WHAT IS GARABANDAL?: FROM FATIMA TO GARABANDAL:

Saturday, March 14, 2009

FROM FATIMA TO GARABANDAL:

When I started returning to the practice of my Roman Catholic Faith at the age of 29, I really didn't even know how to pray. Why? Because my childhood was one of sickness and near death and I missed out on any Sunday School. I had rheumatic fever and heart trouble and spent many months in different hospitals and convalescent camps, as they called them in those days. So after living a pretty wild life, then getting married and having children, I sort of settled down to working hard to support my family. I started reading the Bible for some reason, which escapes me now, and then returned to going to Mass on Sundays. Little by little, I grew in my faith as I started to pray and learn more about the Holy Faith. One day I went to a Christian Book Store and picked up this book titled "Our Lady of Fatima", written by a man called Walsh. This book knocked me for a loop! For the first time I realized how much supernatural was in believing in Christ and about angels, heaven, hell, and especially about Mother Mary, who has appeared so many times in history to help her Son Jesus save this world and save souls. So now my thrust in life changed and it was no longer "what can God give me" but "what can I give to God!" The answer was, of course, myself! I began offering myself, all my prayers, my deeds, my very life to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I started wearing the "Brown Scapular" which Our Lady of Fatima held out to the hundreds of thousands of people on the Day of the Spinning Sun; learned to pray the Rosary as Mary requested of us all, praying the Fatima Prayers taught to the Children of Fatima, in reparation for the sins of the world, and most especially started to attend daily Mass and Communion for the glory of God. Of course all this led me to volunteer in different ministries of the parish I was in, which finally led me to be called, I believe, to the Diaconate, to serve as an ordained minister. So there you have it in a short "nut shell" on how a book had "opened my eyes"!

[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?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

FROM FATIMA TO GARABANDAL:

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