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The apparitions of

GARABANDAL

BY
F. SANCHEZ-VENTURA Y PASCUAL

APPENDIX B

Page 196

The Humility of the Virgin Mary

8.—Let us continue with what Monroy calls contradictions.

   The Blessed Virgin said to the heavenly emissary who announced the mystery of the Incarnation: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word." These are words of sincere humility and are very revealing as to Mary's character. According to Monroy, this spirit of simplicity, submission and self-effacement is not in keeping with the language used by the Virgin when speaking to her visionaries, to whom she commonly gives directions in a somewhat authoritative tone. "It is incredible that people should be so blind as not to realize that the Virgin's words are highly presumptuous, and quite alien to the language of the Gospels; above all, these continual references to her Immaculate Heart. The real, one and only Mother of Jesus never said that she had been born 'immaculate,' says Monroy, on page 47 of this book.

   There has undoubtedly been a great transformation in Mary, from the day when the archangel announced the Lord's choice, to what she is today as the Mother of God. In a pure, simple soul, her words of surprised submission at that moment were as logical then as it would be absurd, today, for her to appear to mankind and say that she was a nobody. It would be equally absurd for her, now, to speak without the authority proper, in heaven and on earth, to one who sets aside the laws of nature, becoming visible to human eyes at God's behest in order to deliver a message and issue instructions for our salvation. Jesus Christ Himself, fully aware of His identity and powers, did not hesitate to say: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life . . ."; and He said that no-one could come to the Father except through Him. Nobody with a minimum of faith in the divine nature of Him who said these words would dream of denouncing them merely because they convey a certain authority which is incompatible with Monroy's concept of holy humility.

   "And, as if this pack of lies were not enough," he goes on, "The vision at Fatima attributed to itself powers that belong to God alone. 'My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God . . . '; 'For your salvation, the Lord wishes to institute throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart . . .' Enough of this! Since when has the Virgin Mary been the refuge of sinners and the path leading sinners to God? Where does it say, in the Bible, that one can be saved through devotion to the heart of Mary? Does such a series of aberrations really come from the Virgin? Poor Mary!"*

   Monroy is uncompromising in his interpretation of the Bible. He adamantly closes his eyes to the fact that two thousand years have elapsed; that God can complete His "official" revelations with other private ones; that the manifestations which He has since used to assist mankind are perfectly compatible with the authenticity of the Bible. He does not appear to see that the co-redemption by the Blessed Virgin gives her a leading role, and more than entitles her to take an

*   Monroy; page 50.

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