WHAT IS GARABANDAL?: THE WARNING: PRAYER HASTENS THE TRIUMPH

Thursday, February 12, 2009

THE WARNING: PRAYER HASTENS THE TRIUMPH

Prayer hastens The Triumph. It accelerates the transformation of the heart. Only prayer can bring about the process that produces in the heart the kind of holiness found in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Prayer alone opens the heart to the transforming love of the Father. Even Jesus, the very Son of the Father, equal to Him in all things, had to pray. He prayed so well that His whole human life became a prayer. Because He prayed perfectly, the Holy Spirit formed His Sacred Heart into the glorious vessel of Divine Life that we know it now to be. The same Spirit is working in our hearts continually by His grace, according to the degree that we open to Him in prayer. As we pray, He acts with power and love in our hearts to make them more like the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The Triumph is hastened in us personally by prayer. Our Lady always reminded us of this most fundamental activity when she visited us in her apparitions. She never failed to insist on prayer, calling the visionaries who saw her to prayer and conveying to us through them her demand that we return to prayer. There is no other way to reach God. We are surrounded by the inexpressibly merciful love of the Father. We are immersed in the being of Him who is love itself, yet we can somehow still remain entirely unaware of His presence, if we do not pray. Prayer opens the mind to realities around us that are the source of eternal life and bliss. It acknowledges that we are creatures who can have a profound love-relationship with God when we turn to Him in prayer, and admits our need of His friendship in order to gain happiness. It accepts not only the possibility, but the necessity of God giving us salvation, and surrenders to the truth that we cannot save ourselves. By prayer we assert that we are not alone, and that we do not want to be alone. We are responsible to another Who loves us and Who is our God. To be with God and to let Him be with us is not only the purpose of prayer, but the very point of our existence.

[To be continued . . .]

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UPDATE: THE CHURCH"S POSITION ON GARABANDAL

The magazine "Garabandal Journal" has updated some information regarding the village of Garabandal, the current Bishop and Pastor.
For many years, while never being condemned, the Garabandal events were under a dark cloud as some of the first bishops (but not all) opposed the events. But the tide started to change with Bishop Juan Antonio del Val Gallo (1971-1991). While he at first did not believe in the apparitions he took a more open position. In 1981, he became a believer and during his reign, he lifted the ban on priests going up to the village and allowed them to celebrate Mass in the village church with the permission of the village pastor. The next bishop, Jose Vilaplana Blasco, was a non-believer, but left in place the positive changes made by Bishop del Val. In 2006, he was transferred to another diocese in southern Spain and Archbishop of Oviedo, Carlos Osoro Sierra, was made Apostolic Administrator of Santander. The Archbishop, building on the positive measures taken by Bishop Del Val, allowed priests visiting Garabandal to celebrate Mass in the village church even if the pastor was not there (he ministered to a number of other villages and was not always in Garabandal). The Archbishop also gave visiting priests faculties to hear confessions.
In 2007, Ed Kelly from the United States, wrote to the Archbishop requesting the current status of Garabandal and received a letter from the prelate, under his own stationary and signed by him dated May 7, 2007, in which he said: "I respect the apparitions and have known of authentic conversions. In light of these events, how can we not always feel the need to open our heart to our mother Mary to tell her that we need her protection, help, spirit, desire, hope and love! I encourage you to continue maintaining this devotion to our Mother."
In 2011, two 50th anniversaries were celebrated in Garabandal (1) for the first appearance of St. Michael on June 18, 1961, and (2) the first vision of Our Lady on July 2, 1961. The celebrations were conducted under the auspices of the Santander Diocese represented by the village pastor Fr. Rolando Cabeza (also dean of the area). During the celebrations, another ban was lifted when Fr. Cabeza, spoke of the apparitions from the pulpit, and read the two formal Messages of Our Lady at Garabandal.
On May 6, 2012, current Bishop of Santander, Vecente Jimenez Zamora (installed in 2007) celebrated a Mass in Garabandal in commemoration of the completion of a restoration project of the village church. In a refreshments period after Mass, he was open and most cordial with all the villagers and visitors. On May1, 2013, the Bishop again celebrated Mass in the village church of Garabandal and prior to the Mass, kissed a crucifix belonging to villager David Toribio that was kissed by the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal. We don't know if the Bishop knew that but we suspect he did.
Bishop Jimenez's Masses in Garabandal were firsts, since no Bishop of Santander had ever said Mass in the village church from the time the apparitions began in 1961.
Deacon John

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WHAT IS GARABANDAL?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

THE WARNING: PRAYER HASTENS THE TRIUMPH

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