SPIRITUAL CURRENCY While visiting Conchita on January 13,2021, we talked about a great many things, and in the course of talking about prayers she said something interesting that I have never heard of, or thought about. Each time we say the “ Hail Mary” we end the prayer by saying “ Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death, Amen.” She said when we say that prayer slowly, we are asking Mary repeatedly to pray for us at the hour of our death, and it is like putting a coin in our “Spiritual bank”, which accumulates for that hour ! Wow! It never ceases to amaze me how she sees things through only “spiritual eyes”. Thank God we have such a wonderful example of humility and spiritual guidance.
CONCHITA ON PENANCE On the 4th of November1961, just 15 days after the publication of the first message, the Virgin commends a new task to the children: to start getting up early to pray the Rosary at dawn in the Calleja everyday. “Jacinta and Mari Cruz went at six in the morning” Conchita writes,”but she (The Lady) told me to go at five in the morning, and I did, because the Virgin always wants us to do penance”. From: “Garabandal: Message of Hope” Fr. L. Saavedra, pg. 144
Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, C.M.F & Garabandal Father Aloysius was an incredibly holy priest filled with many mystical gifts. He was in the Claretian Order and was living in Los Angeles, California. . Fr Aloysius visited Garabandal in 1970 and was very pleased about it. In 1972 two of the Garabandal visionaries visited Fr Aloysius, while he was in Fatima. Fr Aloysius read their souls and saw the truth of their visions. Besides having the odor of sanctity and the gift of reading souls (which he told us didn’t happen all the time but only when Our Lord wanted him to know something), he also had gifts of bilocation, elevation, healing,and the gift of reserving the Blessed Sacrament within his breast from Communion to communion, just like his founder St Anthony Mary Claret. He told everyone that he believed in Garabandal but that he could not speak about it from the altar because it had not been approved yet. He even told people that his sister owned the land where Our Lady had appeared in Spain! He died on April 6,1981 at the age of 75. There is a cause started in 2011, for his sainthood .
18 of June 1961 - Sunday - This is where St. Michael the Archangel appeared to the girls for the first time.
St. Michael kisses scapular The apparition of August 6, 1962 is by contrast the only known occurrence of the Archangel Saint Michael embracing a physical object. And so on this day, in San Sebastian de Garabandal, three Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God climbed the ox cart path that connected the remote mountain village to the outside world, arriving unnoticed in the sweltering midday heat. They did not know it, but they had come to receive a mysterious honor from the Prince of the Holy Angels. The brothers rested under the nine pines of the apparition eating lunch and enjoying the discussion. Conchita accompanied them but she did not eat. She told them Mass had not been offered in the village that day and the Angel would bring her Holy Communion. Until he arrived she would remain fasting. Conchita moved discretely away from the group and fell to her knees, head tilted back in ecstasy. As Brother Juan Bosco recorded in his notes, “Still kneeling and in the same posture, the girl made the Sign of the Cross very slowly and devoutly. She said words in a low voice and gently struck her chest three times. She was praying in ecstasy. As the prayer ended, she opened her mouth, put out her tongue as in receiving Communion, withdrew her tongue and closed her mouth slowly. Two of us heard the slight noise of her swallowing something. She held this position and we heard her low voice, audible, but we could not hear it to sufficiently understand the words.” Then the ecstasy took a decidedly different turn. “Then the girl took his (Brother Luis) Scapular in her hands. She stood up, raised the Scapular in a very solemn way as though presenting it to someone. She lowered the Scapular and again dropped abruptly to her knees.” Returning the Scapular to Brother Luis, Conchita repeated this gesture for the Scapulars of Brother Juan and Brother Miguel offering each one up reverently. With a concluding Sign of the Cross, the ecstasy ended and Conchita returned to normal with a shy smile. “Have you had Communion?” “Yes” “Why did you take our Scapulars and raise them up?” “The Angel asked me to do it, to kiss them.” “Have you spoken to the Angel?” “Yes” “What did he say to you?” “The Angel knew you. He told me that Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin are happy with you.”
APRIL 2, 2005 SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II PASSED AWAY Interestingly enough, Pope John Paul II, a great believer in the apparitions of San Sebastian of Garabandal, is entombed under the alter of the Chapel of St Sebastian, at St. Peter's Basilica. The chapel contains the altar of St. Sebastian, an early Christian martyr from the Late Roman Empire. Under the altar are the remains of Pope St John Paul II, which were moved to the chapel in 2011. John Paul was the second longest serving pope, from 16 October 1978 until 2 April 2005. He was beatified 1 May 2011 and canonized 27 April 2014. Pope John Paul II's Remains Moved to the Chapel of St Sebastian, at St. Peter's Basilica. There is a book on Garabandal, written by Albrecht Weber in 1993, entitled Garabandal Der Zeigefmger Gottes (Garabandal: The Finger of God), of which a first edition copy was presented to Pope John Paul II. He later asked his secretary, Fr. (now Archbishop) Stanislaus Dziwisz, to write to the author after which the Holy Father adds in his own handwriting at the end a personal greeting and his signature.. In the subsequent printing (2000 ,2nd Edition) of the book, on page 19, a portion of the Pope's message is reprinted, as follows:"May God reward you for everything. Especially for the deep love with which you are making the events connected with Garabandal more widely known. May the Message of the Mother of God find an entrance into hearts before it is too late. As an expression of joy and gratitude, the Holy Father gives you his apostolic blessing."Weber writes, "From the attached greeting in the Pope's own handwriting, with his signature, it is clear how deep an interest he has in the events of Garabandal, and how anxious he is that they should be made known in a credible way." During a special general audience with the Pope at the Vatican ... "special" because it was held on Saturday, rather than the usual Wednesday... Father Robert introduced Garabandal Visionary Mari-Loli and family to him. Father Robert who was holding 7 year old Maria Dolores, one of the three Lafleur children, said to the Pope: "Your Holiness, a special blessing for your littlest children who come on behalf of The Blessed Virgin from Garabandal." Our Holy Father exclaimed "Garabandal!" From “ A walk to Garabandal” Revised Edition , Ed Kelly, page 305
Sunday April 3,2022 Gospel reading, reminds me of a quote by Conchita about the Warning. Jn. 8:10-11 “Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” June 19, 1965 Conchita’s declarations to Fr. Laffineur about the “Warning.” “God wants us to amend our lives and commit fewer sins against him as a result of the Warning.”
Mary says the word Purgatory ! GARABANDAL Magazine, July-September 1983 Issue, April 16, 1983 Interview with Jacinta Gonzalez Moynihan Q. “ Did the Virgin ever speak about Purgatory?” A. “ Yes” Q. “ Did she actually use the word Purgatory ? “ A. “Yes, because she said many souls go there”. Reprinted in the GARABANDAL Magazine Jan.-Mar. 1994 issue,page 6
Prayers for the Dead The people of Garabandal have had a long standing tradition in regard to prayers for the souls in purgatory. The month of November, dedicated to prayer for these souls, and especially the first of November, Feast of All Saints, and the second of November, the Remembrance of all the Faithful Departed, were celebrated with great religious fervor at the liturgical functions held in the local church. The bell is rung each evening, usually by one of the village women, as a reminder to pray for the souls in Purgatory. The locals also gather in the church each evening during the week (Monday to Saturday) to pray the Rosary for the dead. Both of these traditions are estimated to be over 500 years old. Reprinted from GARABANDAL MAGAZINE (NEEDLES) August 1976
I was taught that in addition to November, every Monday Catholics traditionally pray for souls in purgatory. I also tend to pray for them on Fridays outside of Lent as a substitute for abstaining from meat. I should be more like my saintly mother was, and abstain, even though substituting a good work is allowed.
WALKING BACKWARDS FROM TABERNACLE THE HOLY EUCHARIST: Without a healthy devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the very heart of Catholicism, the Church cannot thrive, and for more than three decades, we have witnesses the systematic dismantling of Eucharistic devotion. In her second Message of Garabandal dated June 18, 1965, the Blessed Virgin warned us of what was coming when she said "less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist." There have been some disturbing stories of priests who did not believe the Real Presence remained in the Hosts after Mass. But at Garabandal, Our Lady left little room for doubt when in the first Message of June 18, 1961, she said we must "visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently." During the events, once the ambulatory ecstasies began, the Virgin always led the seers to the village church where they would kneel and pray before the tabernacle. When they were asked why they went to the church so often, they replied that Our Lady said she liked being near her Son. On those occasions, the visionaries, in ecstasy led by the Virgin, would leave the church walking backwards. As a sign of profound respect, they never turned their backs to the tabernacle. “Affirmations of the Faith at Garabandal” from GARABANDAL JOURNAL Nov-Dec. 2002 TELL THIS TO ALL THE LESS EDUCATED PEOPLE WHO SAY GARBANDAL IS DEMONIC BECAUSE THE GIRLS WALKED BACKWARDS . TELL THEM, MARY LED THEM !!!
Only the Girls could help each other in ecstasy “I remember once when Jacinta had tonsillitis and was in bed. It was raining, and she had gotten up that day, this was in the old house. I didn’t think she was going to have an Apparition but when I least expected it, she fell on her knees and had an Apparition. I stayed by the door without saying anything to her, and I thought, “you won’t leave through here.” I thought this because it was raining and she had tonsillitis, but I didn’t say it. I looked at her, thinking, as she was giving objects for the Virgin to kiss. Then, she grabbed my arm and went out very slowly, and I couldn’t resist. I don’t even know how she grabbed me. When she touched my arm, I felt something rigid that was neither hot nor cold. I took her jacket and said to her, “Oh, for goodness sakes! Put on your jacket.” I went to put the jacket on her, but she wouldn’t take it, she let it fall off. I ran and gave it to Loli, who was not in ecstasy and I said, “put it on her.” She put it on. There were things they could do for each other easily when one was in ecstasy and the other wasn’t. “ Once, Mari Loli was unscrewing a lit light bulb when she fell into ecstasy, she still had the light bulb in her hand, but didn´t burn herself. Jacinta went and removed her hand from the bulb. No one in the house could remove it and they were so worried that she was going to burn her hand, but nothing happened. María González, Jacinta’s Mother https://www.garabandal.it/en/documentation/witnesses/maria-gonzalez
MARY: MOTHER TO ALL Our Lady responded at Garabandal, to the attempt to minimize her importance, by proclaiming her rightful universal motherhood. In the second formal Message are her words: "I, your Mother, ask you to amend your lives." And in her final appearance to Conchita (June 18,1965) she said: "Talk to me about my children. I hold them all beneath my mantle." “Affirmations of the Faith at Garabandal” From GARABANDAL JOURNAL Nov-Dec. 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “ Fr. Valentin was struck by the addition of “Our Mother” to the recitation of the Hail Mary. And he was not the only one. Luis Navas, the Lawyer from Palencia, who was present that day,wrote: “ We had never heard them say it this way” Mother of God, and our Mother”. (Note: Our Lady told the Visionaries that she liked it very much but told them it should not be used publicly unless it was approved by the Church). From : “She went in haste to the Mountain’’ From : GARABANDAL JOURNAL Nov.-Dec. 2005
Mary plays Hide and seek ! That night the Virgin stayed with us from 9 at night until 7 in the morning. That night we played ‘los tios’ (hide-and-go-seek) with the Virgin. Two of us hid and the other two searched for us. Conchita’s Diary ch.5 Aug.16,1961 Jacinta’s husband stated that he asked Jacinta how this was done, playing with an apparition. She explained that one or two of the girls would hide, and the Blessed Mother would lead the remaining girls to where the other girls were hiding. How amazing is our Blessed Mother that she would take time to play with the girls, all the while knowing she is burdened with important messages and predictions of future events to give to them.
AWAITING APPROVAL Some Anti-Garabandal people say this apparition is “not approved”, that is NOT true. There has been no official Vatican ruling yet because in 1966 Conchita was summoned by the Vatican and questioned by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani and his staff (which included the Pope’s Personal Secretary) for over 2 hours, convinced or her story, they requested a meeting with Pope Paul VI. Conchita and her Mother, and Dr. Medi met the Pope in a private meeting the next day. At the end of that meeting, the Holy Father came to her and announced joyfully in a clear voice, "Conchita, I, the Pope, bless you and with me the whole Church blesses you." The Vatican feels that it would be prudent to wait until the Miracle date is fulfilled before approving the apparitions. So, you can honestly say that it is “awaiting approval”.
Fashions, dragging girls to Hell ? April 11, 1993, Interview with Conchita’s oldest brother, Serafin Gonzalez. Question: “ What did the Virgin say to the girls about fashions? “ Serafin: ”She told them that fashions drag people to hell and they should dress with decency and modesty if they want to be saved. These were her words. Much more meaningful now than it was back then when you consider the disaster all around (with the fashions). It didn’t make much sense back then, but it does now.” “GARABANDAL” magazine, July-September 1993
MODESTY In her lessons at Garabandal, the Blessed Virgin impressed upon the girls the importance of modesty. She did this in a number of ways by requiring: 1) a proper code of dress; 2) proper comportment; and 3) that they not wear jewelry or cosmetics (inappropriate for young girls) especially when they were going to see her. In She Went in Haste to the Mountain, Father Eusebio Garcia de Pesquera has this to say on the subject: "Yes, their comportment was most proper, although we should bear in mind the customs and styles of dress then prevalent in their sheltered and secluded environment. The girls from Garabandal dressed like other girls of their time and area, and because of this, they sometimes wore short skirts, as was then the style. "The Virgin called their attention to this with a mother's delicateness. In one of their ecstasies the three girls each went to their own homes separately, at the Vision's request, to change the dresses they were wearing for longer ones. Conchita was heard to say later during the trance, 'We should always wear long dresses like this, above all for coming to see you.'" PHOTO: From left: Conchita, Mari Loli, Jacinta and Mari Cruz. Although short dresses for girls were the style of the time and area, the Blessed Virgin told them to wear longer ones. By Barry Hanratty GARABANDAL JOURNAL July- August 2003
