THE "CONDITIONAL" CHASTISEMENT (PART 2 OF 2 ).


THE "CONDITIONAL" CHASTISEMENT (PART 2 OF 2 ) The four visionaries from left: Jacinta, Mari Cruz, Conchita, and Mari-Loli in 1962.WILL IT HAPPEN ? According to the first Message of Our Lady, the Chastisement is conditional and can be averted. However, if history repeats itself, as it usually does, then it's hard to see it not happening. Both at La Salette and Fatima conditions were given by Our Lady that, if met, would forestall the impending threatened punishments. The warnings were not heeded, and the rest is history. Did the Chastisement change from being conditional to unavoidable during the events themselves? The first Message of Our Lady delivered on October 18, 1961, had virtually no effect, and so after the first night of screams on June 19, 1962, Mari Loli and Jacinta wrote a message which was followed a few days later by a second one. These messages can only be described as dire. On August 7, 1971, in a message to American Garabandal workers, Conchita twice made reference to the Chastisement and her belief that it would indeed take place: We are now in the last warnings, in the final moments. God has already prepared us for all the last things, even the Chastisement, for it is needed. The Chastisement must come because the Miracle will not suffice by itself to make us change. It is true that we will change after seeing the Miracle, but then we will fall again. That is why all of us who hear these words should prepare ourselves and induce all those around us, all those within our reach, to change their lives......However, it will not be possible to avoid the Chastisement because we have now lost even the sense of sin. We have reached such an extremity that God cannot now avoid sending the Chastisement. We need it for our own good. Those who survive the Chastisement will change very much and then we shall live for God until the end of time, which will also arrive. [OUR LADY COMES TO GARABANDAL, by Joseph Pelletier, A.A.] Regarding the above statements of Conchita, which the visionary herself acknowledged were only her own opinion, Father Joseph Pelletier had this to say: "Conchita's opinion...must always be considered as strictly her own. No matter how much one may be tempted to agree with her position on the matter, that position does not reflect Our Lady's very precise words which always have presented the Chastisement as conditional, as a thing that can be avoided. Let us heed Conchita and not attach an importance to her words that they do not warrant. What Our Lady has said is one thing. What Conchita conjectures will happen, may very well happen. But it is always her conjecture and she could be wrong." [OUR LADY COMES TO GARABANDAL, by Joseph Pelletier, A.A.] That certainly is a fair analysis. In fact, when interviewed by Father Francis Benac, S.J., in 1978, [THE CALL OF GARABANDAL] Conchita expressed a different view:Father Benac: We read in the books [on Garabandal] that on that night of the screams, Our Lady advised that nobody should be around you, that she wanted you girls to be all alone. Could you explain that? Was it about the Chastisement? Did you see it and if so, how would you describe it?Conchita: Oh I don't know; I don't remember. I don't want to remember.Benac: Would you mind repeating that?Conchita:No, that I don't want to even remember it, it was so terrible.Benac: Would it be a Chastisement such as an atomic war?Conchita:I don't know; I have never seen such a thing in my life nor could I imagine it.Benac: Do you think the Chastisement can be averted with prayer? Conchita: I think so. I don't think that it should take place; I think it won't happen. It seems to me that it would be impossible for such a thing to happen. It is for this reason that I believe God is sending us the Aviso (Warning) so that we may acknowledge all the evil within us. Later He will send us the Miracle to manifest His love and His presence amongst us.....I feel that it is impossible that after this we should not change. However, two years later in 1980, when Conchita was interviewed by the BBC, she again expressed her view that the Chastisement would come: "I think we're going to get the punishment." Another statement made by her suggests that it's a foregone conclusion: "Prior to this, the Blessed Virgin had told me that Jesus is not going to send the Chastisement to discourage us, but to help us and to reprimand us for not heeding Him."[OUR LADY COMES TO GARABANDAL]OTHER SOURCES Blessed Anna-Maria Taigi saw a future "Three Days of Darkness" which is generally believed to be the same event as the Chastisement prophesied at Garabandal. Blessed Elizabeth Canorii-Mora, a contemporary of Blessed Anna Maria, also saw this same event. While all this points to the actuality of the Chastisement, it nevertheless still can be avoided simply because the Blessed Virgin said so. Much must happen first: the communist tribulation, the Warning and the Miracle. According to Conchita's locution with Jesus on June 21, 1963, He told her that as a result of the Miracle, Russia and other countries would be converted. This seems to suggest that if the Chastisement does come, it will not be for a while although we really don't know.

FINAL REFLECTIONS In November, 1967, Spanish artist Isabel Daganzo, who wanted to commit to canvas representational images of the visions of Garabandal, had a number of interviews with Conchita while the visionary was at school in Burgos. One of the questions she asked was: "Could you speak about something that I could put on canvas that could cause fear?" Conchita replied: "No. What I have seen that could cause fear is the Chastisement, and I can't tell you about that. Besides, terror and fear are not the best means to move souls. "This shows good insight on the part of Conchita. To dwell too much on the destructive nature of the Chastisement could lead to moroseness and would oppose a healthy spiritual outlook. Everything happens within the providence of God even the Chastisement if it should come. If it does happen, it will be because that is the best and most necessary thing to happen at that particular time. And even in this cataclysmic event can be seen divine mercy. If the glory of God in the world is on the verge of being overwhelmed by evil, He will intervene to preserve the good. Reprinted with kind permission from GARABANDAL JOURNAL - May -June 2004