


10. I am inclined to think that these were two different ecstasies, since Mari Cruz is missing in the one that Father Andreu talks about. Furthermore, Conchita says this about her ecstasy: The Virgin appeared to us smiling very much and said to the four . . .
11. In this transcription of the conversation, the periods correspond to the pauses that the girls made, which were obviously due to their listening at the time to the person with whom they were speaking.
12. A clear allusion to the state of blessedness in which the souls of the just enter prior to the resurrection of the body.
13. The point of this comparison can be understood, taking into account that the laundry in the villages, especially the sheets, was laid out in the sun on top of the grass so it could dry and whiten better.

14. The girls at Garabandal with their lack of education could not imagine the life of the next world to be any different from this one.

15. It is seen how important it is before God and man that all the functions of the priestly ministry have the greatest devotion and exactness.
16. This refers, according to Father Ramón, to the time he asked the girls what they would want him to give them.
The girls, after much discussion about what they should ask for, indicated to him that they would like a sewing set very much . . . «But no! No! Don't give us one, since they are very expensive. They cost at least 56 pesetas.»

To give the girls their wish, Father Ramón mentioned the matter to Carmen Cavestany.
17. After the ecstasies, the girls questioned Fr. Ramón — to whom they revealed his brother's message — about what it was to «make sacrifices.» He explained it to them, and then they replied candidly, «Why should one do something one doesn't like?»

This question should be asked also, although not so candidly, of today's prophets of non-mortification as a form or style of the new spirituality . . .

Garabandal insists, as something of extreme importance, upon the ascetic and penitential way of life . . . Probably because of this, it has so many enemies. But this is very clear: without the way of penance, it is not possible to live the Gospel.

18. This conversation took place on Wednesday, August 16th. Naturally—so as not to have to wait—the girls wanted to recommence the ecstasies on the next day, which was Thursday.
But apart from this, it becomes increasingly clear that Garabandal has shown a definite predilection for Thursday, certainly because among all the days of the week, this is the day dedicated to the Holy Eucharist.

In October of 1975 Jacinta confirmed for me the conversation between the girls and the departed Fr. Andreu. They certainly spoke with him, although they did not see him; his voice was unmistakable.

«Days before talking with him, the Virgin told us that we would hear a voice; that we should not be afraid, and should follow it. I think that this referred to the dead Fr. Andreu . . . The strange voice that we heard days later, and which frightened us so much, called us by our names . . .»
Jacinta knows nothing about what Conchita has stated about the exhumation of Fr. Luis' remains on the day following the Miracle.

19. See Chapter V.