We are a group of lay people who choose to bond ourselves closely with the spirituality, charism, ministry and community of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette in a setting of mutuality.
Mutuality recognizes that both professed Missionaries and Associates, although they have distinct and different rights and responsibilities within the La Salette Community, contribute to the La Salette mission in the world today. Each does this according to the particular gifts and talents received by God. Mutuality implies the enrichment in ongoing relationships with one another on a personal and a community level.
Our Lady of La Salette from Brazil
Associates feel a call in response to the message of reconciliation that Mary proclaimed in her merciful apparition of 1846 in France and are inspired by her words. Through prayer, fraternal love, support, and encouragement, we dedicated ourselves to the service of God’s people, to spreading the message of La Salette, and joining in the ministry of reconciliation with the La Salette Missionaries. This calling inspires us to learn more about what Mary’s words mean to us today and how we can get the message across to others as Mary has called us to do.
We are all different, in our backgrounds, family lives, style of prayer, and depth of faith, but those differences allow us to express this calling in a variety of ways. We come together for prayer, faith sharing and to give each other the support and encouragement we need to carry out our mission.
Our Associate Program in the Americas
Our Mission: Our program consists of groups of men and women committed to Jesus's mission of reconciliation proclaimed in Mary's message at La Salette. As a people of God, we are called in communion of spirit with the Missionaries of La Salette to bring love, healing, justice, and acceptance through our personal lives, our prayer, our spirituality, and our group activities to "all my people".
Our Vision: Our program consists of diverse groups throughout the Province of Mary Mother of the Americas flowing from and linked by the charism and message of Mary at La Salette.
Our Expectations: We expect that each group adopt the above Mission and Vision and include in their guidelines a formation program incorporating the pillars listed below and a promise of commitment. There would be autonomy within each group to develop "group-specific" guidelines.
Associates: (top) in Attleboro in 2016; (bottom) in Brazil
Each Associate would be expected to:
Accept and understand the Mission and Vision of the program;
Understand the message and charism of La Salette;
Desire and be willing to live out that charism in their daily lives;
Share the message of La Salette with others.
Our Formation Program
Each group would develop their own formation program that would include but not be limited to the following four pillars:
1) La Salette – the message and charism of La Salette:
• the history and formation of the Missionaries of La Salette;
• the structure of the La Salette order.
2) Community – explore all types of community, including the other associate programs throughout the United States and understand the elements of forming "community”.
3) Ministry – explore the types of ministry available to group members.
4) Personal Spirituality - understand that personal spirituality is a life-long process that is nourished by faith sharing, community participation, and personal prayer.
La Salette Associates in Angola, Africa
Yearly Commitment: Once a candidate has been accepted a covenant commitment is written and renewed yearly as close to the feast of Our Lady of La Salette as possible. This event should be commemorated in the context of either a liturgical ceremony or other prayer service. The Covenant should include the following elements:
a) a desire to foster a La Salette devotion;
b) a desire to share Eucharist with the La Salette Missionaries whenever possible;
c) a commitment to attend regular meetings as outlined by the local group;
d) a commitment to ongoing formation programs that will encourage spiritual growth;
e) a desire to celebrate special feast days and holidays with the community.
Our Model of Collaboration and Co-Responsibility between the La Salette Missionaries and La Salette Laity
The People of God
The people of God, as we have learned from the documents of Vatican II, are no longer considered the lower tier of the Church but rather part of the "communio" (community) of believers. Also, as St. Paul reminds us, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all the members of the Church. All are united in the universal call to holiness and are equal and integral parts of the Catholic Church:
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).
Our Lady of La Salette and "Her People"
Our Lady of La Salette, in her compassionate manner and concerns, spoke to Maximin and Melanie – and to the entire Church – to "make her message known." Clearly the fact that she first gave this mission to these two children, and not only to the local clergy of the area, shows her ultimate respect for the proper place of laity within the mission of the church of her Son.
Her message of reconciliation was therefore entrusted to these two children with the ultimate confidence that they could complete their mission. Her words and actions were profound testimonies to her trust in the power and centrality of the Sacrament of Baptism in the life of her people. International Associate Meeting in France: left: group in 2011; right: group in 2016
The Growth of Her Mission Over Time
With the passage of time, her message and mission were taken to heart by thousands of people including those called to become Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette. Yet even with their official Vatican approbation, the important place of the laity in living out and sharing her message of reconciliation has remained strong.
The La Salette Invocation – Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you – which was used by a group of laity in the parish of the village of La Salette soon after the apparition, has remained a central part of La Salette devotion and a consistent theme of Salettine ministry.
La Salette Laity Continue to Take Their Rightful Place in Spreading Her Mission
As the ministries and outreach of the La Salette Missionaries spread around the world, Mary's mandate of “making her message known to all her people” remained closely tied to the life and faith of her people. To this very day, laity have been attracted to her message and mission. With profound dedication, they unhesitatingly support and join in the life and ministry of the La Salette Missionaries in various ways with their many and varied gifts.
In addition the La Salette Missionaries wholeheartedly welcome these La Salette Laity as collaborators, truly responsible and gifted co-missionaries. The La Salette Laity join with the La Salette Missionaries in embodying and living out the same charism of reconciliation in their daily lives.
This common vision is rooted in their Baptism. Therefore all contemporary La Salette Missionaries, being faithful to what their La Salette Rule emphasizes – “we work in close collaboration with the laity” (#28) – welcome laity as central and crucially important in continuing to carry out their common mission to make Mary's message known. European Associates gather in 2012 at Salmata, Italy, Shrine