PROPHECIES OF GARABANDAL II

The Warning
by Connie Hoebich

From earliest times God has used prophecy to authenticate the message He gives to His people through human beings. The unfailing characteristic of God’s prophecies is that they come true. It is by this that the credibility of the visionary, thus the validity of the message, is established.
Garabandal has an extraordinary allotment of prophecy, (1)extraordinary not so much in quantity as in kind. All, except for the chastisement, which is conditional, must come to pass before the Garabandal event can be considered in its entirety. Accordingly, though the apparitions are over (there have been none since 1965), we speak of Garabandal as “unfinished”, or “awaiting fulfillment”.

The very next thing we await as the Garabandal event moves toward fulfillment is the prophesied warning. I believe that this warning will be the most powerful event in the history of the world since the Resurrection.

We have many details regarding the warning. Unfortunately, these details are often confused with others Our Lady provided regarding the prophesied miracle and the chastisement. The sequence of these events is also not fixed accurately in the minds of many people. Since the sequence and the nature of all three of the major prophecies are important to our understanding of the warning, we should briefly review them:

DATES: We do not know the date of the warning. From the time she learned of it, the visionary Conchita has spoken of the warning as “imminent”, “expected every day” though she herself does not know the date. Our Lady alone knows the date of the miracle. Our Lady permitted her to say only that it will come some time after the warning. Conchita will announce the date of the miracle eight days prior to its occurrence. The chastisement, if it comes, will follow the miracle-how long after is not known.

NATURE: The warning will be seen and felt by everyone in the world, no matter where they may be, at exactly the same time. It will be a terrible experience. The miracle will take place in Garabandal, in the pine grove, and be visible to all who are in the village or the surrounding mountains. In Conchita’s words, the miracle will be “very great because of the world’s needs are very great.” It will be “a miracle of the love of God, something that will manifest His love to us in an outstanding way”. The chastisement, if it comes, will be worldwide and incomparably horrible. The warning, the miracle, and the chastisement will be clearly understood by all people to be from God, that is, not explained by natural causes.< back to topDetailed Description And the Reasons
Answers to the basic questions about the warning–(who? what? when? where? why?)–are found in various statements made by Conchita:

The Blessed Virgin told me (during a two-hour apparition at the pines January 1, 1965) that a warning would be given before the miracle. The warning is a thing that comes directly from God. No one can escape it. It will be visible all over the world. We will feel it bodily and interiorly. The warning is like a chastisement, a terrifying thing for the good as well as for the wicked. It will be like a revelation of our sins. We shall see the consequences of the sins we have committed. God will send the warning to purify us so that we may better appreciate the miracle by which He clearly proves His love for us and hence His desire that we fulfill the message. The warning will draw the good closer to God and it will warn the wicked that the end of time is coming.

These statements make up a good synopsis of the warning. We’ll reflect on them and other expanding statements Conchita has made. Immediately, however, the question arises: Why so many details–what is Our Lady’s purpose in sketching this event so vividly before its occurrence? The purpose is at least three-fold:
The Authentication Factor–After we have experienced the warning, we will review the prophecy describing it. Point by point, the description of the warning, known and published years before it actually happened, will testify to the credibility of the apparitions and thus the message.

Preparation–As a personal experience, the warning will probably be the most awesome confrontation of our lives. Are we ready for it? Are we ready for the “terrifying thing” which is “a thousand times worse than earthquakes” which will make us prefer to be dead rather than suffer it? Are we ready to “see ourselves in the light of our sins?” These, especially the last, are stupendous pronouncements. How does one prepare? Our Lady said, “We have given you all that you need,” and her reference was to the message of Garabandal, a message, it must be noted, which re-states the constant teachings of the Church. These fearful details are provided by Our Lady to prompt us to make ready for the warning now through earnest, generous fulfillment of the message in our daily lives.

Consolation, Inspiration–Any thinking person is aware that the world is in great need of correction. It would seem that here, indeed, are at least the beginnings of the “difficult times” St. Paul spoke of, when “men will be in love with self, in love with money, boastful, abusive; without reverence for their parents, without gratitude, without scruple, without love, without peace; slanderers, incontinent … thinking rather of their pleasures than of God” (II Tim. 3:2-5). Further since, as Pope Paul observed recently, men seem to have lost the sense of sin, it would seem that nothing short of Divine intervention, can open men’s eyes, reform their hearts. The Garabandal warning promises to be understood by everyone as “from God,” “a correction of the conscience of the world.” This is a great consolation to all who are frightened and confused by widespread iniquity, who long for truth to be once again honored. I believe Our Lady also wishes that those so disposed render praise and thanksgiving to God now–even before the warning–for the consolation and inspiration the knowledge of it provides and for the great good it can be expected to achieve.