Hello Mary Rose, Glad to hear Percy is on the mend, D.G. As a child I lost my dog, Prince, a long haired Shepherd, when he ran out into the street so I understand how you felt. As you know I have great faith in the conversations between the seer children and The Blessed Mother in St Sebastian de Garabandal. They witnessed that Mary was interested in all aspects of their lives, even the animals which lived in their homes and were often their only source of warmth in the cold winters of the Cantabrian mountains. Among other things St Sebastian is the patron of the disabled and our Lady told the children that it was especially important to be kind to a handicapped man who lived in the village and who was teased by the village children. I was nervous of one of the dogs in Garabandal until one day when I had started to eat a sausage and realised it was a Friday. I threw the rest of the sausage to the dog and after that had no more fear. St Sebastian, patron of plague victims, was often portrayed alongside St Roch patron of dogs and cancer sufferers and Anthony of Padua who has a great charism of healing. I had never heard of this grouping of St Roch, St Anthony and St Sebastian before I read about Percy’s accident. So between Our Lady and these fine saints, Percy in in good hands. My mum, also named Mary Rose, died last December 23, and I remember how upset she was when her cat was run over. We are told that in heaven every tear will be wiped away and our happiness will be complete. I wish you and Percy many more years of happiness here and hereafter.
Of course I forgot to say that our favourite patron saint of dogs, St Roch, is also the patron saint of Santander a city that plays a prominent and dark role in the history of Garabandal. In an attempt to corrupt and discredit Conchita the authorities separated her from the other seers. Their actions were tantamount to psychological and physical abuse, forcing her to sign a paper denying her apparitions and cutting her lovely hair short. Our Lady promised that on the day of The Miracle that paper would disappear. During my first trip to Garabandal I went to Santander and visited not only the Church dedicated to St Roch (Roque in Spanish) but also the Church of Consolation. One day while three of the seers were in ecstasy in Garabandal Conchita fell to her knees in front of this church in Santander and went into ecstasy at the same time. The Blessed Mother told the three seers at that time that this was happening. I searched out the location in Santander where Conchita fell to her knees. I was very moved just as I was when I first prayed in the street in Garabandal where Conchita received the visible host from St Michael. Thank you Mary Rose for bringing back those fond memories to this poor sinner.
Joe, You are a kind soul, thank you. God rest your dear mother Mary Rose. I was ignoring St Roch in my local church but now have a whole new appreciation of him. He was donated to our church at the start of Covid by a convent that was closing down. We say a prayer to him every day after Mass as patron of the sick.
