1-5e) The Spectators

Reprinted with kind permission from St. Joseph Publications

from the book She Went in Haste to the Mountain (Book 1)

NOTE: All excerpts from Conchita's Diary will be in extra-bold type

«In the beginning the spectators did not take any part in what was happening. But later they took a certain participation. The girls not only spoke about the spectators whom they knew, but also located them and touched them during the ecstasies. As the girls explained it, they didn't see them but they felt them by touch. (Although they didn't feel it when they were touched by the spectators.) They came to localize spectators in two ways; either by pointing in various directions until the Vision would tell them where they were, or by allowing their hand to be taken by the Vision to the place where the spectators were. This occurred mainly when they were returning the medals and rosaries. [It should not be lost from view, that the girls, when entering into ecstasy, were taken away from the normal world of the senses; taken up into a supernatural light, which blinded their normal vision, breaking their contact with everything that physically surrounded them.]

When they went to put a rosary or a gift kissed by the Virgin over someone's head, they were accustomed to say, Take my hands and place them since I do not see the person. At those times the movement was much more rapid and more exact, and they placed the rosary or gift without touching the head. These cases have been very numerous.

There has also been participation by the spectators as a group. One day the Virgin advised the girl to pray the rosary in the church after the apparition; but she found the church locked. So she started to pray at the door, and entering again into ecstasy, was told by the Virgin to pray louder so that the people could answer her. It was a beautiful rosary through the streets of the village; the girl in ecstasy marching ahead, leading in a loud voice, and the people answering. The girl did not count the Ave Marias that were being said but she did not err on the number for any mystery, for the Virgin told her when it was time for the Gloria, This occurred on many other occasions.»

«On one occasion the girls in ecstasy fell down on their knees before each person present and said the Act of Contrition. But when coming in front of a young child — without seeing him—instead of saying the Act of Contrition, they prayed a Salve.»

The example is forceful and nothing could make us more aware on the one hand of the dignity of every son of God with a baptized soul, and on the other hand of the realization that we are all sinners and in need of a continual practice of repentance. And beyond that, it points out the permanence of the state of grace brought on by baptism in those who still have not committed personal sins.

«Another time one of the visionaries made the Sign of the Cross on all the persons around them except one . . . We can imagine that person's dismay. The parish priest asked the girl later why she had not made the Sign of the Cross over this person. And the girl responded that the Virgin had said that this person was the only one of those present who had made the Sign of the Cross on getting up in the morning. On questioning all those involved, it was learned that it had indeed been like that.»

A good lesson concerning the necessity of not starting our day without prayer. There are few things so advisable for a Christian Life as to mark the start of each day with the raising of the heart toward Our Father Who art inheaven.

«A very concerned woman requested the visionary to ask the Virgin if her husband believed in God. After the ecstasy she learned the answer. In God he believes; in the Virgin, very little; but he will believe.»

This became clear on learning — the visionary did not know — that the husband was a Protestant. [Now he is a Catholic, and definitely as a fruit of the child's play of Garabandal. His story will be brought forth later on.]

«A man on his knees prayed mentally for the conversion of his son-in-law. As he was thus in prayer, known only to himself, a girl in ecstasy approached and spoke into his ear the word Yes, which some of those nearest to him were able to hear also. When I asked the girl later why she had said this Yes, she answered, The Virgin told me: Here is a man: Tell him "Yes." I insisted on knowing to what this "Yes" referred. / don't know, the Virgin only told me at the time that I should say "Yes" to the man.

On August 15th one of the girls prayed with a rosary that I had given her; when returning it later I saw that the cross was gone. It had come off and been lost. It was useless to search in those streets, alleys, and trails. After twenty days, on the fifth of September, it occurred to me to mention it to the girls, who asked the Virgin for the cross from my rosary. I was able to hear myself the dialogue in which they asked and how the exact location was indicated. At the end of the vision, we went without hesitation to the place mentioned and there the crucifix was found in the mud under a stone.

Another time five holy cards were given to the children for the Virgin to kiss. The visionary was holding them up one by one to the Vision, all except one which it appeared she did not wish to take. The owner of that holy card, shaken, then came to me crying and saying that she wanted to confess her sins. Later she returned to give her holy card to the girl in ecstasy and the girl, after she had listened to the Virgin and smiled, offered that holy card first of all to Her to kiss. The person to whom this happened in front of me gave me permission to mention it.

Here is another case concerning the state of conscience. I saw one of the girls in ecstasy suddenly fall on her knees in front of a woman. The woman drew back very deliberately as the girl, holding her glance fixed on high, coralled her in a corner. There the girl smiled very gently for a few moments and then left her.

The effect that this caused in the person was very great. And afterwards I learned that she had come to Garabandal very distraught with the thought that her confessions had not been made properly. For that reason she had prayed to God and the Virgin, If my past confessions have been made properly, let the girl come clearly to me. She had barely formed mentally this prayer when the girl — from the other end of the street — advanced on her knees toward her without paying attention to any other person. The answer had been wonderful.

The capacity that the girls in ecstasy possessed to know hidden things about the spectators has been shown on many other instances. But attention is called particularly to the facility with which they discovered some of those around them were priests.

Many times they said that priests were there when no one could have suspected it. Or that there were more priests than there appeared to to be (due to their disguises), and it was always proven that it was indeed so.» [It is beyond doubt that particular attention has been accorded priests at Garabandal. Proofs of this are innumerable. In this regard, these events point out the tremendous crisis in the Church that soon would come out in the open.]

Concerning the spectators in Garabandal we can add this curious bit of information that Father Ramon gives us:

    «In the beginning, during the first month and a half after June 18th, something happened three or four times that presented a characteristic of great originality. On coming out of the trance, the girls said, The Virgin said that Sari and Mary Carmen [Sari is Loli's sister; her complete name is Maria Ros-aura. Mari Carmen is Jacinta's sister.] should come together with us, the others should be far away so that they don't hear what we say. Then the visionaries went up to the Pines [The Pines are one of Garabandal's holy places. There are nine pine trees without other trees in the area; they are on a high plain above the city, and are the first thing that is seen, together with St. Michael's chapel, when one comes up the road from Cossio to San Sebastian.
    The nine Pines of our history are what remains of the small planting of pine and oak trees that had been done many years ago on the slope of Mount Hormazo. This was brought about by an agreement between the pastor of the village, Fr. Angel Cossio Velez and the mayor, Serafin Gonzalez, Conchita's paternal grandfather. It seems that the occasion was the First Communion of the children from the parish, and that the priest gave the Church's blessing to this small planting of trees. The trees were planted by the children from the village, and the affair took on a festive air even to the composition of verses which the children sang; one of these is:
            Come you little children to plant the trees. And let each one of us plant here.
    At the time who would imagine the phenomena to which that location and those trees would serve as a backdrop!] and went into ecstasy in front of the young witnesses who were able to move as they pleased among the visionaries. These witnesses were six years old.

On one occasion the people sought to change one of these for another older girl about twelve years of age. But the Virgin told them not to do so —— they were to be the ones that she had mentioned. We were able to ask these child witnesses what the visionaries were saying, but they were barely able to repeat some of the words that they had heard, much less understand their significance. It seems that all this corresponded to the days in which the Virgin was manifesting a secret to the girls. Only concerning one of these ecstasies was a young witness able to explain anything to us. They said that she shouldn't tell us bad things, (meaning what frightens or terrifies) That she shouldn't make us cry, that the things are sad. The little children didn't understand anything more. At times they became bored and came to us saying, They're crying.»

Father Ramon attempts to give a probable explanation of these episodes, as striking as they are obscure:

«The interpretation of this seems to be that Father Valentin, the parish priest, should have a control from afar — through the witnesses — of what was happening in the trances, without hearing what the children were saying.»

I do not know what to say about all these things; but it gives me much to think about. And this strengthens my conviction that Garabandal is still covered with a formidable mystery whose enormous scope will be revealed to us only with time, according to the plans of God and according to how we merit to understand the mystery.

We have desired to measure things too much by reason, too much by the light of human science in that which is far above our understanding, and which can only be obtained by humility and simplicity of heart. For it is written: