Garabandal Apparition
one
Mary, the Mother of God has been appearing with a greater frequency and urgency from 1830 until now where She is reportedly appearing in Medjugorje. In each apparition, the message is always the same: Be converted! At Medjugorje Our Lady urges: It will be too late when the sign comes. Beforehand, several warnings will be given to the world. Have people hurry to be converted. I need your prayers and your penance…The only thing that I would want to tell you is be converted. Make that known to all my children as quickly as possible. No pain, no suffering is too great to me to save you…You cannot imagine what is going to happen nor what the Eternal Father will send to earth. That is why you must be converted.
God is not only interested in our own conversion, from Lourdes to Fatima to Medjugorje God has asked for our prayer and sacrifices to help bring about the conversion of others.
That is why I have joined together with many of you, submitting names of family and friends and we are offering all of our Lenten prayer and sacrifices for their deeper conversion. We are in the second week of Lent. Four and a half more to go. Souls depend on you. Don’t let them down.
two
In the context of all the Marian apparitions - I want to share with you the main messages of the reported apparitions of Mary to four young girls at Garabandal Spain from 1961-1965. [MS1]
Church Status
· 1st Bishop – against – because the message spoke of Cardinals against cardinals and bishops against bishops. Something that was unimaginable then, but reality now.
· 2nd Bishop – for it
· 3rd Bishop – undecided
· Current apostolic administrator celebrates Mass there and allows private pilgrimages
· Not approved and not condemned
· St. Padre Pio, while not the Magisterium or the local Bishop, though pretty darn good with spiritual discernment believed the authenticity of Garabandal
Like Fatima, the appearances of Mary to the young girls were preceded by that of St. Michael who prepared them to meet Our Lady.
On October 18, 1961 the children placed in writing the message Mary gave them:
“We must make many sacrifices, do much penance. We must visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently; but first, we must be good and unless we do this, a punishment will befall us. The Cup is already filling and unless we change, a very great punishment will befall us.”
three
The essential parts to the message of Garabandal:
a. A world-wide warning – Illumination of Conscience - like our particular judgment at the moment of death.
b. A miracle for all to see,
c. A permanent sign
d. The potential consequences mankind could bring upon itself if it does not turn from fear and hatred to trust and love of God and neighbor
The Warning – At one moment, God will show every person on earth, the exact state of their soul as an opportunity for conversion.
Jacinta of Garabandal states: The warning is something that is first seen everywhere in the world and then is transmitted into the interior of our souls. It will last for a very little time but seem a very long time because of its affects within us. It will be for the good of our souls in order to see ourselves, our conscience, the good that we have failed to do and the bad we have done. Then we will feel a great love toward our Heavenly Father and ask forgiveness for all of our offenses. The warning is for us to draw closer to Him and to increase our faith. One should prepare for that day but not await it with fear. God does not send things for the sake of fear but rather with justice and love. He does it for the good of His children so that they might enjoy eternal happiness and not be lost.
The warning will first be some external event in the sky, like the collision of two comets. Then will come the interior illumination of conscience in which God will reveal to every person on earth the state of our soul as it stands before Him. This will be an interior revelation of all the good we have done or failed to do; and all the sins we have committed and the further consequences of those sins.
This personal revelation of the state of our soul while we are alive is a great gift, a mercy and opportunity for conversion while there is still time.
This illumination of Conscience will draw the good closer to God and it will warn the wicked that the end of this time is coming, but this is not to be confused with the end of the world.
four
The Miracle
Within 12 months after the warning there will be a miracle for all to see which will result in a tremendous outpouring of grace and healings - physical, psychological and spiritual at the Apparition site of Garabandal Spain
Conchita testified: The Blessed Virgin advised me of a great miracle saying God Our Lord would perform it through her intercession, just as the chastisement will be very very great in keeping with the needs of the world. The Blessed Virgin has told me the date of the miracle and what it will consist of. I am supposed to announce it 8 days in advance so that people will come. The Pope will see it from wherever he is. The sick who are present at the miracle will be cured and sinners will be converted. It will coincide with an event in the Church and with the feast of a saint who is a martyr of the Eucharist. It will take place on 8:30 on a Thursday evening. It will be visible to not only those in the village but also to those in the surrounding mountains. It will be the greatest miracle Jesus has performed. There won’t be the slightest doubt it comes from God and that it is for the good of mankind. There will be no doubt in the mind of anyone who sees this great miracle which God Our Lord will perform through the intercession of Our Lady…and let us see if the world changes so that the chastisement can be averted.
After the miracle will come a Permanent Sign as a testimony to Our Lady’s Presence and Love at Garabandal
· Both Akita and Medjugorje have spoken of a similar Permanent Sign
five
Finally, Mary warned to stop rejecting God, turn away from sin, before we destroy the whole world. God does not need to punish us because we are oh so good at punishing ourselves. Instead, God sends Our Mother to warn us to turn back before it is too late. It is a call to conversion!
My sin and your sin destroys, it destroys our happiness and the happiness of everyone around us and it sends a ripple of evil out into the world that brings the whole world down. When billions of people sin – it sends a tsunami of evil consequences through the world, ready to swamp it.
The only answer: Personal conversion!
We must be dead serious about our own fearless examination of conscience, honest confession and change of life.
We must be dead serious about offering our Lenten prayer and sacrifice for others – especially our loved ones.
The only thing that matters is conversion, mine, yours and that of your loved ones.