Select
Page

The apparitions of

GARABANDAL

BY
F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL

Chapter One

REASONED ARGUMENTS TO FAN THE FLAMES OF OUR FAITH

Page 14

   On this occasion, the Blessed Virgin was presented as the mediator of heaven. She announced disasters, but she assuaged the fears of her children, promising them her assistance, and offered to grant the graces that they requested with faith. Our Lady's words were to be fulfilled to the letter. This was the pointer for all.

   Once the medal was struck, its use spread like wildfire. All those wearing it with faith obtained the graces that they requested. Despite the general coldness towards religion, and the scepticism spread by the French Revolution, the reaction of the faithful was astonishing. For us, as human beings, this is the best proof of its authenticity. The Abbé Guillion published the story of the medal in a book called "Nouvelle Historique", of which five editions had to be printed in a single year to meet demand. The medal was at first turned out at a rate of more than a hundred thousand a month, but this proved insufficient, and production soon soared into the millions.

   In one of Sister Catherine's descriptions of the vision, she comments on the sentence, "Mary is Queen of the Universe and of each one of us individually." She adds: "It will be a long-lasting period of peace, joy and happiness. She will be carried in triumph and will travel around the world."

   Here, to my mind, is a prophesy that has already come true. The title of the book in which it appears is "La Vénérable Catherine Labouré", published in France by Edmund Crapez. That triumphal tour of the globe by Mary seems a clear allusion to the journey of Our Lady of Fatima, whose pilgrim statue travels incessantly to all parts of the world.

   In the apparitions of Our Lady of Paris, there is one circumstance that has been repeated at Garabandal.* As Our Lady left Sister Catherine after her final vision, she said to her: "You will not see me again, but you will hear my voice in your prayers." When the visionaries at Garabandal ceased to have visions, they began to experience this new mystical phenomenon, supernatural locutions in which they held an inward conversation with Our Lady, "hearing her voice without words."

   But the story of the Miraculous Medal would not be complete without the case of the conversion of a young Jewish banker, Alphonse Rathisbonne. After making a name for himself through his hatred of Catholics following his brother's conversion—and subsequent ordination in the Society of Jesus— providence dictated that Alphonse should go to Rome, where he met an acquaintance, the Baron de Bussières. De Bussieres told him numerous amazing

*   See Section 20 in connection with locutions.

Select
Page