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Up-Coming Streaming Events for Easter Week
During this time of Social Distancing, the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette will be live streaming a numbe of events during Easter Week. Please Join them, the links are providend below.
If you have any questions, please call the Shrine at 1-508-222-5410
HOLY THURSDAY : Thursday, April 9, 2020 - 7:00pm
HOLY THURSDAY Thursday, April 9, 2020 7:00pm Join us for the Holy Thursday Mass at 7:00pm. It will be live-streamed from the Shrine Church, through Facebook.
Amid virus, mourning is from a distance
For the Rev. John O’Neill, of St. James Church in Danielson, one of the most difficult aspects of the coronavirus pandemic is the loss of the ability to mourn together.
Practices of social distancing and isolation promoted by medical experts and endorsed through executive decrees by Gov. Ned Lamont now make it impossible for people to gather en masse for funerals when their loved ones die - whether from the virulent respiratory disease spawned by the virus or from other causes.
The longtime priest, 84, said he’s “never seen anything like it.”
The unprecedented difficulty of saying goodbye in the age of coronavirus hit home with the death of well-known and much-loved assistant Killingly High School football coach Chace Wood, 22, in a car crash last week.
“The funerals, we’re not advertising them, but we’re doing them. You just can’t have many people,” O’Neill said.
Always In Our Heart
Editor: This article was written by a friend of Fr. Norman, Pastor José Luis Iriarte, a local minister from Barrio Yofre Norte in Argentina.
Fr. Norman Butler, M.S. (1948-2019) Each of us is unique and unrepeatable, we are all different but we all have something in common, we are all social human beings who live, grow and develop integrally as a result of those social relationships and their quality.However, in this universe of people and relationships, there are different kinds of persons with whom we relate.
- There are those who because of their way of being, acting, and speaking call our attention to them; they attract us, but after time, their incoherent conduct and their lack of peace at facing life or death, do not leave a mark on our lives.
- There are others, who by their attitude, coherence, and a life full of peace impress us but in spite of this, when they are no longer with us, they also do not leave their mark upon us.
- And then there are still others—those blessed persons who are few—thanks be to God are always there and God always has them fortuitously cross our path. They are the ones whose gesture, whose word, whose attitude before life, whose ethical, moral and spiritual principles and whose principles come alive; they leave their mark with us forever.
The Phoenix Has Arisen from the Ashes – La Salette in Attleboro, MA
The Rev. Andre Patenaude was sound asleep in the provincial house of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in the predawn hours of Nov. 5, 1999, when he was awakened by what he thought was screaming. It took a minute for his mind to clear and focus, but he soon realized the person was yelling, “Get out! Get out! Fire! Fire!”
Patenaude, or Father Pat, as he is known, said there were more than 20 people living in the house. Most were from the La Salette order, but some were from other orders who had come to La Salette in Attleboro for a sabbatical and rest. All got out of the building unharmed, except one. The Rev. Paul O’Brien of the Carmelite order was found dead in his bedroom.
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Jefferson City, Missouri – Chapel’s New Use
A health and social services center for the Diocese of Jefferson City will find a home in a former Catholic seminary building, following an agreement of terms between the Jefferson City Housing Authority and Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri (CCCNMO).
Catholic Charities will convert this building, formerly a La Salette Seminary Chapel and later a community center, into a health and social services center for the Diocese of Jefferson City; photo: Jay NiesThe agreement allows the purchase and renovation of the Shikles Auditorium, 1210 Linden Drive in Jefferson City. The building formerly housed the chapel and gymnasium of a seminary for the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, a Catholic religious order for men.
A new center of mercy
“This new center will provide a place of mercy in an area of our city in great need of the healing of Jesus Christ,” explained Bishop W. Shawn McKnight. “Whenever we give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, shelter to the homeless; whenever we defend the weak and vulnerable, provide medicine and care to the sick, comfort to the grief-stricken, and hope to those in time of despair, we bring glad tidings to the poor and announce the Kingdom of God.”
La Salette in the Southwestern U.S.
Editor: Missionaries of La Salette continue to leave their mark in many parts of Louisiana and East Texas. This letter from 1931 attests to their wonderful ministry of making Mary’s message known.
(from left) Fr. George Hoylan, M.S. (1901-1970), the author of this article; Fr. Jean Ramel, M.S. (1852-1918)... It isn't hard for me to picture the sort of weather old King Winter brought y'all up north in New England, having been accustomed to it for so many years myself. How nice it is to contrast that picture with the one here in the sunny South—no snow, no ice, no sleet, etc. It has been cold, but not too cold, nor cold for too long a time. ... Just imagine, having roses and violets and what-not blooming right out in the front-yard until February! ...
The death of Fr. Jean Ramel, M.S.
You, of course, know about the thinning out of our ranks down here. It wouldn't take so very much of that sort of thinning out to make us quite depleted. The death of Fr. Jean Ramel, M.S. is quite a loss, at least, from a human standpoint. He has been called home to God; he has gone to join the ever-increasing ranks of the Missionaries of La Salette in heaven. ... As it happened, we were unable to be present at Father Ramel's funeral. ... Many fine tributes were paid the missionary zeal and priestly character of Father Ramel. The Fathers of La Salette, in general, were assured of the esteem in which they are held by ... the priests of the Diocese of Lafayette.Works of Faith – La Salette in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Inspired by the apparition of the beautiful Virgin Mary in La Salette, France in 1846, the Missionaries of La Salette today promote reconciliation, living and working around the world alongside the poorest of the poor.
from left: Fr. David Cardoso, M.S., pastor; The Bolivian version of Our Lady of La SaletteOur parish, Nuestra Señhora de La Salette, located in the Southeastern zone of the city of Cochabamba, is the only presence of the La Salette Missionaries in Bolivia.
The parish of Nuestra Señhora de La Salette has four primary projects of social impact: Women's Space, three infant centers, two after school learning centers, and two dining facilities that serve food to children in need. Through these projects, we strive to serve the most poor and marginalized members of our community, all of whom make up the Kingdom of God.
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From Europe to North America - a Journey of Faith
Fr. Julien M. Ginet, M.S. (1872-1949)Editor: These are edited excerpts from a wonderfully descriptive and emotional letter, most probably written by Fr. Julien M. Ginet, M.S., describing the journey he made to North America and the newly-established foundation in Hartford, Connecticut, just after its foundation. This letter was first printed in Les Annales, the French La Salette publication, 29th Year of publication, 1893-1894; June, 1893, pgs. 6-11, and July, pgs. 27-30.My dear Friend,
I could wait no longer to satisfy your legitimate curiosity. As we parted ways, you had me promise to send you a somewhat detailed account of my long journey across Europe, the Ocean and (North) America. I am finally here to satisfy that promise. I hope that we shall have the pleasure of visit in the near future so that you may verify for yourself the things which I am about to describe...
From the Holy Mountain...
When the hour came to leave Our Weeping Mother on the Holy Mountain of La Salette, I could hardly hold back the tears. The best years of my life had passed under her maternal gaze and this time I was to leave for a very long time, perhaps forever. One does not leave such a Mother with dry eyes. Strengthened with the assurance of her love and her protection, I departed with confidence – if somewhat reflective and preoccupied with our mysterious future.Tax Money Refunded to La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA
La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA, will be getting more money back from the city as the result of a ruling from the Massachusetts State’s Appellate Tax Board... The exact numbers weren’t immediately available. The payment will be made because the Attleboro Tax Board ruled that nine acres of land surrounding the shrine’s “Welcome Center” are tax exempt.
The Shrine chapel (left) and Welcome Center at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA; photo: Martin GavinThe decision, dated July 27, 2018, reflects a 2017 ruling from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court that exempted the Welcome Center from taxation because it was deemed to be part of the shrine’s religious mission. Since the land is linked to the center, it was also determined to be tax exempt.
As a result, the city will refund... to the shrine the taxes it paid on the land in fiscal year 2013, chief assessor Stan Nacewicz said. It will also pay approximately $13,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015, he said.
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St. Ann’s in Marietta, Georgia – Changing Lives for 40 Years!
For the young, 1978 seems like the year America was discovered. For the older, 1978 seems like yesterday until the math tells us it was 40 years ago! Jimmy Carter was President, Happy Days and the Fonz dominated television airwaves, Grease opened up in movie theaters and Illinois Bell introduced the first cellular telephone.
Read more St. Ann’s in Marietta, Georgia – Changing Lives for 40 Years!