Making the La Salette Message Known in This Digital Age

In this digital age of ours, where the world seems to be getting smaller day by day, things are changing rapidly — beyond our wildest dreams! This is more than an evolution; it is truly a revolution — from horse and carriage to automobiles, from communicating by writing and sending letters by “snail mail” to instant worldwide communication; from newspapers to television and videos.

A Vision for the Digital Age from the 2018 General Chapter

All this has — and should — change our own methods as La Salettes in making Mary’s message known. Our most recent General Chapter of 2018 has wholeheartedly supported expanding our efforts at communicating with more up-to-date methods to reach more people.

The General Chapter realized our “need to coordinate internationally the writing, publishing and disseminating of La Salette materials (new and old), in various languages, in collaboration with the General Administration.” Also it recognized that “there is an abundance of art (paintings, statues, medals, music, etc.), old and new, related to La Salette” and these should be gathered, organized and shared with other La Salettes in their ministries.

It therefore recommended:

• “that the General Council create an International Communications Committee;
• that each Provincial and Regional Council create its own Communications Committee;
• that the Provincial/Regional Committees share with the International Communications Committee all appropriate materials, including those published to the members of the Province or Region, as well as La Salette art, multimedia and music, in order to make them available in digital form to the extent possible and as permitted by law;
• that these committees acknowledge and encourage artistic talent in our Congregation and in La Salette lay movements;
• that the International Communications Committee establish a team of translators and proofreaders for all materials to be published to the Congregation as a whole;
• that qualified La Salette Sisters or laity also be invited to participate in these committees.”

This is truly a wonderful agenda to be completed in the near future.

La Salette Laity gathering in BrazilSince communication necessitates good relationships with our lay companions, the General Chapter desired development of our “La Salette Laity” worldwide. This involves:

• “...preparing... formation material to help both the ‘La Salette Laity’ and other lay groups inspired by the charism of La Salette”;
• appointing a La Salette Missionary to ...coordinate the ‘La Salette Laity;
• organizing International Meetings of ‘La Salette Laity’ at the Shrine of La Salette, France, every six years.

Necessity is the mother of invention

In response to the common experience of the coronavirus epidemic around the world, we La Salettes have seen, up-close-and-personal, the value of using the Internet as a vehicle of support and connection with our people, using the internet to livestream our liturgies, meetings and programs – live and in color –in many of our Shrines and Parishes around the world!

Of course, we now see the advantage of holding meetings online, forgoing the expense of travel yet still appreciating the need for person-to-person meetings when they are again possible.

With the separation caused by this same pandemic, our Province in India wanted to keep in contact with its members and found the application, “WhatsApp,” which allows fast, simple, messaging as well as telephone calls with video. Our own Province in North America uses it to stay in contact with our birthdays, illnesses and by simply “saying hello.”

What’s happening in our La Salette Communications Center in Attleboro, MA?

Seminarians walk up to the Attleboro Castle House after a winter storm In our own sharing the La Salette Apparition and our charism of reconciliation with others, we began with the tried and true methods: that is, editing, printing and publishing these works by the thousands and shipping them around the world. However, we discovered, at one point, that we needed to “change with the times” by publishing updated versions of classic La Salette books as well as brand new publications on many facets of La Salette and our charism but foregoing the need to print thousands of copies and shipping them around the world.

Amazon.com came to our rescue and showed us that they could help us (and save on our expenses) by publishing through their company and distribution system. Not surprisingly, this behemoth of a company allied with printing shops on several continents, including Europe and the United States. We publish from Attleboro, MA and they take over the online availability and prompt shipping, printing one or one thousand books.

Also since there are digital versions of all our books, people can simply download a copy and view it on any platform – ready to be viewed on their television, on a digital reader like Nook or iPad, or on your phone. And they also have a worldwide connection with other booksellers to assist in the selling and distribution of our materials, thus making Mary’s message known.

Our newest publication, “Daily Reflections for 2021,” is now available

This book is an expanded edition of Great News: Reflections on the weekday Gospels and the La Salette message, edited by Fr. Roger Plante, M.S. in the late 1990s. We have added reflections for all Sundays and Feasts of the year. This edition is intended for use in the year 2021 with its day-by-day reflections and their daily lectionary number for your reference.

Our Authors, Past and Present

All our authors are connected to La Salette and come from all parts of the United States, Canada and, in a few cases, from other parts of the English-speaking world. They have participated in a variety of ministries in the La Salette Congregation and in the Church: parish ministry, retreat and parish missions, missions abroad, education and religious formation, as well as community administration.

They are a great mix of brothers, priests and laity, yet they have one thing in common: a love of the La Salette Event. They were asked to "sit with the mystery " of Mary's Apparition at La Salette which happened in 1846. In these daily Gospel Meditations, they share their personal sensitivity to the Lord's call, "Come, follow me," and his Mother's plea at La Salette, "Make this known to all my people."

Our La Salette Anniversary Year

From September 19th, 2020 to September 19th, 2021, the La Salette Missionaries worldwide are celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the La Salette Apparition with all those who have devotion to Our Weeping Mother. We invite you, in using this book for your reflection, to avail yourself of the special La Salette Anniversary Novena included in our Appendix at the end of this book. From the 11th to the 19th of each month you will be invited to pray this Novena of nine days for any personal intention. May Mary guide you and God bless you!

Almost everything you’d ever want to know about La Salette...

Also, our own Province website (www.lasalette.org) has these downloadable resources for your perusal and use, more than any other place in the world:

• over 1,600 articles on La Salette and other contemporary topics (all searchable by name or topic);
• Yearbooks from past La Salette Seminaries in the United States;
• in our “La Salette Library” area (all downloadable):
  • in our “Books” area: (coming soon) over 400 books on La Salette in various languages,
  • in our “La Salette Papers” area: nearly 200 reflection sets on: Associates, Community, History, La Salette, Mary, Ministry, Personal Spirituality, Reconciliation, and Religious Life; these are designed for Parish Adult Education Programs, RCIA groups, La Salette Laity groups, and personal reflection.
  • in “La Salette Masses” we have two new informal Collections of Votive Masses with Lectionary prayers, prefaces and readings as well as scripture commentaries and reflections:
    • Fifteen Votive Masses on the Apparition Text (181 pages);
    • Ten Votive Mass on the Charism of Reconciliation (119 pages).

Is there nothing new under the sun?

Of course, sometimes computer work can be very challenging!“What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). It seems that the scripture quote is out of date – or is it?

One answer to this question is offered: “When Solomon wrote the statement, he was emphasizing the cyclic nature of human life on earth and the emptiness of living only for the ‘rat race.’ ...The intended meaning in Ecclesiastes is that what happens ‘under the sun’ in a life separated from God is universal—the point of view in Ecclesiastes is an earth-bound perspective... Living for God and his glory is the goal of life... This knowledge should result in a life lived for God, with a deep love for others and desire to make a difference.”

As we welcome another year of our Lord, let us listen to Jesus who says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b). Yes, our digital age is going to offer new ways of relating, communicating, and even making the message of La Salette more widely known. The questions remains: “Are we listening?”