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Sacrament of Reconciliation

Philibert de Bruillard,
Bishop of Grenoble during
 the time of the
La Salette Apparition
As La Salette Missionaries, our history is replete with calls to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In fact, in the pastoral letter of our foundation, dated May 1, 1852, Philibert de Bruillard, the Bishop of Grenoble announced the construction of a Shrine on the mountain of the apparition, and went on to add:
 
"However important the erection of a Shrine may be there is something still more important, namely the ministers of religion destined to look after it, to receive the pious pilgrims, to preach the word of God to them, to exercise towards them the ministry of reconciliation, to administer the Holy Sacrament of the altar, and to be, to all, the faithful dispensers of the mysteries of God and the spiritual treasures of the Church. These priests shall be called the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette; their institution and existence shall be, like the Shrine itself, and eternal monument, a perpetual remembrance, of Mary's merciful apparition."
 

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Mary’s Parting Words

Editor: This is Fr. Sougey’s reflection on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the La Salette Apparition in 1946.
 
The discourse was ended, but Our Lady did not disappear right away; she chose to extend her visit and instruct us further in silence. Once she had said in French: “Well now, my children, make it known to all my people,” she who had remained absolutely immobile from the beginning of her discourse took a step forward and, turning slightly, brushed by Maximin, moved forward and crossed the brook. As she was walking, without turning back toward the children whom she had left behind, she said a second time, “Well then, my children, you will make it known to all my people.”
 
Will we manage to express the full power of these closing words of Our Lady? This is certainly an order she is asking these two children to carry out right away, but it is also a request that looks to the future, addressing us who, in our day, have come to know the merciful mystery of La Salette.
 
One detects in her nuanced words and the tact she displays, the will of a sovereign Queen, placed at the head of the people of God, and the heart of the Servant of the Lord, respectful of the Church of Christ and of each redeemed soul. When she gives an order, she is wearing not only the royal diadem, sparkling with heavenly fire, but the apron of the servant as well.  It is an apron woven of gold, the meaning of which remains obvious to our eyes. 

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Mary’s Place in Our Life of Faith Today

Editor: This presentation was given to the La Salette Lay Associates in their meeting at the La Salette National Shrine in Attleboro on October 6, 2012.
 
From my earliest days, I remember being taught about Our Blessed Lady. Since I was always a member of a La Salette parish, I remember being told the story of the La Salette Apparition and celebrating the La Salette feast and the novena with much preparation and memorable experiences.
 
The church has always had a special place for Mary within our tradition of faith and devotion. From the events of the Annunciation, Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery (Christ’s death and resurrection) and Pentecost, Mary has been present and active in our most important and celebrated events in the history of the Christian Church. 

Over the Centuries…  

With the passage of time and the necessity of the Church to deal with initial theological discussions and controversies, the place of Mary in the Church has deepened. This exploration has greatly widened our understanding and appreciation of her and her rightful place in our active faith-life. Sr. Thomas Mary, O.P., in her paper, “Marian Theology up to Vatican II,  outlines the changes in Marian theology over the centuries.
 
The first 1000 years of Church history, from the time of Jesus up to the 11th century could be described, according to Jean Leclercq, noted historian and Benedictine, as a Marian period of extreme sobriety. During this period of sober Marian theology, its outstanding contributions were:  
 
1) Mary was acknowledged as Mother of God (“Theotokos”, God-bearer); 
2) Mary seen as bringing clarity to the early Christological controversies (Jesus as both God and human); 
3) Mary as image of the Church.

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La Salette and the Malagasy

Our Lady of La Salette
at a school for
handicapped children
Of course it is impossible to think of Augustinian or Franciscan spirituality without thinking of St. Augustine or St. Francis. So, too, we can’t think of our La Salette Spirituality without referring back to the account of the Apparition of Our Lady to the two children, the shepherds at La Salette, on that Saturday, September 19, 1846. In tears, Mary asks that her message be made known to all her people. 
 
At the conclusion of her message, as she glances toward the Eternal City of Rome, she also looks far beyond – to a vast people who would make her message known. In our Malagasy way of thinking, we say mitelin-kafatra mahabe kibo (to keep the message to ourself makes our stomach swell). In other words, we can’t help but share her message if we allow ourselves to be touched by her tears (mpandrindra fihavanana). Her persistent desire is that we all become witnesses to “the eternal” in our own time and place.

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Visiting the Holy Mountain

Editor: Six pilgrims from the Parish of Our Lady of La Salette and Saint Joseph in London share their experience of visiting the Mountain of La Salette over the past several years.
 

The Magic Mountain

(With apologies to Thomas Mann)

View of Shrine from the summit of Mt. Gargas
Located in the French Alps southeast of Grenoble on the slopes of Mount Gargas (2,207m) is the Basilica of Notre Dame de La Salette. It is 557m from the top of that mountain, so when I claim to have climbed Mount Gargas (and I do), I have really climbed those 557 metres, but it feels like a lot more. But it’s not the distance climbed (or more truthfully walked) that matters, it’s the quality of the view from the top. The spectacular drop on one side, the sweep of the local Alps and the peaks of more distant mountains and the vivid green of the lake way down below Corps are part of the breathtaking splendour of the experience; but there is another more essential aspect. Down below, from where we have climbed, are the Shrine, the small cemetery and the Basilica.
 
And it is remarkable that the Basilica and the Shrine are there at all. Just consider the immense effort that went into quarrying the stone from which the Basilica is built; it was all quarried locally. Think about the enormously hard work of building a large church (and hotel) at that altitude. The air gets pretty thin at Annecy and that is only at an altitude of 957m. And how many of the workers first had to climb up from Corps or Les Ablandins or the village of La Salette before beginning their day’s labour?

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Living Reconciliation Daily

Editor: The following is a meditation on steps in becoming reconciled in all aspects of our life. The outline was initially developed by Sr. Elizabeth Gibioux, SNDS, Superior General of the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette and further expanded by your editor, Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.
 
The biblical basis and central core of the life of all Christians comes from Jesus’ answer to the question about which commandment is the greatest. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Mt 22: 37-39).
 
Mary expressed these concerns well at La Salette when she addressed the children so lovingly and personally. She called them to be heralds of her message of reconciliation, calling people back to the way and message of her Son – to “be reconciled” with God.
 
With her Son’s succinct summary of the basics of a good, God-centered life, we can see that the charism of reconciliation effects various relationships in our life – our reconciliation with God, ourselves, others and, in addition, our present concern for our reconciliation with God’s nature around us. 

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Being Reconcilers Today

La Salette window, St Joseph
Parish, Waipahu, Oahu, Hawaii

How do we as La Salette Missionaries live up to the demands and live out the message and charism of reconciliation given to us by the Mother of God? How do we look like, sound like and act as reconcilers in our world today?

 
There are several sources for examining and attesting to the life and ministry of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette. The first source, as with all Catholic religious orders, is the scripture since we are a Christ-centered community.
 
In addition to the Bible, we also have a second source, the content of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette on Sept. 19, 1846. Mary’s words and actions, her attitudes and concerns speak volumes about who we are to be as La Salette Missionaries and what we are to do.
 
A third source is a special guide for our life and ministry, called our “Rule of Life,” first approved in the late 1880’s and significantly updated after Vatican II. Our Rule explains our way of life and the direction in which our community should serve the Church and the world. 

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Christ Didn’t Lose His Life; He Gave It

In a book written by William D. Mathieson, he recounts an incident of a World War II veteran walking down the street of his hometown. A passerby saw his empty sleeve and began to commiserate with him for the loss of his arm. “I did not lose it,” he replied, “I gave it.”
 
The Gospels make it a point to show that Christ’s life was not taken from him; he gave it. “No one takes (my life) from me, but I lay it down on my own. (John 10:18a)” said Jesus. It would have been sad indeed if Jesus had grudgingly given up his life to bring about the gift of redemption for humankind. The gift of reconciliation we received in Jesus’ passion and death, was offered without counting the cost. Certainly a generosity we will never fully comprehend. 
 
“The suffering of the cross is not meant for itself but for something else. Christ does not suffer because suffering is a value but because love without restraint requires suffering…we are not saved by the physical death of Jesus but by the absoluteness of a love which did not count death too high a price.”  (Anthony Padovano in “Who is Christ?”)

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Rosary: A Contemporary Prayer

I have recently been the recipient of all kinds of testimonies concerning the rosary. People have reported that their discovery – or rediscovery – of this prayer-form has aided them immensely in their prayer life. It is as if they had discovered something totally new about the Church, about Mary, about Jesus, or about prayer. Young and old alike seem to be equally blessed in this regard. 
 
What strikes me in regard to the rosary is the way in which a traditional prayer-form can also be so contemporary. It reminds me of Jesus' saying, “Every scribe who is learned in the reign of God is like the head of a household who can bring from his storeroom both the new and the old” (Matthew 13:52). We come to see that there are treasures in our traditions, treasures waiting to be brought into the light of our own day. Let us pray that we are equal to the task.

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The Lay Mission of Reconciliation

Fr. Silvano Marisa, M.S., Vicar General,
La Salette Missionaries and participant
in the La Salette Lay Encounter

This is a homily given at the closing Mass of the First International La Salette Lay Encounter, held in La Salette, France, from September 1-10, 2011.

Dear pilgrims, La Salette associates and other friends, all of you are welcome here at the Shrine of La Salette! We gather in this place dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to celebrate the Eucharist at the place visited by Our Lady on September 19, 1846. From all over the world we have gathered here to recognize how the message of the Virgin in tears has affected and continues to affect our personal lives, and that of our families, as well as our work and efforts. We were called to be messengers of the gospel in this world today which, as Pope Paul VI said, is in need of more credible witnesses than teachers.

The Basis of La Salette Spirituality

Reconciliation, dialogue and listening to the Word of God and each other, to forgiveness and hospitality, to the fight against social and economic injustice, is the basis of La Salette spirituality that draws its prophetic energy from the very mystery of the apparition.

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