Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst (1590-1656)The Christian people... spontaneously invoked Our Lady of La Salette under the title, Reconciler of sinners. Official church documents make no mention of it among the titles it attributes to Mary. Let us, however, listen to what Vatican Council II teaches:
“The Father of mercies willed that the consent of the predestined mother should precede the Incarnation, so that just as a woman contributed to death, so also a woman should contribute to life... she devoted herself totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the person and work of her Son... (B)y the grace of Almighty God she served the mystery of redemption” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, #56).
The Meaning of Mary’s Tears
... In her role as Mother, she shared in a singular manner in the salvation accomplished by her Son. This is the meaning of her tears at La Salette... We know that tears are the consummate language of maternal love... we are familiar with the story of St. Monica; what torrents of tears had she shed for her son, Augustine. Well then, Mary’s tears are the expression of her maternal love for us... Her tears speak to us “who pay no heed!”
Fr. Silvain-Marie Giraud, M.S., La Salette Superior General from 1865 to 1876As familiar as this invocation may be to many of us, perhaps we have more to learn about this central element of La Salette Spiritiuality. The following are reflections from severla authors on this invocation.
1) Fr. Donald Paradis, M.S., in the endnotes, #34, of his English translation of “The Book of the Spiritual Exercises of Our Lady of La Salette” by Fr. Silvain-Marie Giraud, M.S. Fr. Paradis gathers several points of information. He begins by saying:
That Our Lady of La Salette was invoked very early on as the Reconciler of sinners is beyond doubt. Precisely when and under what circumstances – whether the invocation sprang spontaneously from the lips of pilgrims or is to be attributed to prompting of some sort – cannot be determined with any certainty.
1a) “Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you. – From what lips did this invocation, destined to be repeated so often thereafter everywhere on earth, spring for the first time?
Pope Francis in a talk encouraged all consecrated religious to “wake up the world.” Pope Francis named 2015 as “The Year of Religious Consecration”, in order to help religious and others reflect on the life, charism and gift that is religious life for the Church.
And as I personally approach my fiftieth year of religious profession as a La Salette Missionary, I can testify that that I have been asked countless times several questions:
• What is a charism?
• What is the charism of La Salettes?
• How can we – laity and religious alike – live and make known the message of La Salette?
The following questions are given in a catechism format with accompanying reflection questions in order to explain the often-unknown topic our La Salette charism of reconciliation.
a) What is the meaning of the word “charism”?
Many of us are quite familiar with the Greek word, charisma, meaning a special magnetic charm or appeal. From this same root comes the word, charism, describing an extraordinary gift flowing from God’s love to human beings. We will discuss the basics of charism as recognized in the life and ministry of the La Salette Missionaries and those which whom they minister and share this charism.
Editor: Fr. Ted Brown, M.S. delivered his talks at a National Gathering of La Salette Associates in Attleboro, MA on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014. About 50 people attended including Associates from the Northeast (MA, and NH) and the Midwest (St. Louis, MO area).La Salette Associates from the Eastern and Midwest United States, gathering for a workshop on Oct. 4, 2014 in Attleboro, MAThose of you who know me, know that I’m a story teller. I believe that the true meaning of life – the true meaning of the journey – comes through stories.
We often talk about the La Salette Story. The children were told to tell the story – to “make it known”. That’s what they did for the rest of their lives. Here we are, many years later, because they told the story and something came alive in many hearts and they, in turn, retold that story again and again until we heard it for the very first time.
We can reread how the bible summarizes the story of Abraham’s journey from Ur to Canaan: “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).