Items filtered by date: February 2021

A Willing Spirit

(5th Sunday of Lent: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33)

Does it puzzle you to read in the Letter to the Hebrews that Jesus, “Son though he was, learned obedience, was made perfect, and became the source of eternal salvation”? Was he not always the perfect, obedient Savior?

Since the beginning of lent, we have been consciously striving for perfection and holy obedience, also known as submission. We know the struggle to set aside impulses and obsessions, to “fall to the ground and die,” as Jesus says in today’s Gospel. But, if we see this primarily as something we ourselves have to accomplish, hoping that by Easter we will be able to say, “We did it!” then we are missing the point.

Look at the other readings, especially the Psalm. “Have mercy on me, O God... wipe out my offense... wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me... A clean heart create for me, a steadfast spirit renew within me... Cast me not out... your Holy Spirit take not from me... a willing spirit sustain in me.” Our role in all this is simply to humble ourselves before our loving God. He does all the work.

Only after all this does the psalmist make a resolution: “I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall return to you”—a thought dear to every La Salette heart. The joyful, though sometimes difficult, celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation can empower us in that determination.

In Jeremiah, too, we see that it’s all God’s doing. “I will make a new covenant... I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts... I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” All this for one purpose: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” The Beautiful Lady comes to renew this hope in us.

Just before Communion, one of the prayers to be said by the priest ends with the words, “Keep me always faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from you.”

This echoes Jesus’ words, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.” In wearing the image of her perfect, obedient, crucified Son, Mary invites us to stand with her at the foot of his cross.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)
Wednesday, 24 February 2021 09:00

Rosary - March 2021

Published in LAY ASSOCIATES (EN)

Going Back up to Jerusalem

(4th Sunday of Lent: 2 Chronicles 36:14-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21)

Cyrus, the King of Persia, respected the cultures and religions of the peoples under his rule. But he must have received some sort of revelation from the God of Israel, for he wrote, “All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord [he uses the name YHWH], the God of heaven, has given to me.”

He authorizes the Jewish exiles throughout his vast kingdom to return, that is, to go up to Jerusalem. Today’s Psalm reflects the time of exile, and shows how precious Jerusalem was to God’s people.

Going back up to Jerusalem is a wonderfully apt image of Lent. Going implies a goal. Going back means conversion. Going up suggests struggle. Lent is all of these.

Let us begin with the notion of struggle. One of the greatest gifts God has given us is free will, which we rightly defend for ourselves and others. But St. Paul reminds us today that we are God’s handiwork, “created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” Accommodating our will to the divine will comes at a certain cost.

Returning, in the language of Lent, is a turning back to our Savior. A single example from Scripture will serve: “I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).

The goal, finally, is not a place, or a work. It is the time—long ago or recent—when we were most aware of the truth enunciated in today’s Gospel: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Rediscovering this for ourselves, would we not want everybody in our life to know this?

The message of La Salette contains all these elements. Some of it is hard to understand and accept. It is a call to turn back to God. It proposes a general goal, and a more specific one as well.

As La Salette Laity, Sisters and Missionaries, might we not find the “good work that God has prepared for us” in Mary’s words: “Make This Message Known”?

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

Published in MISSION (EN)

The Lord Our God

(3rd Sunday of Lent: Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25)

Do you remember what God said when Moses asked him his name? The Lord answered categorically, “I am who am,” and told Moses to tell the people, “I AM sent me to you.”

Today we read, “I, the Lord, am your God... I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God.” It might surprise you to know that in the original Hebrew, the verb am does not appear here. But our grammar requires it, so the translator inserts it.

Theoretically, in the absence of the verb, someone could translate the text as was, or will be, or many other variations. The important thing is to recognize the Lord as the one who is, who was, who will be, might be, could be, etc.—that he IS, in the most absolute sense, our God.

The Lord is God in himself, but also and, from our perspective, more importantly, he is God for us. “I, the Lord, am YOUR God.” Our faith is routed solidly in this first commandment. We may serve no other gods, we may worship no idols. This is the foundation of all the Commandments.

Our Lady of La Salette spoke explicitly of the Second and Third Commandments. It is obvious, however, that a people that violates these has rejected the First. Other idols had replaced the Lord their God.

In that light, Lent is the perfect time to reflect on the state of our relationship with our God. How faithful have we been? To what extent have we created other idols and bowed down to them?

Do we share the enthusiasm of today’s Psalm for the Lord’s law, decree, precepts, command, and ordinances? Are these more precious to us than gold, sweeter than honey? Or are they, rather, stumbling blocks and foolishness, as hard for us to accept as the notion of a crucified Messiah was in Paul’s day?

The psalmist loved the law, not as a lawyer, but because it was the law OF THE LORD, whom he loved with all his heart. Likewise, the Beautiful Lady reminds us of the commandments because of her love for us and her Son.

She shows us that If we desire a loving relationship with God, and when we bow (submit) to him alone, then the rest will follow.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)
Saturday, 13 February 2021 17:40

La Salette and the ecology

La Salette and the ecology

February 2021

Mary - the Queen of all Creation

Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato si’ (no. 241) says: “Mary, the mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and sorrow for this wounded world. Just as she mourned the death of Jesus with a pierced heart, she now has compassion on the suffering of the poor crucified and of the creatures of this world exterminated by human power. She lives with Jesus completely transfigured, and all creatures sing of her beauty. She is the Woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Rev 12:1). Elevated to heaven, she is Mother and Queen of all creation. In her glorified body, together with the risen Christ, part of creation, she has reached the fullness of her beauty. She not only keeps in her heart the whole life of Jesus, which she “guarded” with care (cf. Lk 2:19,51), but now she also understands the meaning of all things. Therefore, we can ask her to help us look at this world with wiser eyes.”

The Beautiful Lady on Mount La Salette expresses precisely that care when she asks questions, some of which are rhetorical: “How long have I suffered for you?”; “Do you not understand French?”; others are directed to the children: “Do you not understand this?”; “Do you pray well?”; “Have you never seen dead grain?”; and finally a question directed to Maximin: “But you, my child, must you have [dead grain] seen it?”. All these questions are asked by She who knows perfectly the destiny of man on earth. She knows how difficult it is to be reconciled with the world stricken by man’s sin.

We do not know for sure how this happens, but in Heaven Mary takes care of us after the example of the Eternal Father - holy and most perfect. One can be in Heaven and be personally happy, but it is not possible not to care at all about the fate of those who are still on earth. The Incarnated God, His Mother and all the Saints know the experience of life on earth and know that one must constantly strive for eternal salvation, fighting evil.

We can also assume that Our Lady unceasingly intercedes for us before the throne of God, so that He does not cease to have mercy on us. She unceasingly asks her Son to measure out the remedy of grace, so that we do not despair or become discouraged. She knows that her Son does not want to punish anyone, but she asks Him to behave affectionately with us who are so reluctant to convert, because we are unaware of those goods that Jesus promised. Mary’s appearances on earth are an example of the Mother’s great care for all her children - brothers and sisters of Her Son Jesus. She comes - probably after ardent prayers addressed to God - to make us adhere to Him. We can summarize God’s attitude in a sentence taken from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, not even if one were raised from the dead will they be persuaded” (Lk 16:31). But Mary makes an exception: she is not dead, she has been assumed into Heaven!

Perhaps this is why she has the right and permission from God to come to us and invite us to persevere in living the Kingdom of God already here on earth, despite the existence of sin and evil.

Karol Porczak MS

Published in MISSION (EN)
Saturday, 13 February 2021 14:15

Reflection - February 2021

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La Salette and the ecology

February 2021

Mary - the Queen of all Creation

Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato si’ (no. 241) says: “Mary, the mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and sorrow for this wounded world. Just as she mourned the death of Jesus with a pierced heart, she now has compassion on the suffering of the poor crucified and of the creatures of this world exterminated by human power. She lives with Jesus completely transfigured, and all creatures sing of her beauty. She is the Woman “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Rev 12:1). Elevated to heaven, she is Mother and Queen of all creation. In her glorified body, together with the risen Christ, part of creation, she has reached the fullness of her beauty. She not only keeps in her heart the whole life of Jesus, which she “guarded” with care (cf. Lk 2:19,51), but now she also understands the meaning of all things. Therefore, we can ask her to help us look at this world with wiser eyes.”

The Beautiful Lady on Mount La Salette expresses precisely that care when she asks questions, some of which are rhetorical: “How long have I suffered for you?”; “Do you not understand French?”; others are directed to the children: “Do you not understand this?”; “Do you pray well?”; “Have you never seen dead grain?”; and finally a question directed to Maximin: “But you, my child, must you have [dead grain] seen it?”. All these questions are asked by She who knows perfectly the destiny of man on earth. She knows how difficult it is to be reconciled with the world stricken by man’s sin.

We do not know for sure how this happens, but in Heaven Mary takes care of us after the example of the Eternal Father - holy and most perfect. One can be in Heaven and be personally happy, but it is not possible not to care at all about the fate of those who are still on earth. The Incarnated God, His Mother and all the Saints know the experience of life on earth and know that one must constantly strive for eternal salvation, fighting evil.

We can also assume that Our Lady unceasingly intercedes for us before the throne of God, so that He does not cease to have mercy on us. She unceasingly asks her Son to measure out the remedy of grace, so that we do not despair or become discouraged. She knows that her Son does not want to punish anyone, but she asks Him to behave affectionately with us who are so reluctant to convert, because we are unaware of those goods that Jesus promised. Mary’s appearances on earth are an example of the Mother’s great care for all her children - brothers and sisters of Her Son Jesus. She comes - probably after ardent prayers addressed to God - to make us adhere to Him. We can summarize God’s attitude in a sentence taken from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, not even if one were raised from the dead will they be persuaded” (Lk 16:31). But Mary makes an exception: she is not dead, she has been assumed into Heaven!

Perhaps this is why she has the right and permission from God to come to us and invite us to persevere in living the Kingdom of God already here on earth, despite the existence of sin and evil.

Karol Porczak MS

Published in INFO (EN)
Saturday, 13 February 2021 14:04

Seventh day – the path to justice

Seventh day – the path to justice

January 2021

Sunday – gift of God to all humanity 

“I have given you six days to work, I have reserved the seventh and you don’t want to give it to me.”

Mary does not speak alone or to herself, she does so by participating in the mission of her Son, the Redeemer of the world. As a Servant of the Lord, Mary uses words that express God’s will to see men take seriously their duties of worship and adoration of God’s name. When she talks about six days, she reminds us of our mission to participate in creative action through work. Mary reminds us that the seventh day belongs to God. The seventh day that Mary reminds us of is not that of the Jews who celebrate the Sabbath, as stated in the Pentateuch, but Sunday, the day in which the Lord wanted to free us from the setbacks of work, from the vicious circle of production and consumerism, to make us aware that we are free people, endowed with a freedom that is God’s gift. The seventh day becomes a day of justice. We remember that the term “justice” appears in the Bible in different contexts and with nuances that indicate a meaning from time to time. In the Book of Genesis (Gen 15:6), we find the passage in which it is said that Abraham “believed in the Lord, who credited it as righteousness.”

“Justice” is the word that in the preaching of the prophets expresses in a more significant way the attitudes of the man called to responsible solidarity and fraternal sharing towards those who, in today’s society, are marginalized, weak, prisoners, defenseless and foreigners. Jesus declares the happiness of those who uphold justice: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice” (Mt 5:6). Man becomes righteous from the moment he makes himself available to God by listening and observing the word just as happened with the prophets, with Mary and with Joseph, her most chaste spouse, who in the Gospel of St. Matthew is called the “just man” (1:19). Appealing for the seventh day, Mary reminds us that we are “her children in Christ”; she reveals to us the intimate union of the Mother with the Son, her participation in her royalty; she shows us that this is the day of our justice before God because we gather to hear the word and to break the bread (Acts 20:7–12). Mary asks us today more than ever to return to submission to her son. Not submitting to Christ, says the Mother in tears, “is what makes my Son’s arm heavy.”

Creation: a gift to be worked, contemplated and enjoyed

When God created the world, on the first three days he called into existence the cosmos and the earth. Then on the three following days, he decorated these ambient, ending in the sixth day with the creation of man: male and female. On the seventh day he rested. Nevertheless, this was not a rest because God got tired with the work of his creation, but it was the rest God wanted in order to enjoy the wonders he had created. We can attribute to creation the transcendental qualities Saint Thomas had individualized (beauty, bounty and truth): The Universe and the earth are very beautiful, truly real and in a perfect harmony. 

And if the days of creation point out the steps of time, not necessarily of 24 hours for each of us, then the last day – the seventh step – can last up to the end of the world. Because there is so much to be admired!

In this context wells up the word of the Beautiful Lady in the message: “I gave you six days to work; I kept the seventh for myself, and no one will give it to me.” If we interpretate this reproach from Mary in the context of rest, meant as admiration, then it would be right to utter here that song of praise She sang for the wonders of God accomplished in her life, the Magnificat: “My soul glorifies the Lord, for He has accomplished great things within me.”

It would be very unfair, if we considered that day only an obligation to take part to the Holy Sunday Mass. Thus, we forget that this is the day of grateful joy, shared with God in the admiration of the past week, of the existence of God’s world and of our participation in that time. Due to Jesus’ grace, we are able to push back the sad impression that life is ugly and full of hardships because of our sins, moreover we can contemplate and admire the beauty, the bounty and the truth we experienced during the six past days.

God keeps on working “big things” in the daily life of each one of us. If we cannot see that aspect of our life here on earth, then we will not even know the reason of our participation to the Holy Sunday Mass.

Mary, went to visit Elizabeth in order to share the joy of the Conception of God’s Son, she wishes to share that joy with each one of us, too. She wonts to help us to sing of joy as sons of God, conscious of the truth, of the bounty of the beauty which come from God. Let’s start, then, to take a rest in the admiration of the merciful God, who doesn’t get discouraged for the fact that we continue to ignore how to behave on Sundays. Let us follow the example of Mary and each Sunday Eucharist, along with her, let us give praise to God which is rightfully owed.

Eusébio Kangupe MS

Karol Porczak MS

Published in MISSION (EN)
Saturday, 13 February 2021 10:23

Reflection - January 2021

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Seventh day – the path to justice

January 2021

Sunday – gift of God to all humanity 

“I have given you six days to work, I have reserved the seventh and you don’t want to give it to me.”

Mary does not speak alone or to herself, she does so by participating in the mission of her Son, the Redeemer of the world. As a Servant of the Lord, Mary uses words that express God’s will to see men take seriously their duties of worship and adoration of God’s name. When she talks about six days, she reminds us of our mission to participate in creative action through work. Mary reminds us that the seventh day belongs to God. The seventh day that Mary reminds us of is not that of the Jews who celebrate the Sabbath, as stated in the Pentateuch, but Sunday, the day in which the Lord wanted to free us from the setbacks of work, from the vicious circle of production and consumerism, to make us aware that we are free people, endowed with a freedom that is God’s gift. The seventh day becomes a day of justice. We remember that the term “justice” appears in the Bible in different contexts and with nuances that indicate a meaning from time to time. In the Book of Genesis (Gen 15:6), we find the passage in which it is said that Abraham “believed in the Lord, who credited it as righteousness.”

“Justice” is the word that in the preaching of the prophets expresses in a more significant way the attitudes of the man called to responsible solidarity and fraternal sharing towards those who, in today’s society, are marginalized, weak, prisoners, defenseless and foreigners. Jesus declares the happiness of those who uphold justice: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice” (Mt 5:6). Man becomes righteous from the moment he makes himself available to God by listening and observing the word just as happened with the prophets, with Mary and with Joseph, her most chaste spouse, who in the Gospel of St. Matthew is called the “just man” (1:19). Appealing for the seventh day, Mary reminds us that we are “her children in Christ”; she reveals to us the intimate union of the Mother with the Son, her participation in her royalty; she shows us that this is the day of our justice before God because we gather to hear the word and to break the bread (Acts 20:7–12). Mary asks us today more than ever to return to submission to her son. Not submitting to Christ, says the Mother in tears, “is what makes my Son’s arm heavy.”

Creation: a gift to be worked, contemplated and enjoyed

When God created the world, on the first three days he called into existence the cosmos and the earth. Then on the three following days, he decorated these ambient, ending in the sixth day with the creation of man: male and female. On the seventh day he rested. Nevertheless, this was not a rest because God got tired with the work of his creation, but it was the rest God wanted in order to enjoy the wonders he had created. We can attribute to creation the transcendental qualities Saint Thomas had individualized (beauty, bounty and truth): The Universe and the earth are very beautiful, truly real and in a perfect harmony. 

And if the days of creation point out the steps of time, not necessarily of 24 hours for each of us, then the last day – the seventh step – can last up to the end of the world. Because there is so much to be admired!

In this context wells up the word of the Beautiful Lady in the message: “I gave you six days to work; I kept the seventh for myself, and no one will give it to me.” If we interpretate this reproach from Mary in the context of rest, meant as admiration, then it would be right to utter here that song of praise She sang for the wonders of God accomplished in her life, the Magnificat: “My soul glorifies the Lord, for He has accomplished great things within me.”

It would be very unfair, if we considered that day only an obligation to take part to the Holy Sunday Mass. Thus, we forget that this is the day of grateful joy, shared with God in the admiration of the past week, of the existence of God’s world and of our participation in that time. Due to Jesus’ grace, we are able to push back the sad impression that life is ugly and full of hardships because of our sins, moreover we can contemplate and admire the beauty, the bounty and the truth we experienced during the six past days.

God keeps on working “big things” in the daily life of each one of us. If we cannot see that aspect of our life here on earth, then we will not even know the reason of our participation to the Holy Sunday Mass.

Mary, went to visit Elizabeth in order to share the joy of the Conception of God’s Son, she wishes to share that joy with each one of us, too. She wonts to help us to sing of joy as sons of God, conscious of the truth, of the bounty of the beauty which come from God. Let’s start, then, to take a rest in the admiration of the merciful God, who doesn’t get discouraged for the fact that we continue to ignore how to behave on Sundays. Let us follow the example of Mary and each Sunday Eucharist, along with her, let us give praise to God which is rightfully owed.

Eusébio Kangupe MS

Karol Porczak MS

Published in INFO (EN)

What’s it All about?

(2nd Sunday of Lent: Genesis 22:1-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10)

Today’s responsorial is taken from Psalm 116. It is a prayer of thanksgiving after a crisis. Like most psalms, it relates to our own experience. Who amongst us has never been “greatly afflicted”?

It was not only the sins of her people that caused Our Lady to come to La Salette. She was keenly aware of their afflictions as well: blighted harvests, famine, the death of children. She assured them of her unceasing prayer on their behalf.

In times of trial, we ought to be comforted by St. Paul’s words in the second reading: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” He reminds us, too, that Christ Jesus died and rose and intercedes for us.

The first reading, on the other hand, is troubling. “God put Abraham to the test,” telling him to offer his beloved son as a sacrifice! We naturally wonder why God would do such a thing. But at the end of the story he says through his angel, “I know now how devoted you are to God,” and the promise of blessing is then emphatically renewed.

What does any of this have to do with the story of the Transfiguration in the Gospel? The special Preface for the Second Sunday of Lent makes the connection. “After he had told the disciples of his coming Death, on the holy mountain he manifested to them his glory, to show... that the Passion leads to the glory of the Resurrection.”

In fact, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, just before the Transfiguration, Jesus, God’s beloved Son, predicts his passion and then adds: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Like the Passion of Christ, all suffering can lead to glory. Abraham achieved his supreme moment of glory in his willingness to sacrifice his son if that was God’s will. He became a model for us all. But we know our weakness and would prefer not to be tested.

Mary came in light to remind us that, though we all might feel at times that we are going through our own passion, we can remain faith-filled, and then we will witness the glory of the resurrection and reap the harvest of the promises of God, and of the promises the Beautiful Lady herself made at La Salette.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)
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