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Reconciliation – A La Salette Charism to be Lived and Shared
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Ministering to a World in Need of Reconciliation
Examination of Conscience on the La Salette Message
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The Priority of “Heeding”
This story is about a rabbi's son. The child was out in the yard playing with some of his friends. All seemed to go well. After a while, the boy strolled into the house with tears streaking down his face. Dad asked what was wrong and what had happened. The boy looked at his father with a hurt expression and said: “We started to play hide and seek... I went to hide, and no one came to look for me.” The rabbi took his son into his arms and said, “Now you know how God feels sometimes.”
Have you ever felt alone or forgotten?
Being rejected, scorned, hated, and demeaned constitutes a sad state of being. But it could be worse. One could be forgotten, overlooked, left alone, disregarded – and worst of all, ignored. There is nothing quite like being passed over and dismissed without reason. Not heeding or not paying attention are relatively weak English verbs. The French, “... vous n'en faites pas cas,” gains in negative completeness: “you ignored it,” or “you dismissed it.”
What is the place of evaluation, discernment, and collaboration in La Salette ministry?
Editor: This is the eighteenth 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:
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)
To provide more effective service we work in close collaboration with the laity, the diocesan clergy and other congregations, under the authority of the Bishop and in keeping with the pastoral guidelines of the local Church. (#28)
La Salette Council of the Congregation in Liechtenstein in 2003 “Signs of the times is a phrase that gained popularity with Pope John XXIII, Vatican II, and Pope Paul VI. As used in Matthew 16:4, the phrase referred more to the miracles of the Lord, the extraordinary events. The current use, however, is an attempt to direct the Church and all Christians in the direction of recognizing a particular task that the Church and Christians have in the world – the task of interpreting human history in a Christian light; of identifying and pointing out the events which give evidence of God's presence and activity in the world through human agency.
Read more What is the place of evaluation, discernment, and collaboration in La Salette ministry?
La Salette – The Call to Joy
What was the source of Michelangelo’s joy?
Gloria Hutchinson wrote: “In his later years, Michelangelo Buonarroti regretted that he had given his life to ‘painting and sculpture, labor and good faith.’ He wished that he had taken up the making of matches as a child rather than the drawings for which his father punished him. However, even as he complained in a sonnet: ‘Melancholy is my joy/And discomfort is my rest,’ Michelangelo betrayed a relish for the artist's vocation.'
“Had he not loved the labor of painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while lying on his back on makeshift scaffolding, would he have completed this four-year solitary project? Despite his complaints, the artist experienced joy in the work of creation.
Whatsoever You Do – Bishop Donald Pelletier, M.S.
Bishop J. Donald Pelletier, M.S., celebrates World Mission Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA; photo courtesy of Bill Heil and The Boston PilotThe Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, and indeed the whole of the mission world, recently lost a giant. Bishop J. Donald Pelletier, M.S., passed away in June, just days shy of his 91st birthday. He was ordained as a priest over 65 years ago. For all but two of those years, he ministered to the Malagasy people in Morondava, Madagascar; he was ordained their bishop in 2000.
We were blessed in this office to get to know Bishop Donald, first as a speaker in the Mission Co-Operative Program, where we assign a missionary to speak in every parish, and later as the celebrant and homilist of our annual World Mission Sunday celebration.
Wherever he went, Bishop Donald made a lasting impression with his humble nature, his wit, and his great love for the Gospel.
Bishop Donald credited the depth of the seeds of his faith to his extended family -- grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He said, “I was born into an extraordinary Christian family where faith and love were alive and active. The witness of their faith helped mine to grow.”
Reflections on the Anniversary of the La Salette Apparition
“Come closer, my children; don’t be afraid. I am here to tell you great news.”
Our Lady of La Salette;
artist: Mrs. Roskos of Marietta, GeorgiaThe great news Mary announced is expressed in the symbol most associated with La Salette: the distinctive crucifix she wore bearing the instruments of Christ’s passion. To the left of Jesus’ outstretched arms are pincers and to his right, a hammer. The traditional interpretation holds that the hammer represents sin by which Jesus was crucified to the cross, and the pincers, by which he was removed from the cross, represent reconciliation.
The religious habit of La Salette priests and brothers is a black cassock and sash around the waist – and this crucifix worn around the neck and tucked into the sash to the left, a constant reminder of Mary’s merciful apparition, and of Jesus’ saving death, and of the La Salette mission of reconciliation.
Reconciliation and the rainbow
“Reconciliation” has become shorthand for the message of Mary at La Salette and is the focus of the readings for the feast day Mass. The first reading for the La Salette Feast Day Mass (Genesis 9:8-17) recounts the aftermath of Noah’s flood. After God had washed away the sins of the world, God established a binding covenant with humanity and with all creation never again to destroy the world in the waters of a flood.
The sign and reminder of that solemn pledge is the rainbow linking heaven and earth and symbolizing God, humanity, and creation reconciled and in harmony once again. The rainbow is a symbol of that all-embracing reconciliation.
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What is the Meaning of “Preferential Option for the Poor”?
Editor: This is the seventeenth 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 .
What is the meaning of “preferential option for the poor”?
“It is important to keep in mind that giving preference to the poor or those most looked down upon does not mean working exclusively with this level of society. Some Congregations from their foundation have established exclusiveness as their particular goal. We are not such a Congregation, and although we want this preference to be very influential in our lives, we must always keep in mind that we have been sent ‘to all my people.'
“We must maintain a balance. This was indicated by Pope John Paul II at Puebla and also in the documents themselves:
‘You are servants of the People of God, servants of faith, administrators and witnesses of Christ's love for [people] – a love that is not partisan, that excludes no one, although it is addressed preferably to the poorest... and each of the victims of human selfishness... Service to the poor is privileged, though not the exclusive, gauge of our following Christ . . . Jesus Christ, the Savior of human beings, pours out his Spirit on all, without regard to persons. Those who exclude a single person from their love in the process of evangelization do not possess the Spirit of Christ. Hence [ministerial] activity must embrace all human beings who are destined to be children of God (Pope John Paul II to priests and men religious of Mexico, January 27, 1979; Puebla, #1145, #205).” (1)
Reflection Questions:
- What ministry to the poor for which are you incredibly grateful or impressed?
- Other comments…
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Wisdom from Venerable Jean Berthier, M.S.
Editor: This article is taken from a more extended presentation given on the Holy Mountain for the La Salette Perpetual Profession Month held in July of 2022.
About Formation for the Missionary Vocation
Venerable Fr. Jean B. Berthier, M.S. (1840-1908), always a La Salette Missionary at heartWe summarize what Venerable Fr. Jean Berthier, M.S. (1840-1908) said about the duties of a formator of priestly and religious candidates. He had several principles:
First: The candidates should be helped to become holy priests and brothers as best they can.
That element is the most important aspect and goal of all activities in the formation field. Then there is much time devoted to spiritual practice and training oneself to live constantly in God's presence through short and repeated moments, often by saying short prayers.
Second: The candidates must be educated to be proficient and capable priests, priests who in every situation can function appropriately, especially in difficult circumstances, as parish missionaries and as missionaries in mission areas.
To achieve that prowess, the aspirants must be cultivated very well in philosophy and theology. They must study theology so profoundly that they become truly good at helping the people of God who will be entrusted to them. In the MS formation program and the Holy Family formation program, everything that is not absolutely necessary for the formation of a holy and proficient priest is eliminated.
Third: Experiencing poverty is a test in purifying motivation.
He saw the very poor situation as an appropriate way to prepare "his children" for the difficult life of a parish missionary or an Ad Gentes (To the People) missionary. The environment in which the La Salette and Holy Family aspirants were educated was impoverished and primitive. That creates the possibility of accepting a large number of candidates in home formation, although the financial options are always minimal. . .