The Warning
<http://www.garabandal.us/prph_warn.html>http://www.garabandal.us/prph_warn.html
by Connie Hoebich
From earliest times God has used prophecy to
authenticate the message He gives to His people
through human beings. The unfailing
characteristic of God’s prophecies is that they
come true. It is by this that the credibility of
the visionary, thus the validity of the message, is established.
Garabandal has an extraordinary allotment of
prophecy, (1)extraordinary not so much in
quantity as in kind. All, except for the
chastisement, which is conditional, must come to
pass before the Garabandal event can be
considered in its entirety. Accordingly, though
the apparitions are over (there have been none
since 1965), we speak of Garabandal as “unfinished”, or “awaiting fulfillment”.
The very next thing we await as the Garabandal
event moves toward fulfillment is the prophesied
warning. I believe that this warning will be the
most powerful event in the history of the world since the Resurrection.
We have many details regarding the warning.
Unfortunately, these details are often confused
with others Our Lady provided regarding the
prophesied miracle and the chastisement. The
sequence of these events is also not fixed
accurately in the minds of many people. Since the
sequence and the nature of all three of the major
prophecies are important to our understanding of
the warning, we should briefly review them:
DATES: We do not know the date of the warning.
From the time she learned of it, the visionary
Conchita has spoken of the warning as “imminent”,
“expected every day” though she herself does not
know the date. Our Lady alone knows the date of
the miracle. Our Lady permitted her to say only
that it will come some time after the warning.
Conchita will announce the date of the miracle
eight days prior to its occurrence. The
chastisement, if it comes, will follow the
miracle-how long after is not known.
NATURE: The warning will be seen and felt by
everyone in the world, no matter where they may
be, at exactly the same time. It will be a
terrible experience. The miracle will take place
in Garabandal, in the pine grove, and be visible
to all who are in the village or the surrounding
mountains. In Conchita’s words, the miracle will
be “very great because of the world’s needs are
very great.” It will be “a miracle of the love of
God, something that will manifest His love to us
in an outstanding way”. The chastisement, if it
comes, will be worldwide and incomparably
horrible. The warning, the miracle, and the
chastisement will be clearly understood by all
people to be from God, that is, not explained by natural causes.
Detailed Description And the Reasons
Answers to the basic questions about the
warning–(who? what? when? where? why?)–are found
in various statements made by Conchita:
The Blessed Virgin told me (during a two-hour
apparition at the pines January 1, 1965) that a
warning would be given before the miracle. The
warning is a thing that comes directly from God.
No one can escape it. It will be visible all over
the world. We will feel it bodily and interiorly.
The warning is like a chastisement, a terrifying
thing for the good as well as for the wicked. It
will be like a revelation of our sins. We shall
see the consequences of the sins we have
committed. God will send the warning to purify us
so that we may better appreciate the miracle by
which He clearly proves His love for us and hence
His desire that we fulfill the message. The
warning will draw the good closer to God and it
will warn the wicked that the end of time is coming.
These statements make up a good synopsis of the
warning. We’ll reflect on them and other
expanding statements Conchita has made.
Immediately, however, the question arises: Why so
many details–what is Our Lady’s purpose in
sketching this event so vividly before its
occurrence? The purpose is at least three-fold:
* The Authentication Factor–After we have
experienced the warning, we will review the
prophecy describing it. Point by point, the
description of the warning, known and published
years before it actually happened, will testify
to the credibility of the apparitions and thus the message.
* Preparation–As a personal experience, the
warning will probably be the most awesome
confrontation of our lives. Are we ready for it?
Are we ready for the “terrifying thing” which is
“a thousand times worse than earthquakes” which
will make us prefer to be dead rather than suffer
it? Are we ready to “see ourselves in the light
of our sins?” These, especially the last, are
stupendous pronouncements. How does one prepare?
Our Lady said, “We have given you all that you
need,” and her reference was to the message of
Garabandal, a message, it must be noted, which
re-states the constant teachings of the Church.
These fearful details are provided by Our Lady to
prompt us to make ready for the warning now
through earnest, generous fulfillment of the message in our daily lives.
* Consolation, Inspiration–Any thinking
person is aware that the world is in great need
of correction. It would seem that here, indeed,
are at least the beginnings of the “difficult
times” St. Paul spoke of, when “men will be in
love with self, in love with money, boastful,
abusive; without reverence for their parents,
without gratitude, without scruple, without love,
without peace; slanderers, incontinent … thinking
rather of their pleasures than of God” (II Tim.
3:2-5). Further since, as Pope Paul observed
recently, men seem to have lost the sense of sin,
it would seem that nothing short of Divine
intervention, can open men’s eyes, reform their
hearts. The Garabandal warning promises to be
understood by everyone as “from God,” “a
correction of the conscience of the world.” This
is a great consolation to all who are frightened
and confused by widespread iniquity, who long for
truth to be once again honored. I believe Our
Lady also wishes that those so disposed render
praise and thanksgiving to God now–even before
the warning–for the consolation and inspiration
the knowledge of it provides and for the great
good it can be expected to achieve.
[]
The Power of The Warning
Purification
To a question about the nature of the warning, Conchita once replied:
“It will be like fire. It will not burn our flesh
but we will feel it bodily and interiorly.” We
must allow that Conchita gropes for human words,
admittedly inadequate, to convey her
understanding of the nature of the warning. In
fact, she said that the warning would be “like”
fire; she did not say that it would be fire. To
Conchita, there are two things that the warning
and the fire have in common: they can be “seen”
and “felt,” and they are “very terrifying.” Hence
her use of the words: “like fire.” In this same
contextan attempt to make identifiable
comparisonsI submit that the warning is “like
(our understanding of) Purgatory.”
Based on the doctrine of the Church, we
understand Purgatory to be a place or condition
of purification, wherein we are made
cleanprepared, so to speakto behold the
Beatific Vision. We accept that some sort of
suffering is necessary to this purifying process,
a suffering that prevails but does not destroy.
All of this can be likened to the warning, which
“will purify us for the miracle,” which will be
“like a chastisement” in that we will suffer; and
which we will endure “bodily and interiorly” but
which will not destroy us.(2)To extend this a
little more, the soul in Purgatory, having stood
before God in judgment, now exists in the light
of truth. With perfect clarity, he understands
the extent and consequences of his sins.
Similarly, “the warning will be like a revelation
of our sins.” We shall see the consequences of the sins we have committed.
This likening of the Garabandal warning to
Purgatory is my own entirely; in no way has
Purgatory been mentioned in connection with the
warning either by Our Lady or the visionaries.
And I make the comparison only to underscore the
magnitude and power of the warning: “Like”
Purgatory, it will be a revelation of our sins, a
severe but thoroughly just suffering, a
no-turning-back, purifying confrontation with truth for each of us.
Our Lady told Conchita that “we should bear this
suffering for the sake of her Son, victim of the
gravest offenses.” This is the language of
penance and reparation. However, it is
possible–and this again is my own
reflectionthat, while we are experiencing the
warning, we will not be able to make this penance
offering or any other comforting identification,
so absorbed will we be with the calamity visible
to us and within us.(3)Hence the necessity to
“condition” our souls for it now, while we have
the faculty to reflect and the presence of mind
to make penance and reparation. I believe that
the warning will go easier for us to the extent
that we prepare for it now through penance and
the overall fulfillment of the message of Garabandal.
Directly from God
A “warning” is not unusual in God’s dealings with
men. We see it frequently in the Old Testament;
we have seen it in our age at Fatima.(4)God has
used varied elements, plagues, wars, and even
natural phenomena to warn sinful men that they
must amend their ways or suffer chastisement. The
Garabandal warning is unprecedented, however in
that it will be universal: “All nations and all
persons will experience it in the same way; it
will be visible throughout the entire world, in
whatever place anyone might be; experienced
equally by believers and non-believers and people of any religions whatsoever.”
This universal aspect, especially the fact that
everyone will experience it “in the same way,”
will convince men that God has done it. We are
further assured of this important factor in
Conchita’s response to these questions:
Will the warning be recognized and accepted by
the world as a direct sign from God? –Certainly
(claro), and for this reason I believe it is
impossible that the world could be so hardened as not to change.
What about the many people who do not know
Christ; how will they understand the warning?
–For those who do not know Christ (non-Christian)
they will believe it is a warning from God.
We may also dismiss speculation about comets,
earthquakes, and other chariots of doom so
readily heralded by the pseudo prophets of our time:
We have heard that some say the warning may be a
natural phenomenon but will be used by God to
speak to mankind.–The warning is something
supernatural and will not be explained by science.
The great power of this is obvious. In an age
when men fearlessly question, even deny, the
existence of God and rampant wickedness openly
mocks Him, the Almighty will say clearly, “I am
here.” All men will acknowledge God, understand
how they have offended Him, and necessarily feel
remorse and a desire to make amends. “The warning
will be a correction of the conscience of the world.”
Our Lady did not reveal the duration of the
warning. Shortly after the apparition, when
Conchita learned of the warning, she told her
aunt and Godmother, Maximina Gonzalez, about it.
Maximina asked how long the calamity would last.
Conchita said that she didn’t know, but that “we
could suffer it by night as well as by day.” In
this same conversation, Conchita said: “It is
better to die than to suffer just five minutes of
what is to happen to us.”(5)In 1970, asked the
same question by NEEDLES, Conchita repeated that
she didn’t know but that two minutes of it will be enough for anybody.”
These statements lead us to reflect that the
warning is probably of short duration, but nonetheless- powerful.
Afterwards
What can we expect from men as individuals, and
the world collectively after the warning? I think
that, while we would be off base in
underestimating the power of the warning to
re-direct men, it would be inaccurate to expect
that the warning will settle everything, that
evil will no longer exist on earth.
There’s no question that, while the warning is
being experienced, all knees will bend before
God. But, afterwards? Remember that the warning
will not involve the elementsthere will not be
destruction on earth. Men will have only the
memory of their personal experience, etched
deeply to be sure, but only a memory. The right
use of free will and the nourishing of faith will
still be necessary in man’s day-to-day journey through life.
Our Lady said the purpose of the warning “is to
draw the good nearer to God and to warn the
others (that they must reform),” and God wishes
that through this warning we amend our lives and
commit less sins against Him.” To a woman who
expressed her fears about the warning, Conchita
remarked: “ Oh, but after the warning you will
love God very much.” Another time Conchita said,
“ I think those that do not despair will
experience great good from it (the warning) for
their sanctification.” All of this leads to
reflect that, at least for a time, there will be
very much love and service to God. The warning
has the purpose and the power to achieve this,
but to what extent and for how long depends on men.
Those of us who have been working to spread the
message of Garabandal can expect that, after the
warning, ears and hearts will open as never
before. Still, we mustn’t expect that everyone
will hop on the “Garabandal” bandwagon as such.
The message stands by itself; it doesn’t (or
shouldn’t) need the reinforcement of apparitions.
What I’m saying is that the warning will not tell
the world, “Believe in apparitions!” Those who
haven’t heard about Garabandal in these years
before the warning will not even make the
connection. But the warning will, by its nature,
inspire fulfillment of the message. The Rosary
and Scapular programs, Eucharistic vigils, and
other seeds we are sowing now in our respective
dioceses will provide the structure by which
great numbers of souls, made more receptive by
the warning, may begin to fulfill the message in earnest.
Finally, after the warning we can expect far more
cooperation from news media regarding the
apparitions of Garabandal. This will foster an
understanding of the warning in connection with
the apparitions and, therefore, greater
understanding of the full content of the
Garabandal event. Accordingly, we will probably
see widespread preparation for the prophesied
miracle, and this must include methods of
transporting great numbers of people, especially
the sick, to Garabandal. The village itself and
the mountains surrounding it must be prepared to accommodate multitudes.
How much time will we have to prepare? Asked this
question in 1965, Conchita replied: “The miracle
will not delay in coming.” She added, and this
applies to the warning as well: “Although it is
taking time to come, it will not be late. God’s
time is always the appropriate time.” In a recent
interview with NEEDLES Conchita again stressed
the need to fulfill the message in preparation
for the warning and the miracle. She said that
during the apparitions Our Lady made her
understand: “Everything is coming soon”.
* Of the three major prophecies of
Garabandal, the warning, the miracle, and the
chastisement, only the chastisement is not a
certainty regarding the fulfillment. It was
always presented by Our Lady as something that
could be averted if the world fulfilled the
requests outlined in the formal message she gives
to the world at Garabandal. The other Garabandal
prophecies are less dramatic in scope but
nonetheless certain and authenticating. Some of
these, the denials and doubts of the visionaries,
for example, have already come to pass.
* Asked if the warning would cause people to
die, Conchita responded: “I think that if that
happens it will be through fear.” Another time
she replied: “I don’t know. They could only die
of the emotional shock of seeing it.” Considering
the event as a whole, my own conclusion is that,
differing from the chastisement, it is not the
design of the warning to strike fatal blows.
However, it is plausible, even probable, that many will die from fear.
* My personal opinion is that the warning
will be of very short duration. I base this on my
feeling that the warning, particularly “the
revelation of our sins,” will be too horrible to
withstand for any length of time. Thus, because
of the shortness and horror of the event, I feel
that we will be thoroughly incapacitated as far
as any kind of thoughtful prayer is concerned.
Other opinions are certainly possible. The
purpose of this article is to stimulate reflection.
* In the apparitions of Fatima, Our Lady
said, on July 13, 1917: "When you see the night
illuminated by an unknown light, know that it is
the great sign which God is giving you,
indicating that the world, on account of its
innumerable crimes, will soon be punished by war
. . . . In order to stop it, I . . . ask for the
consecration of the world to my Immaculate Heart
. . " The Fatima visionary, Lucia, said that the
"sign of God" (warning) was the extraordinary
aurora borealis which illuminated a large area of
Europe for a long period of the night January 25-26, 1938.
* These statements are made in a signed
document by Maximina Gonzalez. The document comes
to us from Fr. Eusebio Garcia de Pesquera, the
Spanish Capuchin who has done much writing about the Garabandal events.
[]
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