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La Salette Laity in La Salette Life and Ministry
We devotees of the message and mission of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette number in the tens of thousands across the world. Somehow the message has touched us through her ever-flowing tears, her motherly tenderness and deep compassion, and finally her choice of the two poor children to proclaim her message to all her people.
Her commission to them certainly parallels Jesus’ commission of his own disciples:
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw (Jesus), they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:16-20).
Since that heavenly event on the Holy Mountain of La Salette, Mary’s message continues to be announced no longer by the two children but also by the many thousands of people around the world who first hear her words and mandate and then respond by sharing it with others. These “many thousands” who share her message certainly include the sisters, brother and priests of the two La Salette Congregations but also include the many laity who have heard he call and answered it.
War Fought on the Shoulders of the Poor
May, 2015 – War Fought on the Shoulders of the Poor
1) Introduction:
As people connected in some way to the event of La Salette and our Weeping Mother, we know well from her example at La Salette that we are called as reconcilers to respond compassionately to the needy as she did with the two children, Maximin and Melanie. The following are prayerful reflections titled, La Salette 2015 – Justice, Peace, Reconciliation: Let Us Respond to the Cry of the Poor.
They are offered in seven languages so that all La Salette Missionaries, and those laity connected with us, can celebrate the wisdom and challenge of our Catholic Social Teaching during this year. These materials can be used – as a whole or in part – for personal prayer or in our ministries or communities to begin meetings, prayer groups, or in gatherings for religious education.
La Salette Laity on the Move
Fr. Jim Henault, M.S., newly appointed Director of La Salette Laity for our ProvinceOver the past several months since I was appointed Director of La Salette Laity for our Province, I have spent my first months meeting with all of the La Salette Laity and Associate groups and a good percentage of the leadership in our ministries. I am truly grateful for the positive response I have received. From this information our La Salette Laity and Ministry Committee has developed a plan of action for us to discuss and develop.
One of the basics in our approach is that one size does not fit all and so it is necessary to tailor each program to particulars needs and situations. At the same time we have also developed clear criteria for membership in the La Salette Laity Program in our Province. I have also talked to many people about the possible role that they can play in the growth and formation of individuals and groups in the program and have appreciated the willingness of over a dozen peo-le so far who ahve offered to help with training and various presentations.
To become a member of the La Salette Laity, a person is asked to make a commitment to three actions:
1. To reflect daily upon La Salette and our values in life using the new “31 Day Book” that we have developed;
2. Commit to learn more about La Salette through formation “sessions” based on the four La Salette topics: the message, La Salette history, spirituality and charism.
3. Commit to stewardship in your local ministry setting.
We hope to make this as inclusive a group as possible so that hundreds of individuals will choose to participate.
La Salette Laity Meet in Dębowiec, Poland
La Salette Laity are those people around the world connected to the La Salette Missionaries through their devotion to Our Lady of La Salette, La Salette ministries or the La Salette charism of reconciliation. They have gathered for various meetings in past years. More recently, the La Salette Laity of Europe met for their third meeting. This was held at the beautiful La Salette Shrine in Dębowiec, Poland.
La Salette Shrine Church
in Debowiec, Poland
At the end of their meeting, they summarized their discussions and reiterated some points of wisdom from their recent meetings. They listed again – from their past meeting at the La Salette Shrine in Salmata, Italy – seven central aspects of their identity and commitment of their life as La Salette Laity:
Seven Aspects of La Salette Laity
1) Witness to Their Life of Faith: they are committed to being living examples of Christian life within their family, in their workplace, in their circle of friends and acquaintances, and in all situations of their life.
Pope Francis said: “Be Christians and witness to the faith in prayer, in works of charity, in promoting justice, in doing good. Our whole life must pass through the narrow door that is Christ” (Aug. 26, 2013).
La Salette and the Filipino Vocation to Teach
Editor: Here are a series of edited short articles on various aspects of the La Salette Educational System in the Philippines.
ULSHS – A Wellspring of Wisdom and Christian Values
By Miss Charina G. Saclamitao and Mr. Reynante L. Gaslapon
The High School Department of the University of La Salette (ULS) has over the years welcomed as many as 1,894 students. The opening of each school year is preceded by a two-week orientation colloquium to re-anchor the faculty and staff on the school’s Vision and Mission and to welcome the new members of the faculty consisting of ten female and ten male teachers.
An Acquaintance Day in June rolls out the red carpet for the new students and teachers. It also serves to rekindle the conviviality and fellowship that exists among the older ones. The time-honored Mass of the Holy Spirit begins the day presided over by Fr. Franklin Picio, M.S., our University President, with the Santiago City-based La Salette Missionaries as concelebrants.
The University of La Salette High School is seen by many as Cagayan Valley’s (or, one of the country’s) formation nexus of academic excellence and Christian character. It has indomitably affirmed the Catholic-held truth that a child being of God and from God is to called to experience the fullness of life which Christ offered; and all the while promoting brilliance and harmony in basic education.
My Vocation to Teach
By Mary Grace S. Cristobal
I teach primary students at La Salette of San Mateo, Isabela. I am a resident of Ramon, Isabela. For me teaching is a vocation. It is a special calling that requires total dedication and love. I am now on my eighth year of loving service.
MIGRATION, REFUGEES AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLES
February, 2015 – Migration, Refugees and the Displacement of Peoples
1) Introduction:
As people connected in some way to the event of La Salette and our Weeping Mother, we know well from her example at La Salette that we are called as reconcilers to respond compassionately to the needy as she did with the two children, Maximin and Melanie. The following are prayerful reflections titled, La Salette 2015 – Justice, Peace, Reconciliation: Let Us Respond to the Cry of the Poor.
They are offered in seven languages so that all La Salette Missionaries, and those laity connected with us, can celebrate the wisdom and challenge of our Catholic Social Teaching during this year. These materials can be used – as a whole or in part – for personal prayer or in our ministries or communities to begin meetings, prayer groups, or in gatherings for religious education.
2) Faith Sharing:
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-14 (the flight into Egypt)
Read more MIGRATION, REFUGEES AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF PEOPLES
La Salette Laity within the La Salette Family
Editor: This presentation was given by Fr. Marcel Schlewer,M.S., at a meeting of La Salette Laity in Sete, France, from Oct. 10-12, 2014. The text follows, edited for length.
Fr. Marcel Schlewer, M.S., author, retreat director, parish priest, has ministered for many years on the Holy MountainIn 2013 we La Salette Laity were invited to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a meeting of spiritual families of laity who were associated with religious congregations of men and women; 160 congregations were represented.
In 2007, the lay members of these spiritual families numbered about 40,000 people. In 2013, they increased to about 50,000. This now exceeds the number of religious present in our country: some 35,000. So, in appreciating these numbers we can perhaps begin to realize the significance of these spiritual families and their important place in the future of our Church.
Our Foundation as La Salette Laity
What is this spiritual family which we claim to have with one another as La Salette Laity? The origin of our family is, of course, based on the event of September 19, 1846, the apparition of Mary to the two shepherds on the mountain of La Salette.
La Salettes Ministering With La Salette Laity
The people of God, as we have learned from the documents of Vatican II, are no longer considered the lower tier of the Church but rather part of the community of believers, the people of God. We are united in the universal call to holiness and are equal and integral parts of the Catholic Church.
La Salette Laity in Oct. of
2007 in Attleboro, MAWith the people of God, as St. Paul reminds us, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all the members of the Church. Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, Colombia, called for “a pastoral vision in which the laity, in the light of the Spirit, will be truly protagonists of the church’s pastoral mission, and not merely faithful executioners of it.” In addition the U.S. Bishops have also acknowledged and reflected upon the ways laity were answering the Lord's call and employing their gifts to take an active and responsible part in the mission of the Church.
Our Lady of La Salette and Her People
Our Lady of La Salette, in her compassionate manner and concerns, spoke to Maximin and Melanie – and the entire Church – to “make my message known.” Clearly the fact that she first gave this mission to these two children, not to the local clergy of the area, shows her ultimate respect for the proper place of laity within the mission of the Church of her Son.
Her message of reconciliation was therefore entrusted to these two children with the ultimate confidence that they could complete their mission. Her words and actions were profound testimonies to her trust in the power and centrality of the Sacrament of Baptism in the life of her people.
La Salette Charism and Today’s Laity
La Salette Challenges Us…
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| Our Lady of the Missions |
From her solitary mountaintop the Mother of Christ summons the whole church in the person of two young unsuspecting, unchurched and unschooled representatives. Her conversation there with fourteen-year-old Mélanie Calvat and eleven-year-old Maximin Giraud is a teaching moment for all the Lord’s faithful.
It offers an in-depth critique of our way of looking at our world. It challenges us to give up the comfortable security of the noncommittal observer and would break our habit of going with the ebb and flow of a runaway history. Maximin and Mélanie were invited to look at their world, at the reality around them: drought, famine, rotten potatoes, worm-eaten grapes and walnuts, blighted Crops — and the resultant death of little children, disdain for God, religious indifference.
Facing an insecure future, many inhabitants of those mountains blamed God. Their vision of God was a vengeful God, not a God of love. Mary invites the young herders to purify their notion of God by taking another look at the events in their world. “Don't you understand, my children? Let me find another way to say it. . . . Have you never seen blighted wheat? Do you say your prayers well? If the harvest is ruined, it is only on account of yourselves.”
Reflections on La Salette Laity
Editor: These are reflections by two La Salette Missionaries during the celebrations in 1992 for the 150th anniversary of the La Salette Apparition that are as current as yesterday.
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| Fr. Gilles Ginest, M.S. |
Fr. Gilles Genest shared:
As we gathered to discuss the topic, Laity and Religious in the La Salette World, it became clearer and clearer to me that this collaborative relationship was no longer simply optional. Our review of the Church documents since Vatican II as well as our study of our La Salette Rule left no doubt in my mind where our future direction lies. It was especially encouraging to learn that the call of laity to share our La Salette charism had already been heard.
Throughout the Congregation, there are many experiences of authentic journeying with our brothers and sisters of the laity, in particular with the La Salette Associates from Enfield, NH. They came to share what they wanted and needed from us. They stated boldly and clearly that they also have a vocation to respond to Mary's invitation: "Make it known to all my people!" They want to – and actually do – share in our La Salette spirituality and charism as reconcilers.