CONCHITA’S DIARY-1

The Apple tree

1961-1963

SAN SEBASTIÁN DE GARABANDAL

November 1, 1962

[Conchita began writing her diary in 1962. She finished it in the second half of the year 1963. It includes only a part of the history of the apparitions, that which happened from June 18, 1961 to January of 1963.]

María Concepción González, 13 years old.

In this book I am going to tell about my apparitions and my daily life.

The most important event of my life [It is necessary to understand what she means to say: the most important event of her life until June of 1961. It is clear that the future events like the apparition of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel or the locutions with Our Lord, have greater importance for the four girls, especially for Conchita, than the Angel’s visit] was on June 18, 1961 in San Sebastián: it happened in the following way:

It was a Sunday in the evening, and we were with all of the young girls playing in the plaza.

Suddenly, Mari Cruz and I thought of going to pick apples, and we set off straight to the place [this means to the place where they found the apple tree of the first apparition] where they were, without telling anyone that we were going to pick the apples.

The girls, seeing the two of us were going away alone, asked us:

─ Where are you going?

And we answered:

─ Over there!

And we continued on our way, thinking about how we were going to manage to pick them.

Once there, we started to pick the apples and when we were having a good time, we saw Loli, Jacinta and another little girl coming to see if they could find us.

Seeing us picking the apples, Jacinta shouted out:

─ Hey, Conchita, you are picking the apples!

─ Shut up, I told her, the school teacher’s wife will hear you, and will tell my mother [Aniceta González, a widow, with four children: Serafín (who is now the head of the family), Cetuco (nickname for Aniceto), who died in 1965, Miguel, and Conchita].

Then I hid among the potato plants and Mari Cruz started to run through the field.

Loli shouted out:

─ Mari Cruz, stop running. We see you. We will tell this to the owner.

Then Mari Cruz returned and we left our hiding place so that we could all be together.

While we were talking someone called the little girl who had come with Jacinta and Loli, and she left. The four of us remained alone; and giving it more thought, the four of us returned to pick apples.

While we were having a good time, we heard the voice of the school teacher, who, on seeing the branches moving so much, thought it was the sheep, and said to his wife Concesa:

─ Go to the garden, the sheep are wandering near the apple tree!

Hearing this, we burst out laughing. When we had filled our pockets, we hurried off to eat the apples more at peace in the path, that is in the calleja.[This is the rocky road that goes from the village to a grove of pine trees.]

When we were enjoying ourselves eating the apples, we heard a loud noise like thunder [It is interesting to recall that in Fátima, a little before the first apparition of the Angel of Peace, the shepherd children heard a noise like thunder].

And we all shouted out:

─ It seems to be thundering!

This happened at 8:30 at night [The “Great Miracle” announced for Garabandal will also happen at eight thirty at night].

When we had finished eating the apples I said:

─ Oh, what a shame! Now that we’ve picked the apples, which didn’t belong to us, the Devil will be pleased and the poor Guardian Angel will be unhappy.

Then we began to gather stones and threw them with all our strength to the left side, where the Devil is said to be.

When we got tired of throwing stones, and were more content, we began to play marbles with the stones.

Suddenly a very beautiful figure appeared to me, shining brilliantly without hurting my eyes. The other girls—Jacinta, Loli, and Mari Cruz—on seeing me in that state, thought I was having an attack, since I was saying with my hands joined together: “Oh!... Oh!... Oh!” As they were going to call my mother, they found themselves in the same state as I was and they shouted together: “Oh, an Angel!”

Then there was a short silence among the four of us... and he suddenly disappeared. And, returning to normal, and very frightened, we ran toward the Church—on the way passing the dance that was going on in the village.

Then a girl named Pili González, said to us:

─ How white and frightened you are! Where are you comimg from?

Very ashamed in confessing the truth, we said to her:

─ From picking apples! [The Vision seems to have accentuated the intense remorse and repentence the girls felt.].

And then she said:

─ For that… you are coming like this?

We all answered together:

─ It is because we’ve seen an Angel!

She said:

─ Is that true...?

We: Yes, yes... and we continued on our way in the direction of the Church.The girl told this to the others.

Once at the door of the Church, and thinking it over better, we went behind it to cry. We met some young girls who were playing and when they saw us crying they asked us:

─ Why are you crying?

We told them:

─ BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN AN ANGEL.

They ran off to tell the schoolmistress.

When we had finished crying, we returned to the Church door and went inside.

At the same time, the schoolmistress arrived very frightened and said to us at once:

─ My children, have you really seen an Angel?

─ Yes, señora!

─ Could this be your imagination?

─ No, señora, no! We have really seen an Angel.

Then the schoolmistress told us:

─ Let us go pray a Station to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in thanksgiving[The “station” is a Spanish practice of devotion to the Eucharist. It begins by the praying of six Our Fathers, six Hail Marys, and six Glory Be’s, a Creed, and generally a Salve Regina is also added].

When we had finished saying the Station we went to our homes. It was already nine at night and my mother had told me to come home during the day. And on that day it was dark when I arrived.

When I got home, my mother said to me:

─ Didn’t I tell you to come home before dark?

Very frightened because of two things—for having seen the figure so beautiful, and for coming home late—I didn’t dare to come into the kitchen.And I leaned against the wall, very sad. And I said to my mother:

─ I have seen an Angel.

She responded to me:

─ On top of coming home late, you come saying these things!

And I answered again:

─But it’s true that I have seen an Angel.

She responded the same thing, but she was already more doubtful that I had seen the Angel.

This was at nine thirty at night. Later that night we did not speak any more about it. It was an ordinary night, just like any other.

The 19th arrives.

When we got up, the people had begun to talk:

─ Those four girls saw something, since they came down with such expressions…!

Others responded:

─ It could have been one of those big birds, since it was dark!

Others said:

─ Or perhaps some little boy surprised them while they… Or they were dreaming…!

Well, everyone had his own idea about the thing. It was a day in which they talked about nothing else. They asked us to describe what we had seen. And very happy with the beautiful figure, we were glad to tell them, since there were some people who doubted it was true. We told how he was, how he was dressed, very brilliantly…

Most of the people laughed at us; but it was all the same to us because we knew it was true. We had these conversations at ten in the morning, when we went to the school.

When we arrived at the school the schoolmistress asked us:

─ My children, are you certain of the things you said yesterday?

We answered at the same time:

─ Yes, Señora. We saw an Angel!

The other school children surrounded us and were amazed at what we were saying. We acted the same as always, undisturbed.

When we left school, each one went to her own home. But this day Jacinta and Mari Cruz went together and met the parish priest, Fr. Valentín Marichalar. [He is the pastor of the neighboring village, Cossío and also in charge of San Sebastián de Garabandal. For some time in the past he knew the girls and their families well. His attitude toward the apparitions was at the same time firm and questioning. It might be said that he had a firm internal beleif in the supernaturalness of these phenomena and at the same time he had a very prudent reserve and exemplary discretion in front of the people who came to Garabandal.] Very alarmed, he said to them:

Look here, look here! Is it true that you saw an Angel? They answered together:

Yes, Father, it’s true!

─ I don’t know… I don’t know if you’re mistaken… he replied to them.

Smiling, they said to him:

─ No. Don’t be afraid that we saw an Angel! Then they went to their homes.

The parish priest walked around to see where he could find me. Finding me near my home, he became very nervous and he said to me:

─ Conchita, be honest—what did you see last night?

I explained everything to him... he listened very attentively and finally he said to me:

─ Well, if you see the Angel tonight, ask him who he is and why he is coming; see what he answers.

I said that I would do what he said and the Pastor left and went to Loli’s house to see if our stories agreed. I continued walking toward my house.

Loli responded the same as the rest of us. And so he was more and more impressed because the four of us agreed on everything. Finally he said:

─ Good, we are going to wait two or three days to see what he will tell you and whether you are going to continue to see this figure that you call an Angel. The Pastor added:

─ Then I will go to the Bishop. [This was Doroteo Fernández, the former Auxiliary Bishop of the diocese, who served in June of 1961 when the apparitions began and was the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese ofSantander. The following year Dr. Eugenio Beitia Aldazabal was named titular Bishop of Santander S.E.; he followed the history of the apparitions from 1962 to 1965 and he gave the most important of the four notas that came from the ecclesiastical authority. This was the nota from July 8, 1965. His resignation, for health reasons, was accepted. Nevertheless, he stayed in the Diocese as Apostolic Administrator until August of 1965. The new titular Bishop, S.E. Vicente Puchol, had not made an official pronouncement about the apparitions.]

As always when we came home, we ate and then went to the school again at two in the afternoon. In my house they were making a small repair. I went to the house of the woman from whom we buy the milk and she said to me:

Is it true that you saw an Angel? Or is this just something the people are saying?

I answered:

─ It’s certain that we saw an Angel!

She continued to question me:

How did you see him?

I explained it to her in such a way that she listened very closely. And then smiling, she said to me:

─ Since I have a good opinion of you, I believe that you saw the Angel, but the others: no!

Then I said to her:

─ But all four of us saw him—Loli, Jacinta, Mari Cruz, and I!

She didn’t answer me at all. When I came home with the milk, I said to my mother:

─ Mama, I’m going to pray in the calleja! This was heard by a stonemason named Pepe Díez, [José Diez-Cantero, called Pepe Diez, is the mason of the village and one of the principal witnesses of the first apparitions, like the miracle of the visible Communion that Conchita received on July 18, 1962]who was there working to repair our house, and also by my brother, Aniceto González, who was helping him. Then Pepe said laughing:

─ Yes, yes, let her go. Why not let her go pray?

My brother objected to this:

─ Conchita, you shouldn’t go! The people will laugh at you and us too. They will say that you are going around saying that you are seeing an Angel. And that you are lying.

But, of course, I insisted I go to my mother, and while this was happening the other three girls came and called me.

My mother was nervous and said:

─ Oh my God, what kind of trouble have you all made?

We said to her:

─ No kind!

Then my mother, doubting it was true and wanting to be left in peace, permitted me to go. We were very happy, and we went to this place called the “Calleja.” (A little piece of Heaven) [“A little piece of Heaven”: the expression is underlined by Conchita in the original text of her diary. It seems like an allusion to the fact that the majority of the first apparitions of the Angel and the Virgin took place in this site.]

When the people saw us they asked:

─ Where are you going? We responded:

─ To pray in the Calleja!

But the people laughed at us and said to us: [The people: at the beginning, as Conchita explained, only the neighbors in the village attended the ecstasies.Very soon, other people from neighboring villages came, and then people from the whole province, and also people from all over Spain and foreigners. OnOctober 18, 1961, the multitude reached the number of 5,000—a considerable number, due to the isolation of this village and the great difficulty in accessing it (six kilometers of a difficult road that not all cars could travel)].

─ Why don’t you go to the Church to pray since that would be better?

And we responded to them at the same time:

─ Because the Angel appeared to us there yesterday, and we’re going to see if he’ll appear to us again.

They called this place the “Calleja” and when we arrived there, we began to pray. The people looked at us, but the young boys hid in or near the corn and threw stones at us.

We told them not to throw stones at us, but they just laughed and continued throwing the stones. We were there praying the rosary and we waited for awhile to see if the Angel was coming. The sky was very cloudy and it was very windy.

When the afternoon arrived, we went down to the Church, but in the road we met the teacher who asked us:

─ Have you gone to the Calleja today?

─ Yes, we answered, but we were very sad because we had not seen the Angel. [The fact of seeing or not seeing the Vision is independent of the girls’ desires. The apparition is the cause and the origin of the mystical phenomena.This was verified in Garabandal where the will of the seers was ineffective in changing anything in the development of the happenings.]

She added:

─ Do you know why he hasn’t come? Surely it’s because it’s so cloudy.

It was eight thirty at night. We went to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament and then we each went to our own homes.

When I arrived my mother asked me:

─ Did you see the Angel?

I said that we had not seen him today. Then she made me do my work as usual; we ate dinner, then I went to bed at a quarter to ten. Since I couldn’t sleep, I started to pray. And then I heard a voice that said to me:

─ “DON’T BE TROUBLED, YOU WILL SEE ME AGAIN.” [This sentence is underlined in the original text.]

As they told me the following day, the other three girls heard this voice as well.

I stayed worried after hearing this voice and I continued praying at great length, until I fell asleep.

All of this happened on June 19, 1961.

From Mark Mallett: "The Illumination of Conscience will either shrink hearts further, or open-wide their doors."

The Ark for All Nations

THE Ark God has provided to ride out not only the storms of past centuries, but most especially the Storm at the end of this age, is not a barque of self-preservation, but a ship of salvation intended for the world. That is, our mentality must not be "saving our own behinds" while the rest of the world drifts away into a sea of destruction.

We cannot calmly accept the rest of humanity falling back again into paganism. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), The New Evangelization, Building the Civilization of Love; Address to Catechists and Religion Teachers, December 12, 2000

It’s not about "me an’ Jesus," but Jesus, me, and my neighbour.

How could the idea have developed that Jesus’ message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the “salvation of the soul” as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others? —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Spe Salvi (Saved In Hope), n. 16

So too, we have to avoid the temptation to run and hide somewhere in the wilderness until the Storm passes (unless the Lord is saying one should do so). This is "the time of mercy," and more than ever, souls need to "taste and see" in us the life and presence of Jesus. We need to become signs of hope to others. In a word, each of our hearts needs to become an "ark" for our neighbour.

IT’S NOT "US" AND "THEM"

Whether it’s out of fear or our own insecurity, we often cling to others who think the same way and turn our backs on others who differ. But love is blind. It overlooks faults and differences and sees the other the way that God created them: "in the divine image…"((Gen 1:27)) That is not to say that love overlooks sin. If we truly love our neighbour, we would not turn away if he were about to fall into a pit, nor ignore him when he is already at its bottom, in a kind of "tolerant" pretend world where heaven and hell do not exist. But as St. Paul says, love…

…bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor 13:7)

This is the incredible message at the heart of salvation history: that God bears our sins; He believes in us and our worth; He has given us new hope, and is willing to endure all things—that is, all our faults and imperfections that we may attain the object of our hope, which is union with Him. This is no lofty dream or fairytale. Jesus demonstrated this love to the very end, giving His whole being, every last drop of blood, and then some. He sent us His Spirit; He gave us an Ark; and He remains as close to us as our breath. But if we think this love is only intended for a special few,for a "remnant," then we have shrunk the heart of God to fit into a very narrow world view. In fact, He…

…wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:4)

But if our thinking is Christian vs. pagan, American vs. Muslim,European vs. Jew, black vs. white… then we have not yet learned to love with the love of God. And we must! The so-called Illumination of Conscience will either shrink hearts further, or open-wide their doors. For when it comes, it will be in the midst of chaos and turmoil, famine and plague, war and disaster. Will you reach only for the souls that appeal to you, or every soul God brings to you, whether they are whole or broken, peaceful or disturbed, Hindu, Muslim, or atheist?

During one of the evenings when I spoke in California last month, I led the people in a time of prayer and surrender to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Suddenly, the Lord stopped me. I sensed Him saying,

Before you can receive My blessings and the ocean of graces I have to give you, you must forgive your neighbour. For if you do not forgive, then neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you.

TO LOVE IS ALSO TO FORGIVE

As I led the people to forgive their enemies, I shared with them the story of a woman I prayed with at a mission in British Columbia, Canada. She wept as she recounted how her father abused her as a child and how she could not forgive him. Just then, an image came to mind that I shared with her:

Imagine your father as he was when he was a little baby. Imagine him lying there in his crib sleeping, his little hands curled in tight fists, his soft, downy hair across his tiny head. See that little baby sleeping peacefully, breathing quietly, innocent and pure. Now, at some point, someone hurt that baby. Someone caused pain to that child who in turn has hurt you. Can you forgive that little baby?

At that moment, the woman begin to sob uncontrollably, and we stood there for a moment and wept together.

When I finished telling this story, I could hear others in the church beginning to weep as they understood the need to love and forgive the way Christ has loved and forgiven them. For Jesus said upon the Cross:

Father, forgive them, they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

That is to say, Father, if they really knew and accepted Me, if they knew and saw the true state of their souls, they would not do what they are doing. Isn’t this true of any of us and any of our sins? If we truly saw them in the light of grace, then we would be appalled and repent immediately. The reason we often don’t is because we continually close off the light

LIGHT OF CHRIST

Such an illumination of conscience is possible each and every moment. The more we love God with our heart, soul, and strength, seeking Him in prayer, obeying His will, and refusing to compromise with sin, the more divine light floods our beings. Then those things that we previously did, watched, said, or thought that are sinful become offensive and even repulsive. This is the operation of grace, of the Holy Spirit, to the degree we co-operate with divine impulses:

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Rom 8:13)

Such a soul is filled with light and is then capable of drawing others to the same freedom. And this freedom flows in and out of theGreat Ark, the Ark of love and truth from which we must reach out to others.

It is from God’s love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on." Indeed, God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth"; that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, 851

But we can only do so if we recognize in the face of the other the same heritage we share, and thus, the same destiny:

All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city… —Catechism of the Catholic Church, 842

TRUE ECUMENISM

True unity, true ecumenism, begins with love but must end in truth. The move afoot today to blend all religions together in a homogenous faith that is essentially without dogma or substance isnot of God. But the eventual unity of all nations under the banner of Christ, is.

…[the Father] has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. (Eph 1:9-10)

Satan’s plan is thus to mimic this "summing up of all things," not in Christ, but in the dragon’s own image: a false church.

I saw enlightened Protestants, plans formed for the blending of religious creeds, the suppression of papal authority… I saw no Pope, but a bishop prostrate before the High Altar. In this vision I saw the church bombarded by other vessels… It was threatened on all sides… They built a large, extravagant church which was to embrace all creeds with equal rights… but in place of an altar were only abomination and desolation. Such was the new church to be… —Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824 A.D.), The Life and Revelations of Anne Catherine Emmerich, April 12th, 1820

Hence, in lowering the ramp of the Ark to all nations, we speak here not of compromising the faith handed on to us, but extending it further and further, if necessary, by the laying down of our lives for the sake of others.

MARY, MODEL AND ARK

Our Blessed Mother who forms part of this Great Ark is aprefigurement, sign and model of God’s plan to "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."This desired unity of all peoples is underscored in her apparitions in that she has appeared all over the world, from America to Egypt to France to the Ukraine, and so forth. She has appeared among pagan, Muslim, and Protestant populations. Mary is a mirror of the Church who extends her arms to every community in every nation. She is a sign and model of what the Church is and will be, and how to get there: through a love that knows no borders or boundaries but never compromises the truth.

On May 31, 2002, official recognition was granted by the local ordinary to the apparitions of the Blessed Mother in Amsterdam, Holland under the title "Our Lady of All Nations."¹ From her messages given in 1951, she says:

All nations must honor the Lord…all people should pray for the True and Holy Spirit… The world is not saved by force, the world will be saved by the Holy Spirit… Now the Father and the Son want to be asked to send the Spirit… the Spirit of Truth, Who alone can bring Peace!…All nations groan under the yoke of Satan…Time is serious and pressing… Now the Spirit is to descend upon the world and this is why I want people to pray for His coming. I am standing upon the globe because this message concerns the whole world… Listen, mankind! You will preserve peace if you believe in Him!… Let all men return to the Cross…Take your place at the foot of the Cross and draw strength from the Sacrifice; the pagans will not overwhelm you… If you practice Love in all its refinement among yourselves, the ‘big ones’ of this world will no longer have a chance to harm you… say the prayer I have taught you and the Son will grant your request… As the carpet of snow melts into the ground, so will the fruit [Peace] which is the Holy Spirit come into the hearts of all nations who say this prayer everyday!…You cannot estimate the value this prayer will have… Say the prayer…It has been given for the benefit of all nations… for the conversion of the world… Do your work and see to it that it is made known everywhere…The Son demands obedience!…The Blessed Trinity will reign over the world again!" —From the 1951 messages of The Lady of All Nations to Ida Peerdman,www.ladyofallnations.org

We can reach out from the Ark through love, service, forgiveness, and speaking the Word of truth that "sets us free"—and thisprayer for the conversion of all nations:

LORD JESUS CHRIST,
SON OF THE FATHER,
SEND NOW YOUR SPIRIT
OVER THE EARTH.
LET THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVE
IN THE HEARTS OF ALL NATIONS,
THAT THEY MAY BE PRESERVED
FROM DEGENERATION, DISASTER AND WAR.
MAY THE LADY OF ALL NATIONS,
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY,*
BE OUR ADVOCATE.
AMEN.

—The prayer given by Our Lady of All Nations as approved by the local bishop of Amsterdam in the above form (*Note: the line "who once was Mary"² was asked to be changed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. No specific rationale, theological or pastoral, has been given thus far regarding the prohibition of the clause. "The Blessed Virgin Mary" was inserted in the official form. See articles here and here.)

 

FOOTNOTES:

1. cf. www.ewtn.com [↩]
2. "We could use the simple analogies, "Pope John Paul II, who once was Karol" or "Pope Benedict XVI, who once was Joseph," or even the scriptural examples, "St. Peter, who once was Simon," or "St. Paul who once was Saul." Another analogous example would be the following. Ann, a young woman, marries John Smith, and becomes a wife and mother of many children with the new title of "Mrs. Smith." In this case, you would have a new title with a new role of wife and mother of many, but the same woman. So it is with the "Lady of All Nations, who once was Mary"—new title, new role, same woman." —excerpt frommotherofallpeoples.com [↩]

PUBLISHED IN: | ON MAY 23RD, 2011 | 1 COMMENT »

Early Scenes of Garabandal Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAG7djv2s_E&feature=player

Polish Garabandal Video

Garabandal: Mysterious events in the Cantabrian village

Rare Footage of the June 18, 1965 Second Garabandal Message

en Yahoo! Video

Hat-tip to http://our-lady-for-life.forumotion.com/

Pope going to Moscow

Pope going to Moscow?

Check this site out about speculation of the Holy Father's trip to Russia.

http://returnofcommunism.com/the-pope-vists-russia-alert

Hat tip to my friends Susan & Tom in Palm Beach, Florida!

A REVIEW OF THE TWO FORMAL MESSAGES

FIRST MESSAGE
October 18th, 1961
"We must pay visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Many sacrifices must be
made. Much penance must be done. But first of all we must be good... If
we do not do this, punishment awaits us... already the Cup is being
filled, and if we do not change, we shall be punished.".

SECOND MESSAGE
June 18th, 1965
"As my message of the 18th of October hasn´t been fulfilled and
announced to the world, I will say to you that this is the last one. Before
the Cup was being filled, now is being spilled over the brim. Priests,
Bishops and Cardinals, many of them take the way of perdition and carry
many more souls with them. Eucharist is given less and less
importance. We must strive to avoid God´s wrath. If you ask for
forgiveness with your sincere souls, He will forgive you.
I, your Mother, by the Archangel Saint Michael mediation, want to tell
you that you are on the last warnings. I love you so much, and I don´t
want your eternal condemnation. Ask us sincerely, and we will give it to
you. You must sacrifice yourselves more. Think of Jesus Passion."

PREAMBLE, A FEW, YET MOST RELAVANT DATA

"Did the Blessed Virgin tell you WHY She appeared to you under the title (and form) of Our Lady of Mount Carmel?" -- "No, Father, She didn't." (Conchita, answering, in 1968, to Fr. Alfred Combe).

"The Blessed Virgin warned us ("nos ha avisado"): with this one (Garabandal), three times She did ("son tres veces": Fatima, Lourdes and, of course, Garabandal) . . ." (from Conchita's many couplets sung, in ecstasy,, March 25, 1962: see post on that date).

"(. . .) The Aviso (Warning) will be a purification, (a) preparation for the Miracle (. . .)" (Conchita, to Sr. Maria Nieves, in Burgos, on November 1, 1966), "so that the world comply with the Message," as the seers would go repeating very often.

"Before the future events (of "D" day), a SYNOD will take place." (from a handwritten letter of Conchita, in Fr. Laffineur's Archives).

"(. . .) She (Conchita) told us that (, , ,) 'before the Miracle, but the very same day, there will be a very great event in the Church, and very good for Her, (and) that there had been another one, similar, before she was born' (. . .)" (Carmen Cavestany -- she with Dr. Jean Caux had spent more than fifteen days, in August 1963, in Garabandal, with Conchita --, report sent to Fr. Ramon Maria Andreu, 1963; idem: Conchita, Interview, February 7, 1974.)

"(. . .) She (the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel) has also said: 'The separated (Churches or Christians) will be reunited'. There will be, then, only one (Christian) religion. --Are you sure of that? replied Aniceta (Conchita's mother). --Yes, was the clear and firm answer of Conchita (. . .)." (Albrecht Weber, German editor, present in Garabandal, on November 13-14, 1965, where he could interview and talk freely with Conchita, other persons, among them Aniceta, being also present).

"Yes, in one of Her apparitions, the Blessed Virgin (of Mount Carmel) said that 'the Church will recognize Garabandal' (. . .)" (Conchita to A. Weber, as reported in his book, Garabandal, Der Zeigefinger Gottes, 2000).

"Dear little girls, today, the White Lady (the Most Blessed Virgin Mary) talked to me about your apparitions. She (also) told me to tell you that 'I will be with you until the end of (the) times, then you will be with me until the end of the world and, last, reunited with me in (the) glory of Paradise' (. . .)." (Blessed Padre Pio, letter to the little seers, received by Conchita, March 3, 1962, in Garabandal).

"In the end (por fim), the Holy Father (and all the Bishops with him, ibid.) will consecrate to My Immaculate Heart Russia, which will be saved through that means, and also be converted, and thereafter the world will have PEACE for some period of time (por algum tempo) . . ." (Our Lady of the Rosary to Sr. Lucia (Fatima)., July 13, 1917 and June 13, 1929).

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"Humankind will not find PEACE as long as it will not turn itself, with confidence, towards My (Divine) Mercy." (Our Lord to Saint Faustina Kowalska, in 1934, Little Diary n. 300; idem. n. 699, Sept. 24, 1936).
[From 'Garabandal' Book, page 251]

 

Wow! Where to begin. There is so much info here and it needs to be sorted out and reread so as to absorb it all . . . Basically, as I said before, Garabandal is a continuation of Fatima with a link to Lourdes, remembering St. Bernadette crying out "Penance, penance, penance!" She was repeating what Our Lady said to her during one of the apparitions.

I believe also that Our Lady's last appearance to Bernadette was on July 16, which is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Then at Fatima, at the last apparition on October 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding out the Brown Scapular to the world. And finally, when Mary appeared at Garabandal, it was as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, wearing the Brown Scapular on Her wrist! Could the connection get any plainer?

Before the Future events take place a SYNOD or great event in the Church will take place. Could that be the proclamation of the final dogma for Our Lady under the title of Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate? Many people, including myself, have petitioned Rome and prayed for this to happen!

The Churches will reunite! This is also a dream and hope that we and Our Holy father Pope Benedict pray for. He's trying very hard to unite the Orthodox Church with us, but I believe the Miracle will make it happen, and not only the Orthodox, but all the protestant churches too! What a great day that will be! And of course Garabandal will be approved and will become a great Marian Pilgrimage Holy Shrine!
More to come . . .
Deacon John

A WIDELY OPEN CONCLUSION

TOWARDS A BETTER COMPREHENSION OF GARABANDAL
AND THE ECCLESIASTICAL 'RECOGNITION' OF THIS
(ULTIMATE) GREAT APPARITION OF MARY
AS "OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL"

Rather than presenting here a brief conclusion to this present book, we intend to give, as briefly as possible, a reflective look at some of its essential moments - Beauty, the Message, the exceptional ecclesiastical circumstances of the future authentification of Garabandal's prophetico-eschatological perspective. Last, but not least, some brief insights will be given on the too often neglected dimension of the "Merciful Love of God" permeating that ultimate
"great Marian Apparition."
[From 'Garabandal' Book, page 251, to be continued]

More coming!
Deacon John