Pope Francis connects with Elements of La Salette Spirituality

Editor: Discussions were held with La Salette Scholastics and members of our House of Studies in Brighton, MA, led by Fr. Ted Brown., M.S. In their unique approach, they began with the premise that, since Mary came to La Salette to bring God’s message to her people, we can learn from Mary the “feelings (or wisdom) of God.” Here is their summary of the twelve basic elements of La Salette Spirituality for our reflection. The introduction, quotes from Pope Francis, and the reflection questions were added by Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.

Introduction: The message Our Lady of La Salette brought to us on September 19, 1846, is not uniquely her own but rather the message of her Son, Jesus. Her message is filled with references to her Son and echoes the Old and New Testaments. Pope Francis speaks about some of these same characteristic elements which can, in a supportive sense, deepen our appreciation of the La Salette message.

1. God’s love for us is so deep that it meets us in and through our circumstances.

• Scripture says: “For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).La Salette Crucifix with its signature hammer and pincers
• After the apparition: The two children described that at the very spot where they had slept was a globe of fire, as if, in the children’s words: “the sun had fallen there.”
• Pope Francis in his homily at Mass on June 8, 2018, said:

Reflection Questions:

• When have you been overwhelmed by the love shared with you from family or friends?
• Whom do you think of when you hear the phrase, “a person of faith”?

2. Yet God approaches us in an unrecognizable way at times, and we need to step away and sense it.

• Scripture says: “God called to him from the middle of the bush: 'Moses, Moses!' he said. 'Here I am,' [Moses] answered. 'Come no nearer,' he said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:4b-5).The second phase of the La Salette Apparition: the conversation between Mary and the two children
• After the apparition: The two children said: “Her voice was like music, they approached her so closely another person could not have passed between them. The Lady also took steps toward them.”
• Pope Francis said during the Mass on the Vigil of Pentecost, June 8, 2019:

Reflection Questions:

• When in your life have you felt God’s presence?
• What in Mary’s apparition at La Salette has truly touched your heart? Perhaps her compassion, gentleness, or faith?

3. Nothing can separate us from God’s love, not even human sinfulness; therefore we can approach God without fear.

• Scripture says: “Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ? ... (Nothing) will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35a, 39b).
• Mary said: “Come closer, my children; don't be afraid. I am here to tell you great news.”
• Pope Francis said during the Mass on December 5, 2021:

Dear brothers and sisters, in our lives as individuals or nations, there will always be times when we feel that we are in the midst of a desert. Yet it is precisely there that the Lord makes his presence felt. Indeed, he is often welcomed not by the self-satisfied, but by those who feel helpless or inadequate. And he comes with words of closeness, compassion, and tenderness: “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you” (Isaiah 41:10).

Reflection Questions:

• What major even brought you to be able to embrace your fragility or sinfulness?
• When has someone or some event reminded you that God loves you?

4. God is simplicity in its fullness; God speaks to us in a way we can understand.

• Scripture says: “[Jesus] would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were by themselves” (Mark 4:34).
• At the apparition: When Mary saw [the children] did not understand her French, she said: “Don't you understand, my children? Let me find another way to say it.”
• Pope Francis said during the Mass on December 5, 2021:

Melanie (left), age 14, and Maximin, age 11, stand in front of Mary as she speaks with themI am reminded of (the) saint who was so penitent, praying so much. And he was always trying to give the Lord everything the Lord asked of him. But the Lord was not pleased. And one day he was a little angry with the Lord because he had a temper that saint. And he says to the Lord, "But, Lord, I don't understand you. I give you everything, everything and you are always unsatisfied as if something is missing. What's missing?"

Reflection Questions:

• When have children revealed to you their simplicity and true beauty?
• When has someone made the effort to explain something to you? How did you feel?

5. God mourns for our losses

• Scripture says: “As [Jesus] drew near and came in sight of the city [of Jerusalem] he shed tears over it” (Luke 19:41).
• After the apparition: The children said that they looked at the Beautiful Lady and noticed that she did not cease weeping all the time she spoke to them.
• Pope Francis said during the Mass on April 2, 2017:

Jesus Wept Over Jerusalem by James Tissot (1836-1902)Everything appears to have ended there: the tomb is sealed by a great stone; there is only weeping and desolation there. Even Jesus is shaken by the dramatic mystery of the loss of a dear person: “He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33). Then “Jesus wept” (v. 35) and went to the sepulcher, the Gospel says, “deeply moved again” (v. 38). This is God’s heart: far from evil but close to those who are suffering. He does not make evil disappear magically, but he endures the suffering; he makes it his own and transforms it; he abides it.

Reflection Questions:

• When have we wept at the loss of someone we loved?
• What do Mary’s tears tell us about her relationship with “her children”?

6. God’s love is for all, especially those who are seen as outcasts by the world.

• Scripture says: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down” (Luke 4:18-20).
• Being unsuspecting witnesses to the La Salette Apparition: The children at La Salette were poor cowherds, nearly illiterate.
• Pope Francis said during the Mass on November 14, 2021:

Suffer the Little Children to Come to Me by James Tissot (1836-1902). . . We are asked to nurture tomorrow’s hope by healing today’s pain. The two are linked: if you do not work to heal today’s pain, it will be hard to have hope for tomorrow. The hope born of the Gospel has nothing to do with a passive expectation that things may be better tomorrow, but with making God’s promise of salvation concrete today.

Reflection Questions:

• When have you initially hesitated or refused to help a person in need? Why did you initially hesitate or even refuse to help them?
• Who is a person whom you know is often seen as “an outcast” in your society because of any reason?

7. God’s love permeates every aspect of our lives. God cares about every moment, even the smallest and most insignificant one.

• Scripture says: As he sat down to teach, Jesus “looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him. He said to Philip: ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’” (John 6:5).
• Mary said: “Have you ever seen spoilt wheat?” “No,” they answered. “But you, my child (to Maximin), you have seen some at the farm in Coin.”
• Pope Francis’ homily for July 25, 2021:

Jesus did not just teach the crowd; he was also alert to the hunger present in their lives. In response, he fed them with five barley loaves and two fish provided by a young man nearby. Afterward, since there was bread left over, he told his disciples to gather up the fragments, “so that nothing may be lost” (John 6:12). . .

Reflection Questions:

• What incident in your life is seemingly small to others but means a great deal to you?
• When have you been moved to give a compliment to another person?

8. God’s Grace for us is a pure gift and unrepayable.

• Scripture says: Jesus told his disciples: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).
• Mary said: “How long a time I have suffered for you!”
• Pope Francis’ homily for Mass on September 13, 2021:

The Blind Man Washes in the Pool of Siloam by James Tissot (1836-1902)They had to take that decisive step, from admiring Jesus to imitating Jesus. Today too, the Lord looks at each of us personally and asks: “Who am I – in fact – for you?” Who am I for you? This question addressed to each of us, calls for more than a quick answer straight out of the catechism; it requires a vital, personal response.

Reflection Questions:

• What cross that you experienced were you afraid to deal with?
• Whom have you helped to bear a cross in their life?

9. God continues to renew us through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

• Scripture says: “On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to him, 'Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?' The disciples set out and went to the city . . . When evening came he arrived with the Twelve. . . And as they were eating he took bread, and when [Jesus] had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. 'Take it,' he said, 'this is my body.' . . . and [Jesus] said to them, 'This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many. . . After the psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives” (Mark 14:16-17,22,24,26).
• Mary said: “I gave you six days to work; I kept the seventh for myself, and no one will give it to me.”
• Pope Francis’ homily for Mass on Feast of Corpus Christi, June 6, 2021:

The central portion of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Milan, Italy, restored by contemporary artistsThe second image from the Gospel is that of the Upper Room (cf. v. 15). A large room for a tiny piece of Bread. God makes himself tiny, like a morsel of bread . . . God’s presence is so humble, hidden, and often unseen that, to recognize his presence, we need a heart that is ready, alert, and welcoming. . . We need a large room. We need to enlarge our hearts.

Reflection Questions:

• What is our participation like during regular weekend Eucharists? Are we truly attentive or merely present?
• Have you ever invited a non-Church-goer to come to Eucharist with you? Why or why not?

10. God calls us to pray well, with simple prayers from the heart.

• Scripture says: “So you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the Evil One” (Matthew 6:9-13)
• Mary said: “Do you say your prayers well, my children? . . . Ah, my children, you should say them well, at night and in the morning, even if you say only an Our Father and a Hail Mary when you can't do better. When you can do better, say more.”
• Pope Francis’ General Audience on the struggle with prayer, May 12, 2021:

Our Lady of La Salette in PrayerAll Godly men and women report not only the joy of prayer but also the tediousness and fatigue it can bring; at times it is a struggle to keep to the time and ways of praying. Some saints continued it for years without finding any satisfaction in it, without perceiving its

Reflection Questions:

• Do you pray well? Have you taught any of your family or friends to pray?
• Whom do you know who is seen as a “person of faith and prayer”?

11.God’s love is transformative and can change hearts, even of those who do not recognize the divine presence.

• Scripture says: “While the high-priesthood was held by Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah, in the desert . . . He said, therefore, to the crowds who came to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not start telling yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones . . . And he proclaimed the good news to the people with many other exhortations too” (Luke 3:2,7,18).
• Mary said: “If they are converted, rocks and stones will turn into heaps of wheat, and potatoes will be self-sown in the fields.”
• Pope Francis’ General Audience in Athens, Greece concerning the struggle with prayer, December 5, 2021:

[John the] Baptist preached [conversion] insistently and forcefully (see Luke 3:7). This word too can be “uncomfortable,” for just as the desert is not the first place we would consider going to, so the summons to conversion is certainly not the first word we would like to hear.

Reflection Questions:

• Who was a good example to you as a young child?
• Who taught you to believe, to pray, to be a good person?

12. Like our Blessed Mother and all the saints,God sends us forth to make known God’s love and compassion.

• Scripture says: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time” (Matthew 28:19-20)

• Mary said: “Very well, my children, make this known to all my people.”

• Pope Francis’ General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, June 1, 2014:

Our Lady of La Salette pictured as Queen of the MissionsJesus departs, he ascends to Heaven, that is, he returns to the Father from whom he had been sent to the world. He finished his work, thus, he returns to the Father. But this does not mean separation, for he remains forever with us, in a new way.

Reflection Questions:

• What do you feel called to “make known” in some way about Mary’s message at La Salette — to a child, a teenager, an adult, or an older adult?
• Who would you describe as a true “missionary disciple,” a committed Christian whom you admire?

Fr. Ted Brown, M.S., recently gave the Invocation at Bentley University’s Commencement, standing near the Red Sox Dugout at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts