La Salette Laity Meet in Dębowiec, Poland

La Salette Laity are those people around the world connected to the La Salette Missionaries through their devotion to Our Lady of La Salette, La Salette ministries or the La Salette charism of reconciliation. They have gathered for various meetings in past years. More recently, the La Salette Laity of Europe met for their third meeting. This was held at the beautiful La Salette Shrine in Dębowiec, Poland.
La Salette Shrine Church
in Debowiec, Poland
At the end of their meeting, they summarized their discussions and reiterated some points of wisdom from their recent meetings. They listed again – from their past meeting at the La Salette Shrine in Salmata, Italy – seven central aspects of their identity and commitment of their life as La Salette Laity:

Seven Aspects of La Salette Laity

1) Witness to Their Life of Faith: they are committed to being living examples of Christian life within their family, in their workplace, in their circle of friends and acquaintances, and in all situations of their life.

Pope Francis said: “Be Christians and witness to the faith in prayer, in works of charity, in promoting justice, in doing good. Our whole life must pass through the narrow door that is Christ” (Aug. 26, 2013).

2) Actively Read the Signs of the Times: they are aware of the Church’s new understanding that her members need to attend more closely to the world – “reading the signs of the times – if they are to remain faithful to their Christian calling. Therefore they must listen well to and learn from the world around them, not only in the major experiences of life but also in the simple events of daily living.

 

Vatican II stated: “At all times the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel” (Gaudium et spes, #4)

 

A gathering of European
La Salette Laity3) Promote an Attitude of Hope: they are aware of the words of Pope St. John Paul II in his May 1996 letter to Bp. Louis Dufaux of Grenoble, in which the Holy Mountain of La Salette Shrine resides, which speaks of hope. Pope John Paul says: “La Salette is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of (humankind).” Therefore La Salette Laity are called to be organizers of hope in a world where there is little or no hope and that is often afraid of what tomorrow may bring.

 

St. Paul prays: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).

 

4) Bring Compassion and Reconciliation: they are called to be compassionate (“suffer with”) with all Mary’s people, empathizing with those weighted down by the concerns and cares of life as well as those yet not reconciled with their Lord.

 

St. Paul prays: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God” (2 Cor 1:3-4).

Paul reminds us that: “…God… has reconciled us to himself through Christ… entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18-19).

 

Logo of the European La Salette Laity5) Lift Up Others: they take seriously their gospel call to be "yeast in the dough” in all the situations of their life:

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened” (Matt 13:33).

 

6) Be Open to Constant Conversion: they are called to live a life of continuous personal conversion.

 

“…you should put away the old self of your former way of life… and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way…” (Eph 4:22-24).

 

7) Promote Vocations: they strive to promote vocations through their prayer and action.

 

“I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call” (Eph 4:1-4).

 

8) Share the Message of La Salette: they are always mindful of the parting words of Our Lady of La Salette: “Very well, my children, you will make this (message) known to all my people.”

 

Jesus said: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20a).

 

On the 150th anniversary of the La Salette Apparition, Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “By sharing in Christ's mission through their word and the witness of their entire life, missionaries will lead people to open themselves to the Good News, which it is their mission to bring to everyone.”

 

Polish Icon of Our Lady of
La Salette speaking with
the two childrenFor their future meetings they will continue to explore the message of La Salette on the following themes: "draw near my children..." (2014), "if you convert..." (2015), "Tell it to all my people..." (2016). They will also discuss the Ten Commandments of Reconciliation as a source of inspiration for the life of La Salette Laity as well as the Social Doctrine of the Church in the light of the Message of La Salette.

 

Lastly, as was agreed at their meeting on the Holy Mountain of La Salette in September of 2011, they pledged to continue their commitment to:

a) praying the Novena to Our Lady of La Salette from the 11th to the 19th of each month;
b) their participation in Eucharist on the 19th of each month;
c) promoting the yearly celebration of the Day of La Salette Laity on September 10;
d) concerning communication, they will use the La Salette Rome website (www.lasalette.info) to disseminate articles, training materials, communications and exchanges;
e) promoting contacts with La Salette Laity present in Eastern Europe (Belarus, Ukraine, Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic);
f) discussing the statutes of the movements / associations of lay people in the various provinces in order to gather common statutes in establishing a common identity and formation for the La Salette Laity of Europe.