https://ewtnvatican.com/articles/vatican-weighing-papal-trip-to-ukraine; maybe visit to Moscow also on the same trip.
No sense getting people excited, this is not news, ,first there must be an INVITATION to come to Moscow, which there is no news of that.
As long as Putin and his former intelligence colleague, Kirill I, continue to abuse their power in Russia, there will be no invitation for Pope Leo—unless the two of them find themselves in dire straits.
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: JULY 28, AND JULY 29, 1961: "TWO EVENINGS OF TEARS" As was promised, the Blessed Virgin, since July 4, was gradually explaining to the children the Message she had revealed to them. This catechesis was absolutely necessary, considering their young age and the small amount of religious knowledge they had. What, indeed, did the words "sacrifice," "penance," mean to them, and how, in practice, were they "to be very good"? The ecstasies of July 28 and 29, 1961, were to represent a kind of particularly intensive course in which only Jacinta and Mari-Loli took part. For the first time Our Lady showed them "the Cup filling up with the wine of the Wrath of God." She spoke to them of the trials the sins of humanity would eventually cause, in a time we may call "time of the Pre-Warning" (or Pre-Aviso). Mary was also to reveal to them later, the unique and inescapable event of the future Warning, a stupendous phenomenon and experience called "Aviso," of both cosmic and moral-spiritual (interior) dimensions, that would affect the whole of mankind. We could die from the effect of the emotion aroused by it. It would place us before our conscience thus "scanned" in the light of God revealing to us the evil we had done and of the good we had not done, in our lives. Through its frightening physical dimension and its prodigious divine interior action, we would know that the Warning really came to us from God, but also that it will still be a "warning of grace and mercy!" Finally, the Blessed Virgin recalled the final Chastisement of which mankind would be the object . . . should it persist in refusing to amend its ways. The first of the two "Nights of tears" occurred at the cuadro, and the second at the Pines. Sari and Mari-Carmen, mandated by Our Lady, were the only ones authorized to stay by the visionaries. The crowd, kept at a distance, could see the terrified girls crying . Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, J.Serre page 71.
Glenn, could you tell me a little bit about Mari-Loli’s life after she left Garabandal? My husband and I attended a visit with Maria Saracco many years ago, about the events in Garabandal and she spoke about taking care of Loli somewhere on the east coast in the US during her final illness. Thank you.
Well you know she came to America and lived with Maria Saracco in Massachusettes first, married Francis Lafleur in Massachusetts in 1974, and they had 3 children: Francis, María Melanie and María Dolores. Loli had been married to her husband Francis for over 35 years. Her father had Brain cancer and died the night of her wedding. The last 7 years of her life, she suffered from “lupus erythematosus” in her respiratory system, which eventually caused her death on April 20th, 2009, at age 59. She died in her home in Plaistow, Massachusetts . The life of a visionary is not an easy one, it is filled with sufferings that you never hear about.
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: JULY 29,1961, The Girls hold Mary’s crown ! (July 29, 1961 ) One of them finally rose to her feet and took the Virgin's crown in her arms. The crowd saw her go through the motions of examining it, and lift it onto her head. The crown was passed from hand to hand among the children. The spectators could see that it fitted some heads better than others. An eyewitness recorded the scene. "They raised their hands as if proffering something. One folded her arms. There was a sound of kisses. They stretched out their arms, smiling; now, they were listening; they started to cry. After eleven minutes they came to. We ran over to them and observed that one still had wet tear-stains on her cheeks. 'Why are you crying?' we asked. But she did not answer." * "Who did you see?" someone asked Mary Loli. "We saw Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We held her crown in our hands." "We were still talking to them," recalls a spectator, "when they had their third vision of the day, and went into a trance again. This time, everything they said was heard quite clearly. The Virgin brought the Infant Jesus. They took His crown. The little girls remarked that it was small. They asked His age. "The Virgin is very pleased because the people obeyed her. She says to say the rosary. She says that if they want they can come and say it here." “Apparitions of Garabandal”, by F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL Chapter 4, page 62,63
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY : JULY 30 ,1962 “Expert Witness” On Sunday, July 28th, there came to Garabandal for the first time, an illustrious priest from Madrid: Father Enrique Valcarce Alfayate. ( A Cardinal for many years in the diocese of Madrid with important functions and duties there ), He made a digest of his observations in a report that he wrote later in Comillas and that bears the date of July 30th, 1962. In it he describes a most remarkable experience: his own participation in one of the girls' ecstatic marches: «After the rosary, I remained praying for a while in the church. Suddenly Dr. Ortiz came in and told me to go outside if I wanted to see the girls in ecstasy. I went out immediately. They were walking with the people behind them. I pushed my way through and managed to join Mari Loli and Conchita, who were walking together, holding arms. Later I was told that the other two, Jacinta and Mari Cruz, were going in the same way with another group of people down a different street. The phenomena as a whole were for me something tremendous and amazing. The fast walk over really rough terrain, almost inaccessible, strewn with the worst obstacles . . . running at times at incredible speeds, both forwards and backwards, as if the girls had wings on their feet . . . with their heads tilted sharply backwards, with their eyes unblinking and fixed constantly on the alleged vision . . . The trip was made while singing the holy rosary (the girls leading and the people in the village following) except for the Our Fathers and certain ejaculations which the girls said 53 with great devotion, very slowly and with deep feeling. Furthermore their singing was beautifully intoned, with dulcet voices and excellent harmony. The walk lasted from about 10:15 at night until after 11:30. During almost all this time, I was able to go with them, hanging on either to Loli’s or Conchita’s arm. By holding on this way, I was able to follow them in spite of many obstacles, running swiftly and with a strange sensation of security. The falls and stumbles that I made at times always happened to me when I let go of the girls. The end of it all took place at the church doors, which were locked. First of all Loli raised Conchita in her arms, higher than Loli herself, and then Conchita did the same with Mari Loli. After kneeling down and suddenly recovering their normal state, they looked around with a smile, which later they shared with all of us.» Nevertheless, taken as a whole, everything that I have tried to describe was truly exceptional and amazing. It is certain that it is not a product of disease, either psychiatric or organic. It seems to me, therefore, that the facts do not have a natural explanation._ “SHE WENT IN HASTE TO THE MOUNTAIN” BOOK 3 PGS 52-54 Photo:Conchita raises Loli.
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY : JULY 31,1961 For the first time, the Visionaries in ecstasy move about on their knees. They recite the Rosary without having learned it, without prayer beads, without counting on their fingers and without making any mistakes regarding the mysteries, as well as the number of “Ave Marias”. (This was proof that Mary was teaching them in their vision) “The Village Speaks”, page 23
Eyewitness Testimony by Fr. Ramon Andreu, AUGUST 1, 1961 "Many people have seen the girls hit their knees hard when they fall and they have always observed that they show no feeling of pain. I have seen them stay on their knees for over an hour on many occasions without complaining of exhaustion or pain. I have witnessed how they fall on their knees many times, including from one or two stairs high, and they do not show the slightest sign of pain. The most spectacular thing in this sense was when María Dolores was on her knees one night and fell forwards, hitting her neck very hard against the edge of the stairs. It made a very loud noise, and her head resisted; the girl ended up sitting on the floor. An exclamation went through everyone who was there, and there was fear in their faces. The girl laughed once she was sitting on the floor and she continued talking about an object with the vision as she had been doing before the fall." “In those postures, more or less invariable, but always on their knees (except Jacinta who on one or two occasions was as we have described), staying there for an hour and twenty-five minutes. The one who wrote this, although he was almost sitting, needed to change his posture at least twice in this same amount of time. Upon finishing the trance, they prayed the rosary without moving from the place or giving any sign of fatigue. The ground of the road was full of rocks as roads are in mountain villages; with natural rocks, that are well-traveled (that have unequal surfaces that cause the inexperienced to trip). Mari Cruz had a wedge of rock about 5 centimeters wide under her left knee. Towards the end of the apparition, the girls made a visor with their hands, as though they were contemplating something that was becoming brighter and brighter." Fr. Ramon Andreu, notebook #1 August 1,1961
AUGUST 1963: "THE FUTURE VERY GREAT CHURCH EVENT WILL BE THE SECOND ONLY OF ITS KIND IN CHURCH HISTORY!" The visionary explained to Dr. Jean Caux, the well-known witness of the Garabandal events that "it will be possible to film and even televise the great Miracle!" She also added that "the happy and future great Church event of "D" day will be the second only of its kind in Church history," though, of course, much more important than the first one! Conchita was at this time, achieving the writing of her precious Diary: some forty handwritten simple, yet priceless pages. The vivid style sometimes rises to a real level of poetry. The description of the portraits of Our Lady, of the Child Jesus and of the Angel, is charming and the details are exquisite; Conchita's spelling is . . . pleasantly outrageous and is matched only by the "revolutionary expressions" of her syntax! The account covers, quickly and very concisely, the period of the apparitions, and stops after the beginning of the locution phase. The brief testimony "from within" is nevertheless an irreplaceable document. From 'Garabandal' Book, J. Serre & Jean B. Caux. page 177 Photo: Beatrice Caux (on the left ) with Conchita.
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY: AUGUST 3, 1961 NEW ECSTATIC PHENOMENA The swaying movements began on the 31st of July. They were to be the prelude of yet more striking manifestations: the ecstatic falls, a kind of slow and graceful collapse of the children until they were stretched out on the ground. These falls occurred quite frequently. Every time they happened, the girls drew attention by their beauty, their grace and the modesty of their attitudes and expressions. Spectators could not help but be inclined to admire and respect them. The visionaries were always dressed in a most decent way, their clothes covering them sometimes even in a sliding movement opposite to the natural direction of the fall. Mari-Loli and Jacinta were the first to "inaugurate" this phenomenon; they would remain stretched out some ten minutes in this astonishing position. Brigadier Secco heard Mari-Loli asking her Vision: "If you don't help me, I could not get up." Then she was seen extending her arm, and as if raised by a mysterious force, "she slowly rose to a sitting position." Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, J. Serre, pages 75-77. PHOTO: Mari-Loli falls Aug. 3,1961 (No injury)
Today in Garabandal History August 4,1961 OUR BLESSED MOTHER'S VOICE IS HEARD ! Conchita recounts the story in the book "Our Lady comes to Garabandal" . She said " I was returning from the fields, we met my Godmother Maximina Gonzalez, she was very excited and said this to us "Do you know the voice of the Blessed Virgin has been heard on a tape recorder ?" " What did she say I asked ? " She replied " Loli and Jacinta asked her (The Blessed Virgin) "Speak, Please Speak" and the people heard an answer : " No, I won’t speak " . My Godmother told me that people began to cry because they were very moved at having heard the Blessed Virgin's voice. The owner of the tape recorder (Angel Dominguez Borreguero, director of the Psychiatric Hospital of Salamanca) shouted, "I will send this to the pope!" Naturally the people wanted to hear the marvelous voice again so they played the tape again, but at the proper place they heard nothing. "Our Lady comes to Garabandal" page 59
TODAY IN GARABANDAL HISTORY AUGUST 5, 1961: THE "ECSTATIC WALKS" For the same reason as for the "calls" and the "falls," the "ecstatic walks" are typical events of San Sebastian de Garabandal. Their purpose was to draw attention to the apparitions (ecstasies). These walks were absolutely extraordinary; they consisted in the girls moving from place to place, sometimes at a very high speed. The visionaries, hand in hand, would move at a very rapid pace, without seeing anything of their itinerary. They did not stumble on the rocky roads they took, their eyes being fixed on the apparition guiding them. According to the children's explanations, they had the impression of being "settled comfortably" in a fixed position with respect to their vision. Here two of the girls are walking backwards. They would proceed in this way up to the Pines. On the steep slope of this same calleja , the children walked on their knees, without ever bruising themselves or experiencing the slightest pain as they came in contact with the rocky surface of the land. During the walks, the children appeared to be moved by an interior force that made the witnesses unable to hold them back. The rapid pace of the visionaries could become a race . . . A word about their "range of vision": the girls saw nothing but the Apparition herself. In one scene, Loli was alone in ecstasy, coming out of Conchita's home. She suddenly falls on her knees making a sharp noise. A few moments later, eyes fixed on heaven, arms outstretched, the upper body leaning forward, the pace of the visionary becomes more intense. It seems that she hardly touches the ground, as if she had "wings on her feet." The other three are not in ecstasy, they follow with difficulty. At the end of these ecstatic walks, while the witnesses, even the most athletic ones, are deadbeat, Loli, on her part, shows no signs of fatigue. She is simply a little pale, but gives the impression of being calm. Excerpted from "Garabandal" Book, J.Serre, pages 81-83 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WALKING BACKWARDS IN ECSTASY The walking backward especially at night (which is more impressive) has been suggested as diabolical by opponents of Garabandal. The walking backwards actually started when Mary led the girls into the church, where she would appear in an apparition to them. As they exited the church, the girls always walked backwards away from the blessed sacrament, as Mary instructed them to exit backwards rather than turning their backs on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This happened while they carried crucifixes and recited the rosary while exiting backwards. (Demonic people don’t carry crucifixes and recite the rosary) How would the devil benefit from any of this? This was a ridiculous desperate accusation hoping to discredit the apparitions. These ecstatic marches were obviously not a diabolical sign but instead, just the opposite, another Heavenly sign of authenticity of the apparitions, a reminder to always do a daily rosary, and a sign of respect for Jesus, before the Blessed Sacrament. In her second Message of Garabandal dated June 18, 1965, the Blessed Virgin warned us of what was coming when she said "less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist."
August 6, 1962 St. Michael kisses scapular . The apparition of August 6, 1962 is by contrast the only known occurrence of the Archangel Saint Michael embracing a physical object. And so on this day, in San Sebastian de Garabandal, three Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God climbed the ox cart path that connected the remote mountain village to the outside world, arriving unnoticed in the sweltering midday heat. They did not know it, but they had come to receive a mysterious honor from the Prince of the Holy Angels. The brothers rested under the nine pines of the apparition eating lunch and enjoying the discussion. Conchita accompanied them but she did not eat. She told them Mass had not been offered in the village that day and the Angel would bring her Holy Communion. Until he arrived she would remain fasting. Conchita moved discretely away from the group and fell to her knees, head tilted back in ecstasy. As Brother Juan Bosco recorded in his notes, “Still kneeling and in the same posture, the girl made the Sign of the Cross very slowly and devoutly. She said words in a low voice and gently struck her chest three times. She was praying in ecstasy. As the prayer ended, she opened her mouth, put out her tongue as in receiving Communion, withdrew her tongue and closed her mouth slowly. Two of us heard the slight noise of her swallowing something. She held this position and we heard her low voice, audible, but we could not hear it to sufficiently understand the words.” Then the ecstasy took a decidedly different turn. “Then the girl took his (Brother Luis) Scapular in her hands. She stood up, raised the Scapular in a very solemn way as though presenting it to someone. She lowered the Scapular and again dropped abruptly to her knees.” Returning the Scapular to Brother Luis, Conchita repeated this gesture for the Scapulars of Brother Juan and Brother Miguel offering each one up reverently. With a concluding Sign of the Cross, the ecstasy ended and Conchita returned to normal with a shy smile. “Have you had Communion?” “Yes” “Why did you take our Scapulars and raise them up?” “The Angel asked me to do it, to kiss them.” “Have you spoken to the Angel?” “Yes” “What did he say to you?” “The Angel knew you. He told me that Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin are happy with you.”
“Have you spoken to the Angel?” “Yes” “What did he say to you?” “The Angel knew you. He told me that Our Lord and the Blessed Virgin are happy with you. If my guardian gave me such a message, it would definitely make my day! (or even my year!)
