La Salette and Laity

We offer this part of our web site as a resource of prayer, reflection and information for and about the laity’s proper place in the Church as well as in continuing to help keep alive and assist in spreading the message of Our Lady of La Salette, in the long and faithful tradition of Maximin and Melanie.  In this part of our web site we offer:
 
 1) Laity Newsletters (offering reflections on the La Salette message and the vocation of laity within the Church, available in several languages)
 
2) The Laity articles below (about their call and importance in the Church and as supporters of the message and mission of La Salette)

Lay Ministry in the Church Today

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Written by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.
Pope Paul VI, who continued and
concluded Vatican II after the death
of Pope John XXIII.
During these years after Vatican II, the Holy Spirit continued to guide and broaden the Church’s appreciation of the theology of ministry and the place of the laity in it.
 
Pope Paul VI in 1972 established the offices of lector and acolyte as lay ministries. In so doing he declared: “Ministries may be committed to lay Christians. They are no longer regarded as reserved to candidates for the sacrament of orders.” The Pope’s declaration that ministry should be open to lay Catholics has been gladly accepted. 
 
Several years later, Paul VI taught: “The laity can also feel called, or in fact be called, to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial community, for the sake of its growth and life.” 
 
Pope John Paul II spoke of lay ministries on many occasions. In 1988, he strongly urged pastors to “acknowledge and foster the ministries, offices, and roles of the lay faithful that find their foundation in the Sacraments to Baptism and Confirmation” (Christifideles Laici, 23).

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Questions About Lay Ministry

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Written by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
What is lay ministry?
Ministry is the way in which the Church continues what Christ began and still intends, namely, the salvation of humanity and the transformation of the world. All baptized and confirmed Christians receive a call and gifts enabling them to participate in this mission. When lay people carry out Christ's work as priest, prophet, and king in their own proper way through public activity authorized by the Church, we call this lay ministry.
 
In recent years, a growing number of lay persons have prepared for and been appointed to positions of service and leadership in the church. Some of the recent documents of the U. S. Catholic bishops refer to such ministers, who often work full-time for the church, as lay ecclesial ministers.
 
Are deacons considered lay ministers?
 Because deacons have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they are among the ordained, not lay, ministers of the church.
 

Read more: Questions About Lay Ministry

Switzerland – Tears of Love

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Written by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.

Editor: Each country-group in the First International Lay La Salette Encounter held at La Salette in France from Sept. 1-10, 2011 was asked to design a picture of Our Lady of La Salette as if she were appearing in their own country today. What would she wear? What would be symbols indicating topics she might speak about – contemporary ills or concerns of their nation? Here are the visuals and explanation from our Swiss and German group.

 
In their contemporary version of the event of La Salette, the Swiss see Maximin and Melanie as schoolchildren. All children can and must go to school. They are completely supported by their family. We see them taking a break. Maximin is a soccer player and is dressed like one; in fact, he seems to be kicking the soccer ball while Mary speaks (just as he actually spun his hat on his stick in the original event).
 
In Switzerland, more than half of all couples are divorced. Their children wait until evening to see their parents and therefore they are alone a lot at home. 
 
The red alarm clock (center left) indicates that these children have a lot to do each day. They have little time for themselves and not much time for God. They have few leaders in faith that they know or admire. In Germany, it seems that many teachers lose their own faith in God.
 
The houses (upper left) indicate that most people live in separate houses. They probably spend little time in reflection.

La Salette Laity and Religious

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Written by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.

 

Statue of Mary speaking
with the two children,
La Salette, France
Members of the First La Salette
Lay Encounter, La Salette, France,
Sept 1-10, 2011

Frankly I am amazed when I hear the encouraging words of Jesus: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12). Imagine – we can do greater things than Jesus because he has gone back to the Father and sent the Spirit to stir up and strengthen our minds, hearts and lives! This gives us unending hope that we can be church and change the world, one person at a time, just like Jesus did. 

When I was with the other participants in the First La Salette International Lay Encounter from September 1-10th of 2011 at La Salette in France, I felt that same hope come alive. We were some forty people from around the world – La Salette laity and religious. Most of us had never met each other yet we discovered during those ten days a sense of community and a unity of vision that was simply remarkable. Our comradery was as palpable as it was remarkable. Our shared prayer, discussions, and workshops on various aspects of the La Salette apparition and our shared mission of reconciliation were affirming and enlightening. It was truly a Pentecost moment!

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Casual or Committed?

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Written by Fr. Isidro Perin, M.S.

The apparition at La Salette offers us an in-depth critique of – or our way of looking at – the world. It challenges us to give up the comfortable security of the noncommittal observer, to relinquish control, to refuse to become ‘solitary monads,’ and to entrust ourselves to the ebb and flow of a history that eludes our grasp, in the image of the One who we believe gave himself into the hands of others in order to give us life.

At La Salette, Mary offers us, in biblical fashion, “an in-depth critique of our way of looking at the world.” Maximin and Mélanie were led to look at their world, at the reality around them: drought, famine, rotten potatoes, worm-eaten grapes and walnuts, the blighted crops – and the resulting death of children, disdain for God, religious indifference, etc. In the face of such insecurity for the future, many inhabitants of those mountains blamed God alone: it was God’s fault, God punishing his children, a vengeful God, no God of love.

Read more: Casual or Committed?

More Articles...

  1. Lay La Salettes in Italy and Spain
  2. La Salette Lay Encounter in France
  3. Atlanta Lay Summit
  4. La Salettes and Laity:
  5. Being God's People