II International Meeting La Salette Laity will be reported through a special channel YOUTUBE. You can follow reports from the  meetings clicking on the picture below.

A Proposed Vision for a Model of Collaboration and Co-Responsibility between the La Salette Missionaries and La Salette Laity in the Americas
The People of God
The people of God, as we have learned from the documents of Vatican II, are no longer considered the lower tier of the Church but rather part of the "communio" (community) of believers. Also, as St. Paul reminds us, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all the members of the Church (1 Cor 12-14). All are united in the universal call to holiness and are equal and integral parts of the Catholic Church.
Our Lady of La Salette and "Her People"
Our Lady of La Salette, in her compassionate manner and concerns, spoke to Maximin and Melanie - and the entire Church - to "make her message known." Clearly the fact that she first gave this mission to these two children, not to the local clergy of the area, shows her ultimate respect for the proper place of laity within the mission of the Church of her Son.
Her message of reconciliation was therefore entrusted to these two children with the ultimate confidence that they could complete their mission. Her words and actions were profound testimonies to her trust in the power and centrality of the Sacrament of Baptism in the life of her people.
The Growth of Her Mission Over Time
Wit the passage of time, her message and mission were taken to heart by thousands of people including those called to become Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette. Yet even with their official Vatican approbation, the important place of the laity in living out and sharing her message of reconciliation has remained strong.
The La Salette Invocation - "Our Lady of La Salette, Reconciler of Sinners, pray without ceasing for us who have recourse to you" - which was used by a group of laity in the parish of the village of La Salette soon after the apparition - has remained a central part of La Salette devotion and a consistent theme for Salettine ministry.
La Salette Laity Continue to Take Their Rightful Place in Spreading Her Mission
As the ministries and outreach of the La Salette Missionaries spread around the world, Mary's mandate remained tied to all her people. To this very day, laity have been attracted to her message and mission. With profound dedication, they unhesitatingly support and join in the life and ministry of the La Salette Missionaries in various ways with their many gifts.
In addition the La Salette Missionaries wholeheartedly welcome these La Salette Laity as collaborators, truly responsible and gifted co-missionaries. The La Salette Laity join with the La Salette Missionaries in embodying and living out the same charism of reconciliation in their daily lives.
This common vision is rooted in Baptism. Therefore all contemporary La Salette Missionaries, being mindful of what their La Salette Rule emphasizes - "we work in close collaboration with the laity" (#28) - welcome laity as central and crucially important in continuing to carry out their common mission to make Mary's message known.

ROLES AND RESPONSABILITIES OF THE PROVINCIAL ASSOCIATE PROGRAM BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
1. PROVINCIAL CO-DIRECTORS
 
The Provincial Co-Directors of the Associate Program are appointed by the Provincial Superior with the consultative vote of his council and serve a term concomitant with the administration that appointed them.
The Provincial Co-Directors should be one religious member and one lay  member.
The Provincial. Co-Directors; .
• Promote Associate groups.
• Recommend to the Provincial Superior, after consultation, a community liaison for Associate groups.
• Monitor the development of appropriate orientation and ongoing renewal programs for all associates on the local and provincial levels.
• Work in close collaboration with the local communities in the development of Associate programs especially with regard to the screening of candidates, their orientation, and their covenant agreements.
• Assure communication between the Associate program and the professed community of the Province.
• Bring local community leaders and representatives together to share concerns, evaluate the Association programs, and to plan for future development
• Promote and assist the formation of new local Associate groups
 
2. PROVINCIAL ASSOCIATE BOARD
a) Membership
The Board should consist of five lay associates and two professed La Salettes. This number includes two Co-Directors. The Board will nominate new members.
b)Responsibilities
The Provincial Associate board works closely with the Co-directors:
• The Board serves as arbitrator in difficult cases
• The Board develops and refines the leadership training curriculum
• The Board develops and refines the orientation and formation programs
• The Board promotes the Associate program in the community of Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette
• The Board consults with the local leaders and groups as needed
• When new groups are surfacing the Board is responsible for the basic orientation and formation program oversee the election of leaders, and assists the group to develop local guidelines.
c) Term of Office
The term of office for Board members will be 3 years. Members may serve an unlimited number of terms.
d) Coordination
The Board coordinates its efforts, where necessary, with other Provincial Commissions and meets annually with the Provincial Administration.
e) Chapter Report
The Board presents a report to the Province on the occasion of a regular Chapter of Elections for information purposes and it presents chapter proposals in its area of competence when and if necessary
 
3. LOCAL LEADERSHIP
a) Membership
The local leadership consists of two members (religious or lay) elected by the local group according to the local guidelines and approved by the Provincial Associate Board
b) Responsibilities
The local leadership assures the development, implementation, and nurturance of the Lay Associate program on the local level as well as;
• Determines the acceptability of applicants to the local program
• Leads the applicant through the orientation as described in the guidelines
• Assures the mediation between the candidate and the local community
• Supervises the candidates' formation period according to guidelines.
• Assures the proper preparation of the necessary documentation for the candidate's covenant.
• Attends leadership training sessions as provided by the Provincial Associate Board
 
4. LASALETTE LIAISON
A professed member of the Mary Mother of the Americas will be the liaison for each local Associate group. The person for this position will be suggested by the local group, approved by the board, and appointed by the Provincial.
His responsibilities include:
1.            Fosters communication and a healthy relationship between the Associate group and the La Salette community
2.            Along with the local leaders interviews and promotes the discernment process for all Associate candidates
3.            Assists with the orientation and formation program for all Associate candidates
4.            Along with the local leaders plans meeting agendas and develops programs and activities for the group.

"We, the Salette Lay Associates, are a faith community committed to witness and proclaim the La Salette Charism, Spirituality and Mission of Reconciliation, bonded in Love, Truth and Trust. We are on a spiritual journey to a Reconciled Life and a Reconciling way of  Life, becoming the change God wants to see in the world by sharing the blessings and graces along the way and healing that part of the world within our reach." From the Statement of Identity....

STATEMENT OF IDENTITY & CORE PURPOSE
La Salette Lay Association of the
Ina ng Pag-asa Province of the
Missionaries of our Lady of La Salette
I. Understanding Lay Association in light of Theology, Church Teaching and the La Salette Marian Apparition

A. Embraced by the Circle of Love of the Triune God
The one true God is essentially relational: a loving communion of persons, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. The core mystery of God is one of love, the love of the Trinitarian
communion revealed in mission.
“At the heart of the divine act of creation is the divine desire to make room
for created persons in the communion of the uncreated person of the
Blessed Trinity through adoptive participation in Christ.” International
Theological Commission, Communion and Stewardship: Human
Persons created in the image of God (Vatican City, 2004).
God turns His love outward in the act of creation, reaching out and drawing us to the
circle of His divine life, calling us to walk the landscape and path to holiness through a
lifelong conversion from selfishness and sin.
In Christ Jesus, God revealed His love to us in a most personal and definitive way. The
Good News that He proclaimed is the reign of God’s kingdom of Love, Truth and Trust.
Foundational Belief: The Lay Association professes the firm conviction that the
source and purpose and activity of life is from the Triune God. The Holy Trinity offers
a communion in which the Lay Association is given a share in the life God.

B. Drawn to the Circle of Light at La Salette
“My Son” . . . “My children” . . . “My people” . . . . The Message of Mary when she appeared
to Melanie and Maximin at La Salette revealed how God loves us deeply and dearly by
drawing us into a life in consonance with the Gospel of her Son. The call of La Salette
is for us to embark on a journey of faith where we are gradually stripped of all that is
not of God so that we can put on the mind of Christ.
Foundational Mindset: The La Salette Lay Association is deeply rooted on the
conviction that the Marian Apparition at La Salette is an invitation from God to journey
La Salette Lay Association
(A Circle of Reconciliation)
of the INA NG PAG-ASA PROVINCE,
MISSIONARIES of our LADY of LA SALETTE
a reconciled life and a reconciling way of life.

II. STATEMENT OF IDENTITY AND CORE PURPOSE
A. Who are we?
We, the Salette Lay Associates, are a faith community committed to witness and proclaim
the La Salette Charism, Spirituality and Mission of Reconciliation, bonded in Love, Truth
and Trust. We are on a spiritual journey to a Reconciled Life and a Reconciling way of
Life, becoming the change God wants to see in the world by sharing the blessings and
graces along the way and healing that part of the world within our reach.

B. What do we long to achieve?
We hope to form Circles of Reconciliation (CoRE) based on LOVE, TRUTH and TRUST.
1. LOVE (Oneness and Bondedness): We believe that the upper room prayer,
...”that all may be ONE ....” sums up the whole of Christ’s ministry. Jesus prays for
Reconciliation and Unity that finds its source in the Circle of Love of the Triune God.
2. TRUTH (A Sacred Holy Place, A Sanctuary, an Inner Space): We let our hearts,
minds, spirits, strengths drawn by Love to be reconciled to God, to our selves,
families, communities, and to all of HIS CREATION.
3. TRUST (A reconciled Life and a Reconciling Way of Life): We desire to journey
together in unity and mutual concern by learning to understand viewpoints,
transforming differences, sharing burdens and pains, nurturing hopes and dreams
and celebrating joys and triumphs.

III. STATEMENT OF VALUES AND COVENANT OF THE HEART
A. Relationship with the La Salette Missionaries:
The La Salette Lay Association identifies with the history, spirituality and charism of
the Missionaries of our Lady of La Salette and draws inspiration from their mission
and ministries. The La Salette Lay Association joins the Ina ng Pag-asa Province in a
common effort to put on the mind of Christ and to follow His ways in response to the
call of the Blessed Mother to be reconciled with God and with one another.
B. Apostolic Life
Viewing its circumstances and situations from the gaze of the Triune God, the La
Salette Lay Association strives to respond in faith to the call of the Father to promote
Reconciliation in its own milieu.
C. Family Life
The La Salette Lay Association maintains the primal relationship and basic structure of
the family in the broad context of married and single lives. The La Salette Lay Associates
support each other in fulfilling family life commitments.
D. Community Life
With God’s abiding love and drawing from a diversity of experiences and talents, the La
Salette Lay Association offers opportunities for members to share their faith, friendship,
and support in belonging to a community of faith.
E. Ministries and Advocacies
The La Salette Lay Association participates in the ministries and advocacies of the Ina
ng Pag-asa Province and in other forms of service within their community, including
global undertakings.

IV. PATH TO MEMBERSHIP
A. Eligibility
Membership in the La Salette Lay Association is open to all who desire to live a reconciled
life and a reconciling way of life.
B. Formation
Prospective members participate in a process of initial formation involving a period
of discernment, spiritual formation and a study of the history of the La Salette Marian
Apparition and the life and works of the La Salette Missionaries, in particular. The
orientation program normally takes a year after which the candidates participate in a
commitment ceremony.
Subsequent on-going formation will include the deepening of spiritual growth and
engagement in new or alternative mindset of seeing the divine presence in all, and
putting on the mind of Christ and following in his way, with Mary as our model.

V. COMMITMENT AND COVENANT
A. Commitment:
The Missionaries of our Lady of La Salette and the La Salette Lay Association members
are committed to a covenant of mutual support, partnership, in witnessing and
proclaiming the La Salette Spirituality, Charism and Mission of Reconciliation.
The covenant is grounded on the shared calling to Holiness in journeying to a Reconciled
Life and a Reconciling way of Life.
B. Covenant of the Heart:
1. Prayer Life: A common daily prayer of the heart to deepen our intimate relationship
with God, with our Lady of La Salette and with one another.
2. Periodic formation, preferably on a monthly basis: On-going gatherings for growth
and faith enrichment.
3. Presence and Hospitality: Space and time for faith-life sharing, mutual support and
celebrations.
4. Ministry: Living out the La Salette Charism, Spirituality and Mission of Reconciliation
in our families, workplaces and communities.
5. Apostolate: Facilitating Circles of Reconciliation based on Love, Truth, and Trust.

VI. LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE
A. Movement/Operation:
1. The Provincial Superior is the head of the Association.
2. The main MS Coordinator of the Association is appointed by the Provincial Superior.
3. The La Salette Lay Association will be grouped into clusters geographically, animated
by a MS Cluster Coordinator designated by the Provincial Superior. A local leader
assuming the role of Cluster Coordinator will facilitate the growth of the members
and the activities of the cluster but always in full coordination with the main MS
Coordinator.
B. Separation from the Association:
1. A La Salette lay associate, after her/his prayerful discernment, is free to decide not to
continue or renew her/his covenant with the Congregation and with the Association.
2. A member may be separated from the La Salette Lay Association for due cause.

VII. FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF PERSONNEL
A. La Salette Lay Association MS Coordinator:
1. Mentors the Associate Program of the Province.
2. Promotes the growth of the Association: membership, formation, acceptance,
activities.
3. Organizes and implements a monthly on-going formation and/or prayer gatherings.
4. Ensures open communication among La Salettes and Lay Associates, through
websites, newsletter, and the like.
5. Informs and if necessary seeks the permission of the Provincial Superior for any
activities proposed by the Association.
6. Keeps updated information/profile of each member.
7. Helps in the formation of new clusters.
B. La Salette Lay Association Cluster Coordinator:
1. A bonafide La Salette Lay associate, elected by the cluster members, and confirmed
by the Provincial Superior.
2. Coordinates in all matters with the La Salette Lay Association MS Coordinator.
3. Promotes recruitment for the Association
4. Assists in the formation of candidates.
5. Promotes specific activities that may advance bondedness, spiritual life, and mission
in the ministry of Reconciliation.

VIII. FINANCES AND OBLIGATIONS
Neither the Missionaries of our Lady of La Salette nor the La Salette Lay Association
has any financial and/or legal obligation to each other.

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.