Father
Jose Ramon Garcia de la Riva
Memoirs of
a Spanish Country Pastor - 26
Ministry of the Angels at
Garabandal
Translated by Lucille Lussier from the French book,
Memoirs d'un Cure Campagne Espagnol.
Reprinted from GARABANDAL MAGAZINE, April-June 1996
Concerning
the ministry of the angels at Garabandal, we can only say of one of them
(ED: of the two angels that came with Our Lady on July 2, 1961)
that he accompanied the Virgin on Her first visit to the seers; no other
mention of him is made. Conchita informed us that the other angel was the
Archangel Saint Michael, whom she always called the Angel Saint Michael.
He appeared as ambassador of the Virgin and catechist to the children,
and this in relation to the Holy Communion they received. At the very beginning
of the apparitions, he taught them the proper way to receive It. First
he gave them unconsecrated hosts and taught them the prayer of Saint Ignatius,
Soul
of Christ.
Later he gave them Holy Communion as an "extraordinary minister"
taking the sacred Hosts from the tabernacles on earth, he told the children.
"At the beginning of the apparitions,
the angel gave us unconsecrated hosts. We were not fasting; nevertheless,
he gave us communion since the hosts were not consecrated. He wanted us
to leam how to receive Communion the proper way.
"One day he asked us to go to the Pines
early, to fast, and to bring along a little girl. We went, and did what
he asked us to do. As soon as we arrived at the Pines, the angel appeared
to us. He had a ciborium which looked to be made of gold, and he told us:
"I am going to give you Communion, but today the Hosts are consecrated.
Recite the Confiteor ("I confess"). We did. He gave us Holy Communion
and told us to make our thanksgiving. After that he told us to recite with
him the prayer Soul of Christ and we did. At the end of this prayer,
the angel told us that he would come the following day to give us Communion
again. Then he left.
"When we told the people what happened,
nobody wanted to believe us, particularly the priests because they said
that the angel could not consecrate. When the angel came to see us again,
we repeated to him what the people were saying, and his answer was that
he took the consecrated Hosts from the tabernacles of the earth. We then
passed on his answer, but certain people still doubted.
"He continued this for a long time to give us Communion."
Reprinted from GARABANDAL MAGAZINE, April-June 1996
by M. L'ABBE JOSE RAMON GARCIA DE LA RIVA
"MEMOIRES UN CURÉ DE CAMPAGNE ESPAGNOL"
Reprinted with permission: For BOOKS
or GARABANDAL MAGAZINE write to :
"The Workers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, P.O. Box 606, Lindenhurst,
New York , 11757-0606 or phone 631-226-4408
