On this most holy occasion of Good Friday, we would like to share with you an extremely profound mystical experience of the historical event of Calvary as revealed to the mystic, Janie Garza, an authentic visionary and stigmatist who has the permission of her spiritual director and her bishop to speak publicly of her mystical experiences. Wishing you and your families a most blessed remainder of the Triduum and Easter -Editor.
I was awakened at 2:50 a.m. My body felt like it was on fire. I found myself in spirit in the Garden of Gethsemane. I was suffering intensely. My body was wet with sweat, and I was in such distress. My feet were pounding with pain, and I felt the crown of thorns on my head. I prayed, so that all this suffering would pass, and perhaps I could go back to sleep, but I continued to suffer. I prayed and suffered all night until it was time for my family to wake up. I went to Holy Mass, and I continued praying and suffering throughout the day.
Later the same day, I was praying my Rosary and my Lord came to me and said, “Come, beloved of My Most Sacred Heart; journey into the mystery of my crucifixion. You will witness what others before you have also witnessed. You will suffer as they suffered. During these forty days of Lent I, your merciful Savior, will teach you the mysteries of my seven last words on the Cross.”
I found myself in a strange place of the past. There were many people who appeared to be from different places or nations. It was a very busy time. There were many Roman soldiers on horses. They were trying to keep order. The people were pushing against one another. Some were crying, others were using profanities, others were angry at the soldiers. Although everybody spoke in different languages, I could understand as if they were speaking in English. I found myself trying to see where everybody was going. Then I found myself, at what I believed to be, Mount Calvary.
I saw my sweet Jesus arrive at Calvary. He appeared extremely weak, and He was extremely worn out. His body was all torn and disfigured by many wounds. I could barely recognize His sweet face. He looked at me, and I cried to see all His pain and sorrow. Our sweet Lord stood weak, worn out by all the suffering He had already endured. He waited as His executioners prepared to strip Him of His garments for His crucifixion. I cried and prayed. Then it happened.
The executioners stripped Jesus of His garments. The stripping of His garments caused severe pain on His sacred head where the crown of thorns had been placed. The rudeness from those who stripped Our Lord reopened, once more, all the wounds on His most sacred head. By the tearing off of His garments from His precious body, the wounds of His entire body reopened. The tearing off of His garments also tore off the flesh that was stuck to His garments. My sweet Lord was treated like a criminal with such cruelty. His poor body all scourged, all torn, and all the loss of his precious blood made me weep and weep. There are no words that can describe His inhumane suffering.
I continued to witness the horrible cruelty inflicted upon the innocent Lamb, of God our Heavenly Father. I prayed for mercy for Our Lord’s executioners. I prayed for strength for my sweet Savior. As I was praying for Him Who was to die for me, I heard Our Lord also praying. I could only understand parts of His prayer. This is what Our Lord communicated in His prayer.
Our Lord prayed to the Eternal Father, offering His entire humanity to the will of His Heavenly Father in order that all would be accomplished. As He prayed for Himself, He also prayed for His Mother, and offered her as well -- all the love and the suffering of His Mother, her service to Him, her most perfect works, all her sorrows, her imitation of her Son as she accompanied her Son unto His death. My own heart was pierced as I heard the words of our sweet Savior, how much He loved His Mother, and how much she too was suffering for her Son as she was about to be mystically crucified.
As I was pondering all this in my heart, I heard a soft voice of a woman. God allowed me to see our holy Mother. She appeared as a most sorrowful Mother, much afflicted by the suffering of her Son. I was able to hear her as she, too, prayed. She prayed as a Mother with such maternal love. She, too, placed her Son in the hands of the Eternal Father as a sacrifice for the redemption of all humanity. She also placed herself in submission to the holy will of the Eternal Father. She prayed with such surrender, although her heart was breaking. As Mother of the Savior, she would prefer to take the place of her beloved and dying Son to spare Him. She submitted herself as a ‘victim Mother’ for all the suffering that she would endure. Her son would not be spared from this cruel death. The Mother would, also, not be spared from the painful death of her beloved Son. Two victims of love would suffer and die. The Son dies physically, the mother, mystically: Jesus, our Redeemer, Mary, our Co-redemptrix.
I was awakened at 3:45 a.m. I feel exhausted and tired. I prayed for a few minutes, then I got out of bed. I went to our living room and knelt down before the statue of the Infant of Prague and the image of our holy Mother under the title of Mother of Compassion and Love. I prayed for strength and infused grace to make my own spirit one with the spirits of Jesus and Mary. I finished my prayer by praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. As I finished praying, Our Lord came to me.
Once more I was transported in spirit to the times of the past. I found myself again at Mount Calvary. It is as if I had never left, although it is another day. I saw again all the different people gathered as if they are waiting to see a show. The people appear restless, many are angry, many making negative comments against our sweet Lord. I saw the holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus lying on the ground. The executioners are preparing to execute the crucifixion. I see two men standing with Our Lord. I believe they are the two thieves. I look at Our Lord as he continues to be deep in the spirit of prayer. I began to pray, and deep within my own heart I wished to be spared from what was about to take place. I felt a bit cold from the sharp winds that surrounded Mount Calvary.
As I stand praying, I see the executioners of Our Lord and Redeemer command Our Redeemer to lie on the holy Cross. Our Lord follows their command. I feel sick as if I’m going to faint. Our Lord was stretched on the Cross. One hand first was pulled and held down, while another executioner hammered a very rough and large nail through the palm of His sacred hand. The executioner then took the other hand, but it seemed that Our Lord’s hand could not reach the area where the hole was. They then pulled Our Lord’s sacred hand with unheard cruelty to make it reach and hammered the second large and rough nail through His sacred hand. I can see the veins of Our Lord all torn and all the blood of Our Lord dripping from the palms of His sacred hands.
The executioners pull Our Lord’s feet and placed one above the other, pulling His feet to reach the third hole on the Cross. Both feet pulled down, then comes the third nail and Our Lord’s precious feet are nailed to the Cross. I can see that Our Lord’s body was dislocated by the cruel force that was used by His executioners. This was, indeed, the most cruel violence done to Our Lord.
The precious blood of Our Lord continues to drip from His precious hands and feet. I stood there, crying for my own sinfulness and begging God’s mercy upon me and on all of humanity. There before my eyes is my suffering and dying Savior. I see the executioners raising the Cross with my crucified Savior. It is planted in a hole in the ground.
The two thieves were also crucified. Our sweet Redeemer is between the two thieves. What disrespect done to our sweet Redeemer to be crucified with two hardened criminals who are guilty of their crimes! Our Lord, the sacred and the innocent Lamb of God, is so maltreated, so unloved! As I looked at Our Redeemer, He continues to bleed from His sacred wounds. I continue to see the great multitude of all the different countries gazing upon our crucified Redeemer. I hear the blasphemies of many people. Others are crying and beating their breasts, as if praying, “Lord, have mercy.” Other bystanders do not seem to be too concerned. Still others are fearful of the laws of that region.
As our Redeemer hangs, dying on the Cross, He continues to pray for all his executioners and their lack of understanding of Who it is that hangs on the Cross. Our Redeemer prays for the salvation of all those who continue to make negative comments towards His divinity. He prays for the priests and the Pharisees and their fury as they throw stones at the Cross where He hangs dying. I pray as I hear Our Redeemer’s prayer.
I hear once more the prayers of His holy Mother. His most afflicted Mother prays with the heart of her dying Son for all His enemies, the executioners, the Pharisees, the priests and all who blaspheme against her dying Son. Both the Mother and Son uttered the same prayer to the Eternal Father. Both suffered, both prayed with one heart and one spirit -- both their hearts, laced to the holy will of the Eternal Father for the redemption of all humanity. I knew in my heart, that although the holy Mother of Our Redeemer was suffering by all that she was witnessing that caused her great sorrow, she did not wish to be spared. She would remain at the sight of her dying Son, all the way to the end, until the will of the Eternal Father be accomplished in both the Son and His holy Mother.
The executioners did not seem to be concerned that the Mother of our Redeemer was witnessing all their cruelty inflicted against her beloved Son. I felt in my heart that the Mother of our Redeemer was allowed to be near her suffering and tortured Son by the executioners, so that this would inflict Our Redeemer even more to see His suffering Mother. The executioners were so unaware what great source of consolation it was for Our Redeemer to see his most holy Mother at his side; how much the Mother was like her Son, dying mystically, both bearing much fruit through their suffering for the fulfillment of the passion and death of our Redeemer. This brought our dying Redeemer great joy.
I continue to pray so that I, too, might be strengthened with new grace to bear all that heaven was allowing me to witness. Our Lord Jesus knew how much I was suffering. I was transported back to my own present time. I went to my bedroom and fell into a deep sleep for almost two hours. When I woke up I began to pray, meditating on the passion of Our Lord. I made a spiritual communion, for I had not yet attended Holy Mass. I would go later in the day.
Our Lord then came to me, and I was transported back to the past. I find myself standing before the Cross, where our Redeemer is dying. I hear the voices of the priests and the Pharisees and many others who continue to mock Our Lord as they throw stones at the Cross; the two thieves also participating in blaspheming against Our Lord. I can see by the expression of Our Lord’s face how much this blaspheming saddened him. These two thieves are dying, and they have not repented for their sins. I prayed for the two thieves, for God’s mercy. As I was praying, I heard Our Lord utter these words, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” These divine words from Our Lord caused such movement of my spirit that I dropped to my knees. His words pierced every fiber of my being. Our Lord prayed this prayer with such divine love and charity that His words penetrated the spirit of one of the two thieves. It was the thief, called Dismas, that was moved by true contrition for his sins. Dismas pleaded with the other thief to stop blaspheming against Jesus. Dismas was enlightened interiorly through the words of his Redeemer and, also, through the intercession of the Mother of the Redeemer, for their hearts are inseparable.
Through these words Our Redeemer was praying forgiveness for all His persecutors, Pilate, the Pharisees, the priests, and all His enemies in His present time. These words were extended down through the times of the future, for all who would commit the treason of Judas through their betrayal of their religious vocations and thus become enemies of the Church, for all the acts of sacrilege against the Eucharist, the Ten Commandments of the Church, the sacraments, the despise of the Cross, and the denial of the divinity of Christ and everything supernatural.
Our Redeemer prayed for all who would believe in Him, for all His apostles who would be His true representatives; for all the poor, the despised and the afflicted; for all His true friends who would follow His Cross and for all humanity. Our Most Holy Mother prayed with the concern of the same petition as her dying Son to the Eternal Father for the redemption of all humanity, so that all would be converted to the truth. My heart was so moved by the union of love between the Mother and Son, how much alike they are. I prayed that I would never forget the power of the union of the love between Our Redeemer and the love of His holy Mother.
Our Redeemer continues to suffer, and He appears to be much weaker as the time passes. It is about midday now, and I pray for Our Lord as I see him near death. Through grace I saw his afflicted Mother, standing with the others who are in her company. They appear to be supportive of her in her time of great sorrow. She acknowledges my presence as I move to be closer to her. She said to me very gently, “I love you, my angel.” I cry at her words of charity. She who needs consoling is consoling me in my own suffering. Her love and her charity reflect that of her Son Jesus.
As I stand next to the Mother of my Redeemer, I hear the thief, called Dismas, calling out to Our Redeemer, “Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom.” These words moved the hearts of several people near the Cross where the two thieves were dying next to Our Lord. The heart of the centurion, who believed in Jesus to be the Christ, was deeply moved. The fruit of redemption was evident in many hearts of those who also believed in Jesus. Our Redeemer, turning to Dismas, said, “Amen, I say to thee. This day shall thou be with me in paradise.”
I understood in my heart that these words were words of hope for all who would believe and for all unconverted sinners throughout time, until the end of time. Paradise is for all who would turn away from their sins with a contrite and humble heart. What a teaching in the merciful love of the Eternal Father! I prayed for the grace to abandon all sinfulness in my life. Now through the passion of Our Redeemer, the doors of paradise were open to those who would believe in the forgiveness of sin. I prayed in thanksgiving for the conversion of what I had witnessed. I could see that our holy Mother, even in her most suffering moments, rejoiced at the favor shown by her dying Son to Dismas.
Our sweet Savior continues to weaken more and more. He has lost so much blood. The hole where His Cross stands is covered with His most precious blood. My spirit is restless, but my spirit is comforted by being near to His holy Mother. I was pondering in my heart all that I was allowed to witness. It was at this time that I saw Our Redeemer turning His gaze to His beloved and afflicted Mother. Our holy Mother was standing next to John, the apostle. Our Redeemer gazed upon His holy Mother with such love. I felt a bit anxious, for I felt that the death of our Redeemer is near. I hear our Redeemer saying to His afflicted Mother, “Woman, behold thy son.” Then He said to John, “Behold thy Mother.”
As I listened to the words of our Savior to His beloved Mother, I prayed to understand why Jesus called His Mother “Woman.” I understood that Our Lord Jesus, during the suffering of His passion, would not receive such consolation as addressing the woman by saying the word ‘Mother.’ He renounced all exterior consolations. His Mother understood this with total surrender to the will of the Father. Like a loving Son He would assign one of His beloved disciples to take care of His Mother, whom He could not be with since He was going to His Father. Our most holy Mother accepted the request of her most holy Son from the Cross. She accepted the beloved disciple in total obedience to her Son Jesus.
I could see with the eyes of my soul, how inseparable Our Lord and His holy Mother are. I rejoiced to understand in my little way all this, but I rejoiced most at the great gift of love from the Cross that Jesus gave to the world: Mary, His beloved Mother. I prayed that like Jesus and Mary I would die to self-love and renounce all exterior consolations that would distract me from doing the will of the Father. O Mary, living in Jesus, come live in my heart!
I continue praying as I was looking at Our Lord Jesus on the Cross. He is so weak and is becoming much weaker. Our Lady stands there, at the foot of the Cross, with her dying Son. I wanted to console our sweet Mother, but I understood, too, that she was so united with the passion of her Son and that she would not permit herself any exterior consolations.
I thank my Heavenly Father for this great work of redemption that the world will receive through the suffering of Our Lord’s passion on the Cross. I stood there praying among the chaotic confusion of all the people that stood watching Our Savior dying on the Cross. I hear our weak and dying Savior speak these words in a loud and strong voice, “My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken me.” Our Lord spoke in a different language, but I understood. When the crowd heard Our Lord say these words, they immediately began to mock Him, yet many others wondered who He was calling. I was so sad and began crying for I could not understand the lack of compassion among the many who were mocking Our Lord.
Here on the Cross is our dying Redeemer with His entire precious body all mutilated, covered with blood. It seems to me that nobody cares. He is Our Savior, dying for the whole human race and still treated like a criminal. I began to pray, begging the Heavenly Father to forgive me for all my lack of compassion and ingratitude that I have felt many times in my heart for my salvation that came through the passion of Our Lord Jesus. I thought I am no better than this crowd, for I truly don’t love Jesus as I should. I kneel down, looking at Jesus on the Cross. I say, “My dying Savior, please forgive me for all my sinfulness and ingratitude for You and for all You did for me, so I would be redeemed.” Our Lady said to me, “Be at peace. He heard your prayer.” I look at the Cross where my Savior hangs and said, “Thank You. You hear all who turn to You, right away. All we have to do is trust You.” I feel in my heart that these words of Our Lord were spoken because He was grieving for all those who would be lost and not enter into the eternal happiness, for through Him salvation would come. I prayed for all these poor souls.
I continue to keep my gaze on my dying Savior and not on all the spirit of negativity and violence that surrounds me. I see Our Lord becoming much weaker. There is hardly any life in Him Who is Life. I hear these words from Our Savior, “I thirst.” The executioners took what appeared to be a reed, tied a sponge and soaked it in vinegar. They raised it to His precious mouth that was lacerated with cuts and bruises, so that He would drink it. The executioners pressed this soaked sponge hard on Our Lord’s mouth. They were so brutal.
I look at our holy Mother. She appears like she, too, is dying. They are so united in prayer and their prayers are for the redemption of the entire world. I prayed to understand what the words ‘I thirst’ meant. I thought in my heart, of course, He is thirsty. His body has been badly beaten, and He has lost so much blood. I knew that He was given vinegar to drink in order to torture Him more.
As I stood praying for all His executioners, I had a deeper understanding of the words ‘I thirst.’ This was a thirst of love of Our Savior’s heart. His thirst was for all of God’s children, since the beginning of time until the end of time, to be set free from their captivity and not to lose the eternal happiness that He had merited for all throughout His suffering, death and resurrection. His thirst was for those without faith and without love for Our Lord, for those who would not profit from the inheritance left by Our Lord through the merits of the suffering of His passion. I was sad to understand this suffering of Our Lord for all humanity. This inheritance He leaves is available for all who accept it. The only way to quench Our Lord’s thirst is by accepting Him as Our Redeemer and embracing the way of the Cross.
I felt very exhausted by seeing the suffering Our Lord and His beloved Mother who understands everything about her dying Son. I felt helpless, but I knew that Our Lord and Our Lady were praying with one heart for all of humanity. I continued praying and in a small way wanting to be somewhere else, because I felt very weak. I asked God for strength and for courage. As I was silently standing by the Cross, there was a sweet smell of myrrh that was coming from the Cross. The scent gave me new strength.
The weather was changing, and the people appeared to be more restless. Our Lord’s appearance was faint and lifeless. My heart went out to Him and Our Lady. I know they both knew exactly how I was feeling. I was looking at Our Lord’s face to see if He was breathing. Then I heard Him say, “It is consummated.” I thought to myself that this means He has accomplished the will of His Heavenly Father. I stood there looking at Our Lord. Then it was clear in my heart that His words meant that Our Lord had fulfilled all that was written of Him by the prophets in the Old Testament. He had come from heaven to be born of His virgin Mother through her Fiat and to bring redemption into a world walking in darkness. Through His birth and the suffering of His passion, He would establish His Church, enriched with His sacraments, especially of His True Presence in the Holy Eucharist; He would establish all the doctrines and all the remedies to bring salvation to the poor sinners throughout the world. God in His love and mercy had sent His only begotten Son to cure the sickness of sin and to restore mankind. The beginning of new life with Christ through His passion has laid the foundation of the Church. Now all is established and accomplished. The doors of salvation and its inheritance have been opened to all who accept the gift of the Father to the world.
I was sad but had joy to have such promises of hope to be united someday in eternity with Our Lord and His suffering Mother. As I was contemplating all this, I heard Our Lord say in a loud and strong voice, as He looked up to heaven, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” Our Lord inclined His head and took His last breath.
I looked at Our Lady as the winds seemed to blow harder than before. She stood very still and very weak. I thanked God for everything He allowed me to see. I had no words to comfort our sorrowful Mother. It was clear to me that our holy Mother understood all the mysteries of the entire life of her Son since she had given her Fiat at the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel had appeared to her. She would participate as the Mother of her Son in the works of redemption in the passion of her Son. She stood with her beloved Son from His birth to His death on the Cross. She experienced in her own body all the sufferings of her Son. She stood and watched all the horror inflicted on her Son. When her Son took his last breath, she, too, took her last breath mystically. All the torture and pains of her Son penetrated Our Lady. During the passion of her Son she suffered more than anyone has suffered throughout the history of creation. God blessed Our Lady with many favors: She was united in the passion of her Son without any exterior consolation, and she was one heart with the Father and her beloved Son to fulfill the works of redemption.
After this understanding I heard Our Lady’s voice say to me, “My angel, never forget what God has allowed you to see. Record all that you saw. Remember and never forget the memory of Christ Jesus crucified. Live in His love and be the reflection of the love and mercy of His passion.” After these words, I find myself back in my room with the Rosary still in my hand. I have been obedient to record all that I saw, although it seems to me that I was asleep, but I know that I wasn’t. Our Lord knows that I am not a good writer, and that I struggle in putting words together.
My heart is so filled with joy, for I know that whenever I see a crucifix, I will show more reverence to Our Lord. God has allowed me to understand, in a small way, the power of the union between our holy Mother and her Son. There is much more contained in my heart regarding the experience of the passion of our beloved Savior, but this is for me to ponder as long as I live.
I promise Jesus that I would live my life loving His most holy Mother, being obedient to her as her little child and always being in her service. I promise Mary, my holy Mother, that I would live my life for Jesus, crucified on the Cross, and I would do everything for love of the Cross, and I ask both Mother and Son to help me to accomplish this through the intercession of St. Joseph whom I love so much. To God all glory be forever and ever. Amen.