2-01b) Something Great Is On Its Way...

The marvels of Garabandal which were occurring daily, [The extraordinary phenomena were coming so regularly each day that in the history of Garabandal October 6th is listed as an exceptional day because on that day nothing happened. And October 8th also was exceptional, because only Jacinta, at midnight and in her home, had an apparition.

October 8th, Sunday, Loli stayed in bed because of a bad cold, and Conchita and Mari Cruz took advantage of a car to go down to Cossio. When they returned, the time for the rosary in the church had passed. The trip down to the neighboring village must not have been completely justified, since it seems that Conchita later went in search of Jacinta to request her, if she would see the Virgin, not to forget to ask pardon in her name for having missed the rosary.

This is matter for reflection and meditation by anyone who would miss a holy service, especially Sunday Mass, for whatever pretext or without a pretext.] and which seemed to be acquiring a rhythm in crescendo, were holding an ever increasing number of people in suspense.

On the 6th of September Fr. Valentin, by means of Conchita in the normal state, proposed several questions to Loli in ecstasy. Later Conchita passed mentally this double question to her companion:

— Father Valentin can only say, I don't know, I don't know what this is . . .

What was going to happen on the approaching day of October 18th? The girls were talking of a secret that could not be revealed until that day . . . They spoke of a message that had to be made public on that date.

And yet the most interesting part was occurring between them and the mysterious persons in their apparitions. From time to time a statement escaped that stirred up the people's imagination and anticipation. For example, their rare illusions to a future miracle that would convince everyone . . .

"How beautiful is the miracle!"

«How beautiful is the miracle!» — Conchita was heard to say in an ecstasy on September 3rd — «How I would like you to perform it soon! Why haven't you done it already? Do it, even if it would be only for those who believe . . . For those who don't believe, it doesn't matter.» [According to the notes of Father Valentin, on the night of September 3rd and 4th, Jacinta, Loli and Conchita had a spectacular ecstasy, very moving and very prolonged. Until 3 o'clock in the morning, the three girls were lying down in front of the door of the church, forming a group of singular devotion and beauty. It was then when Conchita was heard to say these words about the miracle.]

Who would not figure that October 18th, so heralded in the mysterious designs of Garabandal, would be truly a spectacular day?

However there were warnings from the girls that should have put some brake on this unwarranted expectation.

In Book One we saw that Plácido Ruiloba's father-in-law made a summer visit to Garabandal.

«The day after» — testified Mr. Ruiloba — «my father-in-law together with two of my children met Mari Loli. And being very excited by what he had seen on the previous day, he said goodbye to the girl like this, Until October 18th. That day I'll return, since I think that there's going to be a miracle and many people will come.

— Please! — replied Loli emphatically — Please! Don't bother to come. No miracle is going to happen. At least we haven't predicted one. The only thing that we have said is that we are going to give a message, and you can find out about this in Santander, without the necessity of traveling. Listen well, I beg you. We never predicted a miracle.»

In spite of remarks like this, the people continued in their hopes, confusing their own desires and ideas with what actually was going to happen.

Thus October was going to be the month of the great day. But October already had a certain grandeur. Its clear Marian significance, as the month of the rosary, ranked it with May, the month of flowers and the other month of Mary, and distinguished it religiously among the months of the year.

Because of this, during this era at Garabandal, with the debut of October, prayer seemed to be imbued with new fervor; and crowns and bouquets of spiritual roses,[Rosary comes from the word rosa and means etymologically a bouquet of roses. The roses are the Hail Marys.] blossoming on the lips of children, were being offered to the Virgin more than ever. At the time all could say:

With the first Saturday of the month, October 7th, came the liturgical feastday of the Most Holy Rosary, and there were thus Marian reasons why on that day there should be a great vigil in Garabandal.

The Church, in her official liturgical prayer on that feastday, honors the Virgin Mother with exceptional beauty:

Who is this beautiful as a dove, like a rose planted by the brooks of water?

The daughters of Sion saw her adorned with the flowers of roses, and declared her most blessed.[Antiphon from the first Vespers of the feastday.]

Neither the girls, nor the people in Garabandal could celebrate the feast of the Blessed among Women like this; but they celebrated it the best that they could according to their knowledge and understanding. And how well it came off! The rosary of that first Saturday of October 7th was certainly the most beautiful of the year. It had everything that there could be in a prayer to make it perfect: vocal prayers (measured and rhythmical — we know how the children prayed in ecstasy!) and meditation on the mysteries . . . songs of prayer sung more from the heart than the lips. The rosary of the feastday lasted two and a quarter hours. But no one felt the length to be burdensome; and certainly not the girls who were enraptured in heavenly contemplation.

While all this poor but deeply felt homage of love and devotion rose up to her, the ancient and prophetic words of the Creator of the Universe had to resound with new force in her Heart:

Had she not come to Garabandal for no other reason than to advance this program? A new Israel of God [St. Paul in his epistle to the Galatians contrasts the Israel of God with the Israel by race.] was awaiting her coming in order to gather around her and trust in her aid.

I do not know how that unique rosary of October 7th, 1961 ended; but I think that there must have been a devout priest there to lead in prayer all the people in Mary's village and present the rosary finally to God with the official prayer of the feastday.

O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech you, that meditating on these mysteries of the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise.

On October 7th, the new arrivals celebrated the Marian feastday by going with the village people to the evening rosary in the church. On leaving the church the girls went into ecstasy, and Doctor Ortiz was once again impressed by the phenomena in which «they gave the impression of walking slowly, although whoever accompanied them had to go in a hurry, if not in a forced march, if he wanted to follow them.»

— The visionaries, in a sitting position, with their legs stretched out in front of them, their hands joined in front of their chests in an attitude of prayer, and with their heads tilted backwards, slid over the stony ground as if they were on top of a soft carpet. When the trance was finished, he was able to observe that the girls did not have the slightest sign of a scratch or cut.

— After a swift run, the girls in ecstasy fell on top of a pile of wood, which was near the house of the indiano forming «a marvelous sculptural design with such an expression of happiness on their faces that the most consummate artist would not have been able to copy it, even remotely.»

— A man from Madrid, who wished to follow the girls in those marches, lost the cane that he carried, and lamenting the impossibility of finding it in the darkness, went to sit down in front of Ceferino's door, complaining loudly of what had happened, since «it was a borrowed cane, and furthermore, a souvenir of the war ...» Not much later the onlookers saw Conchita appear walking toward them in ecstasy. The girl came up to the man who was complaining, handed him his cane without looking at him, and continued onwards.

On October llth the church celebrates the liturgical feast of The Maternity of Mary. (In the following year, Vatican II would commence on this feastday.) The Mother of God and our mother came to regale with her visit the children awaiting her in Garabandal . . .

Arriving on the scene with an air of importance and arrogance were three men who later were discovered to be reporters from the daily newspaper La Gaceta del Norte. One of them, short and stout, had a famous reputation in Spain; however no one there recognized him, and no one was able to identify him as a priest, since he came as a layman in a short-sleeved shirt (the temperature was very warm) with an open collar, etc.. By his external appearance, one of the witnesses said later, he would be thought to be anything but a priest. This was Fr. José Luis Martín Descalzo.

Toward evening the members of the press came up to Conchita's house. They found her in the little kitchen waiting for an ecstasy, as she had already received calls. Several people were with her, among whom was Dr. Ortiz' wife, who was seated at her side near the fireplace. The new arrivals stayed at the door, observing the girl closely . . . Conchita, who seemed to be listening to something, leaned toward Dr. Ortiz' wife and whispered in her ear:

— Ask that man to sit down, (In the kitchen only one very low stool was unoccupied.)

The woman began to blush, since everyone's glance was turned upon them while they were whispering like this. She raised her voice in the direction of Father Martín Descalzo:

With an attitude of astonishment and misgiving, almost opposition, the man went to occupy the empty stool. Why this distinction? Because of his being a priest? . . . Who there would know this?

The reporters, either because they were tired of waiting or for some other reason, went out on the street shortly afterwards. Dr. Ortiz was arriving at the time and while passing by heard one of them say, I would like to stay to see this; but it is getting late, and I have to be in Bilbao at least by six in the morning.

The reporters took the trouble to come inside and say good-bye. And then Conchita said very softly to the distraught Martín Descalzo, Come, stay a little longer. . . They hesitated and remained; and a little while later the ecstasy came. As on so many other occasions, the girl went out on the street in ecstasy and held out the crucifix to be kissed by the reporters from The Gaceta ... It can be supposed that they have not forgotten.

After the trance, Fr. Valentín, Dr. and Mrs. Ortiz, and several other persons were discussing things in Aniceta's kitchen, when an agitated Fr. Martín Descalzo went up to Fr. Valentín.

— I hear around here that the girls receive Communion from the hands of an angel. . .

— That reason isn't worth much, since Our Lord could permit an angel to take consecrated hosts from any tabernacle.

The combative priest was taken back, but he recovered fast and asked Fr. Valentín:

— And why is it necessary — again Dr. Ortiz came into it — that the hosts be from the tabernacle of this church? They could have come even from China, since for God there are no distances or difficulties.

Fr. José Luis Martín Descalzo whirled around and left with his companions. It seems that he departed from Garabandal in a bad mood; we do not know if that was because he did not like the village or because his arguments had been torn down by the observations of a layman.