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"San Sebastian de Garabandal is a poor village in the Cantabrian mountains at an altitude of 1,312 feet. It lies thirty-five miles southwest of Santander in Spain. In 1961, there were about 300 inhabitants in this village. It is here that over a span of four years some extraordinary events took place, as well as the pronouncement of messages which gave rise to passionate polemics and excursions where curiosity quickly gave way to fervour.

Four little girls, Mari Loli, Jacinta, Conchita and Mari Cruz, in San Sebastian de Garabandal had decided to pilfer some apples from a tree near the calleja, a stiff, stony road, climbing from the village up to a bluff where nine pines are clustered. After the girls had taken the apples and entered the calleja they heard "a noise, like thunder..." and then saw a "beautiful angel appear, engulfed in a brilliant light which was not harmful to the eyes." He quickly disappeared. There were many apparitions most of the Blessed Virgin. In all there were reported to be over 2,000 apparitions. During these apparitions the visionaries claimed that they were asked by the Blessed Virgin to plead with humanity to return to God through prayer, fasting, frequent confession and reception of the Eucharist and acts of mercy.

"We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us."
Message given on June 18, 1965

"As my message of October 18, 1961, has not been complied with and has not been made known to the world, I am advising you that this is the last one. Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing over. Many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them. Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist. You should turn the wrath of God away from yourselves by your efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with sincere hearts, He will pardon you. I, your mother, through the intercession of St. Michael the Archangel, ask you to amend your lives. You are now receiving the last warnings. I love you very much and do not want your condemnation. Pray to Us with sincerity and We will grant your requests. You should make more sacrifices. Think about the passion of Jesus."

".....I would like to tell everyone that the essential part of Garabandal is the Message. The Message calls for sacrifices, prayers, penance and visits to the Blessed Sacrament. For that reason there is nothing else to add.....""

"On January 1, 1965, Conchita is in ecstasy at the pines. It lasts for two hours. The Virgin makes known to her the Warning.

(Before the Warning, there will be a pre-warning: "At the Episcopal See of Santander, there will come a bishop who will not believe in these events at first; but the Blessed Virgin will give him a sign. He will then believe and will lift the prohibition for the priests to go to Garabandal.") Conchita tells us the Warning will then be very close; the rest should not be long in coming.

"The Warning which the Blessed Virgin will send us is like a chastisement to make the good draw closer to God, and to warn the wicked. I cannot reveal what this Warning will be; the Blessed Virgin did not tell me to reveal it, or anything else. Through this Warning, God wishes to make us mend our ways and stop sinning against Him.

"If anyone dies during the Warning, it will not be due to the Warning itself, but to the emotion he will experience while seeing and feeling the Warning."

If I did not know about the other Chastisement to come, I would say there is no greater chastisement than the Warning. Everybody will be afraid, but Catholics will bear it with more resignation than others.....

The warning comes directly from God. It will be visible in every part of the world, no matter where we live.....

It will be like an interior realisation of our sins. Believers as well as unbelievers, wherever they are at the time will see and feel it.....

Oh! yes, the Warning will be very formidable! A thousand times worse than earthquakes. It will be like fire; it will not burn our flesh but we will feel it corporeally and interiorly. All nations and every person on earth will feel it. No one shall escape it. And unbelievers will feel the fear of God.....

One day, we are going to suffer a horrible catastrophe in all parts of the world. No one will escape it. It will be preferable to die during that time, it will be of fright. I think the best place to be at that time would be in church, near the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus would give us the strength necessary to bear it. It will be a horror of the worst kind. If I could only tell you how the Virgin described it to me!

It can happen at any moment. I am expecting it every day.....If we but knew what it consists of, we would be horrified to the extreme.....

We cannot imagine how much we offend God. The Blessed Mother told me that people know very well there is heaven and hell. But can't we see that we think about it only through fear and not for love of God?.....

On account of our sins, we have only ourselves to blame for the Warning. And we must suffer it for Jesus; for the offences committed against God.....

I (Conchita) want to tell you that first will come the Warning, which is like a chastisement; but it will not injure the body. It will, however, cause us to suffer. Afterwards, if we do not change in spite of all these things (which are truly the last warnings-the last remedies that God will send us) He will then send us a Chastisement.....

A. No , she did not tell me, but due to the fact that there will not be more than a year between the Warning and the Miracle, I feel interiorly that I should not speak.

Q. How do you know that there will not be more than a year between the Warning and the Miracle?

A. The Blessed Virgin told me so during an apparition; I don't remember just when.

Q. It is said that you have mentioned that at the time of the Warning, everything will stop-even the planes in the air. Is this true?

Q. Was all this information given to you during a single apparition of the Blessed Mother, or did she tell you during the course of several apparitions?

A. She told me all this during one apparition. I do not remember now if she talked about the Warning during other apparitions.

A. Yes. Like anyone else, I have faults, and the Warning will make me see these faults, and that frightens me.

A. All I can say is that it is very near, and that it is very important that we get ready for it, as it will be a terrible event. It will make us realise all the sins we have committed.

Jacinta Gonzalez:
"The Warning is something that is first seen in the air everywhere in the world and immediately is transmitted in the interior of our souls. It will last for a very little time, but it will seem a very long time because of its effect within us. It will be for the good of our souls in order to see in ourselves our conscience; the good that we have failed to do, and the bad we have done. Then we will feel a great lave towards our Heavenly Parents and ask forgiveness for all our offences. The Warning is for us to draw closer to Him and to increase our faith. Therefore 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 they might enjoy eternal happiness and not be lost."

Conchita once said "A time will certainly come when people will no longer believe in the truth of our apparitions; no one or almost no one; very few at any rate. We ourselves will one day deny them. When the great majority of people no longer believe, then the great Miracle will come.""

"He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign,"" (Luke 11:28-29)

"During an ecstasy at the pines-the four visionaries spoke about the preview a priest had of the great Miracle (this priest was Fr. Andreu). Since this date Conchita has made numerous statements, both written and verbal, constantly asserting that we must believe that the Miracle - as well as the Warning - will happen without fail.

*Conchita knows the exact date of the Miracle and will announce it eight days in advance.

*It will be visible in Garabandal, and from the mountains surrounding the village, provided you are in sight of the pines.

*The great Miracle will take place at 8:30 in the evening, on the feast of a martyr who had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist.

*It will coincide with an important event in the Church. (Such an event has already happened a few times in the past, but not since Conchita was born.)

*A Sign will remain at the pines which in itself will be a miraculous phenomenon; it will be able to be photographed or filmed, but not felt or touched.

*It will not be necessary for the visionaries to be there at the time of the Miracle, which God will perform at the request of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is generally believed that Conchita revealed the date to Cardinal Ottaviani and Pope Paul VI during her stay in Rome, and that she has also revealed the date to her mother, Ancieta.

*Sick persons present at the time will be cured and unbelievers will be converted.

*This great Miracle will be sent as a proof of the tender love of God and His Blessed Mother for the world.

*Afterwards, if the world does not reform, God will send us a terrible Chastisement.

"What is the purpose of the Miracle? To convert many souls?"
"To convert the whole world."
"Will Russia be converted?"
"She will be converted also, and then everyone will love Our hearts."
"Why do you come into my poor heart which is without any merits?"
"I have not come for you alone. I have come for all."
"After the Miracle , I am afraid people will believe that I alone saw the Blessed Virgin."
"By your sacrifices, your great desires, it is you who will intercede so that I will perform the Miracle."
"Would it not be better that the four of us intercede, or else none of us?"
"No."

".....I want to tell you that the Blessed Virgin has promised a Miracle here and that this Miracle is for our conversion. It will be performed in order that we can see the love God has for us....."

A permanent sign will remain till the end of time as a result of the great miracle. It will be of supernatural origin and something that has never been seen before on earth.

Conchita has written:
"A sign of the miracle --una sel del milagro, which it will be possible to film or televise but not touch, will remain forever at the pines.""

"The girls experience visions of a possible future Chastisement.
These are two nights of horror.

Two days before the Feast of Corpus Christi, Mari Loli, Jacinta and Mari Cruz are at the pines, a slight distance from the crowd. (Conchita, who is not feeling well, is at home and experiences an ecstasy at the same moment as her three friends.) The girls utter cries of such terror that those around them are deeply moved.

On the second night (the eve of the feast) Conchita, Mari Loli and Jacinta cry out in even greater terror. With their hands, they seem to push away or hold back something very formidable. The observers hear them cry,"....Oh! Let the little children die before that happens!..... Give the people time to go to confession beforehand!....."

".....the Virgin told us that the world goes on without the least improvement. There will be very few who will see God; there are so few that it causes the Blessed Virgin much distress!

What a pity they do not change! The Blessed Mother told us that the Chastisement is coming. Because people do not improve their ways, the cup is filling up. How sad the Virgin was! Although she did not want to show it because she loves us so much; she bears that suffering alone because she is so good.

Be good, all of you, so as to please the Virgin. She told us that the good people should pray for the bad. Yes, let us pray to Almighty God for the whole world, for all those who do not know her.

".....Oh! it was horrible to see. We were absolutely terrified..... I cannot find words to explain it. We saw the water in the rivers turn to blood..... Fire was falling from heaven.....

And something worse still which I cannot reveal at this time. The Message that we gave you then said that the Chastisement would come when we least expect it. The Virgin said that everyone should go to Confession and receive Holy Communion.....""

"The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: "You are just in these judgements, You who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve." And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgements."" (Revelation 19:2-6)

"".....I cannot disclose the nature of the Chastisement, although the Virgin has revealed it to me as well as to Loli and Jacinta. I can only say this: it will be a direct intervention from God, which makes it more fearful than anything we can imagine. It will be less terrible for little children to die a natural death than to die of the Chastisement. All Catholics should go to confession before the Chastisement, if it comes-and I believe it will come - will take place after the Miracle....."

By direct intervention from God, Conchita means that everyone will see that it is God Himself who sends us the Chastisement. It will no be produced, like wars or revolutions which are caused by direct acts of men, by their ambition, their pride or their hardness, and which are habitual causes of our unhappiness."

".....The Chastiment, if we do not change, will be horrible, as we deserve. We have seen it (Loli, Jacinta and I) but we cannot reveal the nature of it, because I do not have permission from the Blessed Virgin. When I saw it, I experienced a great fear, despite the fact that I could see the Blessed Mother at the same time....."

".....Furthurmore, I saw the Chastisement and I can assure you that if it happens, it will be worse than if we were enveloped in flames; worse that if we had cinders or hot bricks under our feet and on top of our head. I do not know the length of time which will elapse between the Miracle and the Chastisement....."

".....This future Miracle will come before the Chastisement; and if people change their lives, the Chastisement will not take place....."

".....Previously, the Blessed Virgin told me that Jesus is threatening us with the Chastisement, not to discourage us, but to help us and to rebuke us because we do not heed Him....."

Sanchez Ventura possesses a manuscript from Conchita in which she says, among other things that the Chastisement remains conditional, depending on whether or not humanity will comply with the demands of the Blessed Mother's Message and on whether or not they believe in the Miracle.

Mari Loli writes to a Mexican priest, Fr. Gustavo Morelos, the following text (now in the possession of Mrs. Carmela Saraco of California, formerly of Brockton, Mass):

".....During the night of terror, although we could still see the Blessed Virgin, we also saw a great multitude of people who were suffering very much and screaming with great anguish.....

"The Blessed Virgin has explained to us that this great tribulation - which was not, as yet, the Chastisement - will arrive because there will come a time when the Church will seem about to disappear; it will undergo a terrible trial. We asked the Virgin what this trial was called and she told us, "COMMUNISM""

(Today communism, as regards to a political ideology, is on the decrease. However it has managed to propagate its greatest error all over the world - ATHEISM. Other ideologies, such as nazism, are definitely present under the titles; New World Order and New Age Movement. Communism up to this present is the dominant ideology in many nations.)

"Then the Virgin made us see how a great Chastisement would come upon mankind and that this Chastisement would come directly from God. At a certain time, not a single motor or machine will operate; a terrible heat wave will come down on the earth and men will start experiencing a great thirst; they will search desperately for water, but due to the great heat, the water will evaporate. Then, most people will fall into despair and will try to kill one another..... but they will not have the strength to do it; they will fall to the ground, one after another. That is when they realize that it is God who justly permits all this. Finally, we saw a large number of people enveloped in flames. They were running to throw themselves into the sea and the lakes, but as they would enter the water, the water seemed to boil and instead of putting out the flames, would make them worse. It was so horrible that I asked the Blessed Virgin to take with her all our little children so that this would not happen to them. But the Virgin told us that when this day comes, the children will have already grown.....""

"The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch the people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East."

"".....The Virgin will ask God to perform the Miracle so as to avoid the Chastisement, but the Chastisement cannot be avoided, because we have lost even the meaning of sin. Now we have reached such an extremity, that God has no choice but to send the Chastisement. But we need it for our own good. As a result of the Chastisement, those who survive will change enormously and then we shall truly live for God until the end of time which is also coming....."

At Fatima, in 1917, Mary warned the young seers: "The war is coming to an end, but if we do not stop offending God, then during the reign of Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) another one will start, which will be much worse....." World War II left forty to fifty million dead, without nations and politicians having learned a lesson.
On January 7, 1976 Pope Paul VI said in his discourse during a general audience:

".....This Holy Year has opened our eyes; the world is in need of the Gospel. The heritage of doctrinal and pastoral wisdom of the recent ecumenical counsel which is ready to be put into action in an incisive and coherent manner; the personal consciousness that each Catholic should have of his co-responsability in view of the needs of our time; the dialectic meeting of today's Church with the problems the polemics, the hostilities, and the catastrophes of a godless society, which tragedy is today felt by said society at a particularly tense moment of its history; the discovery of unsuspected evangelical possibilities in souls sorely tried by the deceiving experiences of modern progress and finally, certain secrets of the Divine Mercy in which are revealed the thrilling resources of the Kingdom of God; all this is indication that we have reached a decisive and great hour....."" It is not our hate, but rather our love towards our God that will change this future of punishment and hasten the arrival of His kingdom.

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DIVINE MERCY THE