Friday, June 6, 2025

The Sacred Heart at Garabandal

 


The Sacred Heart

Of all the visions that Jacinta Gonzalez had in Garabandal, one stands out over all the rest — her vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
While the other three girls were in ecstasy seeing Saint Michael, Jacinta was seeing Jesus. He was about ten feet away standing on a small, white cloud slightly above the ground. He was incomparably beautiful; "the handsomest of men" as Jacinta said. He wore a white robe with a red outer garment that hung diagonally down across His body from the right shoulder. His heart, exposed off-center to His left, was a brilliant red with rays of both white and gold streaming from it.
With His left hand, he pointed to His heart and with His right, He beckoned the girl to come. His entire body gave off brilliant rays that surpassed in brightness the subsequent appearances of Our Lady. The vision was set against a cloud-like background.
What most impressed Jacinta was the infinite love that seemed to radiate from Jesus' gaze, penetrating her heart, and His gestures that seemed to invite her and all mankind to enter into His Sacred Heart.

Interview with Fr. Benac

On December 23, 1978, Jacinta was interviewed by Father Francis Benac, S.J., at her home in California. Here are excerpts from that interview:
Father Benac: We have read about your vision of the Sacred Heart. Please tell me about this experience.
Jacinta: I recall a day when the four of us went a little further up [in the lane] from where the angel had first appeared — no one from the village followed us — when suddenly the other three fell into ecstasy seeing the angel. I was a little behind and seeing them in ecstasy I said to myself: "But I don't see anything." Then suddenly like a flash, I saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus which made a deep impression on me. He did not speak to me, but His gaze penetrated deep into my heart.
Benac: What impressed you most?
Jacinta: His eyes, His look — a gaze that penetrated so deeply into me that I cannot explain it.
Benac: What were your thoughts at that moment?
Jacinta: Oh, Father, more than seeing Our Lady, this vision of the Sacred Heart had the greatest impact on me even though I did not see Him again. Whenever I see His image, I have an intense feeling of suddenly seeing someone very dear.
Benac: Do you still feel this?
Jacinta: Oh yes. Whenever I see His image or talk about Him just as we're doing now, I feel within me something I cannot explain.
Benac: When you passed through the period of the doubts, did you also doubt this vision?
Jacinta: No Father. This vision has always remained vivid in my mind. I remember telling my mother that I may have doubted seeing Our Lady or the angel, but regarding this vision of the Sacred Heart even if I were to die, I would insist on its truth. It is something I have never doubted.
Benac: Did this particular vision lead you to a greater love of God? Did you think that He wanted something special from you?
Jacinta: I can't answer that since He didn't speak to me. But my heart did grow much closer to His.

 

https://www.garabandal.it/en/live-garabandal/spirituality/376-sacred-heart 

Monday, May 12, 2025

What Sacrifice Does She Desire?

 

fidelidad

On November 4, 1961, barely fifteen days after the First Message's publication, the Virgin Mary gives the girls the new task of waking up early and praying the Rosary at sunrise in the "Calleja."

"Jacinta and Mari Cruz used to go at six o'clock in the morning. During Holy Week, [Our Lady] told me to go at five o'clock in the morning, and so I did, because the Virgin Mary always wishes that we do penance." (Conchita's Diary)

It would be frequent from now on in Garabandal for the girls (not in ecstasy) to have an intense prayer life marked by the penance of early hours and inclement weather. In spite of the fact that it truly was a sacrifice, they persevered in fulfilling the Virgin Mary's desire. In a letter she wrote on January 3, 1962, Jacinta revealed what the Virgin Mary's petition entailed, "At this moment, Mari Cruz and I have just arrived from praying the Rosary to the Virgin Mary. We had very bad [weather] yesterday morning. A river of water came down [the Calleja] and we could barely kneel down... Now, as long as it does not snow, everything is fine."

The words of the First Message, dated October 18, were palpable during these Rosaries, "We must make many sacrifices, do much penance." Notwithstanding, the Virgin Mary teaches the girls that penance is not the most important lesson in her visits. Conchita tells us about this lesson that they learned, "One day, during an apparition of the Virgin Mary, we were wearing the cilicio, although very loosely, and we would touch it every once in a while so that She could see that we were wearing it (it was on our waist). Finally, She said, "Yes, I know that you are wearing it. But that is not precisely what I ask of you, nor that which most pleases me, but rather your faithfulness in daily life."

Here the Virgin Mary teaches us that while She had asked them to make sacrifices and always do penance, these do not constitute the end that God expects of them. They are just a means to dispose the soul to be faithful, to love, and to be humble. If sacrifices do not produce humility but instead vainglory, they no longer please Her. What She expects from us is faithfulness in our daily duties and in the little things in order to be faithful in greater matters.

This is an important lesson to know: we have to do penance and sacrifices, but if they do not proceed from love and humility, they will not help us grow because they are not what God desires and nor what the Virgin Mary asks of us.

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

Saturday, April 5, 2025

THE STORY OF OUR LADY'S VISIT TO SAN SEBASTIAN DE GARABANDAL

 

What Sacrifice Does She Desire?

 From https://www.garabandal.it/en/

fidelidad

On November 4, 1961, barely fifteen days after the First Message's publication, the Virgin Mary gives the girls the new task of waking up early and praying the Rosary at sunrise in the "Calleja."

"Jacinta and Mari Cruz used to go at six o'clock in the morning. During Holy Week, [Our Lady] told me to go at five o'clock in the morning, and so I did, because the Virgin Mary always wishes that we do penance." (Conchita's Diary)

It would be frequent from now on in Garabandal for the girls (not in ecstasy) to have an intense prayer life marked by the penance of early hours and inclement weather. In spite of the fact that it truly was a sacrifice, they persevered in fulfilling the Virgin Mary's desire. In a letter she wrote on January 3, 1962, Jacinta revealed what the Virgin Mary's petition entailed, "At this moment, Mari Cruz and I have just arrived from praying the Rosary to the Virgin Mary. We had very bad [weather] yesterday morning. A river of water came down [the Calleja] and we could barely kneel down... Now, as long as it does not snow, everything is fine."

The words of the First Message, dated October 18, were palpable during these Rosaries, "We must make many sacrifices, do much penance." Notwithstanding, the Virgin Mary teaches the girls that penance is not the most important lesson in her visits. Conchita tells us about this lesson that they learned, "One day, during an apparition of the Virgin Mary, we were wearing the cilicio, although very loosely, and we would touch it every once in a while so that She could see that we were wearing it (it was on our waist). Finally, She said, "Yes, I know that you are wearing it. But that is not precisely what I ask of you, nor that which most pleases me, but rather your faithfulness in daily life."

Here the Virgin Mary teaches us that while She had asked them to make sacrifices and always do penance, these do not constitute the end that God expects of them. They are just a means to dispose the soul to be faithful, to love, and to be humble. If sacrifices do not produce humility but instead vainglory, they no longer please Her. What She expects from us is faithfulness in our daily duties and in the little things in order to be faithful in greater matters.

This is an important lesson to know: we have to do penance and sacrifices, but if they do not proceed from love and humility, they will not help us grow because they are not what God desires and nor what the Virgin Mary asks of us.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

GUESS WHO IS COMING TO GARABANDAL?