Gospel Meditation - 3rd Sunday of Advent and reflection on the  Garabandal message

11/12/2022

Living Garabandal: The joy!

Praise to God!

 Dear brothers, I hope you are well!

We are celebrating, with the Church, the Third Sunday of Advent, called "Sunday of Joy".

Today, I want to meditate a little on the "Joy in the Messages of Garabandal". In the first reading, from the prophet Isaiah (cf. Is. 35, 1-6a. 10), we heard the following statement which, in truth, is a great exhortation and a great promise:

"Let the land that was desert and impassable rejoice! ... its inhabitants will see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God"; that is, even if there is a "desert and impassable" land, the Good Lord can visit it and, to the extent that he visits it, he fills it with joy, because true joy is not the absence of difficulties, but the fullness of the Presence of God.

This is very present in Our Lady's visit to her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, after all, the Blessed Virgin goes up to the mountains to meet Saint Elizabeth and, as the Word says, when Elizabeth heard Our Lady's greeting, child leaped with joy in her womb (cf. Lc.1,41); precisely because the Blessed Virgin Mary is the one who "carries" the Presence of God, she is the true Ark of the Covenant and, at the same time, the true Tabernacle, where the Presence of God is. It so happens that, in his Mercy, the Good God continues to come to meet us and, in a very loving way, he does this through Our Lady, as we can see in countless apparitions, such as: Lourdes, Fatima, etc. In Garabandal, the same thing that happened in Isabel's house happens and, at the same time, the prophecy of Isaiah begins to be fulfilled; after all, in Garabandal,

God chose an isolated region, difficult to access and without great attractions, to send the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that everyone could see the "Glory of the Lord and the majesty of God", which are fully manifested, in the Most Holy Eucharist to which, unfortunately, they give less and less importance, as she said in her last message, on 06/18/1965.

Furthermore, when the prophet Isaiah tells us of the "glory of the Lord" that will be seen, he makes us think of the "Warning" that will come from heaven to prepare us for the "Great Miracle". As we know, the "Warning" will be seen in Heaven and throughout the world; and it will be felt by all, whatever their condition and knowledge of God, at exactly the same time. According to the visionaries' revelations, it will be a terrible experience, however it will be for the good of our souls, because we will see within ourselves, in our conscience, the good and the evil that we have done. Therefore, the "Warning" is not aimed at fear, but at repentance, at conversion, so that we can draw closer to Him and have more faith.

After that, the "Great Miracle" will come, which Our Mother communicated to Conchita, one of the visionaries, in 1961, and later to the other visionaries. About this Miracle, Conchita said that it will take place on a Thursday at 8.30 pm, and that it will last fifteen minutes, and that a sign will be visible on the "pins" of Garabandal until the end of time. The "Great Miracle" will coincide with a great ecclesial event, all the sick present will be healed, sinners will be converted and unbelievers will believe.

Here, without a doubt, is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies and, for that, we need to prepare ourselves, through our prayer life and, especially, through our conversion. With regard to this "preparation", we find in the second reading (James 5, 7-10), some steps that must be taken by all of us. Saint James states that "we must stand firm until the coming of the Lord", that is, until the "Warning" comes and until the "Great Miracle" happens, we must prepare and strengthen ourselves, abandoning all sin, the wrong ways and attitudes that offend God and, moreover, we must take the prophets as a model of suffering and firmness, believing that this will be our path.

Especially in our days, many are taken by discouragement and even lukewarmness, which ends up reducing our fervor in the things of God. Unfortunately, many have abandoned Holy Mass and no longer receive Communion; many have abandoned the confessionals and live a life of sin; many were carried away by the relativism of the faith and by a total lack of knowledge of the truths of the Gospel; many have abandoned the prayer of the Holy Rosary and are looking for a "sugared" gospel that does not transform anyone's life. It is sad to think that many, because of a false passing joy, abandon eternal joys, which only God can grant us. In the face of all this, we need to be firm, we need to strengthen ourselves, so that we are not next on that list, because if after the "Warning" and the "Great Miracle" the world does not change, a "Punishment" will come.

Conchita said: "The Punishment, if we don't change it, will be horrible; we, Loli, Jacinta and I, saw the Chastisement, however I cannot say what it consists of, because I do not have permission from Our Lady". Without a doubt, Our Mother comes to prepare the Way, for the manifestation of the Glory of the Lord who, according to the psalmist, "will reign forever and for all centuries" (Ps. 145/146) and, in all of this, we are all called to be his collaborators, his servants and his instruments. God could have given up on us by now, but no! He loves us, wants us, comes to meet us and wants us with him, for all eternity, and that is the reason for our joy. If we do not take the path of the Cross, if the Eucharist is not the center of our lives and of each of our days, if we are not good and if we are not converted, the Lord will have no choice but to intervene so that we understand the importance of the what is at stake, our salvation and, with it, our eternal joy. And then, are we going to live Garabandal?

May the Good God, through the immaculate hands of Our Mother, bless you all! With affection and prayers,

Father Viana

Garabandal Apostolate, December 2022