La Salette

The Story of La Salette

The Sunday Word

Perpetual Profession

Ordination to Priesthood of Joseph Lamartine Eliscar, M.S.

Vietnamese Pilgrimage

La Salette

Joachim Bouflet received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) in 1972. After teaching for 10 years, he entered the field of spirituality specializing in the study of stigmatized persons and apparitions, and has authored books dealing with those subjects. For several years, he has worked with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome as a consultant to the postulators of causes for persons being considered for beatification. Most recently he has been appointed consulter for the cause of French stigmatist, Marta Robin. He is a Third Order Carmelite.

Mr. Bouflet gave this presentation in early 2010. Fr. Norman Butler, M.S., attended and used his notes to provide us with this summary.

Introduction

The children slept. On waking they see a Beautiful Lady. They have passed from dreams to the real world. In that real world their cows are missing. They see a lady seated on a stone. Being seated is a sign of superiority, yet this lady weeps. The tears make us think of Jesus: above all Mary presents herself as related to Jesus. Jesus cried at the death of Lazarus when he saw everyone so sad. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem too

Fr. Danilo Galang, M.S., Pastor,
St. Theresa’s Parish, Kekaha, Hawaii

Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in Ramon, Isabela, in the northern part of the Philippines. I come from a Catholic family of eight children—five boys and three girls. I am the fifth child and our six child, a boy, is deceased. It is a very small town composed of eighteen villages. Most of the people are farmers, although some are professionals. My father, Carlito, recently deceased, worked for the National Irrigation Administration as a driver. My mother for many years managed our family business, selling produce.

How did you first hear about La Salette?
In our town there are only two schools—one of them is owned and run by the La Salette Missionaries. Apparently the bishop of our diocese invited the La Salette Missionaries to found and manage a high school in our town, some seven hours drive from Manila. I graduated from that school in March of 1984. Read more...

La Salettes ministering in Mayanmar

English has been one of the two official languages in the Union of Burma. In the past, the education in Burma has been very good. The exchange of professors between Rangoon University and Oxford University in London were quite regular.

Burma is composed of five major tribes. Besides these there were smaller ethnic groups. Aung San, the founder of Burma, made a deal with all the heads of the tribes. Since many of these people could not speak Burmese, they used English. But within the past few decades, our situation has changed. Now even graduates with a Masters of Science degree cannot communicate in English. Either they are shy, afraid to make mistakes or just don’t know how to speak English anymore. Read more...

Catholic News

Virtual Tours of Papal Basilicas Now Available

Michelangelo’s Pieta

Main aisle of St. Peter’s

At the bottom of the new section of the Vatican website is the following: “Special thanks to Villanova University in Pennsylvania (USA) for its contribution to the realization of the Virtual Reality Tour of the Basilica of Saint Peter.” Yes, there is hope for this new generation of “computer nerds.” These students from this Catholic University based in Pennsylvania donated countless hours working on these projects and it was well worth their effort!

The site for St. Peter’s Basilica listed below offers several 360 degree views in spectacular detail. In fact, it offers views of six places within the basilica: the Apse (behind main altar), the Altar (beneath Benini’s baldacchino), the North Transept (to right of main altar), South Transept (to left of main altar), the Nave (near front entrance), the Choir Chapel (off left aisle), the Pieta (right aisle near front entrance). The last option to choose is St. Peter’s at Night, which is a view from the center of the Piazza of St. Peter’s. Read More...

La Salette and the Seven Qualities of Highly Effective Christians – Part 5

Fifth: Mary at La Salette reminds us through her tears that we must be compassionate in our relationships with others.

This is the fifth part of a seven-part article about the admirable qualities shown by Our Lady during the Apparition of La Salette in France. See Series Listing

A story: A little girl was sent to the store with specific instructions from her mother to come directly home after her purchases. She was more than two hours coming home, much to the distress of her anxious mother. “Where have you been?” scolded the mother. “I'm sorry, Mommy, I know I am late, but Jane broke her doll and I had to stop and help her fix it.” “And how could you help her fix that broken doll?” In her precious, childlike manner the girl responded, “I really couldn't, but I sat down with her and helped her cry.” (Paul Wharton, Stories and Parables for Preachers and Teachers, New York: Paulist Press, 1986, pg. 68)

“She wept all the time she spoke to us,” said Maximin and Melanie. These tears of the Lady are not tears of helplessness and despair, nor is her caring theoretical or aloof. Rather she wanted to imbue every issue she brought up in her message with warmth, passion, depth of interest and concern. Her caring was not theoretical, not academic or aloof. Read More...

Accentuate the Positive:

Similarities Between Christianity, Judaism and Islam

Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unusual places. I love the old Bing Crosby song, “Accentuate The Positive” by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen. It begins: “You've got to accentuate the positive, Eliminate the negative, Latch on to the affirmative, Don't mess with Mister In-Between.”

Several years ago, I had a meeting with a family friend of mine who was getting married. She and her fiancée requested to speak to me about their upcoming marriage. When we sat down, she asked me: “As you know, I am Catholic. My fiancée is Baptist. Can we get your permission to marry?” Read More...