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Golden Words – The Lord’s Day

After the general theme of submission to the will of God in her appearance at La Salette, her reprimand concerning the “seventh day” is the first specific reproach the Lady addresses to her people. 

Right away, we can think of other sins she might have placed on the table: greed in high places, sins of the flesh, social injustice, war and all the rest. But no. It would seem that God’s friendship with the human race is first in God’s priorities. There is a desire for closeness and intimacy in this Sunday prescription.  

I gave you six days to work,” she says. “I kept the seventh for myself.” She doesn’t say that the seventh day should be reserved for rest, for prayer, for family, for contemplation, although all of these are understood in her words. 

God gives us an invitation

I 27 l AssembléePilgrims at Sunday Mass in the La Salette Basilica
on the Holy Mountain in France
What is primary in this command is myself... “and no one will give it to me.” Her words are a reminder of a long-forgotten commandment, but, more than this, they show God’s mysterious yearning for the company of humans now expressed in begging terms. Speaking as a prophet, her words actually mean “on that day, God has reserved you for God’s-self, and you refuse to give yourselves to him.” She is not speaking in her name here, but saying, as it were, the words God would say were God there with her at La Salette. We note those words: “I kept the seventh for myself,” that is, this is time I want you to spend with me.

The words mean that God retains humanity exclusively for God that day, that God wants “all my people” to turn toward God on that day, to pray, to play in God’s exclusive presence on that day. We are always in his presence, always within the radius of God’s care and creative activity. This special call to a relationship with God highlights the need friends have for special time – dedicated, set aside, apportioned – to express care and affection one for the other. This is the meaning of “I kept the seventh for myself.”

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Pope Francis in Canada – a message of truth, forgiveness, and reconciliation

 

  "Walking together": this is the common thread, but also the approach proposed to Canadians on the occasion of the 37th apostolic journey of Pope Francis which is taking place in these days in Canada. “The invitation comes to us both from the large indigenous community (1,670,000) and from the Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Prime Minister of the country", comments to Father Yoland Ouellet, O.M.I., Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Canada.

"After the meetings with the Holy Father in the Vatican, in which he expressed his pain, his shame for what some Catholics did in the past, for the lack of respect for indigenous culture and spirituality – explains Fr. Ouellet – the Pope asked for forgiveness. The Bishops from all over Canada did so in 2021, after the meetings of the journey of truth and reconciliation that began in 2015. The Holy Father thus continues an important journey of truth, forgiveness and healing in this pastoral visit from the east to the west of the country.”

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How did Jesus identify with the poor?

Da giovanni lanfranco moltiplicazione dei pani e dei pesciMultiplication of the loaves and fishes by Giovanni Lanfranco ( 1582 - 1647 )

Editor: This is the sixteenth in this series of articles based on the eight Dossiers (from February 1978 to November 1981) totaling 718 pages in this study. In 1982, Fr. Eugene Barrette, M.S., the prime mover in this historic study, was elected the thirteenth La Salette Superior General (1982-1988). Other articles on Religious Life are available in our La Salette Online Library.

How did Jesus identify with the poor of this world?

“That Jesus identified with the poor is evident from his life. [In the scriptures, we see that] he proclaimed his solidarity with the poor, the powerless on this earth, in his birth, [in] the way he lived:
‘Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head’ (Matthew 8:20), especially in his passion and death as a common criminal.

“St. Paul proclaims this poverty of Jesus beautifully:
‘[Jesus] emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2:7-8).

Read more How did Jesus identify with the poor?

Mary’s care is expressed well at La Salette

 

Pope Francis knows well that Mary profoundly cares for us. In his encyclical, Laudato si (#241), he reminds us:

“Mary, the mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and sorrow for this wounded world. Just as she mourned the death of Jesus with a pierced heart, she now has compassion on the suffering of the poor crucified and of the creatures of this world exterminated by human power. She lives with Jesus, completely transfigured, and all creatures sing of her beauty. She is the Woman ‘clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head’” (Revelation 12:1).

laity france 2011 09bLa Salette Laity gather at the La Salette Crucifix on the top of Mount Planeau for Morning Prayer, September of 2011Assumed into heaven, she is Mother and Queen of all creation. In her glorified body, together with the risen Christ, part of creation, she has reached the fullness of her beauty. She not only keeps in her heart the whole life of Jesus, which she “guarded” with care (cf. Luke 2:19,51) but now she also understands the meaning of all things. Therefore, we can ask her to help us look at this world with wiser eyes.

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Synodality, Reconciliation and La Salette

 

A rather new word has been coined and now used to describe an old reality; synodality is now being used to name a process or way of thinking of Church today. We are perhaps more familiar with the word synod – a gathering (most often used for a gathering of bishops) to listen to each other on a topic or topics.

Pope Francis has opened the concept to the whole church and declared a “Synod on Synodality” to be held in 2023. In his opening address in October to the synod of bishops on this topic he has instructed them and the church to use this idea of listening in all dioceses throughout the whole church. He has emphasized that this listening is to be a part of every process in the dioceses and that it is to be as comprehensive as possible, that is, including everyone – especially those who have often been neglected: minorities, indigenous people, women, the poor. Many dioceses have already organized listening sessions on issues and the future of the church in their dioceses.

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The La Salette Apparition – A Rich Marian Legacy

 

Editor: This is the third in a series of three talks, based on notes taken by Fr. Donald Paradis, M.S. and expanded by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S. These talks, entitled “La Salette – Charism as Mission,” were delivered at Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Attleboro, MA, by Fr. Johann Roten, S.M., Director of the Marian Center at Dayton University, Dayton, Ohio. They were given on two occasions: August 17, 2002, and April 23, 2005.

Mary’s appearance at La Salette on September 19, 1846, is not the abstract, disembodied and remote figure favored in the 19th-century as reflected, for example, in traditional paintings of the Immaculate Conception.

Mary at La Salette is a highly interactive figure, as shown by her gestures, postures, and words: sitting, weeping, standing, speaking, inviting the two frightened herders to come near, going before them, asking them to follow her as she ascends the knoll from the ravine where they had first seen her and talked with her.

The Virgin at La Salette is also a paradoxical figure. Dressed like a local maidservant, she nonetheless radiates as the Queen of heaven. She answers the most crucial question about herself: Which image of Mary is the accurate one?

At La Salette, she is not so much the sorrowful but the compassionate mother. The Apparition points to the two dimensions of her motherly compassion, its Cana and Calvary aspects. She suffers both with Christ, her Son, and with us. Her compassion expresses itself in two ways:

As a pilgrim – My Visit to the Holy Mountain of La Salette

 

As Bishop of Orlando, Florida, I receive many invitations to attend different religious functions yearly in the Diocese of Orlando. Last year, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, I received another type of invitation; an invitation to attend the 175th anniversary of the Apparition of the Blessed Mother in La Salette, France. I have visited many of the Apparition Shrines of Mary in the world, but I have never been to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. I was excited about the possibility of my participation; however, within the pandemic, I never thought I would be able to attend.

Read more As a pilgrim – My Visit to the Holy Mountain of La Salette

What is the importance of Mary and prayer as La Salettes?

Editor: This is the fifteenth in this series of articles based on the eight Dossiers (from February 1978 to November 1981) totaling 718 pages in this study. In 1982, Fr. Eugene Barrette, M.S., the prime mover in this historic study, was elected the thirteenth La Salette Superior General (1982-1988). Other articles on Religious Life are available in our La Salette Online Library.

How is Mary’s life our model of Ministry?

Untitled 1Early version of the La Salette Apparition

“‘The perfect model of this [ministerial] spiritual life is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles’ (Laity, #4). Lumen Gentium, #56, quoted in Dossier II, also states this, and the Pastoral letter of the U.S. Bishops, Behold Your Mother, very succinctly summarizes this and says: ‘In its apostolic work the Church looks to Mary. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ. So too, through the Church, Jesus continues to be born and grow in the hearts of the faithful’ (#80).

“The Puebla document linked this directly to religious: ‘Taking Mary as their model of consecration and their intercessor, the consecrated [religious] will flesh out the Word of God in their lives. Like her and with her, they will offer that Word to human beings in an ongoing process of evangelization’ (#745).

This perfectly describes what [our ministry] is all about – making Jesus and his power present. It is also a good description of why Mary is so special. She is not simply a Mother interceding for us; she is also a model for us, the "[model] Christian." Our own lives should repeat the pattern she showed in her life.

“Puebla also has a good summary of Mary's role in Salvation History – a role seen primarily through the eyes of scripture. It is quoted at length here because it can nourish our reflection and preaching on Mary.

Read more What is the importance of Mary and prayer as La Salettes?

The La Salette Apparition – The anatomy of a private revelation

Editor: This is the second in a series of three talks, based on notes taken by Fr. Donald Paradis, M.S. and expanded by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S. These talks, entitled “La Salette – Charism as Mission,” were delivered at Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Attleboro, MA, by Fr. Johann Roten, S.M., Director of the Marian Center at Dayton University, Dayton, Ohio. They were given on two occasions: August 17, 2002, and April 23, 2005.

Mother of Sorrows card 01bOur Weeping Mother of La Salette with the cross of her SonIn the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #67, we hear about the purpose of private apparitions such as La Salette: “Throughout the ages, there have been so-called ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.”

In addition, Fr. Karl Rahner, S.J., in his book, Visions and Prophesies (pgs. 13-14), explains how apparitions fit into our life of faith: “The possibility of private (apparitions) through visions . . . is evident in principle for a Christian. God as a free personal being can make himself perceptible to the created spirit, not only through his works but also by his free, personal word . . . (An) ‘apparition’ represents and manifests God, his will, or the like.”

The gift qualities of these approved apparitions include:

  • Concerning God’s presence: Remaining the visible Invisible God through apparitions, God challenges us in a direct and hands-on way.
  • Concerning the message: God’s message was entrusted to fragile carriers.
  • Concerning God’s continued interest in our lives: Ongoing communication of this urgent message depends on its being received, assimilated, and passed on by us.
  • Concerning God’s gifts to us: Communication of the message is and remains a gift to the community of believers and all the friends of God.
  • Concerning the value of God’s message: Apparitions bring us face to face with our eternal destiny; they offer God’s view of the life we are living and the world in which we are living it.

    Read more The La Salette Apparition – The anatomy of a private revelation

La Salette and the Priority of Light

 a Le Blanc Arthur in 1928 1899 1990 01c greyscaleFr. Arthur Le Blanc, M.S. (1899-1990) as a young priest in 1928One afternoon in Attleboro I received a call from St. Louis, Missouri asking me to meet Fr. Arthur Le Blanc, M.S., at Logan Airport in Boston. He was arriving the next day from Madagascar to visit his family in the States. The old missionary did visit his relatives, but he also sought out ophthalmologists who would operate on his badly failing eyes; this would allow him to finish “whatever days he had left” he said, visiting his people in the bush of our La Salette mission. Most doctors told him he had waited too long, that there wasn't much to operate on, that whatever graft they would attempt would not “take,” etc.

Finally, one self-assured doctor performed the surgery – with outstanding success! Roman consuls never returned to Rome in greater triumph than this old missionary to his Provincial House in Attleboro, MA sometime later. Every morning he would set his alarm clock to “catch” the sunrise, and go outdoors at dusk to witness the sunset. He was like a man who had never seen daylight. He could now read his breviary and celebrate Mass with an ease he hadn't known in decades. Everyone knew this was a miracle of surgery. Fr. Le Blanc knew it was a true miracle.

The old priest had been a missionary in Madagascar for over fifty years. He had pushed into the forest to find people to whom he could reveal the wonder of Christ and the Church. He had suffered illness and disease. He had built churches and schools and, with his brother missionaries, lay the foundation for a thriving mission dedicated to preaching the Gospel and the message of Our Lady of La Salette.

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