What is our La Salette Life and Ministry?

Third phase of the Apparition: Mary ascends and disappears into the air

Editor: This is the twelfth 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.

La Salette Rule:

As disciples of Christ we live in communion with him. As his apostles we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, as he was, for the fulfillment of the Father's loving design. Our life, like Christ's, comprises both prayer and apostolic activity in our service to people for the Kingdom of God. (#25, emphasis added)

What three competing areas must be balanced
in our religious life and ministry?

“We have not included the specific stress on the study of Holy Scripture (which was previously contained here) because it has now been included in our Rule, #8C and #66C. Apostles/disciples, action/contemplation, being sent/being with – these are . . . aspects of our (ministerial) religious life that must always be maintained. What is important to realize is that prayer is not primarily concerned with our spiritual life and the apostolate with our work life. Both are concerned with our spiritual life – both are concerned with our work life.

“Our apostolate is as privileged an encounter-point with the Lord and the Spirit as prayer is. But there must be a rhythm of ‘apart moments with the Lord’ in prayer to develop the faith vision that slowly transforms all our activities into prayer. There is also the need for moments alone in prayer to discern precisely what the Father wants in our apostolate, just as the Lord constantly retreated to listen to the Father.

“Our (ministry) gets its most profound meaning only in the context of being recognized as a mission given to the Congregation and each member. This mission is God's loving plan for his people, their reconciliation. Our (ministry) is genuinely evident and dynamically effective when it is a response of obedience to this mission given by God. Authentic apostolic religious spirituality is nourished by both prayer and apostolic activity.

“Our Lady not only pleads and intercedes for us but also comes to us and attempts to awaken us to the Lord and the Father's will for us. (The intercessory dimension of our prayer as part of our [ministry] that is in the present text has been transferred to #8 C and #13).” (1)

Reflection Questions:

•  Do you have any comments on the statement, “Authentic apostolic religious spirituality is nourished by both prayer and apostolic activity”?
• Other comments…

La Salette Rule:

The symbolic La Salette Cross with its hammer (our sins) and pincers (our good deeds)Christ came to bring the Good News of freedom to all people while turning in a special way to the poor and the oppressed. Mary, at La Salette, while speaking to the lowly and the humble, made her message known to all her people. We also direct our mission to the People of God as a whole, while turning more willingly in our apostolic endeavors towards those the world looks down upon and towards those who are alienated from God and the Church. (#25)

Responsive to the needs of the universal and local Church and in conformity with our charism, attentive to the signs of the times and after prayer and discernment, we generously undertake those apostolic tasks to which we believe Providence is calling us. We also willingly evaluate our ministries and regularly renew our apostolic methods, adapting them to present needs and the requirements of our working conditions. (#26, emphasis added)

What other qualities should be evident in our religious life and ministry?

“Christ understood his mission as fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah, “to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives . . .” (Luke 4:18). Mary did not bring her message at La Salette to the wealthy, the influential, the intellectuals, etc., but rather to the simplest of the simple. We, too, therefore, will give the preferential option to the poor and neglected in our choice of (ministries). This should be one of the criteria that will direct current (ministries) and take on new ones.

“Apart from modeling our apostolic preference for the poor as exemplified by Jesus and Mary, we dedicate ourselves to developing a sensitivity to the needs of the Church, the signs of the time, and the capacity to discern what the Spirit is asking of us at a particular time and in a particular place. Our first Rule of 1858 states that the Missionaries would expand “more or less as Providence directs them." This does not mean that we do not have a clear idea of our mission in the life of the Church, but rather that we are open to fulfilling this mission in unexpected times and places.

“The (present Rule, in #26, 195 C and 244 C) states that we are called to be men of “adaptability” which demands sensitivity to the needs and situation and also a willingness to continue to learn and to grow. This naturally touches ongoing formation.” (2)

La Salette Rule:

Through the different ministries and works we are called to engage in, all of us, Fathers and Brothers, share in the mission of Reconciliation the Church has entrusted to the Congregation. (#27)

What part do brothers have in our religious life and ministry?

“In previous consultations on our present legislation, several members objected to the paragraph in the original legislation that states that “priests are more particularly called to be promoters of the faith among the People of God. Those who are not priests . . .” The original defines the Brothers in negative terms. Also, it tends to stress a separation rather than emphasizing our unity as religious called within the same apostolic congregation to fulfill a mission through various forms of ministry and service. The new text tries to be both positive and unifying.” (3)

Reflection Questions:

• Who is a religious brother that you admire? What do you admire in him?
• Other comments…

Endnotes: (1) Fifth La Salette Dossier by Fr. Eugene Barrette, M.S., pg. 13-14; (2) Ibidem, pgs. 14-15; (3) Ibidem, pg. 15.