We Would Love
to Keep in Touch!
La Salette Shrine in India – 1866
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| Front entrance of La Salette Shrine Church with Stations lining the steps on both sides |
When we think back to the very humble beginnings of the La Salette Apparition in 1846 and its great expansion over the next century and a half or more, we don’t expect that those who visited the Holy Mountain – and there were thousands of pilgrims each year – would, in turn, bring the La Salette devotion, in accordance with Mary’s wishes, to “all her people.” Yet this is true; many pilgrims spread the message and devotion to the Weeping Mother of La Salette.
Many years ago…
An example of this is the early establishment of a small La Salette Shrine in the hill country of Kodaikanal, in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India, east of Karala. It has been home to the Shrine of Our lady of La Salette (here spelled “La Saleth”) for over 150 years.
The shrine is situated on a mountain which is 7,000 feet above the sea level. It gives an panoramic view of the neighboring mountains. The La Salette Shrine was the first Catholic church in Kodaikanal and was funded by a generous donation of a Belgian woman who wanted to thank Our Lady of La Salette for the cure of her daughter.
Our Lady of the Oak
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| Facade of Church of Notre-Dame du Chêne |
The Missionaries of La Salette, founded upon the event of the Apparition of La Salette, have taken pastoral care of their own Shrine on the Holy Mountain in France. Over the past 150 years, they have also been invited to take over the pastoral care of other shrines to Our Lady in France including L’Hermitage in Noirétable, Notre Dame de Thau in Sète, and Notre Dame de Pipet in Vienne.
In November of 2007, they received an invitation to take care of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak. They gladly accepting this responsibility and officially took charge of the shrine during a solemn celebration on December 8, 2007.
The Shrine of Our Lady of the Oak lies in the heart of the magnificent Loue Valley, near Ornans, 180 miles north of Grenoble and near the Italian border. In this part of the country, the advent of mild weather marks the arrival of numerous pilgrims and tourists. They are probably not aware that here in this picturesque area – long before the apparitions at Lourdes, La Salette and Pontmain – an extraordinary event occurred.
A Special Day, A Blessed Event
The restoration of Catholic worship that followed the Concordat in 1802 made it possible for the little parish of Maisières at Scey-en-Varais to organize a solemn celebration of First Holy Communion, the first such celebration since the dark days of the French Revolution. Thirteen-year-old Cécile Mille was among the first communicants in the following year.
A Missionary named Marie Claire
The village is called Mahavavy, on the northwest coast of Madagascar. It is a rather strange name. Even the Malagasy who travel through do not always grasp the meaning of Mahavavy.
Tribal War
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| Sakalava people: their name means "people of the long valleys." |
During the eighteenth century when tribal wars were a way of life there would have been an important battle by the river that now gives its name to the village. The royal army from the Merina kingdom of the high plateau was on the north bank of this rather small river while the Sakalava army – those local costal people who would be defending their land – was on the south bank. When they engaged in battle the Sakalava army, very much outnumbered, would have fled in fear and shame. Thus the name of the river and area: Mahavavy – “That which makes [a warrior] into a woman.”
For years it was just another isolated non-Christian village in the bush. During three months of the year an occasional truck loaded with tobacco or a Jeep would venture over the dirt track that lead through the village. In 1978 thirteen bridges were built in this valley, known as the Betsiriry – meaning “Where everything grows” – and a paved road opened up the entire area between Morondava and Antsirabe – two dioceses that the La Salette Missionaries began. I myself drove through 10 or 20 times a year and never thought of stopping to bring the Good News. Priests and nuns also never stopped to see if people were interested in accepting Christ into their loves. We would drive through – always in a hurry to get somewhere else, always too busy to stop.
Marie Claire Arrives
AIDS and Basketball in Madagascar
On my recent trip to Madagascar I was proudly led to the new basketball court in the suburb of Tanambao, Morondava. On both ends of the court kids were playing a pick-up game. The game on the south end was fast moving but the one of the north end was limping along because their ball had been pierced by a thorn and dribbling was out of the question. They were all happy to have a place to play. Before leaving Morondava, I got Bishop Donald Pelletier, M.S., to write about the basketball court and its tremendous meaning for the youth of Tanambao:
The question most often asked is: How is your AIDS situation in Madagascar and what are you doing to prevent and protect your people from AIDS? The situation in Madagascar is one of the lowest of the African Continent which doesn't mean that we can sit back and wait for it to become endemic. Having a very high rate of venereal deceases we should have a much higher percentage of AIDS. But it is very difficult to get exact figures as the government monitors all tests.
A Celebration at Chantagone Shrine
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| (left) Shrine main gate; (right) sign for the Church |
Myanmar is a land of numerous pagodas. Everywhere you go, it is almost certain that you will see pagodas either on hilltop, mountainside, near villages or within cities. As pagodas are well known in Buddhism, so too our Marian Grotto is one of the recognizable trademarks of Catholicism in our country.
In almost every parish church compound you enter, it is also almost certain that you will see a grotto of Our Lady. The devotion to Our Lady is very popular among Catholics in Myanmar. Praying in front of the grotto of Our Lady is a common sight.
Grottos are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under her various titles. One of the most popular title of Our Lady is that of Lourdes. As a result, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated acros our country.
Fr. Mike Donahue and the Handicapped
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| Fr. Mike Donahue, a La Salette Alumnus, now a priest ministering in the Diocese of Tarija, Bolivia with the handicapped. |
Editor: For many years, Fr. Mike Donahue served as a La Salette Missionary. While ministering in Bolivia, he decided to join the Diocese of Tarija, in the southernmost area of that country. His faith and desire to help handicapped persons led him to become involved with handicapped and special needs’ children in Bolivia. He has been active, at local and national levels, in various service projects for handicapped persons, has served as President of Friends of Handicapped Children of Tarija for many years and has received many awards for his much-needed ministry.
It's Sunday and the parishioners of the Chapel of La Loma de San Juan are prepared to witness an unusual interpretation of songs using sign language. After the sermon, Father Michael Donahue, along with the four people who are part of the group, “SAMMY”, interpret one or two songs using sign language. They all seem to hear the song coming from the sound system. Their rhythm and gestures are coordinated.
SAMMY was founded by Susana Huaylla, Deysi Miranda and Ana Patiño, who have a hearing impairment. They were joined by Yuli Miguel Garnica and Father Donahue. Some of the group have problems moving their legs but these difficulties did not prevent them from interpreting the songs and dances using signs.
Life is a Challenge
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| (left) Fr. Joe Silva with his younger parishioners; (right) Fr. Wladyslaw Czosnek, M.S., on a visit to a village |
Mission work can be slow and difficult but usually in time progress can be measured in very tangible ways, for example, in the Ambatolahy, Madagascar district. Throughout the years its history was very much “stop and go”. At times it would have a resident priest, at other times there would be only an occasional visit from the priest and then because of shortages, no priest at all.
But times have changed. Ambatolahy now has two permanent priests. And practically every year now we have been able to bless a new chapel in the surrounding villages. First there was the village of Antjoa, then there was Janjina and now there is Ambiky. Ambikky is an important village because it is the hub for six other villages. It has no Christians yet but it does have a catechist. And as the church will serve as a school, we hope to have a Christian community there very soon.
From Madagascar With Love
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| A man resting in his pirogue on a river near Berevo, Madagascar. |
In a few days (Dec.18, 2013) I will leave Antananarivo for my Christmas ministry. This is a nine-hour road trip in a "taxi brousse" (very crowded mini-van) to Miandrivazo. There I will jump into a river barge or simple pirogue for another ten hours cruising down the Tsiribihina River, enjoying the lush vegetation and noisy animal life along the river banks – not to mention hot sun and pesky mosquitoes. I will make sure to admire and not feed the crocodiles sunning themselves on the river banks.
My ministry will allow Father Henry Kaszuba, M.S., to serve the isolated communities in the bush. Being in Berevo not only brings back memories of 1972-1976 but also gives me a rare chance to enjoy the grace of being a bush missionary once more at age 82.
Berevo is accessible only through exciting river travel so people do appreciate the visit of an old missionary who still has the folly, energy and zeal to preach the Good News to the poor. Except for my portable phone, Berevo remains a very isolated area along the Tsiribihina River. It will be a peaceful quiet Christmas with a very fervent community of poor simple peasants. It also enables me to feel very close and identify with the simplicity and poverty of Bethlehem.
2013 – A Year of Joy and Loss
Christmas in Myanmar
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| Two Kachin children in native dress from Northern Myanmar |
The Christmas celebration is always a communal one for our parish which is located in the northern part of Myanmar (Burma) near our border with China. It is a time of celebration as a family, as a local community and as a parish community at large. Christmas is always associated with colder weather (though not extreme). Christmas caroling begins on the first day of December. Lots of prayer gatherings are held in different households and gift-giving especially to the children.
Theses are times to reach out to people living in more remote areas of our parish who cannot go to the parish church due to their isolation. There was one memorable Christmas celebration held in a far remote area of the parish in conjunction with the silver jubilee celebration of a catechist. He was the leaders of a community of about ten Catholic families in his village and nearby areas as well.
To reach the site of the celebrations, we had to travel a half day by boat down the river and an entire day crossing many fields and marching through the jungle. About 50 youth volunteers from different parts of our parish which covers several towns and villages, went to the site of the celebration months ahead to set up everything for the occasion since there were few Catholic families living there. The site was located right beside a small creek. They chose this site for practical reasons because the small creek would provide water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Christmas in Angola
Angola is a country where the diversity in natural resources competes with the diversity in its cultural phenomena. The symbiosis between the various social and cultural customs gives unity and identity to a people living within the geographical delimitations of a state called Angola. The unity never nullifies the peculiarities of each ethnic or tribal group.
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| Native Angolan women travelling with their children and their head-balanced cargo |
Christmas is a Christian feast. Angolans only began celebrating Christmas after the arrival of Christian Missionaries in the 15th century. Presently, after more than 500 years of Christianity and colonization followed by over 30 years of independence, the celebration of Christmas has undergone various influences – from traditional African culture, popular Catholic traditions and from other Christian sects as well as secularism.
Though still Christian, the celebration of Christmas has assumed some other facets as it is now commemorated by both Christians and non-Christians. What unites both groups is the “family feast”. But because Angola is mainly a Christian country, the celebration still retains its special Christian qualities. It’s not only the feast of the family, but essentially the celebration of the “birth of the baby, Jesus”. It’s the birth of the infant who brings the family together.
Christmas in rural villages and towns
Christmas for most of the people in the countryside is the most-awaited feast; the preparation is done both materially and spiritually. It’s always preceded by spiritual exercises and pilgrimages to the Mission Churches. Materially, families usually save some money during the whole year to buy special foods for this feast – rice, pasta and other industrialized foods. In agricultural communities, some animals are reared to be slaughtered at Christmas – such as cows, goats, and chickens.