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

Russian,                       Belarusian,                   Ukrainian

See the Message translation into other languages below ​​in the Annexes.

ВЕЛИКАЯ ВЕСТЬ
Слова Марии
Богоматерь Ла Салетт
 
«Идите ко мне, дети мои, не бойтесь. Я здесь для того, чтобы сообщить вам великую весть».
В этот день, 19 сентября 1846 года, «Прекрасная дама», как называют её Максимен и Мелани, рассказывает им Великую Весть исходя из их собственного жизненного опыта.  Она передаёт её им в слезах.  Эти слёзы показывают, что, хотя она больше не от мира (ср. Ин 17), она непрестанно присутствует как свидетель трудной жизни  крестьян того времени, радостей и драм мужчин, женщин и детей всех времён по всему миру.  Но за этими слезами стоят слова, произнесённые, чтобы пробудить надежду: «Не бойтесь».
 
«Если мой народ не хочет покориться,   то я вынуждена отпустить руку моего Сына, Она такая сильная и тяжёлая, что я не могу больше удерживать её.  Сколько времени я уже  страдаю за вас!  Если я хочу, чтобы мой Сын не оставил вас, моя задача непрестанно молиться ему – а вам всё равно.  Сколько бы вы ни молились, всё будет напрасно, вы никогда не сможете отблагодарить меня за моё сострадание к вам».
Этот «народ», о котором говорит |Мария, отвергает всё, что идёт от Бога, и ведёт жизнь, в которой эгоизм одних не перестаёт всё больше и больше разрушать жизнь других.  Поэтому в конце жизненного пути этих мужчин и женщин ожидает смерть, а не рождение для их истинной Жизни.
Мария просит каждого, кто принадлежит к её народу, постоянно корректировать своё представление о Боге и становиться на сторону её Сына, делая свободный выбор  на основе любви.  Чтобы он мог быть также народом живых людей, приносящих плод.
 Она молит своего Сына придти и предложить своим детям то, чего им не хватает, чтобы они увидели, что их любят и чтобы их жизненное предназначение исполнилось через любовь.
«Я дал вам шесть дней для работы, себе же оставил седьмой. Но вы не хотите  посвятить его мне.  А те, кто возит телеги, не могут не сквернословить, не поминая всуе Имя Моего Сына. По этим двум причинам  рука моего Сына делается такой тяжёлой».
Мария является в Ла Салетт в то время, когда люди не соблюдают правила посвящать воскресный день Господу.  Они работают 7 дней в неделю.  Промышленная революция не щадит своих рабочих, которые трудятся до 14-15 часов в день.  Прочность семьи, связи внутри христианской общины оказываются под угрозой.  Если сегодняшнее общество требует работы многих людей в воскресенье для обеспечения обслуживания, транспортного сообщения, возможностей проведения досуга …, то требование соблюдения седьмого дня является абсолютно легитимным для создания условий для отдыха, не унижающих человеческое достоинство;  для поддержания жизненно необходимых связей с Богом и с братьями и сёстрами, которых даёт нам жизнь.
Рука моего Сына: тяжёлая, настойчивая: пригвождённая к кресту (как Христос на груди Богоматери), она не перестаёт касаться нашей совести.  Это пригвождённая рука  убитого праведника, отвергнутой любви.  Кто может остаться равнодушным перед распятым? “Пришёл к своим, и свои Его не приняли.  А тем, которые приняли, дал власть быть чадами Божиими”.  Мария показывает нам, что если мы хотим обрести мир, обрести жизнь, нам нужно только взять эту руку и держаться за неё, чтобы любить как Он.
“Если урожай портится, в этом виноваты только вы сами.  Я показала Вам это в прошлом году на примере картошки, но вам всё равно. Скорее наоборот, когда вы находите в земле гнилой картофель, вы бранитесь, всуе поминая имя моего Сыиа. Картошка будет продолжать портиться, и в этом году на Рождество у вас не будет ничего”.
(До сих пор Прекрасная Дама говорила по-французски; заканчивает же она свою речь на диалекте).
“Вы не понимаете по-французски, дети мои? Я скажу вам это иначе.  Если урожай портится ...  Если у вас есть зерно, не надо его сеять. Всё, что вы посеете, съедят звери, или оно превратится в пыль, когда его будут обмолачивать. Наступит великий голод.  А перед тем, как наступит голод, дети до 7 лет заболеют лихорадкой и умрут на руках тех, кто их будет держать.  Остальные будут наказаны голодом. Орехи станут пустыми, виноград сгииёт”.
“Если они обратятся, камни и скалы превратятся в груды зерна, и повсюду на земле вы найдёте вдоволь картофеля”.
Мария использует язык Откровения Св. Иоанна; обращение актульно во все времена.  Пророк Агей связывал плохой урожай с тем, что люди не прилагали все силы к тому, чтобы Бог снова занял центральное место в их жизни (ср. Аг 1, 6; 10-11; 2, 15-19).  В Откровении говорится о засухе, которая, вместо того, чтобы приводить к обращению, заставляет людей богохульствовать (Откр16, 8-9), точно так же, как нехватка картошки провоцирует ругательства, в то время как вся ответственность лежит на тех, кто разучился делиться!  Мария даёт понять, что конец неурожая зависит от обращения людей: “Если не покаетесь, все так же погибнете” (Лк 13, 3).  Если раньше, когда не было известно всё то, что сейчас открыто наукой, причину плохого урожая искали в Боге, сегодня Богоматерь призывает нас искать, как нам, верующим, следует реагировать, чтобы испытания не сломили наших братьев и сестёр в семье человечества.
Обратиться означает прежде всего не молиться до изнеможения, а научиться любить как Христос.   “Соблюдение правды и правосудия более угодно Господу, нежели жертва”  (ср. Притчи 21, 3; Осия 6, 6; Матфей 9, 13).
“Хорошо ли вы молитесь, дети мои? - Не очень, Мадам.  - Ах, дети  мои, вы должны это делать, вечером и утром, даже если этобудет только “Отче наш" и „Радуйся, Мария".  А когда у вас есть возможность, молитесь больше.
Летом на Мессу приходят всего несколько старушек. Остальные всё лето работают в воскресенье, а зимой, когда люди не знают, чем заняться, они идут на Мессу только  чтобы посмеяться над религией. В Великий Пост они идут в мясную лавку, как псы”.
Мария приглашает детей к молитве.  Говорить каждый день: “Да святится (прославляется, восхваляется, превозносится) имя Твоё” означает выбирать не произносить имя Господа всуе.  Признавая нашу зависимость от Бога, дающего нам хлеб наш насущный, мы больше не обвиняем Его в том, что нам этого хлеба не хватает.  Мы уже не претендуем на то, чтобы строить этот мир без Него.  И разве не пустота, вызванная отсутствием Бога, требует, чтобы её заполнили, сходив “в мясную лавку”, как это принято в обществе потребления?  “Безумный! в сию ночь душу твою возьмут у тебя; кому же достанется то, что ты заготовил?” (ср. Лк12, 19-21)
Предлагая детям в Ла Салетт молитвы “Отче наш” и “Радуйся, Мария”, Мария переносит нас непосредственно в Библию.  “Отче наш” - это молитва Иисуса, резюме не только Его учения, но и, на ещё более глубоком уровне, Его жизни.
“Вы никогда не видели испорченного зерна, дети  мои?  - Нет, Мадам!  - Но ты, Максимен, дитя моё, ты должен был видеть его однажды в Куа, вместе со своим отцом. Хозяин поля позвал твоего отца посмотреть на испорченное зерно. Вы пошли туда, ты взял два-три хлебных колоска в свои руки и растер их: все превратилось в пыль. По пути домой, когда вы были не далее получаса ходьбы от Кор, твой отец дал тебе кусочек хлеба и сказал: Поешь ещё хлеба в этом году, малыш, потому что я не знаю, кто будем есть его на следующий год, если зерно будет так портиться. - О да, Мадам, теперь я вспомнил, хотя до этого не помнил”.
Месье Жиро, отец Максимена, по профессии тележник, уже давно не нуждался в Боге.  Сначала он ничего не хочет знать о том, что расказывает его сын.  Затем он слышит, что Мария не осуждает его, а разделяет с ним его тревогу  отца семейства, обеспокоенного тем, что он больше не сможет дать хлеба своему ребёнку.  В нём происходит внутренний переворот и он открывает для себя Бога, который его любит.  Это глубоко меняет его жизнь.
Как месье Жиро беспокоится о Максимене, так Богоматерь беспокоится о пище для своего народа.  Беспокоиться о ближнем – разве не к этому настоятельно призывает нас Мария в Ла Салетт?
“Итак, дети мои, передайте это всему моему народу, говорит она в конце по-французски.   Да, дети мои, обязательно передайте это всему моему народу”.
Пресвятая Дева призывает детей исполнять вместе с ней миссию молитвы, но она также призывает их нести своё послание людям.  Если послание, переданное Максимену и Мелани, дошло до нас, это произошло потому, что Церковь  взяла на себя роль его хранительницы, чтобы вновь и вновь разъяснять и передавать его людям.
Церковь, ешё не оправившись от  преследований, принимает это послание Ла Салетт как подтверждение правильности своих усилий, которые она прилагает, настаивая на необходимости воскресного отдыха и уважения к Имени Господа.  Люди, живущие в горах, сразу же поняли, что им необходимо обратиться.  Движение обращения выходит за пределы окрестностей Кор и Франции и даёт начало духовному обновлению.
А мы, те, кто живёт совсем в другом, радикально изменившемся обществе, разве мы не видим в послании тот же призыв?  Богоматерь Ла Салетт убеждена в том, что молитва меняет мир, но также и в том, что без обращения она не сможет противостоять опасности.
Благодарение Богу:“Славлю Тебя, Отче, что Ты утаил сие от мудрых и разумных и открыл то младенцам” (Мф 11, 25)    



        Belarusian
Словы Марыі
Божая Маці Ла Салет
 
“Падыходзьце бліжэй, дзеці мае, не бойцеся. Я тут для таго, каб вам распавесці вялікую навіну”.
У гэты дзень, 19 верасня 1846 года, “Прыўкрасная Дама”, як яе называюць Максімен і Мелані, расказвае ім Вялікую Навіну, зыходзячы з іх уласнага жыццёвага вопыту. Плачучы, яна даверае ім гэтую вестку. Яе слёзы сведчаць пра тое, што нават калі яна больш не ад гэтага свету (Іаан 17), у яе бесперастанку перад вачыма праходзіць цяжкае жыццё сялян таго часу, радасці і нягоды мужчын, жанчын і дзяцей усіх часоў і ва ўсім свеце. Але за гэтымі слязьмі гучаць словы, якія абуджаюць надзею: “Не бойцеся”.
“Калі мой народ не хоча скарыцца, то я мушу адпусціць руку майго Сына. Яна такая цяжкая і дужая, што я не магу больш яе ўтрымліваць. Колькі часу я ўжо пакутую за вас! Калі я жадаю, каб мой Сын пакінуў вас, мне трэба няспынна маліцца яму — а вам да гэтага няма ніякай справы! Колькі б вы ні маліліся, усё дарэмна, ніколі вы не зможаце аддзячыць мяне за пакуты, якія я нясу за вас”.
Гэты “народ”, пра які кажа Марыя, адмаўляе ўсё, што ідзе ад Бога, і жыве так, што эгаізм адных працягвае ўсё больш і больш разбураць жыццё другіх. Таму ў канцы жыццёвага шляху гэтых мужчын і жанчын чакае смерць, а не нараджэнне для іх сапраўднага Жыцця.
Марыя просіць кожнага, хто належыць яе народу, увесь час удасканальвае сваё ўяўленне пра Бога і добраахвотна і па любові прымаць яе Сына. Няхай гэта будзе народ жывых людзей, якія прыносяць плён. Яна моліць свайго Сына прыйсці і падарыць тое, чаго не хапае яго дзецям, каб яны аддчулі, што іх любяць і што іх жыццёвае прызначэнне здзяйсняецца праз любоў.
“Я прызначыў вам для працы шэсць дзён, а для сябе пакінуў сёмы, але вы не жадаеце мне яго прысвячаць. А тыя, хто ездзіць на калёсах, не могуць не брыдкасловіць, не ўзгадаўшы дарэмна імя майго Сына. Вось гэтыя дзве рэчы так абцяжарваюць руку майго Сына”.
Марыя з’яўляецца ў Ла Салет ў той час, калі нядзеля не ўшаноўваецца. Людзі працуюць сем дзён на тыдзень. Прамысловая рэвалюцыя не шкадуе сваіх рабочых, якія працуюць да 14-15 гадзін на дзень. Трываласць сям’і, сувязі ўнутры хрысціянскай абшчыны апынаюцца пад пагрозай. Калі сённяшняе грамадства патрабуе, каб у нядзелю многія людзі працавалі, каб забяспечыць працу сервіса абслугоўвання, транспарту, магчымасці правесці вольны час …, то патрабаванне прытрымлівацца выхаднога сёмага дня абсалютна справядлівае для стварэння умоў для адпачынку, якія не прыніжаюць чалавечую годнасць; для падтрымкі жыццёва неабходных сувязей з Богам і з братамі і сёстрамі, якіх дае нам жыццё.
Рука майго сына: цяжкая, настойлівая: прыбітая цвікамі да крыжа (як Хрыстос на грудзях Божай Маці), яна ўвесь час уплывае на наша сумленне. Гэта прыбітая цвікамі рука забітага праведніка, адрынутай любові. Хто можа заставацца абыякавым перад раскрыжаваным? “Ён прыйшоў да сваіх, і свае яго не прынялі. А тым, хто прыняў, даў уладу быть дзецьмі Боскімі”. Марыя нам паказвае, што каб жыць у міры, нам патрэбна толькі ўзяць гэту руку і трымацца за яе, каб любіць, як Ён.
“Калі ўраджай псуецца, у гэтым толькі ваша віна. У мінулым годзе я вам гэта паказала на прыкладзе бульбы, але вам усё роўна. Хутчэй наадварот, калі вы выкопваеце сапсаваную бульбу, вы брыдкасловіце, вы дарэмна ўзгадваеце імя майго Сына. Бульба будзе прцягваць псавацца, і на Раство ў гэтым годзе ў вас яе больш не будзе.”
(Дагэтуль Прыўкрасная Дама гаварыла па-французску; яна скончыла сваю прамову на дыялекце).
“Вы не разумееце па-французску, дзеці мае! Я скажу вам гэта інакш. Калі ўраджай псуецца... Калі ў вас ёсць зерне, не трэба яго сеяць. Усё, што вы пасееце, з’ядуць звяры, а тое, што ўзрасце, ператворыцца ў пыл, калі яго будуць малаціць. Прыйдзе вялікі голад. А перад гэтым дзеці ва ўзросце да сямі гадоў захварэюць на ліхаманку і памруць на руках тых, хто будзе іх трымаць. Астатнія будуць пакараныя голадам. Арэхі стануць пустымі, вінаград згніе. “
“Калі яны прыйдуць да веры, камяні і скалыператворацца ў горы зерня і паўсюль на зямлі будзе ўволю бульбы.”
Марыя гаворыць на мове Адкрыцця Св. Іаанна; яе зварот актуальны ва ўсе часы. Прарок Агей тлумачыў дрэнны ўраджай тым, што людзі не працавалі досыць старанна, каб Бог зноў заняў галоўнае месца ў іх жыцці (Агей 1,6; 10-11; 2; 15-19). У Адкрыццігаворыцца пра засуху, якая, замест таго, каб спрыяць прыняццю веры, штурхае людзей да блюзнерства (Адкрыццё 16, 8-9), таксама як і недахоп бульбы вядзе да брыдкаслоўя, у той час калі адказнасць за гэта ляжыць на тых, хто развучыўся дзяліцца! У Ла Салетт Марыя дае зразумець, што неўраджай скончыцца, калі людзі прыйдуць да веры ў Бога: “Калі вы не пакаецеся, вы ўсе загінеце” (Люк 13,3). Раней, калі навуковыя адкрыцці былі невядомыя, у неўраджаі абвінавачвалі Бога. Сёння Божая Маці заклікае нас, веруючых, рэагаваць так, каб выпрабаванні не зламалі дух нашых братоў і сясцёр у сям’і чалавецтва.
Прыняць веру зусім не азначае перш за ўсё маліцца да знямогі, а навучыцца любіць, як Хрыстос. “Гасподзь больш упадабае захаванне праўды, а не ахвяраванне сабой” (Прытчы 21, 3; Осія 6,6; Мацвей 9, 13).
“Ці добра вы моліцеся, дзеці мае? –Не вельмі, Мадам. –Ах, дзеці мае, вы павінны гэта рабіць, раніцай і ўвечары, нават калі гэта будзе толькі “Ойча наш” і “Радуйся, Марыя”. А калі ў вас ёсць магчымасць, маліцеся яшчэ больш”.
 
Улетку на Месу прыходзяць толькі некалькі састарэлых жанчын. Астатнія ўсё лета працуюць па нядзелях, а зімой, не ведаючы, што рабіць, яны ідуць на Месу, толькі каб пасмяяцца з рэлігіі. На Вялікі Пост яны ідуць у мясную краму, як сабакі”.
Марыя запрашае дзяцей памаліцца. Гаварыць кожны дзень: “Ды свяціцца (праслаўляецца, усхваляецца, узносіцца) імя тваё” азначае не вымаўляць імя Госпада дарэмна. Прызнаючы нашу залежнасць ад Бога, які дае нам хлеб надзённы, мы больш не абвінавачваем яго ў тым, што гэтага хлеба нам не хапае. Мы ўжо не імкнёмся будаваць свет без Яго. І хіба не пустэча, выкліканая адсутнасцю Бога, патрабуе, каб яе запоўнілі, наведаўшы “мясную краму”, як гэта прынята ў грамадстве спажывання? “  “Вар’ят! Гэтай ноччу душу тваю возьмуць у цябе; каму ж застанецца тое, што ты нарыхтаваў?” (Люк 12, 19-21)
 
Прапаноўваючы дзецям у Ла Салет малітвы “Ойча наш” і “Радуйся, Марыя”, Марыя пераносіць нас непасрэдна ў Біблію. “Ойча наш”— гэта малітва Іісуса, пераказ не толькі яго вучэння, але і, на яшчэ больш глыбокім узроўні, Яго жыцця.
 
“Вы ніколі не бачылі сапсаванае зерне, дзеці мае? –Не, Мадам! –Але ты, Максімен, дзіця маё, ты павінен быў бачыць яго аднойчы у Куане, разам са сваім бацькам. Гаспадар поля паклікаў твайго бацьку паглядзець на сапсаванае зерне. Вы пайшлі туды, ты ўзяў два-тры хлебныя каласкі ў свае рукі і расцёр іх: усё ператварылася ў пыл. На шляху дадому, калі вы былі не далей чым за паўгадзіны хады ад Кор, твой бацька даў табе кавалачак хлеба і сказаў: Паеш яшчэ хлеба ў гэтым годзе, сынок, таму што я не ведаю, хто будзе есці яго ў наступным годзе, калі зерне будзе так псавацца. –Так, Мадам, сапраўды, цяпер я ўспомніў, хаця дагэтуль не памятаваў”.
 
Спадар Жыро, бацька Максімена, па прафесіі стальмах, ужо даўно не меў патрэбы ў Богу. Спачатку ён нічога не хоча ведаць пра тое, што расказвае яго сын. Потым ён чуе, што Марыя не асуджае яго, а падзяляе яго трывогу як бацькі сям’і, які хвалюецца аб тым, што не зможа больш даць хлеба свайму дзіцяці. Ён узрушаны і адкрывае для сябе Бога, які яго любіць. Гэта глыбока мяняе яго жыццё.
 
Як спадар Жыро клапоціцца пра Максімена, так і Божая Маці клапоціцца пра ежу для свайго народа. Клапаціцца пра бліжняга—хіба не да гэтага настойліва заклікае нас Марыя ў Ла Салет?
 
“Вось, дзеці мае, перадайце гэта ўсяму майму народу”, -- гаворыць яна ў канцы па-французску. Так, дзеці мае, абавязкова перадайце гэта ўсяму майму народу”.
 
Прачыстая Дзева заклікае дзяцей выконваць разам з ёй місію малітвы, а таксама данесці гэты зварот да людзей. Калі пасланне, перададзенае Максімену і Мелані, дайшло да нас, гэта адбылося таму, што Царква ўзяла на сябе адказнасць за яго захаванне, каб зноў і зноў тлумачыць і перадаваць яго людзям.
 
Царква, яшчэ не ачуняўшы ад праследаванняў пасля Рэвалюцыі, прымае гэтае пасланне Ла Салет, як пацвярджэнне правільнасці сваіх намаганняў, якія яна прыкладае, настойваючы на неабходнасці адпачынку па нядзелях і павагі да Імені Госпада.
 
Жыхары гор адразу зразумелі, што ім неабходна звярнуцца да веры. Гэтая плынь выходзіць за межы кантона Кор і Францыі і распачынае духоўнае абнаўленне.
 
А мы, тыя, хто жыве ў зусім іншым грамадстве, якое радыкальна змянілася, хіба мы не бачым у пасланні той жа заклік? Божая Маці Ла Салет перакананая ў тым, што малітва мяняе свет, але не зможа стрымаць небяспеку без прыняцця веры.
 
Падзякуем Богу: “Слаўлю цябе, Ойча, што ты ўтаіў гэта ад мудрых і разумных і адкрыў немаўлятам” (Мефодзій 11, 25).
 
     На наступны  дзень апасля гэтага здарення пiлiгрымы караскаюцца па куп’iстым сцежкам да Той, якую яны раптам называюць пасрэднiца. Уздымаюцца базiлiка iпершыя будынкiкляштара у глыбокiм адзiноцтве. Мiж тым справа царквы Салета значна уплывае на меркаванне прэссы таго часу. У рэгiене канстатуюць узнауленне хрысцiянскага жыцця. Натоупы пiлiгрымау з Францыiiз замежжа рухаюцца туды адзiн за адным. Праз хрысцiянскiнарод ззяе усiмiпраменнямiрух малiтвы, пераутварэння iабязацельствау. У 1872 годзе у Салеце створана нацыянальнае паломнiцтва. Цела капеланау храма становiцца рэлiгiезным аб’яднаннем сусветнага маштабу: Мiсiянеры сабора салецкай богамацеры. Сестры царквы ведаюць падобную эвалюцыю.
     Сабор Салета адзначыу святых, пастарау, пiсьменнiкау, артыстау : Дон Боска, ксендз Арс, Папа Эймар, святая  СафiБарат, пан Ле Прэвост, монсеньер Дзюпанлур, кардзiнал Рышо, Блой, Уiсманс, браты Марытэн, Псiхары, Клодэль, Марыяк, Фумэ, Масiнон, Морыс Дэнi, Аркабас...
     Сабор салецкай багамацеры – гэта новы напрамак у пошуках iсцiны царкоунай веры, далекай ад забабонау iсакрэтау падазронай рэлiгiезнасцi. Марыя прыцягвае да СВАЙГО СЫНА ЕЗУСА тых, хто адкрывае праз слезы пяшчоту Бога да СВАЙГО НАРОДА. Праз святло крыжа яе дзiуныя падбадзерваючыя словы, у якiх чутны бiблейскi  водгаласак iевангельская строгасць, звяртаюцца да нас.   Мы аб’яднаны пра нашы штодзенныя клопаты. Такiсэнс пастараля паломнiцтва сення разам з арыентацыямiцарквы.
     Епархiя Грэнобля даручыла Асацыяцыiпаломнiкау сабору салецкай богамацеры, створанай у 1962 годзе, службу Паломнiцтва, якая забяспечвае iабараняе матэрыяльныя iдухоуныя iнтарэсы епархii. Яна – адзiная установа з юрыдычнымiправамi. Паломнiцтва ( на вышынi1800 метрау )
адкрыта цэлы год акрамя лiстапада: 600 ложкау з травеня па кастрычнiк. Са снежня па красавiк – 500 ложкау з магчымасцю працяглага прыбывання.

Посольство (Ukrainian)

Ла Салет, невелике село у Французьких Альпах, в дієцезії Гренобль, заховане між горами, далеко від доріг, було незнайомим до половини ХІХ століття – до 19 вересня 1846 року. Саме тоді, на гірських пасовиськах двоє пастушків зустріли Красиву Пані, яка з ними довго розмовляла а потім віддалилася в ясному сяйві. З того часу маси паломників йдуть на гору а ім’я села Ла Салет стало знайомим на цілому світі.
 
Що сталося в Ла Салеті?
 

Прекрасна Пані розмовляла з дітьми. “Ми неначе ковтали її слова” – сказали пізніше. “На протязі нашої розмови весь час плакала”. Послухаймо посольство Пречистої Діви Марії, яке переказали діти:
“Підійдіть ближче, мої діти, не бійтесь, я прийшла з великою новиною. Якщо мій народ не піддасться, буду змушена відпустити руку мого Сина. Вона така сильна, така тяжка, що вже більше не зможу її втримати. О, як довго страждаю за вас!!! Якщо хочу, щоб вас мій син не залишив, мушу Його неустанно просити. А ви це навіть не помічаєте. Хоч як сильно би ви молились, ніколи не зможете винагородити мої зусилля, які прикладаю. Я дала вам шість днів на працю а сьомий резервувала собі а ви не хочете його визнати. Саме це робить важкою руку мого сина. Також чоловіки зловживають іменем мого Сина у своїх прокльонах. Як не буде урожаю – це буде ваша вина. Я показала вам це на картоплі минулий рік. А ви на це не звернули увагу. Навпаки, коли ви знайшли картоплю погнилою, ви проклинали зневажаючи ім’я мого Сина. Будуть псуватись далі а цього року на Різдво їх взагалі не буде”.
 
Досі Пречиста Діва говорила на французькій мові. Потім випередила відповідь Максиміна на питання Меланії і продовжувала на діалекті з Корпус (село неподалік):
 
“Якщо маєте зерно, не сійте його. Все, що засієте, знищить хробач, а що проросте вийде на порох при молотінні. Настане великий голод. Ще перед тим, діти до сім років будуть мати тряску (хвороба) та помиратимуть на руках тих, хто їх триматиме. Покаянням інших буде голод. Горіхи зіпсуються а виноград погниє”.
 
Потім Прекрасна Пані говорила далі, але чув її тільки Максимін. Меланія не чула ні слова, хоч і бачила, як Пані киває устами. Потім Меланія чула слова а Максимін, який не чув ні слова, почав гратися зі своєю палицею. Прекрасна Пані звірила кожному з них таїнство. І знову чули її слова обоє:
 
“Якщо навернуться, каміння та скали переміняться на купи зерна а картопля сама засадиться. Добре молитесь, діти мої?”
 
“Не дуже, Пані”– щиро відповіли діти.
 
“Ах, діти мої, треба добре молитись рано та вечір. Якщо маєте час, помоліться бодай Отче наш та Богородице, а коли можете і більше. Літом на службу ходить лиш кілька старих жінок. Інші працюють в неділю ціле літо, а зимою, коли не мають що робити йдуть на службу, щоб висміювати релігію. В часі Великого посту ходять до м’ясника як пси. Діти мої, чи ви бачили вже гниле зерно?”
“Ні, Пані” – відповіли діти.
“Але ти, мій хлопче, мусів бачити в Куані, разом зі своїм батьком. Власник того поля тоді покликав твого батька подивитись на гниле зерно. І твій батько взявши декілька колосків в руки, і потерши їх все змінилося на порох. І коли ви були десь пів години від того міста твій батько тобі дав кусок хліба зі словами: Їж хлопче ще цього року, бо не знаю, чи хтось буде їсти в майбутньому році, якщо так буде продовжуватись із зерном. Ах! Так, Пані. Я тепер згадав – відповів Максимін”.
 
“Отже, мої діти, перекажіть це моєму народу” – сказала Пречиста по-французьки.
 
Потім Прекрасна Пані ішла уверх по березі, з якого перед тим діти збігли. Діти відійшли набік, щоб могла пройти. Переступила струмок і не оглядаючись повторила: “Отже, мої діти, перекажіть це моєму народу”.
 
Це все, що сказала Прекрасна Пані малим пастирям. Потім повільно з долини піднімалася на вершок. Діти йшли за нею, і коли були на бережку Діва піднеслась на висоту 1,5 метра, глянула на Небо потім поглянула на землю. Обличчя мала повернуте на південний схід, ціла в сяйві зникла. 
 
19 вересня 1851 помісний єпископ дієцезії Гренобль Філіберт де Бруяр видав офіційний декрет. Ось його суттєва частина:
 
“Ми вирішили, що обявлення Пресвятої Діви Марії двом малим пастирям 19 вересня 1846 на одній горі в Альпах, в парафії Ла Салет деканату Корп має всі знаки правдивості, факти пояснені і вірники можуть його прийняти за певне та годновірне”.
            Першого травня 1852 в новому пастирському послані єпископ з Греноблю повідомив, що розпочнеться будівництво храму на горі в Ла Салеті. Покликав групу дієцезальних місіонерів, які мали дбати про цей храм. Наріжний камінь костьолу  був закладений 25 травня 1852 а будівництво було закінчено 1865. 20 серпня 1879 костьол був консекрований (посвячений) і отримав титул “базиліка”. Група священиків витворила монашу спільноту Місіонерів. Сьогодні на цілому світі працює близько 900 Місіонерів Матері Божої з Ла Салету. Місіонери проголошують місії, духовні ре колекції парафій, дбають про паломницькі міста, працюють в парафіях а деякі з них працюють на місіях за кордоном.

THE FIRST INTERNTIONAL ENCOUNTER OF LA SALETTE LAITY
France - 1 to 10 September, 2011

HOW TO LIVE OUT AND GIVE WITNESS TO THE MESSAGE OF LA SALETTE IN OUR LIFE AND OUR COMMITMENTS
By Fr. Isidro Augusto Perin, MS

Introduction:
The title of this talk might give rise to some confusion and questionings:
a) Live out what and how?
b) Give witness to what and how?
c) And where do this, so as to be respectful of our cultural differences?

With these questions in mind, I intend to speak today on the message of La Salette taking as the starting point the expression which permeates our La Salette world: "the Beautiful Lady". The term "Beautiful" carries with it values that mark both medieval and modern theology: "Beauty", Goodness" and "Truth." These values are deeply embedded in the La Salette message; they can nourish our life and give credence to our witness where we live and work as La Salette Lay Associates.

My presentation will be in four parts:

1) Beauty, goodness and truth – how do we understand these terms?
2) A rereading of the La Salette message in light of these three terms.
3) Beauty, goodness and truth as signs of hope.
4) Some conclusions.

This exposé based on Mary's message at La Salette intends to identify certain values that we can "live out" and "give witness to" as La Salette religious or laity. For each of the four parts of the presentation there is a question for reflection. The questions are meant to promote further understanding of the presentation, in the small groups. Small group discussions are a good place for enrichment, helping to adapt the presentation to the reality of each country or culture.

Part I: BEAUTY, GOODNESS AND TRUTH: What do these terms mean?

Pilgrims at the shrine and readers of La Salette literature are sometimes surprised by such expressions as "the Beautiful Lady, the beauty of the place, the uniqueness and severity of the message, the brilliance of the crucifix, the joy of the two children whenever the recalled the event of their lives on September 19, 1846..." Modern man is trying to find a brilliance capable of orienting his search for truth and his relationship to the world, to human beings, and to God. This search is to identify the Divine that lives in him through Beauty, Goodness, Truth and every action that contributes to human development. "Good" describes every person who struggles with all his/her energies to respect creation, promote peace, and foster ecumenism and intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. ... "True" describes the person who identifies the signs of God's varied actions en all creation, opening a window to the insight of humanity's definitive future.

When we cultivate our physical, cultural and spiritual selves, we help transform the world so that it reveals the Beauty of the creator. When we love, we generate reconciling force in the world which reveals the Goodness of the One who loved us from all time. When we live in unity with others we give witness to the Truth, according to which every person is called to the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity. The fostering of the Goodness of human beings is a Beautiful and wonderful action, as is letting ourselves be moved by the abandoned of this world so as to see the Beauty of God who dwells in them, or letting ourselves be inspired by the gift of nature, recognizing the Beauty of the Creator. Letting ourselves be touched by the Beauty of the human heart and of all creation is the first mission of anyone who seeks to contribute to the future of humanity. The way of Beauty helps us discover the most genuine holiness, meaningful in today's world. "Live in the world without being of the world" for God's sake is the bible understanding of true holiness. (1) Beauty is union because it leads to communion with God. Beauty is a longing for the parusia because it opens us to communion with the One who has begotten us from all eternity.

These present times are marked by ideologies and utopias that are clearly rationalist and materialist and, as a result, Beauty has been gradually eliminated, exiled and reduced to insignificance on the principle that it adds nothing to the economic world-view. Beauty is insignificant to a market economy. When theologian Urs Von Balthazar saw how damaging this mind set is to Christian life and holiness, he decided to take up the topic of Beauty and its importance for today's world. "A world without Beauty is one that has lost its attraction... A world that is incapable of valuing Beauty is a world where truth no longer has meaning." (2)

Theology lost interest in this topic for a while but is once again taking up the mystery of Beauty. For a while, Beauty was relegated to the sphere of emotion, subjectivism and the arbitrary. ... But on the contrary, Beauty has become a privileged way of identifying, in time, a fullness of human existence which makes us rebel in the face of extreme poverty, impersonalism, division, war and fatalistic attitudes. ... This is more than a destabilizing pious intuition... From this perspective, Beauty is an invitation to plunge into the history of salvation, a mystery which, in spite of our human fragility, points to an eschatological horizon. Beauty is, therefore, a fascinating image of that definitive world which surpasses this visible one.

What Beauty are we talking about? Undoubtedly, it's the esthetic and spiritual beauty of the message of Mary at La Salette. The point of this reflection is to awaken a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the esthetic and spiritual Beauty that leads to contemplation of the wisdom of God's eternal Beauty. As an esthetic and spiritual "given", Beauty opens us to the discovery of new insights in a world that has lost its points of reference. All of us MS, MSF, SNDS and La Salette Laity are called to identify and seek this Beauty of which Pavel Florenskij speaks: "The revealed truth is love. Love is Beauty." "It is right and just and good to let God's love invade our whole being so that it can be in us a transforming presence."

First question: How do we live out and witness to these values in our reality?

Part II: A REREADING OF THE LA SALETTE MESSAGE IN LIGHT OF BEAUTY, GOODNESS AND TRUTH

There are aspects of the La Salette event which lead to this reflection.

First, the maternal character with which Mary makes an option in the face of the suffering of her people.

Ls is a tiny village lost in the Alps. Around the middle of the 19th century, it was totally unknown. The twelve hamlets of the ar4a had a population of about six hundred. The population was poor, suffering failed harvests and epidemics, and knew little beyond their limited world. Can we find signs of Beauty, Goodness and Truth in this rugged place inhabited only by uneducated, suffering peasants? It shouldn't strike us as strange if we recall the phrase: "From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?"

So it is that on September 19, 1846, two shepherds, Maximin and Melanie, ages 11 and 14 respectively, were startled to see a globe of light in a ravine "as if the sun had fallen there". Within the light they perceive the figure of a woman, seated, her face buried in her hands, her elbows on her knees, wearing a crucifix on her breast. The figure of Christ seems alive and is the source of the intense radiance that surrounds all three. She give a message to the children, then walks a short distance and, elevated about a meter, "melts into the light", according to the description given by Maximin and Melanie.

Her first words express here motherly vocation: "Draw near my children. Don't be afraid. I am here to tell you great news." Mary is faithful to the mission she received at the foot of the cross: "Woman, behold your son... behold your mother... and from that hour the disciple received her into his home." (4) At first the children thought they had come across a "mother whose children had mistreated her so she came to the mountain to cry." Only after the Beautiful Lady disappeared did Melanie exclaim: "Maybe it was a great saint!", followed by Maximin's comment: "If only we had known, we could have asked her to take us with her to heaven." The general ignorance of the children made it impossible for them to identify the Beautiful Lady. It was grandmother Pra who recognized the identity of the visitor: "This is surely the Blessed Virgin; only she has a Son who rules in heaven."

The message of La Salette contrasts with the pastoral of the period which, at times, projected the image of a demanding God, ready to condemn and demand works of reparation to appease Him. In fact, Mary's first words to the two children could be understood in this very way: "If my people will not submit, I will be forced to let go the arm of my Son. It is so strong and so heavy I can no longer hold it back... How long a time I have suffered for you! If I want my Son not to abandon you I am obliged to plead with him constantly. And as for you, you pay no heed... During Lent, they go to the meat market like dogs."

Such recriminations, similar to so many others in vogue during that time, seem to be inconsistent with the mission Mary received at the foot of the cross, that is, the mission to watch over her children disoriented by sin and guide them to the new life her Son wants for them. Mary, at Ls, tells what makes the arm of her Son so heavy: some of the more frequent sins of the time such as the desecration of the name of her Son, the profanation of Sunday, the abandon of prayer and religious practice. Gaudium et Spes helps us give these complaints a more modern language: "Man is divided due to sin. All human life, individual and collective, is marked by the struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. But in this situation man finds that he is incapable of himself to overcome the assaults of evil: he is imprisoned by various tendencies." (5)

In her apparition Mary helps Maximin and Melanie to read from a different angle the history of their contemporaries and, in it, identify the challenges and stimuli that come from God.: "If the harvest is ruined... if the wheat turns to dust... if the potatoes rot...if the walnuts are blighted... if the grapes dry up... it's only your own fault." She helps to revive our memory: "I warned you last year with the potatoes but you paid no heed." Mary not only identifies the current evils but shows how the behavior of human beings contributes to their suffering. "On the contrary, when you found the potatoes spoiled, you swore and threw in my Son's name." By commenting on the events, Mary wants to raise awareness of the need to go beyond inertia, apathy and resistance, and assume responsibility in search of a radical change: "If they are converted, rocks and stones will turn into heaps of wheat, and potatoes will be self-sown in the fields." Mary sends us to the heart of our world and of the gospel: "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Be converted and believe in the Good News." (6) "Seek first the Kingdom of God and God's Justice, and the rest will be given to you." (7) It's not a question of limiting our liberty; but it is a question of "submitting", which means putting ourselves in the dynamic of Christ, accepting the gratuitous love of God and loving God back with all our energies and all our strength.

Regarding her maternal face, two surprising details need our reflection:

Letter a. The eminently concrete message. There is a close link between the way Mary speaks at Ls using the rural nineteenth century dialect, and the "way" of the Bible. Both lead the hearer to identify God's presence in the heart of lived concrete reality. Recall the episode of Coin. Mary helps us see, through the details of our existence, the discreet presence of God who "does wonders" and is always faithful to the covenant established with His people.

Letter b. The power of the tears of a mother: Melanie categorically affirms: "She cried the whole time she spoke with us... I saw her tears flow and fall incessantly." John Paul II offers his interpretation for so many tears: "The tears of Mary at La Salette remind us of her tears at Calvary. They are a sign of her constant tenderness toward her people. They are also a sign of the impotence Mary feels in the face of our grievous refusal to God and our indifference in the face of earthly realities-" (8) This attitude toward God and toward earthly realities points to the need for conversion. "Her maternal love leads her to be concerned about the needs of her Son's brothers and sisters, whose journey upon the earth is fraught with dangers and difficulties." (9) The loving tears of Mary show that she is alert both to the indifference and sin of humanity, as well as to its hopes and historic longings. Her tears show us the urgency of the call to conversion! The maternal heart that Mary reveals at Ls confirms her spiritual maternity and assures us that she will complete the mission she received from her son at the foot of the cross. As a mother, Mary directs us unceasingly to the Word of God, the Good News of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel often forgotten and trivialized.

I believe that Mary's tears and attention to the suffering of her people show that she is concerned about every person in difficulty and that she believes in the efficacy of faith and love. She lived her faith as she went into the exile of Egypt or as she stood at Calvary or as she experienced the surprise of the resurrection of her son. That's why she is able at Ls to give witness to the Beauty and the Goodness of human beings when they decide to return to the way of compassion, solidarity, respect for creation and intimate union with the One who is the Way on which to travel, the Life meant for sharing, and the Truth we profess in hope.

Two, two: The down to earth pedagogy Mary uses with Maximin and Melanie. Mary adapts to the children's dialect and teaches them to read the signs of the times present in the reality that surrounds them: ruined wheat, rotten potatoes, blighted walnuts, dried grapes, children who are stricken and die in their mothers' arms. These are all things the children were familiar with. They are also aware of how their contemporaries responded to these problems: an abandon of prayer and religious practice, profanation of the Lord's name. The weight of the problems give rise to questions: If God is good, how can He permit such things? Does God avenge human failings? Many find God guilty of these evils, which explains the profanation of the Lord's name, the indifference toward Lenten practices, and the abandon of Sunday Mass and prayer in general.

Mary interprets things differently: "If the harvest is ruined, it is only on account of yourselves. I warned you last year with the potatoes, but you paid no heed." In other words, Mary invites her people to carefully re-examine its behavior, actions and convictions. "You will know the tree by its fruit" says Jesus. "It's not what enters a person that poisons the heart; the venom from within is what poisons everything." Such was the reflection made by a Brazilian pilgrim in 2007 after meditating on the message of Ls.

Mary at Ls uses a down-to-earth pedagogy when she tries to educate human beings by helping them discover their responsibilities in their present lives. Mary doesn't introduce herself as an object of devotion, rites or pious practices. She is present as an intelligent mother who participates in the dramas, anguish and hope of the sons of God scattered in the "vale of tears". She invites us to identify the challenges in our lives that impede a refreshing communion. As at Cana of Galilee, she shows the way to overcome human deficiencies: ""Do whatever He tells you".

Mary at La Salette employs a pastoral pedagogy that became well known after Vatican II: SEE, JUDGE, and ACT. These are three interrelated stages. First, become aware of the reality we live; then evaluate it in light of God's Word; finally propose concrete plans of action capable of transforming that reality that has been seen in the light of the Good News. SEE, JUDGE and ACT are three pillars of Christian asceticism. The conversion of which Mary speaks implies a victory of truth over hypocrisy, of goodness over irritability, of love over hate. All this requires the courage to let ourselves be touched by the Beauty of the vocation of every human being, called to journey on the earth while living in God and for God.

Second Question: The method of SEE, JUDGE and ACT is a call to the conversion of our pastoral practice. How can we use this method in our pastoral practice?

Two, three. The image of God she reveals. "Have you never seen ruined wheat, my children?" "No, madam." "But you, my son, surely you must have seen some once, at Coin, with your father. The owner of the field told your father to go and see his spoiled wheat. And then you went. You took two or three ears of wheat in your hands, you rubbed them together, and it all crumbled into dust. While you were on your way back and you were no more than a half hour away from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread and said to you: 'Here, my child, eat some bread while we still have it this year; because I don't know who will eat any next year if the wheat keeps up like that.'

This is La Salette's secret: It had been quite some time since Mr. Giraud had abandoned the practice of the sacraments and taken up his place at a bar in front of the church. From his bar-stool he mocked those going to church. When Maximin tries to tell his father about the apparition, Fr. Giraud responds with irony: "my child, it's impossible that the Virgin Mary would appear to you, considering who your father is." He ties Maximin to the leg of the heavy table so no more storytelling can take place, but Maximin blurts out: "She spoke of you, Papá!" "What did she say" answers Mr. Giraud, intrigued. Maximin repeats what the Lady said about that day at Coin. That night Mr. Giraud had trouble sleeping and early the next morning had his son take him to the place of the apparition. Maximin tells him about the apparition in great detail. Mr. Giraud drinks the icy water from the stream and feels immediately healed of his asthma. This is the first miracle of La Salette. Mr. Giraud turns his life around and from that day on participated in daily Mass.

For the contemporaries of the apparition, accustomed to blame God for all the ills that befell them, Mary proposes a God who is near and who accompanies human beings in the ups and downs of their existence, a God who shares a father's concern about feeding his family in a time of scarcity and passes over the fact that this father despises God. Mary at La Salette presents us with a God who has a special love for the lost sheep. She holds out to us the image of a God "rich in mercy" who watches over the details of our live: its struggles, failures, hopes and disappointments.

By recalling the event at Coin, Mary has us enter into the mystery of a God who is one with human beings in the concrete circumstances of their life. God pays attention to the gestures, actions and signs of solidarity, mutuality and communion between persons, be they Christians or not, practicing Catholics or not. There is God, companion on our daily journey. God walks side by side those who seek perfection and holiness. Nor does God leave aside those who journey unaware of the evangelical value of every little kindness. Mary invites us to a personal transformation (conversion), to overcome our smallness, to diminish our fears and our paralyzing prejudices. By recalling the moment at Coin, Mary manages to modify Mr. Giraud's vision of the world, of others and of God, enabling him to enter deeply into the knowledge and wisdom of the Father. He now understands that every person has dignity and responsibilities in this world and that God gives strength to those who are willing to help others. Based on the simple, seemingly insignificant gesture of a father offering bread to his son, Mary teaches us that every action done with love and out of love, turns into an invitation to "be perfect and the Father in heaven is perfect."

Third question: God and human beings walk together in salvation history. How do we live out the mystery of the covenant in the concrete circumstances of our lives?

Three: BEAUTY, GOODNES and TRUTH: Signs of hope.

Pilgrims at the shrine pose a variety of questions. "Why does God permit evil in the world? How reconcile the Beauty of the luminous crucifix that Mary wears with cynical and cruel human behavior? How should we understand John Paul II's affirmation: "Ls is a message of hope?"

I believe that the Beauty shining in Christ's resurrection contrasts the horror of evil, which is simply a negation of Beauty. Beauty will always seem weak where social conflict triumphs, where violence and hate replace love and where oppression wins out over justice. This is the question posed by Dostoevsky: "What kind of Beauty will save the world?" "The Beauty that will save humanity is loving compassion in the face of suffering" responded Myskin from his death-bed. (10)

Cardinal Martini goes even further: "In the Paschal mystery, God reveals Himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit... We enter the Trinitarian mystery through the Son... The trinity is not an abstract theory or play on words; it is rather Someone who lives in us and who introduces us into the heart of his divine mystery. Based on this we can raise some questions about the world and history, without concerning ourselves with immediate answers. The questions lead us to the passionate love and mercy with which the Blessed Trinity crated the world and re-creates it anew leading it to perfection. (11)

Mary at Ls uncovers the correlation between Beauty and the following of Jesus, between Beauty and redemption. According to the Bible, Beautiful is the person who welcomes the Word of God and lives it. Jesus is the "most Beautiful among the sons of Adam" because He always obeys the Father's will: "My nourishment is to do the will of the One who sent me to do His work." (12) "The One who sent me is with me; He doesn't leave me alone because I always do what pleases Him." (13) Mary is "the most Beautiful among women" (14) because her yes to God was a constant in her life. (15) This is how Mary presents herself at Ls; always ready to do the will of her Son and to r4emind us to accept the demands of the gospel. Devotion to Mary offers the opportunity to let ourselves be captivated by the spiritual Beauty visible in the light that flows from the crucifix that she wears.

It is true that our understanding of the Cross of Christ and of our own crosses that imprison us in a logic of death and destruction, trapping us in a spiral of impotence and lack of meaning. The luminous cross is a call to identify, in the midst of struggles for freedom from the present slaveries of the world, the rays of hope and the chains of light that clarify the vocation of every human being to live, in God and for God, a love that includes every human being.

Fourth question: What are the signs of hope that we discover in the event and the message of Ls?

Four: Some Conclusions

Four, one. The Beauty and Goodness that Mary exudes together with Jesus, Joseph and the people of her time give witness to the Truth of her intimacy with God and her maternal love for all generations. In her apparition she invites us to value simple things in such a way that the small gestures of our history become an open window to a divine horizon, a horizon that enables us to accept the realities of our times and transform them for eternity.

Four, two. Mary's personality, her actions, prayers and words, in Nazareth and Jerusalem and Ls, Lourdes and Fatima, always are Christ centered. Yesterday, today and always she exhorts us to persevere in joy and hope: "Blessed are you for having believed that the Lord will fulfill His promises in you." (16) In her actions, silence, words and suffering she makes Christ the center of her life and she proclaims that He is the source of hope for all who seek Him. This conviction lead John Paul II to affirm the "Ls is a message of hope." (17) The people of God, often discouraged by the reality in which it lives, continues to announce that Mary is the most convincing example of a woman capable of believing against all odds that god is faithful to His promises. Mary, all Beautiful, helps us discover the deepest meaning of holiness and unfailing fidelity. Her actions are Goodness because she shows that she is a compassionate mother, undeterred by our sin or the suffering of the brothers and sisters of her Son. Her prayer and her choices constitute the most genuine expression of her YES to God's will.

Four, three. Throughout history and today as well, we can state that men and women of different races and cultural horizons, find themselves called at Ls to rediscover in her Son Jesus, the Beauty which sanctifies, the Goodness that generates communion, and the Truth that leads to loving submission to the Father. These values permit people to enter into the adventure of the ways of conversion, of deeper faith, and of the discovery of a daily dynamism to discern, always in a new way, the motivation for being involved with and for Christ in service to "all men and the whole man".

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NOTES
1) Bruno Forte, Santitá Trinitaria del Sacerdote, Conference au Congrés Sacerdotale, Malta October, 2004.
2) H. U. Von Balthazar, La percepzione della forma: una estética teológica, Jaca Book, Melado, 1975, p. 11.
3) P. Florenskij, Amore e Bellezza, in Cristianísimo e bellezza.
4) Cf Jn 19, 25-27
5) Gaudium et Spes, nº 13.
6) Mc 1, 15
7) Mt 6, 33
8) Jean Paul II, Setter du 150ème anniversaire de lApparition de La Salette.
9) Lumen Gentium, nº 62.
10) Cf. F. Dotoesvski, L'Idiota, Milano, 1998, p. 645.
11) C. M. Martini, Quale bellezza salverà il mondo? Lettera Pastorale 1999-2000, centro Ambrosiano, Milano 1999, p. 21-22.
12)Jean 4, 34
13) Jean 8, 29.
14) Cantiques 1, 8
15) Luc 1, 38; 8, 21; 11. 28
16) Luc 1, 45
17) Jean Paul II, Letter du 150ème anniversaire de l'Apparition de La Salette.

Fr. Isidro Perin MS
THE FIRST INTERNTIONAL ENCOUNTER OF LA SALETTE LAITY
France - 1 to 10 September, 2011

La Salette: an event, a message, an ecclesial movement.
By Fr. Isidro Perin, MS
Translated from the Portuguese to English by Norman Butler, MS

1 - La Salette: event, symbols and questions.

In the La Salette event, two apparently contradictory questions challenge us human beings:
"Do you say your prayers well my children?"
"Have you never seen ruined wheat?"

These questions that Mary posed to Maximin and Melanie and that she poses to us today call our attention to two essential realities of human life: our relationship to God, cultivated in prayer, and our relation to the material world with its socio-economic and political dimensions implied in the need for daily bread to sustain the life of every human being.

The two questions Mary poses in her apparition remind us of two fundamental dimensions of Christian spirituality: contemplation of the loving presence of the Lord and transforming human action based on justice and solidarity. Mary shows us that these are two intertwined realities. The modern mind tends to contrast spirit with matter. In biblical Hebrew there are two complementary expressions: "RUAH = breath of life" and "SHEKINAH = loving presence of the Lord".

The term spirituality comes from 'spirit' and in a common understanding, 'spirit' is opposed to matter. However, in biblical language 'spirit' is not opposed to matter or the body. It is opposed to the 'flesh' (that is, the fragility which is destined for death); it is opposed to the law (that is, imposition, fear and punishment). So in this semantic context, spirit means life, construction, strength, action and freedom. The spirit of a person is basically the best of the person. The spirit is the deepest self, where we find root motivations, ideals, utopias, passion and the mystique with which a person lives and struggles and transmits enthusiasm to others.(1)

Mary's message at La Salette, following the bible usage, is built around these two pillars: spirit as divine breath in our life and in creation, and therefore in bread. Here are a few expressions from the apparition that have biblical resonance:

Draw near my children. Come and see for yourselves (Jn 1, 39)
Don't be afraid. It's me. Don't be afraid (Jn 6, 20)
I've come to tell you great news. I announce to you great news which will bring joy to al the people. (Lc 2, 10)
If my people will not submit When all things have been made subject to him, then the Son himself will submit himself to the One who submitted all to Him, so that God may be all in all. (2 Cor 15, 28)
The arm of my Son He has done wonders with his arm. (Lk 1, 51)
The name of my Son Mary gave birth to a Son (Mt 1, 25)
I gave you six days to work, I have kept the seventh for myself, and no one will give it to me. On the seventh day God rested from all his work. (Gn 2, 2)
If they are converted... Your salvation is in conversion and confidence, and your strength consists in trust and calm. (Is 30, 15)
During Lent, they go to the meat market like dogs. Don't give holy things to dogs nor pearls to swine; after trampling them they will turn on you. (Mt 7, 6)
Do you say your prayers well? Jesus went to the mountain to pray. He spent the whole night praying to God. (Lk 6, 12)
Here my son, eat bread. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish (Mk 6, 40)
Well my children, you will make this known to all my people. Go through the entire world and announce Good News to all humanity. (Mk 6, 15)

These comparisons make it clear that spirit and body are interrelated and inseparable in the human person. The human being is a whole which is totally unique. Therefore, our spirituality and our charism must take this into account.

Concluding this first part I'd say that Mary at Ls knows how to read the signs of the times as she did in Palestine. She knows how to speak "God's things" in the details of the life of her people. In both she convokes us to live a spirituality attentive to the signs of the times, inviting us to be immersed in the events and the daily routine of our lives so as to discern in the world "the seeds of the Word" and the whisperings of the spirit. This spirituality permits us to have an experience of God's fidelity, the God who continues to do wonders in spite of our human fragility. It teaches us to listen and pay attention to what happens around us, perceiving with the eyes of the heart where the spirit is tying to lead.

2 - Rich in symbols, La Salette leads us into mystery and challenges us to develop an incarnate spirituality:

La Salette is an event and a message full of symbols.

a. The globe of light that surrounds Mary and the children
b. The tears that constantly flow from the eyes of the Beautiful Lady and vanish as they fall into the intense light radiating from the crucifix she wears.
c. The chains that form a border to her shawl, symbols of oppression and of rejection of the fraternity and solidarity offered by her Son Jesus.
d. There are roses that accompany the chains of her shawl, and surround her head and her shoes, symbols of love, of new life so that creation no longer needs to suffer birth pangs but can become a paradise of brothers and sisters.
e. She is dressed like the country women of that area who struggle to feed their families in times of scarcity.
f. The fountain of water has never ceased to flow since that day of the apparition, reminding us of the "living spring that rises up for eternal life".
g. The mountain is a symbol of human limitations and of God's presence.
h. There are three moments of the apparition:

Mary is found seated on a stone and weeping. She is the compassionate mother. Like a mother who has no more to say, she cries.

In a second moment, Mary is standing and conversing intimately with the two children. She continues to cry. She says that her people is insensitive to the tragic realities of the period, "and you take no account of it". Her people is indifferent to God's loving presence in their lives, they "swear throwing in my son's name." She proposes a radical change of life "if they are converted, rocks and stones will turn into heaps of wheat and potatoes will be self-sown in the fields." A different world is possible.

In a third and final moment, Mary floats into the air and vanishes in the light, returning to heaven, that definitive place of light for reconciled and reconciling human existence.

The event and the message of La Salette, rich in symbols that go beyond rational analysis and introduce us into the mystery beyond appearances and help us identify what is essential: God is a loving presence in our midst and always at our side, taking us as we are, as the event at Coin reminds us.

Mary at La Salette invites us to develop a spirituality attentive to the signs of the times so that in those signs we can enter into the mystery of unconditional Love. This is no easy task in our post-modern culture where most everything is relative and society throws things away. Mary suggests the following spirituality:

a) value Beauty (Maximin and Melanie call her the Beautiful Lady) and silence, contemplation and adoration.
b) Recover in our celebrations and preaching the value of symbols that bear within them rich spiritual significance.
c) Challenge the trivialization of life and death, the loss of gospel values of justice and solidarity, fraternity and peace.

We can conclude this second part affirming that the La Salette event with its rich symbology is a bearer of a solid spirituality centered on Christ present in the life of all who travel their land of Coin or travel the road to Emmaus. This spirituality should guide the life and mission of all La Salette religious and all Lay La Salettes. This spirituality requires constant deepening and up-dating so as to respond to the signs of the times. From this rich spiritual itinerary born of the apparition, we can bring out the best of the old and the new.

3 - La Salette: from a message centered on Christ to a rereading of the charism of reconciliation.

The general context of the apparition, which takes into account the attitudes of the Beautiful Lady, her message her symbols her call to conversion, the situation of the people of that time and their response of Christian life, the plain and courageous presence of the first missionaries on the mountain, the devotions that were born there... lead the pilgrims to underscore this dimension of the faith: reconciliation. The Marian, saletine invocation, proclaimed by anonymous pilgrims of those early days, expresses the theological dimension most typical of the apparition: "Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you". The expression "Reconciler" as attributed to Mary, though restricted in its use, was known to theologians of the middle ages. Pope Leo XIII, en 1879, ordered that the statue of the Beautiful Lady be solemnly crowned as "Our Lady Reconciler". This is the statue over the main altar in the basilica. Later on, the Holy See approved the text of the La Salette Mass and the Office for "Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of sinners."

The La Salette Missionaries immediately latched onto the dynamic of reconciliation as flowing from the apparition and its message, contemplated and announced in light of the Gospel and the theological reflection of the time. The first version of the Rule of Life of the Congregation in 1852 asks the La Salette Missionaries to be:

a) Men of prayer, in union with the "divine advocate of sinners".
b) Men of zeal, charged with the mission of shaking sinners out of their lethargy.
c) Men of expiation, permanently asking Mary for grace and mercy for sinners.

These Men will define themselves in the first Rule of Life of 1858 as "Men of prayer, of penance and zeal. These three elements of penance, prayer and zeal capture three fundamental relationships in our life:

a) The relationship with God through prayer, as openness to God's will in union with the example of the Beautiful Lady.
b) The relationship with others, cultivated in zeal, as an expression of love for our brothers and sisters.
c) The relationship with oneself, lived in penance as the expression of a longing to overcome the egocentric tendencies of the human heart.

This trilogy was understood and lived in the "theology of expiation" and the practices of "reparation" common to the Confraternity of Our Lady of La Salette and/or the movements of "Reparation to God for blasphemies" which were typical of the period. Simplifying, penance, prayer and zeal were privileged ways of "expiating" sin, of "repairing" the evils caused to God and assuaging God's wrath. Expressive of this is Fr. Giraud's comment to the novices: Consider me your clay, mold me as you see fit". Self denial, sacrifice, the offering of one's life to others for the glory of God... the Host and victim of expiation through sacrifice, prayer and love were the theological-ascetical pillars of the spirituality that guided our founders. (6) It did have a biblical basis: "If the grain of wheat sown does not die it can't bear fruit". Undeniably this lead to certain exaggerations and an often intimistic, individualistic and sacramentalistic view of reconciliation and the practice of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as a way of expiation and victimhood (rescue/ repayment for the sacrifice of a victim).

For a long time Mary's call to conversion found these expressions: "Reconciler of sinners, prayer, penance and zeal" which later were reread and reinterpreted in the light of the theological-pastoral evolution of thought in the church, especially around the time of Vatican II. Conversion is seen as metanoia, a change of mentality, of spirit, of attitudes; this change implies self denial, passion for the kingdom, the gift of self. Conversion and reconciliation are not two separate acts but inseparable parts of a permanent and life-giving process.

The evangelical values of penance, prayer and zeal (the gift of self) ( 2) which are inherent in our charism and spirituality become "the way of personal and community conversion and of our mission in the world. We live them in the spirit of compassion, mercy, communion and solidarity, especially in relation to the poor for whom we are called to be a sign of the compassionate love of God and of the maternal gentleness of the Virgin of La Salette for her people." (3)

We can conclude this third part in the following way:

a) The charism of reconciliation reread in light of the La Salette event "engenders a style of fraternal life a manner of being and a structure appropriate for a community that is reconciled and reconciling and at the service of the mission of the church." (4) that we, La Salette Missionaries, want to share with the other Congregations born from the inspiration of the presence of Mary at La Salette, and especially, with the Sisters of Our Lady of La Salette, with our lay associates, and with all persons we are called to serve. Herein lies a great richness for the spiritual and charismatic patrimony of the Congregation, overcoming the intimistic and individualistic and even sacramentalistic concept of reconciliation. The horizon of the spirituality and the charism of reconciliation open up to the whole world.

b) In the face of the demands of today's world the La Salette Missionaries, the La Salette sisters and lay associates are "called to bring the La Salette charism up to date in a personal and community commitment in favor of peace4, justice and the true development, respect for ecology and ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. We are passionate about the Kingdom of God so we give ourselves up to the task of freeing our brothers and sisters from every kind of oppression and from personal and social sin, helping them to be reconciled with themselves, with others and with God. (5)

c) "La Salette is a message of hope! (7) I hope this encounter awakens in us a new passion for the charism of reconciliation and for a saletine spirituality and a renewed passion for God's Kingdom as John Paul II recommended to us La Salette Missionaries: "I ardently desire that your General chapter stimulate the members of the Institute to achieve a renewed awareness of participation in the reconciling mission of the Church which is at the heart of your missionary vocation, tirelessly helping Christians to welcome the divine pardon of which you are witnesses in all the world." (8)

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Notas:
1)- Casaldaliga, Pedro e Vigil, José Maria, Espiritualidade da Libertação, Vozes, 1993.
2)- João Paulo II, Carta ao Capítulo Geral, Maio de 2000.
3)- Capítulo Geral, Roma, 2000, Decisão II.
4)- Capítulo Geral, Roma, 2000, Decisão II
5)- Capítulo Geral, Roma, 2000, Decisão II.
6)- Jaouen, Jean, La Salette au regard de l'Église, 1981, p.284-287.
7)- João Paulo II, Carta ao Bispo de Grenoble, no sesquicentenário da Aparição.
8)- João Paulo II, Carta ao Capítulo Geral, Maio de 2000.