LAY LA SALETTES' VOCATION

Lay La Salettes Defined The life of the Lay La Salette is really a special calling.  Some have been known to classify it as a vocation. There is no denying that the spiritual dimension of the behavior of a Lay La Salette defines a person who is living a response to a special invitation from God, through His Holy Mother.   This invitation is delivered initially by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, “Do not be afraid.  I am here to tell you that you have been blessed by God.” Indeed, we are living in the line of Melanie and Maximin, charged with the call to “Make this known to all my people.”

The calling to reconciliation came to us from the original priests who made it their way of life to go to

the Holy Mountain to accommodate the flocks of pilgrims who were going there seeking spiritual

healing. 

This led to the introduction of the invocation “Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of sinners, pray

without ceasing for us who have recourse to thee.” This, thanks to Father Perrin, the pastor of the

church at La Salette, and the founder of the Confraternity of Our Lady of La Salette.  This confraternity

was a community of devout lay people (May 1, 1848).  

It is from there that the text of the rule of the La Salette Missionaries states: The original spirit that

dominates the community of the Missionaries of La Salette is that of “reconciliation.” 

Our clearest understanding of the theology of reconciliation comes from the writing of St. Paul.  Paul lives

reconciliation as a person who came to see life in a new way based on the encounter he had with the

living Lord on the way to Damascus.  For Paul, this was a personal relationship experience. He lived the

grace that flowed from that experience for the rest of his life.  

Melanie and Maximin did the same thing.  They lived the grace that flowed from their meeting with the

Beautiful Lady.  They were called, “Come near my children, do not be afraid.” They, like Paul, “Made

this known to all People.”  

We, Lay La Salette Laity have been called.  We are striving to “Make this known to all my people.”

( Page 2

Quoted by pope Francis during his meditation introducing

the Urbi et Orbi blessing

M Marc 4; 35 - 41:  “Lord, don’t you care that we are drowning?”

I suggest that there is a defining lesson for us La Salette Lay disciples of Jesus and Mary here?  Are
we tempted to wonder about our spirituality of reconciliation when we occasionally wonder, “Lord,
aren’t you supposed to be protecting me under your pinions?  (Psalm 94;4)
Is it proper for me to talk to Jesus that way when His mother warns me that His arm is so heavy that
even she can hardly hold it back anymore?  Is it proper for me to wonder out loud if my lifeboat (my job)
and I will fall to the bottom of the Covid-19 sea? Of course it is, We are human, are we not?  Like the
apostles, we have faith in Jesus.  We believe that He can save us. We have to work on strengthening

our trust in Him.  We have to develop a trusting faith in Him.  As missionaries grounded in the
spirituality of reconciliation, we are called to live a faith that is grounded in the conviction that God
cares about what happens to us.  The tempest that is now rocking our boat is ripping the wrapping off
our prepackaged ideas of just what it is that nourishes our soul.  In this storm the personal stereotypes
that we count on to protect ourselves are being ripped away. Our egoistic self image with which we
protect ourselves has fallen away and we find ourselves accepting the truth that it is our sense of
belonging in the community of God’s flock is stronger and more reliable than our stand-alone ego.
Jesus has a come-back: “Why are you afraid?  Have you no faith?”
He could perhaps have quoted the prophet Joel: 
“...return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping
and mourning.  Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return

to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to

anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.”

(Joel 2;12+13)
Pope Francis invites us to a reconciliatory moment:
“Lord, you are calling out to us, calling us to faith.
This is a faith that is not so much believing that you
exist, but coming to you and trusting in you.

This Lent, your call reverberates urgently: “Be converted!”

  “Return to me with all your heart.” (Joel, as above)
You are calling us to seize this time of trial as a time of
choosing.  It is not a time of your judgement, but of our
judgement:  a time to choose what matters and what
passes away, a time to separate what is necessary

from what is not.

(To be continued)

Page 3

Questions proposed for meditation, taken from current seasonal Scripture.  Start with the question proposed by Pope Francis: 

“Lord, don’t you care that we are drowning?” Marc 4; 35 - 41

“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” John 11; 8

“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”John 13; 6

“Master, who is it?” John 13: 25

“Master, where are you going?” John 13; 36

“Master, why can’t I follow you now?” John 13; 37

“Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the                way?” John 14: 5

“Whom are you looking for?” John 18; 4                                                      

“Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”  John 18: 1 ss

“What are you discussing as you walk along?” 

“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there these days?”

“What sort of things?”   Luke 24; 17 - 19

It is intriguing to consider these questions away from the black and white context of the Sacred Scriptures but in the context of our personal relationship with God and the community of the saints.  When I read them, or even just visit them in my memory I have a tendency to turn them over in my mind according to the mood that I imagine was the drive behind them. I find myself forming my prayer life in the orbit of Biblical questions.  There is a lot that we can learn about our relationship with God by analysing questions. Try making conversations between you and God discussions about a question that you found in the Scripture.

We children of the Beautiful Lady of La Salette have chosen to live with our answer to her question, “Do you pray well, my children?”  I have been seeking information about the surprising fact that Our Blessed Mother, in so many other apparitions, doesn't seem to have ever asked the visionary(ies) if they prayed, let alone “prayed well.”  We have to put ourselves at her feet and think about our answer to the question.

BTW - I was smiling at the passage where Peter swears while denying Jesus, despite his Galilean accent giving him away.   Mother Mary took to the local dialect for the sake of making her message known, all the while telling not to swear, especially not to abuse her Son's name.

Let us not distance ourselves spiritually.  This is not the time to rock the boat, to use the imagery of our Dear Pope.  Let us all talk the same language

MY GOD, I TRUST YOU -- MON DIEU, JE ME FIE A TOI

1

Of David:

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul,

2

my God, in you I trust;

do not let me be disgraced;

do not let my enemies gloat over me.

3

No one is disgraced who waits for you,

but only those who are treacherous without cause.

4

Make known to me your ways, LORD;

teach me your paths.

5

Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,

for you are God my savior,

for you I wait all day long.

6

Remember your compassion and your mercy, O LORD,

for they are ages old.

7

Remember no more the sins of my youth;

remember me according to your mercy,

because of your goodness, LORD.

      8

Good and upright is the LORD,

therefore he shows sinners the way,

9

He guides the humble in righteousness,

and teaches the humble his way.

10

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth

toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.

11

For the sake of your name, LORD,

pardon my guilt, though it is great.

12

Who is the one who fears the LORD?

God shows him the way he should choose.

13

He will abide in prosperity,

and his descendants will inherit the land.

14

The counsel of the LORD belongs to those who fear him;

and his covenant instructs them.

15

My eyes are ever upon the LORD,

who frees my feet from the snare.

16

Look upon me, have pity on me,

for I am alone and afflicted.

17

Relieve the troubles of my heart;

bring me out of my distress.

18

Look upon my affliction and suffering;

take away all my sins.

19

See how many are my enemies,

see how fiercely they hate me.

20

Preserve my soul and rescue me;

do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.

21

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;

I wait for you, O LORD.

DEATH, LIFE, LOVE, HOPE -- MUERTE, VIDA, AMOR, ESPERANZA -- MORT, VIE, AMOUR, ESPOIR

(5^th Sunday of Lent: 

Ezekiel  37:12-14; 

Romans 8:8-11; 

John 11:1-45)

Fr. Rene Butler  MS and Wayne Vanasse

Jesus was, in a way, testing Martha’s faith, when he said, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die,” and then asked her, “Do you believe this?”

If he had asked, “Do you understand this?” the conversation might have take a different turn. But Martha’s response expressed her faith in Jesus himself, and thus in everything he said or did. “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Later we read, “And Jesus wept. So the Jews said: See how he loved him.” Love and tears are not strangers to each other.

The Beautiful Lady wept. We can see, therefore, how she loves us, and longs for us to believe that her Son is the resurrection and the life, to trust in his word.

Every time I encounter the phrase ’my people’ in the Bible, I think of La Salette. In today’s first reading, that connection is especially strong. This passage concludes the famous episode of the Valley of the Dry Bones. Until now, in Ezekiel, God has spoken about his people, rarely to them. But here he addresses them directly, and with what feeling: “O my people!” Can they ever doubt his love again?

The appropriate response to that question is found in today’s Psalm: “If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness that you may be revered... For with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption.”

St. Paul uses an image very different from that of dry bones, but to the same effect. To live in the flesh is to be spiritually dead. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” The Blessed Virgin wants her people to understand this.

The message of La Salette, like all of our readings today, highlights God's will to restore us to life. In the words of the first reading: “I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord.”

Sometimes we find ourselves praying “out of the depths.” We need never despair. Lazarus was not a lost cause. Neither are we.

Fr. René Butler, M.S., and Wayne Vanasse

(5^to Domingo de Cuaresma: 

Ezequiel 37:12-14; 

Romanos 8:8-11; 

Juan 11:1-45)

Pe Rene Butler  MS y Wayne Vanasse

Jesús estaba, de algún modo, poniendo a prueba la fe de Marta cuando le dijo, “Yo soy la Resurrección y la Vida. El que cree en mí, aunque muera, vivirá; y todo el que vive y cree en mí, no morirá jamás”, y luego le preguntó, “¿Crees esto?”

Si le hubiera preguntado, “¿entiendes esto?” la conversación podría haber tomado un rumbo distinto. Pero en la respuesta, Marta expresó su fe en el mismísimo Jesús, y así en cada cosa que él dijo o hizo. “Sí, Señor, creo que tú eres el Mesías, el Hijo de Dios, el que debía venir al mundo”.

Más adelante leemos, “Y Jesús lloró. Los judíos dijeron: «¡Cómo lo amaba!». El amor y las lágrimas no son extraños entre sí.

La Bella Señora lloró. Podemos ver, por lo tanto, cuánto nos ama, y sus ansias son de que nosotros creamos que su Hijo es la resurrección y la vida, que creamos en su palabra.

Cada vez que me topo con la frase ‘mi pueblo’ en la Biblia, pienso en La Salette. En la primera lectura de hoy, esa conexión es fuerte. Este pasaje concluye el famoso episodio del Valle de los Huesos Secos. Hasta entonces, en Ezequiel, Dios había hablado acerca de su pueblo, raramente a su pueblo. Pero aquí se dirige directamente a su pueblo, y con qué sentimiento: “¡Ustedes, mi pueblo!” ¿Puede acaso este pueblo otra vez dudar de su amor?

La respuesta propicia a esa pregunta se encuentra en el Salmo de hoy. “Si tienes en cuenta las culpas, Señor, ¿quién podrá subsistir? Pero en ti se encuentra el perdón, para que seas temido... Porque en él se encuentra la misericordia y la redención en abundancia”.

San Pablo se sirve de una imagen muy diferente a aquella de los huesos secos, pero con el mismo efecto. Vivir conforme a la carne es estar espiritualmente muerto. “Los que viven de acuerdo con la carne no pueden agradar a Dios”. La Santísima Virgen quiere que su pueblo lo entienda.

En el mensaje de La Salette, como en todas las lecturas de hoy, se resalta la voluntad de Dios de devolvernos a la vida. En las palabas de la primera lectura: “Lo he dicho y lo haré—oráculo del Señor”.

A veces nos encontramos rezando “desde los más profundo”. Nunca debemos desesperarnos. Lázaro no fue un caso perdido. Tampoco nosotros.

Traducción: Hno. Moisés Rueda, M.S.

(5^e dimanche de Carême : 

Ezékiel 37, 12-14 ; 

Romains 8, 8-11 ; 

Jean 11, 1-45)

Pere Rene Butler et Wayne Vanasse

Jésus éprouvait en quelque sorte la foi de Marthe, quand il a dit : « Moi, je suis la résurrection et la vie. Celui qui croit en moi, même s’il meurt, vivra ; quiconque vit et croit en moi ne mourra jamais », et ensuite lui demanda, « Crois-tu cela ? »

S’il lui avait demandé, « Comprends-su cela ? » la conversation aurait pu changer complètement. Mais, par sa réponse, Marthe exprima sa foi en Jésus lui-même, et alors en tout ce qu’il disait ou faisait. « Oui, Seigneur, je le crois : tu es le Christ, le Fils de Dieu, tu es celui qui vient dans le monde. »

Plus loin nous lisons : « Alors Jésus se mit à pleurer. Les Juifs disaient : Voyez comme il l’aimait ! » L’amour et les larmes ne sont pas étrangers.

La Belle Dame a pleuré. Nous voyons, donc, comment elle nous aime, et combien elle désire que nous croyions que son Fils est la résurrection et la vie, et que nous ayons confiance en sa parole.

Chaque fois que je rencontre la parole ‘mon peuple’ dans la bible, je pense à la Salette. Dans la première lecture d’aujourd’hui ce lien est particulièrement fort. C’est la conclusion de la célèbre vision de la Vallée des ossements. Jusqu’à ce moment, dans Ezékiel, Dieu parle à propos de son peuple, mais ne leur a parlé directement presque jamais. Mais ici il s’adresse à eux directement, et avec quel sentiment : « O mon peuple ». Pourront-ils encore douter de son amour ?

La juste réponse à cette question se trouve dans le psaume d’aujourd’hui : « Si tu retiens les fautes, Seigneur, Seigneur, qui subsistera ? Mais près de toi se trouve le pardon pour que l’homme te craigne... près du Seigneur, est l’amour ; près de lui, abonde le rachat. »

St Paul a recours à une image très différente de celle des ossements desséchés, pour arriver au même but. Vivre selon la chair, c’est être spirituellement mort. « Ceux qui sont sous l’emprise de la chair ne peuvent pas plaire à Dieu. » La sainte Vierge veut que son peuple comprenne cela.

Le message de la Salette, comme tous les textes d’aujourd’hui, souligne la volonté de Dieu de nous restaurer à la vie. Dans les paroles de la première lecture, « J’ai parlé et je le ferai—oracle du Seigneur. »

Parfois nous nous trouvons à prier « des profondeurs ». Il ne faut jamais désespérer. Lazare n’était pas une cause perdue. Nous non plus.

Traduction : P. Paul Belhumeur, M.S.