EN Some moments during the Eucharistic celebration of the Episcopal Conference of Tanzania during its ad limina visit, in the parish church of Our Lady of La Salette in Rome. Cardinal Pengo Polycarp is the titular bishop of our parish.

PL Kilka zdjęć z Mszy św. w kościele Matki Bożej Saletyńskiej w Rzymie, Konferencja Episkopatu Tanzanii z okazji wizyty ad limina w Rzymie. Nasz kościół w Rzymie jest przypisany kardynałowi Polikarpowi Pengo.

IT Alcune istantanee circa la celebrazione eucaristica della Conferenza episcopale della Tanzania in visita ad limina, nella chiesa parrocchiale N.S. de La Salette in Roma. Il cardinale Pengo Polycarpo e’ il titolare della nostra Parrocchia.

Dear Brothers,                                                                                                                                                             Easter 2014

“Carry to all the joy of the Risen Lord.” (the Sacred Liturgy)

It is with this concluding sentence of the Liturgy of the Resurrection that I want to express my most sincere brotherly wishes for a Happy and Holy Easter, as well as those of the General Council and Administration.

I hope that the Lenten journey just concluded has engaged all of us in a deep spiritual renewal, both personally and communally. For many of you this journey has been undertaken together with the lay faithful who regularly attend our parishes or with those whom we may have had the fortune of meeting as we engaged in preaching Lenten missions.

Together let us thank the Lord who again this year has invited us to conversion so that we may conform our lifestyle ever more to that of Jesus. In so doing he has offered us a providential opportunity, as Pope Francis says, of “reawakening, of bestirring ourselves from the torpor and from the risk of moving forward passively.”

The announcing of the Resurrection, if heard in faith, fills up our life and our religious history in a real sense. Only if one has had the difficult experience of the purifying journey of Lent, can he taste the newness, the beauty and the joy of this announcement.

To celebrate Easter then means, in light of the Risen One, to put a renewed purpose of trust and hope in ourselves, in community life and in our ministry; to be ready to be freed, not only from the routine which often renders our days insignificant, but to the point of engaging in conversion of the heart, becoming credible witnesses of the new life inaugurated by Christ.

Full of Easter joy, then, I would also like to share with you the joy of the celebration of some events which have marked the life of our Congregation in recent times:

On March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, the district of Switzerland celebrated the 90^th anniversary of the School of Untere Waid, opened in 1924. As an “Apostolic School” for many years, it welcomed and accompanied in their formation dozens and dozens of youths wanting to become Missionaries of La Salette. Having ended its days as a seminary, it opened its doors to both boys and girls and became a modern high school, renowned and appreciated throughout the city of St. Gallen and its environs. This instrument of evangelization and of human advancement also became over time a privileged place for diffusing the message of La Salette and promoting the charism of reconciliation. My sincere thanks, and that of the Congregation, forms an unceasing prayer that the “La Salette Gymnasium,” which has so well served young people up to the present time, will always remain faithful to its charter by furthering the common purpose of the La Salette community present there and the local church.

On April 7, our confrere Fr. Robert Harder, M.S. (of the district of Switzerland) turned 100! He is the first Missionary of La Salette to reach this venerable age. Even though challenged with so many years and with understandable ailments, he continues to live in the community of Untere Waid, still on his own feet, supported by the affection of his confreres. He spent all his life in Angola where he arrived in 1946 with the first group of La Salette Missionaries from the Swiss Province. His religious life and priesthood were identified with the mission. In 1975 he founded the “Congregation of the Sisters of St. Catherine.” Founded for the evangelization and the human and spiritual well-being of young women, they are active today in Angola, Spain and Italy. A man of prayer and genuine spirituality, Fr. Harder willingly speaks to anyone who asks about his missionary experience in Angola. Even though he is living in Switzerland these days, his heart is always in the land of Africa. Along with him, we want to give thanks to the Lord for the gift of such a long life, as well as for all the good he did as a missionary in the midst of the Angolan people for so many years. “Ad multos annos,” dear Fr. Robert, and may the Virgin of La Salette continue to watch over you!

From March 29 to April 5, along with Fr. Adilson, I was supposed to go visit Mons. Claude Rault, bishop of the Sahara (Algeria) as requested by decision # 15 of General Chapter 2012. But once again, as happened last year, our request for a visa was not successful. In view of the fact that Mons. Rault will be here in Rome at the end of June, I will take that occasion to meet with him and speak with him concerning a strategy for obtaining entry into his country. I will keep you up-to-date on any developments concerning this delicate situation.

As you have seen from our monthly bulletin from March, Father Efren and I were in Tanzania at the invitation of Mons. Methodius Kilaini, the auxiliary bishop of Bukoba, to study the feasibility of establishing a La Salette presence in that diocese in the near future. Shortly I will have completed an account that will be sent to the Provincials and thus to the whole Congregation. I invite you to pray that the Holy Spirit enlighten the General Council so that we pursue only those things that God and the Virgin of La Salette intend for our Congregation.

A final reason for our joy is that we have learned that in Haiti, where three of our confreres from Madagascar are working, there are some young men looking to become a part of our religious family. General Chapter 2012 (Decision # 14), although not excluding a priori recruitment in this country, did not provide any “concrete” criteria to put this recruitment into action. Even though the situation is attractive and there is a lot of enthusiasm, a little prudence accompanied by serious discernment will serve us well. I invite the concerned provinces, Madagascar and North America, to consider this problem together in all its aspects (recruitment, sites, formation, personnel, finances). On my part, and that of the General Council, there will be the greatest attention given to this, and our collaboration will not be lacking. We also confide this “project” to the maternal care of Mary, our Mother. She does not neglect making known to us the way to work together as a Congregation in service of the Church and the world today.

April 13, Palm Sunday, we will begin the 2014 PPP. The entire General Council will be on the Holy Mountain for a month in order to present this program. There will be 16 participants. We are very happy that this number includes three Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette. We ask all of you to join with us in prayer.

Along with the General Council and the other members of the General House, I extend to everyone of you – postulants, novices, seminarians, religious of all ages, whether ill, in crisis or whatever – wishes for a Happy and Holy Celebration of the Resurrection. I also extend these wishes to all the groups of “La Salette Laity” who share with us in the task of joyfully announcing the Gospel in light of the message of reconciliation of the weeping Virgin of La Salette.

I bless all of you in the Risen Lord.

Silvano, M.S.

Fr. Robert Harder, MS, (District of Switzerland) celebrates his 100th birthday on April 7! He now lives in the community at Untere Waid in Morschwil, Switzerland.

Dearest Fr. Robert Harder,

First of all, special Greetings from the Eternal City!  As I am unable to greet you personally, I wish, through Fr. Belarmino, the Secretary General, to send you our very special Wishes, in the name of the General Council for the unique event of your 100^th Birthday. Today, with you we are all grateful to the Lord for the gift of such a long life dedicated to the proclamation of the Gospel in Angola, as a religious and Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette.

We know very well how much you loved that country and how much energy you have poured out in favor of the people you have met along the road of your priesthood. We are well aware as well of how you never fail to talk to all the visitors of Untere Waid, about the Mission of Angola, the shining jewel of the Swiss Province since 1946, the Centenary of the Apparition.

Today, you are surrounded by many friends, brother Missionaries, and the Sisters of the Congregation which you have founded, who wish to share with you the joys of this wonderful and truly special and Unique Feast Day. Everyone is here to express to you their sincere and heartfelt thanks for all the good that you have done and the spirit you have planted in their hearts and in so many persons that you have guided through your priestly and Salettine spirit in the land of Angola.

The Congregation, to which you belonged for around 77 years now, is very proud of you as a person and as a La Salette Religious, and invokes the Lord’s blessing that he continues to grant you good health, peace and serenity for all the days that you will be in our midst. May the Virgin of La Salette, continue to be close to you, as she has always been up to now, and guide you always.

A warm and fraternal embrace to you, and a special blessing, dearest Fr. Robert Harder, and “ad multos Annos!”

Fraternally,

Fr. Silvano Marisa, M. S.

Superior General

At our La Salette Shrine in Twin Lakes, WI, there is a beautifully crafted bronze statue of Our Lady of La Salette. This statue has an intriguing history.

A friend of our Missionaries found it in an antique store in San Francisco. It seems that for years this statue was placed at the entrance of an old gold mine. It was a custom of the miners to touch the statue as they would enter the mine. After the mine closed the statue eventually found its way to the store and ultimately to our Shrine at Twin Lakes.

No one knows how the statue began its odyssey to a mine’s entrance and then to the antique store in San Francisco. But this is just another example of how the Virgin of La Salette can touch our lives, sometimes in some very circuitous ways.

This story illustrates the fact Our Lady of La Salette has a remarkable ability of getting around, of showing up in the most unexpected or out of the way places. It leaves you wondering who did this, when and how?

Mary’s visit to La Salette was very different from many of her other apparitions. For example, Mary did not ask that a basilica be built there although later a beautiful shrine church would spring up atop this alpine mountain to commemorate this event and to serve its many pilgrims. She did not mandate any special devotion other than to pray well. And yet today we have many prayers, hymns and devotions dedicated to Our Lady of La Salette.

 Also she did not say anything about the need to establish a religious community. She simply asked these two simple children to make her message “known to all her people”. Yet amazingly not one but two religious foundations can trace their genesis to Mary at La Salette: The Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette and the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette.

We are reminded that Mary’s parting words to Maximin and Melanie – to make her message known to all her people – was addressed to us all and each of us has our own unique manner of accomplishing this mission.

Written by Fr. Jerry Lebanowski, M.S.

Pope Francis has asked the Church to celebrate 2015 as the year dedicated to Consecrated Life. He said this during a meeting with the superiors general of men’s religious institutes. This meeting was special, and very warm, lasting three hours. During this time the generals were free to ask the pope questions about the future of consecrated life, and he willingly answered. It may be the first time a Pope has met and spoken so warmly with the superiors general. We can therefore rightly expect that next year’s celebration will not remain a mere recapitulation of themes. We know already about the various events and initiatives of the Holy See set for this time, says Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. First of all, in the face of crisis of vocations, we do not want to be prophets of disaster, but people of hope, who do not count on our own “horses and carts,” or on our own strength and numbers, only on Him whom we trust.

            The Year of Consecrated Life is planned to begin in November with the 60^th anniversary of the publication of the Constitution Lumen Gentium, and end November 21, 2015, on the 50^th anniversary of the decree Perfectae Caritatis. At this time, plans include: a meeting in Rome of religious and nuns in temporary and perpetual profession under 10 years; the next meeting of formators of both men’s and women’s religious communities; a Congress on the Theology of Consecrated Life; and a chain of prayer in the monasteries . As a preparation for the celebration of this year we might include an event that has already taken place March 8 – 9, a symposium on the management of material goods in Religious Institutes, which was attended by about 900 people - General and Provincial Treasurers.

            During this time, there should also be some documents prepared: the new edition of Mutuae Relationes on the relationship of bishops and religious and mutual cooperation; and the updated instructions Verbi Sponsa, on the autonomy of cloistered nuns. Also planned is a document on the life and mission of Religious Brothers, and Brothers belonging to secular institutes. The Pope also wants to produce a new Apostolic Constitution on the contemplative life to replace the currently applicable Sponsa Christi, promulgated by Pius XII in 1950.

SOME FEATURES!

The Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, on September 19, 1846, carries with it the signs of the Cross of Our Lord. In this particular event, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, appears as the Mother of Sorrows at the foot of the Cross of her Son, the Cross that she carries on her breast. She weeps because of her people who continue to crucify Jesus.

The people of La Salette lived in a human situation of misery because of the famine that brought death to many persons in the region. It was also a deplorable situation from the moral and religious point of view, because indifference, unbelief and blasphemy were widespread and deeply rooted in the life of the people. Mary’s tears, her lamentations and the Cross she carried on her breast, reveal the pains that she suffers because of her children who have strayed from the ways of the Lord. Her incessant call that her people live the spirit of Lent, conversion, is a sign of her compassion for them. Our Lady, patient and merciful awaits the return of her children to the house of the Father. Her call was listened to and aroused the Reconciliation of the People with their God. Prayer, the practice of Christian life and penance, as a way to conversion, brought a new life to the people of La Salette. The cross of the people, by the grace of God, became a road to the Resurrection.

If the Apparition of La Salette carries with it the signs of the Cross of the Lord, it is also very much marked by the Light of the Resurrection. The Apparition was all made of light. It was marked by an intense light, which did not leave any shadow, and this light engulfed in some way the two shepherds, Maximin and Melanie. Mary, her dress, her attitudes and actions, as well as the two shepherds, were all taken up by this wonderful light of the Kingdom of the Resurrection of Christ, as if it was a new Transfiguration. The tears of Mary flowed down translucent from her eyes. They fell down and disappeared without touching the grown, according to the testimonies of the favored shepherds. Everything was Light. Mysterious Light which emanated intensely from the Cross of the Lord, placed on the Heart of the Mother of Sorrows. On this Cross, the Crucified-Risen Christ was resplendent as the Light of the World. Cross of suffering and of death, as a result of humanity’s sin. The Cross was resplendent of the Life of God. The Cross indeed was the source of the Light of the World. On the Cross, Christ gave himself, freely and totally, for the divine pardon of humanity. By this Cross, Life rises as the Victory over sin and death. Cross and Resurrection! Pardon and Life! The Mystery of Faith!

Our Lady of La Salette wants to surround all her people by this Mystery of Easter, the Exodus from the kingdom of evil towards the Kingdom of God. Her call is conversion as a passage from sin and from death towards the life of grace in God. It is the road of Lent and Easter. A road that effects the change in the quality of personal life in the Light of the Gospel, in the hope of a world transformed by Christ and in Christ.

During her Apparition, Our Lady annouced the coming of a new world by the conversion to Christ, by saying: « If they are converted, rocks and stones will be transformed into mounds of wheat… » The superabundance of wheat, is the symbol of the desired new world…. The misfortune brought by evil will no longer have its place. By the Grace of God, the beauty of life will rise from the old world of sin. The world will be reconciled with God and in God by Christ. La Salette is a message filled with hope in the Resurrection. Penitent, active hope, committed to the personal and communitarian life as well as in the transformation of society and the universe. From the penitence of Lent to be lived in this world we will move on to live in the paschal joy which the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ will cause to rise.

At the end of the Apparition, the beautiful Lady tells the two shepherds: “Well, my children……” She invites them then to walk with her up on the top of the mountain, to symbolize the journey of life that Mary wants to make with her people in the course of time, towards the final meeting with God in the Kingdom of Reconciliation.

Fr. Atico Fassini, M.S. – Rio de Janeiro

{edocs}DOCUMENTSFILES/India Provincial Circular March_2014.pdf,100%,900{/edocs}

Presentation given by Jean-Théodre RANDRIAMAHENINA ms

during a Gathering of the French Province

I thank Fr. Franz and his council for asking me to speak to you. I am glad to be with you to share some of the modest experiences I have lived while in France. I do this first and foremost as a Malagasy, proceeding slowly (“moramora,” as we say in Malagasy, slowly by never backwards), then as a religious and priest living in the La Salette French Province.

It would seem normal for me to preface my experiences with a few words of explanation about how I came to be living here in France for the past three years.

In the program for this Gathering I see that Fr. Gilbert Rakotorahalahy will also be speaking. As a Malagasy I have a have a high regard for my elders, no matter who they might be. Yet Fr. Gilbert holds a special place in my heart. Why? Because it was he who sent me to the La Salette seminary in Antsahasoa in October 1989 when I was only 14 years old. At that time he was pastor of the parish in my hometown of Faratsiho. That church had been established by the French La Salette Missionaries and afterward served by Malagasy La Salettes; so don’t be surprised that I say a few words about my La Salette vocation which stems from there. La Salette runs through my veins, or if you want, is part of my DNA makeup! I made my first profession on September 19, 1996 at the La Salette Shrine, Antsahasoa. I did my PPP in 2002 and that same year made my perpetual profession on September 29^th. I was ordained on July 29^th 2006 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of La Salette in Antsirabe, after which I was named treasurer of the scholasticat and vicar of the parish of St. Louis in Fenomanana, Antananarivo. I remained there until my arrival in France to begin serving at the shrine of Notre-Dame de Chêne in the diocese of Besançon. There you have it!

People sometimes ask me: Why are you here? Are there too many priests in Madagascar? The questions are complex; the answers are simple. To the first question I respond: I am here because you are not! The shrine of N-D de Chêne had been falling into ruins, and was abandoned in 2006 with the departure of the Montfort Fathers, who had served there for 90 years. In 2007 the bishop requested that the La Salette Missionaries come to serve the shrine. The French Provincial agreed to send a community. I can say that now the shrine is flourishing. To the second question I respond: It is not that there is a superabundance of priests in Madagascar but rather that there are not enough here. In Madagascar it is true that the number of priest is on the increase and that the median age is decreasing (Yes, a young church!) but there is still not a sufficient number of priest. On the other hand priests here in France are aging and becoming fewer in number. I’m not in the habit of keeping track of deaths, because according to the Malagasy mentality that’s not done! But in my three year presence here in the diocese of Besançon (which I know better than other French dioceses) there have been quite a few priests’ funerals. Yet only one ordination, and that a La Salette and a Malagasy on June 26, 2011! We are proud of that. My own coming to France is not by chance or a mishap; rather it is the answer to a call and a free gift. Missionaries evangelized my homeland, the Great Island, and there are still a few French La Salette Missionaries there today.

La Salettes were asked to be spiritual animators at the Shrine of N-D de Chène. I’m not alone there. We accomplish this animation as a community, especially in and through daily Eucharistic celebrations, which are preceded by Morning or Evening prayer. We take turns preaching to the neighboring people who come to share in these celebrations. Every Sunday there are two Eucharistic celebrations – one in the morning, another in the evening – in which local residents as well as visitors participate. Then there are six pilgrimages for different parts of the diocese which are spread throughout the year.

Pastoral ministries in different parts of our deanery also fall on us. We don’t have time to twiddle out thumbs! At times each of us says two or three Masses on Sunday. But offering Mass, which is indispensable, is not all. I, as well as my fellow priests, am called to service: not to be a pastor, nor a helper, nor an assistant. What does it mean “to serve”? Every priest, by virtue of his prior ordination to the deaconate, is called to service. This implies availability. I would like to be cautious in the use of this word because it could lead to confusion. A remark was made in the diocese about priests who “come from elsewhere”. I quote from Eglise de Besançon, the bi-monthly diocesan revue (Nº 19 from November 17, 2013): “The priest coming from elsewhere should not be seen as a stranger who fills-in, as an arrival in-the-nick-of-time, or worse yet as a person who comes in a time of crisis to fill a gap.” That question was asked during a meeting for priests and pastoral delegates helping in the deanery. We answered by asking them a question, much as the shepherd did to the shepherdess: “What do you take me for?”

I am aware that a priest is not a priest for himself. This conviction has led me to be thoroughly involved in pastoral activity: catechesis, confirmation; health ministries (hospital chaplain, service to sick and handicapped).

What can I do? Certainly I can’t solve all the problems. The best I can do is to be engaged and carry my part of the load in educating people in their Faith. If I, as a priest, a religious, a missionary, don’t to what I can, then who will do it? If one does nothing, nothing gets done. Of that, I am sure. I must bear witness to my Faith so that people can see by my engagement that I believe. That’s no little thing. I can tell you that ministering to children and to the youth gives me much joy. I truly receive much more than I give.

While doing health ministry, apart from working in the hospitals and retirement homes, I frequent and visit many people who live alone, are ill and suffering, along with those who do home-care. And I derive joy from it. It’s not their suffering that brings joy, but, while showing the necessary reserve, joy comes from being with them, showing my concern; “Whatever you did for one of these little ones …” Jesus said one day. I thank God for the quality of service and attention rendered by care-givers to these sick, suffering and handicapped. As I think about what goes on in Madagascar in this regard, I ask the good Lord one thing: that the aged here may be accompanied more and more by their families, and that the indigent of Madagascar (and other countries) have better access to healing remedies. May my prayer be answered.

I give this presentation, this witness, but in truth it can only be done because the (my) community sends me here. I do nothing in my own name. It is the community’s mission, not mine! That fact changes everything. In community, how important it is to strengthen each other through prayer and fraternal admonition because, having recently arrived here, I have a lot to learn. Sharing with one another, which is always a challenge because we are so different one from another, can never be dispensed with. We are all unique, meaning that each one possesses reserves and qualities as well as fragilities and limits. Diversity can prove to be a cherished resource if one knows how to profit by its presence; yet can be an enormous stumbling block if one is stubborn.

During these three plus years in France, much water has flowed under the bridge. My inculturation into life in France and my integration into the life of the church are only beginning … and I hope to continually move forward. Let’s see what happens with this total uprooting and complete depart from homeland will bring; it’s not easy (cold climate, language, culture, mentality, food). Adaptation is not a given, it requires time. Time must be given time. But in between time, I’m doing all I can to learn, to inform myself. Both the diocese and the province offer many formational tools. I am trying my best to take advantage of them. Already, within a month, Dominique will present to us the next permanent formation course on the theme: Our rootedness in the Church of France… WE have already dwelled on the laity, ecology, and being uprooted through Exile… Many other will follow. I can only rejoice and try to profit from these opportunities.

From 3 to 5 February, at the General House, Rome, the International Commission on Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) held its first meeting. The Commission consists of:
Fr. Alfredo Velarde, MS, from Argentina, Fr. Thomas Htang Shan Mong, MS, from Myanmar, Fr. Francisco Mbambi Tchipindo, MS, from Angola, Fr. Joseph G. Bachand, MS, and Fr. Henry Przeździecki, MS. This Commission discussed, among other things, how to implement Decision No 8 of the General Chapter of 2012, concerning Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, and how to prepare for the celebration of 2015 devoted to this issue in our Congregation. The session was opened by Fr. General. Suggestions from the deliberations of the Commission will be submitted for approval to the General Council.