GARABANDAL AND THE GREAT MIRACLE
by Jim Dunning
(This article was originally published in "Irelands Own" magazine. The webmaster would like to gratefully thank the author, Mr. Jim Dunning, for his kind permission in reprinting it here.)
by Jim Dunning
(This article was originally published in "Irelands Own" magazine. The webmaster would like to gratefully thank the author, Mr. Jim Dunning, for his kind permission in reprinting it here.)
Additional Editors note: Neither the local Bishops of Santander (both past and present) nor Rome have ever condemned Garabandal. Neither however has it been approved. So, to factually summarize the Church's position on Garabandal it would be correct to say that the Church has not yet made any definitive pronouncement regarding Garabandal. The local Bishop has ruled "Non-constat de supernaturalitate" which literally means that it is not certain that the events are of supernatural origin, or in other words, the supernatural origin has not been established. With such a ruling, the events in question are still open to eventual recognition as being authentic or can be judged as not authentic.In fact the Bishop of Santander, Bishop Juan Antonio del, who in 1992 had jurisdiction over Garabandal unequivocally stated:"The previous bishops did not admit that the apparitions were supernatural, but to condemn them, no, that word has never been used.")
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The Vatican has not given official recognition to the apparitions that occurred at Garabandal. There is nothing sinister about this, since the Church has always erred on the side of prudence, and it may be that its attentions have been focused on Medugorje where apparitions are said to continue to occur. The established policy is to rely on the advice given by bishops who have a responsibility to check on what is going on in local areas and make their own recommendations. It is perhaps unfortunate that some bishops have seen the reports of apparitions as a challenge to their own authority and therefore something to be vigorously opposed.
It has to be admitted that the apparitions at Garabandal have caused more controversy than similar events elsewhere. There are parallels to be seen, but also many differences. If one compares Garabandal with Fatima, for instance, at both places Our Lady chose to appear to young children and in each case selected one of the group to be the major player. At Fatima it was Lucia dos Santos, at Garabandal, Conchita Gonzalez.
Lucia was given ‘secrets’, to be divulged at varying dates, whereas Conchita was told of a great Miracle that would take place at a specified date in the future, a date she could only divulge eight days before it was to occur. She was allowed to reveal that it would take place on a Thursday at 8.30 in the evening on the feast of a martyr dedicated to the Holy Eucharist. It would be visible to everyone in the area of Garabandal at the time and it could be photographed and televised, but not touched. Moreover, a permanent sign of the Miracle would remain in the pine grove where the first apparitions had taken place in June, 1961.
This contrasts, of course, with the famous ‘Miracle of the Sun’ which occurred at Fatima in October, 1917, before a crowd of more than 70,000 people. It lasted for only a matter of minutes. Significantly, television did not exist at that time, communications generally were limited during the first World War, and the event was soon forgotten.
The ‘Great Miracle’ was not the only prophecy received at Garabandal. Two other future events were also announced. One concerned a ‘warning’, the other the threat of a ‘chastisement’ if the warning were to be ignored. Naturally, there were those who poured scorn on such reported revelations. And just as Lucia had urged Our Lady to produce a miracle to prove that she herself was telling the truth, so did Conchita and her companions plead with their heavenly Mother to create a miracle that would justify their reports.
They had to wait almost a year before their pleas were answered. In June, 1962, while their parish priest was temporarily absent, they received Communion ‘invisibly’ from an angel. Onlookers witnessed them opening their mouths, but did not see the hosts. On the 22nd June the angel advised Conchita that in her case the host would be made visible for all to see. She responded that this would be a ‘milagrucu,’ a tiny miracle, which caused the angel to laugh. Our Lady confirmed the angel’s promise and named the date when this would happen as the 18th July. Conchita announced this news to the people of the village on the 2nd July, which resulted in several thousand people crowding into Garabandal on the 18th to witness the event.
Conchita’s mother had asked a friend named Pepe Diez to accompany and protect her daughter from the crowd. This he did and late that night was rewarded by seeing a ‘neat, precise and well-formed Host’ appear on her tongue. It remained visible for about three minutes, during which she remained kneeling on the ground in a state of ecstasy. Others in the crowd saw the same thing and reported that the host increased in brightness as they watched. The event was both filmed and photographed.
The predicted ‘Warning’ related to an urgent plea from our heavenly Mother for a general conversion and a turning away from sin. When Our Lady appeared to the four girls for the third time on 6th July, 1961, she gave them a message which was to be announced publicly on 18th October.
Since the diocesan commission set up by the Bishop of Santander to investigate the apparitions objected to the girls reading out such a message from the steps of the church, the parish priest, Fr. Valentin Marichalar, undertook to read it out for them at the pines to an assembled crowd of about five thousand. He paraphrased the Virgin’s message as follows : ‘We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us.’
The nature of the chastisement was not revealed at the time, but the following year, on 19th and 20th June, 1962, the girls experienced two frightening visions which caused them to cry out in terror. Unlike the children of Fatima, they did not receive a brief vision of Hell, but one of the girls, Mari Loli, gave a vivid description of what happened. She said : ‘We were absolutely terrified. I cannot find words to explain it… We saw the rivers turn to blood. Fire was falling from heaven. And something worse still, which I cannot reveal at this time.’
A second message, conveyed to Conchita in 1965, spoke of a further warning, which would be the last since the earlier one had been ignored. It declared that the cup which had been filling up was now overflowing. There was some criticism of the clergy. Too little importance was being attached to the Eucharist. All would have to strive to turn away the wrath of God. If they asked God’s forgiveness with sincere hearts He would pardon them. Mary loved them very much and did not want to see them condemned. If they prayed sincerely their requests for mercy would be granted. They should make more sacrifices and think about the passion of Jesus.
In the autumn of 1965 Conchita gave notice of an event that was yet to come. It would amount to a form of chastisement that could be seen as a final warning from God. She said that although it would be short-lived and cause mental rather than physical suffering, ‘this experience will involve every person in the world…It will be like an interior realisation of our sins. Believers, as well as unbelievers, wherever they are at the time, will see and feel it.’
This warning would precede the Great Miracle (probably by about a year, according to Mari Loli), but if people did not convert after these events God would send a Chastisement proportional in its severity to the severity of the sins of the world. This, one imagines, was reflected in the visions of the girls when they reported being terrified.
At an early stage of the apparitions the Blessed Virgin advised the four girls that the time would come when they would deny these experiences and contradict each other. Thus, when they began to issue their denials in the spring of 1963, it came as no surprise to believers who saw this merely as the fulfilllment of the virgin’s prophecy. Later, Conchita, Mari Loli and Jacinta ‘returned to reality’ and reaffirmed their supernatural experiences, while Mari Cruz continued to deny them.
Before that happened, however, the Bishop of Santander gratefully accepted the retractions of the girls, regretting the encouragement they had been given. He ended by saying that the words of the Gospel, the Pope, the Councils and the ordinary magisterium of the Church were the only reliable means of transmission for the ‘real messages from heaven.’ This statement infuriated supporters of the apparitions. As Sandral Zindars-Swartz recounts in her comprehensive coverage of the story of Garabandal, ‘Encountering Mary’, the supporters criticised members of the Bishop’s Commission for not investigating the matter thoroughly, and in some cases failing to even visit the area. The parish priest of Garabandal was reportedly offered a holiday during the investigation so that he would not be able to influence the outcome! As Canon Porro, a member of the clergy supporting the believers, put it : ‘This is the absurdity of it all, that five commissioners should be infallible, whereas thousands of others must admit to being ignorant, deluded or insane.’
In the case of Garabandal, the importance of the evidence of witnesses cannot be overstated. Testimonies have been, and still are, provided by them of the extraordinary behaviour of the four seers. They tell of how, during their ecstasies, their faces were transformed, becoming serene, happy and beautiful. Moreover, they became so heavy that even strong men could not lift them off the ground. Doctors who examined them while they were in these states tried pinching and pricking them with pins without producing any reaction, though the marks remained on their legs afterwards. Many of the onlookers were amazed at the speed with which the girls moved when making their way to the site of the apparition. Eighteen-year-old boys accustomed to running up steep mountain paths could not keep up with them. Nor did the girls ever perspire or show signs of being out of breath.
Further proof that the girls were not guilty of collusion, whereby they might have agreed on what they saw or heard, is provided by their description of the interior ‘calls’ they reported receiving whenever the Blessed Virgin was about to appear. The truth of their claim was tested by physically separating them to discover whether they all received their ‘calls’ simultaneously. Invariably, they all turned up at the site of the apparition at the same time.
It remains to be seen whether the predictions of the main character, Conchita, are fulfilled. There is not much time. She is over the age of sixty, living in America with her children. Also living in America is a blind man by the name of Joey Lomangino. According to Conchita, Our Lady promised that his sight would be restored on the day of the Great Miracle. Joey is already over eighty years of age.
Let us hope he will not be disappointed.
Click here to go to Part 1 of this article, Fr. Luis Andreu -The Priest who died of joy
_______________________________________________
Bibliography:
-'Encountering Mary’ by Sandral Zimdars-Swartz
-Google
[Editors note: The alleged heavenly apparitions at Garabandal referred to in this article have not thusfar been officially approved or disapproved by the Catholic church, therefore Catholics are free to discern and form their own judgements concerning them.]
The Vatican has not given official recognition to the apparitions that occurred at Garabandal. There is nothing sinister about this, since the Church has always erred on the side of prudence, and it may be that its attentions have been focused on Medugorje where apparitions are said to continue to occur. The established policy is to rely on the advice given by bishops who have a responsibility to check on what is going on in local areas and make their own recommendations. It is perhaps unfortunate that some bishops have seen the reports of apparitions as a challenge to their own authority and therefore something to be vigorously opposed.
It has to be admitted that the apparitions at Garabandal have caused more controversy than similar events elsewhere. There are parallels to be seen, but also many differences. If one compares Garabandal with Fatima, for instance, at both places Our Lady chose to appear to young children and in each case selected one of the group to be the major player. At Fatima it was Lucia dos Santos, at Garabandal, Conchita Gonzalez.
Lucia was given ‘secrets’, to be divulged at varying dates, whereas Conchita was told of a great Miracle that would take place at a specified date in the future, a date she could only divulge eight days before it was to occur. She was allowed to reveal that it would take place on a Thursday at 8.30 in the evening on the feast of a martyr dedicated to the Holy Eucharist. It would be visible to everyone in the area of Garabandal at the time and it could be photographed and televised, but not touched. Moreover, a permanent sign of the Miracle would remain in the pine grove where the first apparitions had taken place in June, 1961.
This contrasts, of course, with the famous ‘Miracle of the Sun’ which occurred at Fatima in October, 1917, before a crowd of more than 70,000 people. It lasted for only a matter of minutes. Significantly, television did not exist at that time, communications generally were limited during the first World War, and the event was soon forgotten.
The ‘Great Miracle’ was not the only prophecy received at Garabandal. Two other future events were also announced. One concerned a ‘warning’, the other the threat of a ‘chastisement’ if the warning were to be ignored. Naturally, there were those who poured scorn on such reported revelations. And just as Lucia had urged Our Lady to produce a miracle to prove that she herself was telling the truth, so did Conchita and her companions plead with their heavenly Mother to create a miracle that would justify their reports.
They had to wait almost a year before their pleas were answered. In June, 1962, while their parish priest was temporarily absent, they received Communion ‘invisibly’ from an angel. Onlookers witnessed them opening their mouths, but did not see the hosts. On the 22nd June the angel advised Conchita that in her case the host would be made visible for all to see. She responded that this would be a ‘milagrucu,’ a tiny miracle, which caused the angel to laugh. Our Lady confirmed the angel’s promise and named the date when this would happen as the 18th July. Conchita announced this news to the people of the village on the 2nd July, which resulted in several thousand people crowding into Garabandal on the 18th to witness the event.
Conchita’s mother had asked a friend named Pepe Diez to accompany and protect her daughter from the crowd. This he did and late that night was rewarded by seeing a ‘neat, precise and well-formed Host’ appear on her tongue. It remained visible for about three minutes, during which she remained kneeling on the ground in a state of ecstasy. Others in the crowd saw the same thing and reported that the host increased in brightness as they watched. The event was both filmed and photographed.The predicted ‘Warning’ related to an urgent plea from our heavenly Mother for a general conversion and a turning away from sin. When Our Lady appeared to the four girls for the third time on 6th July, 1961, she gave them a message which was to be announced publicly on 18th October.
Since the diocesan commission set up by the Bishop of Santander to investigate the apparitions objected to the girls reading out such a message from the steps of the church, the parish priest, Fr. Valentin Marichalar, undertook to read it out for them at the pines to an assembled crowd of about five thousand. He paraphrased the Virgin’s message as follows : ‘We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us.’
The nature of the chastisement was not revealed at the time, but the following year, on 19th and 20th June, 1962, the girls experienced two frightening visions which caused them to cry out in terror. Unlike the children of Fatima, they did not receive a brief vision of Hell, but one of the girls, Mari Loli, gave a vivid description of what happened. She said : ‘We were absolutely terrified. I cannot find words to explain it… We saw the rivers turn to blood. Fire was falling from heaven. And something worse still, which I cannot reveal at this time.’A second message, conveyed to Conchita in 1965, spoke of a further warning, which would be the last since the earlier one had been ignored. It declared that the cup which had been filling up was now overflowing. There was some criticism of the clergy. Too little importance was being attached to the Eucharist. All would have to strive to turn away the wrath of God. If they asked God’s forgiveness with sincere hearts He would pardon them. Mary loved them very much and did not want to see them condemned. If they prayed sincerely their requests for mercy would be granted. They should make more sacrifices and think about the passion of Jesus.
In the autumn of 1965 Conchita gave notice of an event that was yet to come. It would amount to a form of chastisement that could be seen as a final warning from God. She said that although it would be short-lived and cause mental rather than physical suffering, ‘this experience will involve every person in the world…It will be like an interior realisation of our sins. Believers, as well as unbelievers, wherever they are at the time, will see and feel it.’
This warning would precede the Great Miracle (probably by about a year, according to Mari Loli), but if people did not convert after these events God would send a Chastisement proportional in its severity to the severity of the sins of the world. This, one imagines, was reflected in the visions of the girls when they reported being terrified.
At an early stage of the apparitions the Blessed Virgin advised the four girls that the time would come when they would deny these experiences and contradict each other. Thus, when they began to issue their denials in the spring of 1963, it came as no surprise to believers who saw this merely as the fulfilllment of the virgin’s prophecy. Later, Conchita, Mari Loli and Jacinta ‘returned to reality’ and reaffirmed their supernatural experiences, while Mari Cruz continued to deny them.
Before that happened, however, the Bishop of Santander gratefully accepted the retractions of the girls, regretting the encouragement they had been given. He ended by saying that the words of the Gospel, the Pope, the Councils and the ordinary magisterium of the Church were the only reliable means of transmission for the ‘real messages from heaven.’ This statement infuriated supporters of the apparitions. As Sandral Zindars-Swartz recounts in her comprehensive coverage of the story of Garabandal, ‘Encountering Mary’, the supporters criticised members of the Bishop’s Commission for not investigating the matter thoroughly, and in some cases failing to even visit the area. The parish priest of Garabandal was reportedly offered a holiday during the investigation so that he would not be able to influence the outcome! As Canon Porro, a member of the clergy supporting the believers, put it : ‘This is the absurdity of it all, that five commissioners should be infallible, whereas thousands of others must admit to being ignorant, deluded or insane.’
In the case of Garabandal, the importance of the evidence of witnesses cannot be overstated. Testimonies have been, and still are, provided by them of the extraordinary behaviour of the four seers. They tell of how, during their ecstasies, their faces were transformed, becoming serene, happy and beautiful. Moreover, they became so heavy that even strong men could not lift them off the ground. Doctors who examined them while they were in these states tried pinching and pricking them with pins without producing any reaction, though the marks remained on their legs afterwards. Many of the onlookers were amazed at the speed with which the girls moved when making their way to the site of the apparition. Eighteen-year-old boys accustomed to running up steep mountain paths could not keep up with them. Nor did the girls ever perspire or show signs of being out of breath.
Further proof that the girls were not guilty of collusion, whereby they might have agreed on what they saw or heard, is provided by their description of the interior ‘calls’ they reported receiving whenever the Blessed Virgin was about to appear. The truth of their claim was tested by physically separating them to discover whether they all received their ‘calls’ simultaneously. Invariably, they all turned up at the site of the apparition at the same time.It remains to be seen whether the predictions of the main character, Conchita, are fulfilled. There is not much time. She is over the age of sixty, living in America with her children. Also living in America is a blind man by the name of Joey Lomangino. According to Conchita, Our Lady promised that his sight would be restored on the day of the Great Miracle. Joey is already over eighty years of age.
Let us hope he will not be disappointed.
Click here to go to Part 1 of this article, Fr. Luis Andreu -The Priest who died of joy
_______________________________________________
Bibliography:
-'Encountering Mary’ by Sandral Zimdars-Swartz
[Editors note: The alleged heavenly apparitions at Garabandal referred to in this article have not thusfar been officially approved or disapproved by the Catholic church, therefore Catholics are free to discern and form their own judgements concerning them.]
428 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 428 of 428What is one to think, now that Joey has passed away without the Warning taking place?
And did you read anything I posted that the Commission was completely biased and refused the testimony of it OWN PRIESTS, DOCTORS AND CIVIL GUARD COMMANDER ! How is this a vaild investigation when they refused ALL eyewitness testimony ????
But how reliable is this Commission ? Let the witness speak:
Upon presenting the memoirs of Jaun Alveraz Seco, Brigadier Chief of the Civil Guard, and the man responsible for maintaining order in the village during the apparitions, Anotnio Pacio, M.S.C. Professor at the University of Barcelona writes:
“ I would like to only state one thing to forestall the objections on many based on various official communiqués coming from the Diocese of Santandar. These communiqués should have been preceded by a substantial interrogation of the myriad witnesses”
“Among these witnesses , one who stands out is Juan Alvarez Seco, Brigadier Chief of the Civil Guard,who is the author of these memoirs. He was present from the beginning to 1962,and at 1965 at the time of the Message, and he had the duty of informing his superiors and the Civil Governor and all that was going on in Garabandal, while at the same time he had to maintain order in the village. “
“Well, none of the Commissioners, who rejected the supernatural events at Garabandal, ever asked him to testify, nor did they deign to even interview him, who was the “official informant” to the authorities. This detail suffices to illustrate the “true and impartiality “ with which the various episcopal commissions endeavored to inform themselves. Jaun Seco : “ THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN BELIEVEING WITNESSESS, BUT ONLY THE UNBELIEVING. THEY WANTED AT ALL COST, TO DISCREDIT THE MANISFISTATIONS, AND IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS, THAT HAD TO ELIMINATE ANY WITNESS,INCLINED TO BE FAVORABLE, NO MATTER WHAT HIS COMPENTENCY”.
From “The Village Speaks” pgs 69 - 70.
Calls investigation a “farce “http://www.ourlady.ca/info/drMoralesNow.htm
Sorry, the last two responses were for another question asked.
The "Message of Garabandal " video available in 26 languages.
http://www.garabandal.us/the-message/
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY :JULY 10, 1963
CHRIST’S FIRST LOCUTION TO CONCHITA -VERY IMPORTANT !
The first locution of Christ to Conchita, occurred in the village church.
Conchita said : “ As I was giving thanks to God and asking Him for certain things.
I asked Him to give me a cross, for I experience no suffering in my life, except that of not having any crosses. As I was asking Him for that, Jesus replied :
“ Yes, I will give you a cross”.
Very moved, I kept on asking for things and I said to Him : “ Why is the Miracle coming ? To convert many people ? “ And he replied:
“ To convert the entire world “
Conchita: “Will Russia be converted ? “
“Yes, it will be converted: thus everyone will love our hearts. “
Conchita: Will the Chastisement come after that ?
He gave no reply.
Conchita: Why do you come into my poor heart without any merit on my part ?
“Because I do not come for you: I come for the whole world”.
Conchita: When the Miracle takes place, people will think I am the only one to have seen the Blessed Virgin”.
He replied “ I let you be the one who, by your sacrifices and patience in trials, will intercede with Me to perform the Miracle “.
Conchita: And I said to Him, “ Is it not better that I be with the four or that You take me none of us for the intercession ?”
He said : “ No”
Conchita: “ Will I go to Heaven ?” and he replied “ Will you love our hearts a great deal and will you pray for them ?”
Conchita: “ When will you give me the cross ? He did not answer me.
“ What will I be ? “ He did not reply. He only told me that where ever I am and whatever I am doing I will have to suffer much. And I asked Him: Will I die soon ? “
He replied : “ You must stay on earth to help people“
And I said ti Him: “ I am of little importance,I will be unable to help You in any way”
(Jesus ) “ Through your prayers and your suffering, you will help the world”.
Conchita: “When we go to Heaven, are we dead when we go there ?
And He said to me : “ One never dies”.
Conchita: I thought that we do not go to heaven before we rose up again. I asked Him if St. Peter was At the door to greet us,and he said “ “No”.
When I was thus in prayer or in a conversation with God, I felt I was outside this world. Jesus told me that “Now more people love my Heart”.
For those who are interested in learning ( and asking questions ) about the apparitions and messages of our Blessed Mother at Garabandal :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/163674987784/
https://polination.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/the-miracle-at-garabandal/
In 2017, April 13th, the Feast of St. Hermengild, who was martyred for his faith in the Holy Eucharist, will fall on Holy Thursday … the Feast of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist!
“We have not found anything deserving of ecclesiastical censorship or condemnation either in the doctrine or in the spiritual recommendations that have been publicized as having been addressed to the faithful, for these contain an exhortation to prayer and sacrifice, to Eucharistic devotion, to veneration of Our Lady in traditional praiseworthy ways, and to holy fear of God offended by our sins. They simply repeat the common doctrine of the Church in these matters.”
In reply to Anonymous above who states that "ultra-traditionalists" derogate Garabandal because they do not accept the new mass, I would point out that these events happened well before the Mass of Paul VI was imposed, licitly or not, in 1969.
I love how Glenn has all the material and is prepared to debate those confused unbelievers who only want to spread confusion like the anonymous individual. Such a powerful debate but knowing that there are and were many reputable believers in Garabandal helps.
Anonymous seriously needs to stop manipulating the facts and quoting The Holy Bible to manipulate his personal opinions and interpretation of scriptures.
The apocalypse never said the end of times equals the end of the world as I believe anonymous stated at some point .
Anonymous seems to be one of those Catholics I was warned in Spanish once; such a wise rhyme:
"Católico ignorante; futuro protestante"
Blessings!
Since the above was written Joey Lamangino has died. Joey had been blinded in an accident in the 1940's and travelled to Garabandal to be present at the events that were occuring there. While there Conchita claimed that Joey would have his sight restored the day of "the Miracle".
I must be a simpleton. I just followed His rule... "By the fruit of the tree shall you know them". That satisfies me. Or, is that too simplistic?
This is a brief explanation of the apparitions of our Blessed Mother at Garabandal,
by actor Ricardo Montaban.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws76ver8J8k
I was both adult and a religious during the time of the events of Garabandal. I am now an old man. I need neither Pope, nor Bishop to convince, or otherwise, as to the authenticity of those events. My faith, common sense and follower, on a daily basis, during its happenings, has made me a faithful to the Spirituality of the truth and meaning, and warnings, of those events. It saddens me that we moot through the eyes of rhetoric, not faith, as to Heavens' kindness to us through those apparitions. Does it not seem that we use the terms of caution, prudence, allegations, papal approval, ad finitum, while in fact, we are fence-sitting, being characteristic of timidity, tepidness, a lack of faith and seemingly, bordering on disbelief, as to the purpose and intent of those events. May our need to be on our knees be greater than our need to pen words to convince us, et al, as to the love and mercy being offered to us through those events.
shame on you this fake apparition is from satan ....
God's will can most definitely change based on our actions...
Today's first liturgical reading:
When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
“Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover.”
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:
“O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!”
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD’s temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city.”
Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
“What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?”
Isaiah answered:
“This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced.”
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.
And if this is not something to ponder, then let us ponder how God chose to save the city of Nineveh previously condemned to be destroyed, but at their act of humble fast, donning sackcloth and ashes, as instructed by Jonah, the city was spared.
The fact that an apparent prophecy regarding Joey Lomangino was not fulfilled; does not give grounds to any person who claims to be a follower of Christ to dismiss what occurred in Garabandal.
We need to remember world history right around the time of Garabandal...
The date of the first apparition, October 18, 1961.
The first day of the Cuban Missle Crisis was October 16, 1962.
Sighs... , brothers and sisters please reflect on this for a moment. God in his Gift of Divine Mercy may well have "extended" our time and what could have been.
True Authentic prophecies are 100% work of the Holy Spirit, Which is a gift from God ... St Paul 1 Corinthians 12:
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Every human that ever lived was subject to Spiritual Warfare. Even Jesus was tempted and had to fight off the devil in the Garden and was sent an angel to strengthen him... Ergo, the conclusion will always be to PRAY, ASK, HOPE and TRUST in God for HIS truth.
I personally humbly agree with the Church in this matter; meaning I do not fully approve of, but nor do I dismiss these events. I feel that some of the messages during the apparitions may have been authentic and some may have been false in their inception, as a ploy of the evil one to deceive us today.
Peña Sagra of the Paraclete
San Sebastian* de Garabandal, Cantabria, lies in the mountains of Peña Sagra, which translates as Holy Rock. The worldwide fame of the village began with the apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel to 4 girls on June 18, 1961. It was the 4th Sunday after Pentecost. The epistle to Romans 8: 18-23 was read that day at mass:
"Brothers: I think that this time's trouble cannot be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us. Creation crave the revelation of God's sons with longing. Creation was subjected to insignificance not by his will, but for the one who surrendered it in the hope that even creation would be liberation from the slavery of contamination for the freedom of the glory of the sons of God. Because we know that all creation sighs and gives birth until now in pain. And not only it, but also ourselves who have the elements of the spirit, and we also sigh in our interior, awaiting the adoption of the sons of God, redemption of our body: in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
So the coming of the Blessed Virgin to Garabandal is connected with the revelation of the sons of God awaited by all creation. The plural begins with two: from the coming of the second Comforter, the Paraclete, it will be reasonable to speak of the Sons of God in the plural.
The Gospel was further read on this day according to Luke 5: 1-11:
"(........) Seeing this, Simon Peter fell to the knees of Jesus saying:" Come out from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man ". For the catch they had made was amazed at him and all who were with him. Also James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's companions. And Jesus said to Simon: «Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish people ». And they took the boats ashore and left everything and followed him. "
Jesus was followed by Simon Peter, or Rock (which the Savior chose as the foundation of his Church), and James and John. Saint James the Elder settled down for good in Santiago de Compostella (490 km west of Santander, the capital of Cantabria) and Saint John the Evangelist follows him to rest as the Holy Rock (Peña Sagra) in Garabandal. Beloved disciple of the Lord is an antytipe of the Paraclete. Why? Because he took the Virgin Mary to himself - similarly to the Paraclete: he marries the Virgin Mother, the Holy Church and takes her to his home, i.e. they are a mystical marriage.
The Blessed Virgin appeared only on July 2 (1961) as Our Lady of the Scapular. The Scapular is a kind of protective garment: at the end of times the Virgin Mary will visit us and give the Church protection in the person of the second Comforter, the Paraclete.
Saint Mary's first message, October 18, 1961 (Wednesday), addressed to the whole world on the feast of Luke the Evangelist:
"One has to make many sacrifices, make many penances, visit the Blessed Sacrament often. But first of all you have to be very good. If we don't do this, punishment will come. The cup is already filling. If we don't change, a great punishment will come. "
That day (October 18, 1961), the Gospel according to Luke was read in the mass, but I will show only selected verses - Luke 10: 1-9:
[James and John as two apostles come to Spain] .... «The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest that he would send laborers into his harvest. Go, here I send you as lambs among wolves. (...) tell them: God's Kingdom has come to you ».
This is a portent of the harvest described in the Book of Revelation: the harvested wheat grain will find its rest in the Kingdom of God on earth.
A year later, on the feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, October 11, 1962, the Second Vatican Council began.
[be continued...]
[...continued]
The apparitions of the Virgin at Garabandal lasted until January 1963, then the girls experienced locutions, until January 1965, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to Maria "Conchita" Concepción González. She expressed regret at disregarding her call for improvement (I message, October 18, 1961) and announced the last message. It was delivered by Saint Michael the Archangel on behalf of the Divine Mother on June 18, 1965. It was Friday in the octave of Corpus Christi [and commemoration of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church].
Second Message of the Virgin Mary for the world (during the Second Vatican Council):
"Because My Message of October 18 [1961] was not takem seriously and sufficiently understood, I would like to say that this message is the last. The cup had filled before, now it is spilling out. Many priests, bishops and cardinals follow the path of condemnation and involve many souls. The Eucharist is becoming less and less important. You must avoid the wrath of Good God over you. I will forgive you if you sincerely ask Him for forgiveness. I, your Mother, through Saint Michael, want to tell you to improve. You are going through the last warnings. I love you very much and I do not want your condemnation. Ask us sincerely and we will hear you. You should devote yourself more. Consider the Passion of Jesus. "
The Mass read that day (June 18, 1965) the epistle of Saint Paul 2Tm 4: 1-8:
"Beloved: I enchant you before God and before Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, through His coming and through His Kingdom - proclaim science, insist in time or not, convince, ask, discipline with all patience and science. Because the time will come that they will not tolerate healthy science, but according to their desires they will gather teachers and who are hungry for what tickles the ear, will turn their hearing away from the truth and turn to fairy tales.
But you watch, endure all hardships, watch over the duty of the Gospel preacher, fulfill your ministry. [... ...]. "
This call of Saint Paul refers to a certain preacher of the Gospel in the times of widespread spiritual and intellectual confusion before the coming of God's Kingdom upon the earth.
As a Gospel, they were read in churches Matt 5: 13-19:
"At that time: Jesus said to his disciples:" You are the salt of the earth. And if the salt weathers, what will it salt? It is useless for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled down by people. [Vatican II is the work of weathered salt bishops] You are the light of the world. The city above cannot hide. Nor do they light a candle and put it under a candle, but on a candlestick, that it may shine to all who are in the house [reference to the Fire that the Lord Jesus wants to throw on the ground]. ... .... Who would then break one of these least commandments and teach people this way, will be called the smallest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And whoever would do and teach will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven "." [Another reference to the Kingdom of God]
[...be continued]
[...continued]
Do the patrons of these two days on which the Blessed Virgin gave two messages have something in common? Absolutely, they both praised the Divine Mother on an unprecedented scale: Saint Luke the Evangelist painted her images, and Saint Efrem wrote hundreds of hymns in her honor. Because of this, the first of them became famous as Icono-writer and the second as a Hymno-writer. In addition, Saint Ephrem was called the Harp of the Holy Spirit and by the same title is part of a series of saints announcing the person of the Paraclete.
On December 8, 1965, the last session of the Second Vatican Council was closed and the methodical dismantling of the Church, sanctioned by the Holy See, began.
From the content of other revelations and locutions experienced by these four Spanish girls, it follows that God's providence, in order to arouse a wave of conversions in the world, provides for a universal warning (learning one's conscience), and a year later a great Miracle and - depending on the effects - an appropriate punishment on a global scale. Based on the testimonies of girls, it is speculated that the Miracle will happen on Thursday in memory of Saint Hermenegild on April 13 - the closest coincidence of these conditions will occur on April 13, 2023 in White Week.
* Saint Sebastian the Martyr died twice: figuratively referring to the death and resurrection of a prodigal son [Luke 15, 32], which indirectly indicates the provenance of the Paraclete.
I thank Mr Glen and others for positive participation despite of many challenges in this issue, my advice and comment after going through the opinions ii this, Garabadal issue is confusing especially due to some unfulfilled prophesies but we can not through everything to dusk , in every supernatural messages we should only go for the positives and our main focus should be the word of God, Mary mother of Jesus Christ supported by authentic Church teaching especially the old practices (void of mordanism). Our faith is not 100% guided by prophesies and any one having privilege of seeing spiritual world can see either the Angel of light or darkness as in old testament.This does not mean that all Garabadal message is fault and that is why we must decern and from the message strictly what benefits our faith like penance, active adoration and worthy manner of receiving Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist etc.It should also be noted that serious challenges like this is a positive pointer to all of us the we are just weak creatures who can,t stand by ourselves but still needs God,s intervention to strengthen our weak conscience and thought.
I have never read so much vitriol, so many distortions of facts, disorganization, confusion…..
I went to San Sebastián de Garabandal last September. It is a truly remarkable, peaceful and spiritual place. Quite the contrary to all those angry posts, which distort the facts.
I find Garabandal to be of God
I find all those posts spewing hatred, lies, confusion and ad hominem attacks to be of the evil one
I truly thank God and Our Lady for the messages in Garabandal. They were not meant for just the 4 girls. They were meant for EVERYONE and the Conversion of all souls.
I went to Garabandal nearly 20 years ago. I had a friend from Spain drive me from Madrid. I was not sure why I was visiting as the trip to Garabandal was very impromptu. At Garabandal and in front of the giant and most beautiful statue of St Michael the Archangel at the beginning of the walk up to the pines my friend suddenly could not breathe and fell to the ground turning purple. My trip to Garabandal was all about my friend’s conversion. That day we met the seer, Jacinta, twice, not knowing who she was the first time and then after my friend’s incident we were introduced to Jacinta. Jacinta presented the beautiful silver cross for us to kiss, it being the same cross that Our Lady kissed. Our Lady of Garabandal is most surely true. When Pope Francis visits Moscow and returns to Rome watch what happens thereafter. We are graced to live in extraordinary times and God willing the renewal of our Church and our faith is at hand.
My research leads me to believe that the promised miracle won’t be until 2027 but I have no way of knowing. I think there is going to be a great deal of suffering between now and then. Regardless of whether people choose not to believe in Garabandal to safe guard ourselves, our families and friends our salvation is still dependent upon a few simple things: frequent confession, Mass, the rosary and wearing a brown scapular. Fátima and Garabandal are, in my opinion, connected and I believe Our Lady of Akita is also. Stay in the state of grace and live life to the full. Not my advice but that of a great Catholic saint who saw the Church in perilous waters steering between the pillars of Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist to safety. Our Lady’s final battle with Satan is raging. Being close to the BVM and the Eucharist is the key to staying in the state of grace.
Our Lady is going to show us soon that she is the woman that will stamp on the serpent’s head, she is the one who is bathed in the sun and surrounded by the stars. In the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph. Unfortunately getting to that time of triumph there is going to be some time of suffering. It will be worth it. Following the simple message of Garabandal will lighten the hardship that most surely will come.
Very well said Charles! Great points to consider and reflect upon. Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
May God bless you and your loved ones.
-Glenn
In his February 14 2014 post Anonymous says.."Previous declarations of the Holy See agree in this finding." What is his source? “Declaraciones Oficiales De la Jerarquia Sobre Garabandal” (Santander 1970) says on page 42, that “it is inexact to attribute the part of the text that deals with the lack of supernatural character of the events of Garabandal to the Sacred Congregation, which has always striven to abstain from any direct declaration on the question. . .” Franc.,Card. Seper. Praef.
Citing Bishop Vilaplana’s 1993 letter to Ramon Perez (and later sent to others) Anonymous writes, “Point 5 says...I reconfirm that there was no supernatural validity in the alleged apparitions, and this will make a unanimous position with my predecessors.” Anon or his translator should go back to language school. In 2006, EWTN corrected its earlier errors with, “it is re-affirmed that the supernaturality of the referenced apparitions was not proven, making my own the unanimous position of my predecessors.”
Another mentioned disobecience. My church neither requires me to believe in approved apparitions, not forbids me to believe or tell others about what I saw, heard, felt and read about the unapproved Garabandal apparitions. I owe obedience to the Bishop of Sacramento in matters that he has competence. I can’t imagine him forbidding me to give a Garabandal lecture at the local library (I’ve done so), telling others about “A Walk to Garabandal A Journey of Happiness and Hope” or suggesting that they look for me in the recent documentary “Unstoppable Waterfall”
Marysville, California
Well done, Mr. Dunning.
In his February 14 2014 post Anonymous says.."Previous declarations of the Holy See agree in this finding." What is his source? “Declaraciones Oficiales De la Jerarquia Sobre Garabandal” (Santander 1970) says on page 42, that “it is inexact to attribute the part of the text that deals with the lack of supernatural character of the events of Garabandal to the Sacred Congregation, which has always striven to abstain from any direct declaration on the question. . .” Franc.,Card. Seper. Praef.
Citing Bishop Vilaplana’s 1993 letter to Ramon Perez (and later sent to others) Anonymous writes, “Point 5 says...I reconfirm that there was no supernatural validity in the alleged apparitions, and this will make a unanimous position with my predecessors.” Anon or his translator should go back to language school. In 2006, EWTN corrected its earlier errors with, “it is re-affirmed that the supernaturality of the referenced apparitions was not proven, making my own the unanimous position of my predecessors.”
Another mentioned disobedience. My church neither requires me to believe in approved apparitions, not forbids me to believe or tell others about what I saw, heard, felt and read about the unapproved Garabandal apparitions. I owe obedience to the Bishop of Sacramento in matters that he has competence. I can’t imagine him forbidding me from giving a Garabandal lecture at the local library (I’ve done so), telling others about “A Walk to Garabandal A Journey of Happiness and Hope” or suggesting that they look for me in the recent documentary “Unstoppable Waterfall”
Ed Kelly
Anonymous cites Unity publishing to claim that six bishops have stated that Garabandal was not supernatural. Available on line but Unity's translation is wrong. Do your own translation. As of today, May 17, 2024 eleven men have held the position of bishop or apostolic administrator of Santander. Of those: one made no statement, one Beitia in 1962 was definitively negative, one Osoro (to me and others in 2007, was the most positive, two (by Cerarda 1970) paraphrased (badly) the five "Official" Notes of his three predecessors but stated no judgement of his own, and seven stated "no consta" not certain whether it is supernatural or not.
Ed Kelly "A Walk to Garabandal A Journey of Happiness and Hope" and the English participant in the documentary "Unstoppable Waterfall."
Sorry. Forgot to write that in 1965, three years after his negative Note, Beitia changed to the "not certain" evaluation of his predecessor.
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