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How has the overall approach to our Rule changed during the last century?
Editor: This is the fourth in a series of articles based on the eight La Salette 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.
The “Great Rules” of the first 1,200 years
(from left) Writers of the “Great Rules”: Saints Augustine, Basil, Benedict, and FrancisThe type of juridical legislation for religious life that most of us are familiar with did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century. Before that time the Church had very little in terms of general legislation for religious. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council helped promote the four "great Rules" when it decreed that no new religious orders could be founded and also insisted that anyone wishing to found a new monastery must accept one of the already approved Rules, meaning the Rule of Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Benedict of Nursia (480-547) or Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). These rules are general enough that many rather diversified groups have been able to draw inspiration from them. Yet the drawback has been that they did tie religious life to monastic or mendicant models.
Read more How has the overall approach to our Rule changed during the last century?
A La Salette Spirituality of Forgiveness and Reconciliation for Daily Living
Editor: In order to give you a brief preview of Fr. Robert Zaw Lwin’s new La Salette material, we have chosen these pages for this article for general readers which summarizes some of the basic points in his dissertation for Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. We also attached several different-sized files for downloading at the end of this article. Feel free to share it with others. It contains a wonderful summary of various approaches to the Theology of Reconciliation from more than a dozen contemporaries scholars.
Preamble
La Salette Religious gather in MyanmarThe Scriptures tell us the struggles and successes, wounds and healings, misfortunes and miracles in the family life of God’s people. Every family has its own struggles to overcome and victories to celebrate. The most challenging reality they have to face is teaching their children how to build the virtues of forgiveness and reconciliation. Since these virtues are essential components of family relationships, it is necessary to revisit the essence of family life so as to heal the wounds of hurts and pains and rebuild broken relationships.
Forming a Forgiving Family
Parents definitely are tasked with the responsibility to bring up their children so that they learn to mend broken relationships and build a family where forgiveness and reconciliation reign. Pope St. John Paul II in his encyclical letter, Centisimus Annus. 39 (1 May, 1991) teaches the importance of family life shaped by parents. Parents play a very crucial role in rearing their children in virtues as it is stated below:
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Mary’s message at La Salette is rooted on both Testaments
In the message of the Beautiful Lady at La Salette, the references to the Old Testament are numerous and have struck everyone who has studied it. Léon Bloy already wrote:
“The event at La Salette has a strangely and splendidly biblical character. The symbolism that I could only touch upon is deep and grandiose, like that of the Pentateuch. The message has the formidable majesty of the promulgations of the Exodus or of the (members of the tribe of) Leviti” (Le Symbolism du l’Apparition, 4th ed., pp. 286-287).
Read more Mary’s message at La Salette is rooted on both Testaments
What are four gifts and the advantages of our La Salette Rule?
Editor: This series of articles is based on the eight Dossiers (from February 1978 to November 1981) totaling 718 pages in this study of the La Salette Rule. 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 are four gifts to us from our Rule?
First: It responds to present needs and gives stability for our future
La Salette Formators in Madagascar in 2003: (from left)
Frs. Ludovico, Ernest, Fulgence, Honoré, Jeannot,
Jean-Pierre and Bro. BasileThe formation of our Rule required a great deal of grace and common sense. It incorporated lasting values. It ...looks beyond the present and suggests organizational structures which will uphold our community’s spiritual inspiration for many years to come and bring us stability without stifling our natural evolution.
Second: It reflects the spirit of the Gospel but contains specific provisions for our community
Our Rule is not an abstract, soulless legal document. What makes our Rule good is that it integrates spiritual principles with practical rules and structures suitable for our community. It’s solid faith principles are expressed in sensible rules that free our community for the service of God and God’s people and create a harmonious human and Christian environment.
Third: It aptly describes an actual way of life that has proved itself in our own community’s history
Read more What are four gifts and the advantages of our La Salette Rule?
Why can Mary’s message at La Salette be puzzling for us?
The apparition of the Virgin in La Salette, on September 19, 1846, is undoubtedly that of the Marian apparitions which encountered the most opposition before imposing itself on the conscience of the Christian people. When we review the different causes that have aroused or fueled this opposition, we note with a certain surprise that, quite often, it is the very words of the Virgin which have caused difficulty in certain minds.
Read more Why can Mary’s message at La Salette be puzzling for us?
What is the “soul” of La Salette Religious Life?
Editor: This is the second in a series of articles based on the eight Dossiers (from February 1978 to November 1981) totaling 718 pages in this study of the La Salette Rule. 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.
2002 International Formation Workshop in Brazil
What is the “charism of foundation” and “soul” of La Salette?
The La Salette Rule of Life – a Series:
1 — What is the Attitude, Purpose
and Content of our La Salette Rule?
Some La Salette Missionaries in India welcome guests from the General Administration in Rome
Editor: From February 1978 to November 1981, a widespread study of the La Salette Rule was initiated by the Vatican concerning the Rules of all Catholic Religious Orders along the lines of Vatican II and consequent documents.
This is the first in a series of articles based on the eight Dossiers totaling 718 pages in this study of the La Salette Rule. 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.
A New Style of Religious Life
To set the scene, we begin with excerpts from an article by Fr. Juan Manuel Lozano, CMF “The New Style of Religious Rule of Life”, quoted by Fr. Barrette:
“These are some observations about ...the new kind of Rule which has ... truly captured the new spirit of Vatican II, using the "ideal" Rule and not necessarily the kind which we are originally experiencing when we first entered religious life.
Mary at La Salette teaches how to interpret the course of history
A very early version of Our Lady of la SaletteThe title of this article allows us to appreciate two realities:
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the profound continuity between the Prophets in the Bible and the “Beautiful Lady of La Salette”, and
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the strong biblical foundation of a genuine La Salette spirituality.
It is no coincidence that the late Cardinal of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini, S.J., maintained that among the major Marian apparitions, the Apparition of La Salette is the one that best reveals features and characteristics which are typically biblical.
In order to illustrate this continuity, I would like to approach the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette from the ‘prophetic’ model developed by the Jewish philosopher and theologian, Abraham Joshua Heschel. When we interpret the apparition of the “Beautiful Lady” at La Salette based on the book by Joshua A. Heschel, The Prophets, we can observe the following points”
First: like the Prophets in the Bible, “the Beautiful Lady” calls to conversion.
Mary’s words which open the message, as well as her admonitions introduced by words “If my people will not submit […]” and “If they are converted […]”, resonate with us as an invitation to return to the Lord. In the Bible, conversion does not only mean to stop doing evil in order to embrace the good, but also to turn more towards the Lord. According to this meaning, conversion, rather than being a single act, is configured as a gradual process of transformation that aims to conform us to the Son, to live as he lived, to make his choices our own.
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Making the La Salette Message Known in This Digital Age
In this digital age of ours, where the world seems to be getting smaller day by day, things are changing rapidly — beyond our wildest dreams! This is more than an evolution; it is truly a revolution — from horse and carriage to automobiles, from communicating by writing and sending letters by “snail mail” to instant worldwide communication; from newspapers to television and videos.
A Vision for the Digital Age from the 2018 General Chapter
All this has — and should — change our own methods as La Salettes in making Mary’s message known. Our most recent General Chapter of 2018 has wholeheartedly supported expanding our efforts at communicating with more up-to-date methods to reach more people.
The General Chapter realized our “need to coordinate internationally the writing, publishing and disseminating of La Salette materials (new and old), in various languages, in collaboration with the General Administration.” Also it recognized that “there is an abundance of art (paintings, statues, medals, music, etc.), old and new, related to La Salette” and these should be gathered, organized and shared with other La Salettes in their ministries.
Read more Making the La Salette Message Known in This Digital Age
Mary invited the children: “Do not be afraid…”
Nothing about the human existence is excluded from the Bible— including the issues of fear and trust. These key words, fear and trust, determine the difference between simple “existence” and “living fully.” The Bible, which records more than 365 passages referring to the invitation “not to fear”, seems to be aware of this.
Different kinds of fear
Sarah and Abraham hosting three angels; photo: the Providence Lithograph CompanyThe Holy Scriptures recognize two kinds of fear. One fortifies, and is what the Bible calls the “fear of Adonai”, the principle of wisdom (cf. Proverbs 1:7). The second is a spirit of fear, which consumes, grips, paralyzes and disables. We’ve all experienced it, at least once. We can make bad choices because we have matured in fear; or we can prefer, intentionally, not to choose because we are blocked by fear of the unknown, uncertainty, failure, what others may think of us, etc. And most of us want “not to fear” in order to truly live and not just exist, to be free to love and to be loved (see 1 John 4:18).
In the life of the believer, fear and trust coexist. What is relevant is the question: “What do we listen most to?” What inspires and directs our lives? Fear or trust? It is interesting to note, in this regard, that even our Fathers and Mothers in faith have experienced both fear and distrust, despite being chosen by God and willing to follow the voice of the Lord. See, for example, the figures of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the great legislator Moses, the biblical king par excellence, David (Psalm 56:10-11), Sara, Ruth, Rachel, Miriam the sister of Moses, Peter, or the Twelve Apostles...
Fear within the Holy Family
Even Joseph (Matthew 1:20) and Mary of Nazareth experience the feeling of fear. Immediately after the words of the angel Gabriel, the evangelist Luke reports that Mary “was very upset and wondered what it was like for a greeting like this” (Luke 1:29). Yes: on the one hand, the main protagonists of the History of Salvation are assailed by fear, but on the other hand, they know how to trust the Words of the Eternal One.