Items filtered by date: May 2021

Storms and Faith

(12th Ordinary Sunday: Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41)

If we notice only the words God speaks to Job in the first reading, we can miss an important point: “The Lord addressed Job out of the storm.” God is not only the Master of the storm, he is there within it.

Job had to deal with physical sufferings, bewilderment, and the misguided comfort offered by his friends. All this caused a storm within him. What he did not know was that God was in the storm with him, protecting him even as he allowed Job to be tested.

In the Psalm, God raised up the storm and then, in answer to prayer, “hushed it to a gentle breeze.” The Gospel shows Jesus sleeping during a squall, while the boat was filling up with water. The disciples’ cries to him were not prayers but complaints: “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus in turn reproaches them: “Do you not yet have faith?”

The Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette raised the same question. Panic in the face of the approaching famine was beginning to assume storm-like proportions in the local towns and beyond. Where was their faith? The Beautiful Lady came to show them that they were not abandoned, and that what mattered to them mattered to God.

We too can cry to the Lord in our distress (in our storms), if only with the imperfect faith of the disciples. It may not be a rescue in the way we imagine it and, like Job, we may have to ride out the storm.

Look at our lives during times of trouble and discord or loss. It is at these times we come to appreciate the people who are there to offer comfort, support, and help. We learn who our true friends are.

This is true in our spiritual lives as well, if we have faith, and believe Christ is with us, ready to command the seas to be calm and the winds to be still. In fact, we might ask ourselves what our faith in God would look like if we never had to live through storms.

The second reading appears to have little in common with the rest, but “the conviction that one died for all” touches every aspect and moment of our lives, whether peaceful or stormy, for “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation.”

La Salette helps bring that truth home as well.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)

Humble Courage

(11th Ordinary Sunday: Ezekiel 17:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34)

In today’s first reading, God declares, “I, the Lord, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree.” Can you hear an echo of this in a much more familiar passage?

We are thinking of Mary’s Magnificat: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.”

The key notion in both texts is humility, which is equally essential to the message of Our Lady of La Salette. The Beautiful Lady saw that her people had been brought low. But instead of humbling themselves, they revolted. Far from them was the attitude expressed in today’s Psalm: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your kindness at dawn and your faithfulness throughout the night.”

Remember how the Magnificat begins. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” This is not as easy as it sounds. Among like-minded friends, yes, we might proclaim God’s greatness and kindness. But it is a different matter in our everyday world. It can take courage.

Twice in our second reading St. Paul says that “we are courageous,” because “we walk by faith, not by sight.” In other words, we place our life in God’s hands, and trust him to accomplish his work in us and through us, as mysteriously as he causes seeds and plants to grow. Jesus uses this image in today’s Gospel to describe the kingdom of God, to which each of us belongs.

Recognizing our own distinct role is not easy, however, because we are not always attentive to the subtle movements of the Spirit within us. Here are some questions that may help in that discernment. Who is your favorite saint? What is your favorite prayer, hymn, scripture passage?

More specifically for us, what is your favorite part of the story of La Salette? What part of the message stirs you most deeply?

The answers to these questions can help us discern the manner in which the Lord wishes us to serve him. Accepting that call will probably require courage; it will certainly require humility.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)

“My Blood of the Covenant”

(Corpus Christi: Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26)

Moses in our Exodus reading says, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you.” This is very similar to Jesus’ words in the Gospel, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”

The first is the blood of animals sacrificed on behalf of the chosen people. The second is the blood of Christ, “my blood,” shed for many, i.e. for all who will enter into his covenant.

A covenant is between two or more parties. Each has reasonable expectations of the other, each pledges to be faithful to the agreements made. Notice that before Moses sprinkled the Hebrews with the blood of the covenant, they declared, “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do.” Time and again they failed, but the Lord always took them back.

After the New Covenant, the same thing happened. At La Salette the Mother of Jesus complained: “In the summer, only a few elderly women go to Mass. The rest work on Sundays all summer long. In the winter, when they don't know what to do, they go to Mass just to make fun of religion.”

Considering the centrality of the Eucharist as “source and summit” of the Church’s life, this is damning criticism indeed. For years, in many Christian communities, Church attendance has been in decline. Surveys claim that a shocking percentage of Catholics do not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. (This may be because they can’t explain it.)

This is what happens when we forget that the Covenant in Christ’s blood is, first and foremost, a relationship. Today’s Psalm puts it in these terms: “How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.”

If only we could be perpetually aware of God’s goodness to us! We would then be less inclined to take it for granted, or even to neglect the gift of the Eucharist, the “efficacious sign” (i.e. sacrament) of Christ’s pouring out his precious blood for us.

At Mass we echo the Psalmist’s words: “My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people.” This, too, is part of making Mary’s message known.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)
Wednesday, 12 May 2021 18:04

Rosary - June 2021

Published in LAY ASSOCIATES (EN)
Wednesday, 12 May 2021 13:57

New National Coordination - Brazil

NEW NATIONAL COORDINATION OF THE LA SALETTE LAITY IN BRAZIL

On April 19, 2021 the new National Coordination of the La Salette Laity in Brazil was sworn in, elected by the majority of the La Salette laity. Ana Beatriz Diniz S. Bersaneti, better known as Bia, and Lindamir de Fátima Varela were elected Coordinator and Vice Coordinator respectively.

The process of choosing the new Coordination, defined in the Orientation Principles of the Movement, was done after a week of prayer and reflection, led by Father Adilson Schio, MS, Spiritual Advisor of the La Salette Laity in Brazil.

We pray to God for health and wisdom to the new National Coordination, so that they may lead the L Salette Laity until the end of 2023.

Published in LAY ASSOCIATES (EN)

Have you Noticed?

(Trinity Sunday: Deuteronomy 4:32-40; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20)

How many times have you thought of the Blessed Trinity in the last week? Let’s suppose you attended a Sunday Mass, recited the Rosary three times, and prayed Morning Prayer or Evening Prayer from the breviary once.

That adds up to a minimum of twenty-five times that you either heard or read or said the names of Father, Son and Spirit together. But the question is: did you think of them? Were you attentive or, to use a La Salette expression, were you praying well? Were you actually paying homage to the Most Holy Trinity?

Perhaps it is because of our tendency to distraction that the Church offers us each year a solemnity in which we may consciously worship God in all his trinitarian magnificence and glory.

The revelation of God’s inner mystery took centuries. First came creation. “He spoke, and it was made; he commanded, and it stood forth” as we read in the Responsorial. After choosing a people, he freed them from slavery, as Moses in the first reading reminds them. Finally he sent his Son, who sent us the Spirit.

Without using trinitarian language, the message of Our Lady of La Salette evokes the Father who rescued his people but whose commandments were now being ignored. Her crucifix shows the Son who redeemed and reconciled his people; they now refused him the respect and worship he deserved. Mary’s tears are her way of saying, “How could you forget?”

Might the Spirit be the source of the light of which she was made, or the inspiration behind her words? Be that as it may, Father, Son and Spirit are all reflected in her tenderness and beauty.

One might be tempted to see another trinitarian dimension in the apparition. La Salette is one and three. It a single event; but its three phases give rise to the distinct images of the Weeping Mother, the Conversation, and the Assumption.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us we have received a “Spirit of adoption,” and we are “heirs with Christ.” Let us therefore notice what we are saying when we pray, “Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come” (Gospel Acclamation).

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

Published in MISSION (EN)

Rekindling the Fire

(Pentecost: Acts 2:1-11; Galatians 5:16-25; John 15:26-27 and 16:12-15)

The disciples had been gathering in the upper room for some time. There they prayed, they elected Matthias to replace Judas and, as Jesus had told them at his Ascension, they were waiting for “the promise of the Father.”

Then, in wind and fire, came the Spirit driving them, as it were, out of the upper room into the world to preach, “as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

In today’s Gospel Acclamation we pray: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love;” and in the Sequence: “Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.”

In the second reading, St. Paul is trying to help the Galatians understand that their sectarian quarrels (among other things) have nothing to do with the fruits of the Spirit. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit,” he writes. In other words, leave behind everything that is not of the Spirit.

When we read these words, we may be inclined to feel guilty as charged. If so, what is holding us back?

At La Salette, Mary came to rekindle the fire of God’s love in her people. With a message that was deliberately unsettling, she wanted to drive them out of their complacency, so that they might respond to their Christian vocation, as the Spirit enabled them.

The challenge of Pentecost is always the rekindling of our hearts, but not for ourselves alone. The fire is meant to spread. It is restless; if it stays in one place, it will burn out.

So also with La Salette. Visitors to the Holy Mountain often shed tears when it is time to leave. But La Salette is like the upper room of Pentecost. What is experienced there must not be confined to that place.

The Beautiful Lady appeared in light, to draw our attention back to her Son. She spoke so as to be understood. As La Salettes, it is not enough for us to repeat her words. We want to truly listen to others, to speak their language; we still need the Holy Spirit to drive us out into the world to preach, work, live and show our love for God, and thus to help us translate La Salette with our words and actions.

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

Published in MISSION (EN)
Monday, 03 May 2021 14:54

The message... God’s dream

The message of La Salette sheds light on God’s dream

May 2021

Dreaming with the Son and the Mother

Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So, God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:2627). At the beginning of the book of Genesis and the History of Salvation, we find the “dream of God” for humanity.

We find a similar narrative dynamic at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. In the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus shares with his assembly another dream, that of his public ministry, applying to himself what the Prophet Isaiah writes (Luke 4:14–30). From a narrative point of view, both God and Jesus are characters guided by “goals” and “purposes”. Let us dwell briefly on the figure of Jesus. From the very first moments of his public ministry, Jesus is characterized as a goal-oriented man. The episode of Nazareth, once placed in the context of Luke’s macro-narrative, functions as a programmatic text. This is the “apostolic Magna Charta” of Jesus. In this episode, in fact, the objectives of the ministry of Jesus are outlined, expressed through prophetic imagery and language. Approached in this way, the episode of Nazareth allows us to reflect on the importance of having “goals” and “objectives in the Spirit”, both in our religious and apostolic life.

First: setting “goals and purposes in the Spirit” is a spiritual responsibility (see for example Phil 3:12–15). We can live ‘by default’ or creatively design our life-journey following the impulses of the Spirit. We can live by setting ourselves “goals” and “objectives”, or let circumstances decide for us what to do. This is the difference between living and existing, between living simply by reacting to circumstances or living by designing, crafting our path as followers and disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Second: “goals and purposes in the Spirit” are statements of faith. They say what is important and relevant to us, and at the same time they testify to our experience of God and also to our trust in Him. Often, great “goals” and “purposes” portray a deep faith, while small “goals” or “purposes” may allude to a shaky and superficial faith (see Eph 3,20–21). Often, the measure of our faith in God decides the measure of our dreams, “goals” or “purposes”.

Third: having, both in our religious and apostolic life, “goals and purposes in the Spirit” avoids the risk of losing focus and direction. “Goals and purposes in the Spirit” avoid the risk of running with incertitude by beating the air in vain (see 1 Cor 9:26).

Fourth: “goals and intentions in the Spirit” motivate us to persist and persevere.

Fifth: “goals and intentions in the Spirit” build and shape our Christian character. As we run the race towards our “goals” and “purposes” we also collaborate with the Spirit in building our character as disciples of Jesus of Nazareth (see Phil 3,12).

Now, like the Son, the Mother also has a dream. A dream that becomes a mission for us. The final statement of the Beautiful Lady of La Salette to Maximin and Melanie reveal her dream: “Make it known to all my people.” A dream “in progress”. Her dream. Our “goal or purpose in the Spirit.”

Called to identify with God

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Gen 1:2627).” 

God dreamt of man and created him in his own image and likeness. And although, by disobeying, man lost the divine friendship, sin did not destroy this relationship entirely, since God dreamt of the restoration of the human race and, for this reason, sent forth his Son (Jn 3:16). The plan to send the Son was preceded by great men whose faithfulness was put to the test, like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. With these, and especially after Moses, He dreams of having a whole prophetic people; He dreams of the day when He can purify man, exchange his heart of stone for one of flesh, infuse him with the Holy Spirit. The dream became reality in his Son Jesus Christ who atoned for our sins through his blood shed on the cross. Christ, our peace, gave God the opportunity to bring us closer to him again. The dream is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost with the sending of the Holy Spirit that will create intimacy, relationship and a body whose members are all those who accept the invitation to enter the Kingdom inaugurated by Christ.

God’s dream is identified with the will of God who wants “all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Hence, every man should come to Christ, “the way of truth and life”.

“Come closer, my children; don’t be afraid. I am here to tell you great news.”  In this invitation, the messenger speaks on behalf of her beloved Son. She does not bring a new message, she intends to guide us to put into practice the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is exactly where the message of La Salette leads us, to God’s dream, in the sense that it seeks to free man from the mire of materialism, secularism and indifference in which he is immersed.

If they are converted, rocks and stones will become heaps of wheat!” Convert and believe in the Gospel (Mk 1:15) was the great appeal that Jesus made to the world, and in her apparition at La Salette and other places, Mary continues to repeat the same message. Man’s conversion is a guarantee of his sanctification and the first step towards the harmony of our planet. Man’s state of mind influences the universe to turn to God or to deviate from its Creator. What we are being given to witness today with the Covid-19 pandemic induces us to reconsider our position before God.

The way in which the worldlings have tried to handle the situation by dispensing with God testifies henceforth to man’s bewilderment in viewing things from above. A concrete example is the restrictions that have been imposed upon believers in conducting their services in churches at a time when, paradoxically, the opening of supermarkets and events of various kinds have not been impeded. In this situation of worldliness, it is appropriate to censure our silence, which is confused with a certain conformism. On the contrary, Our Lady strongly affirms the primacy of the spiritual, submitting to God.

Those destined for Heaven

In his sermon Jesus said, “This is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (Jn 6:39).This is God’s plan of action for all time. Called into existence, we are to God “the apple of his eye” for we cooperate in the conception of the new generation. He wishes that every person conceived on earth should partake of life with the Triune God in all of eternity. At the moment of conception man receives an extraordinary gift: the dignity of a potential dweller in Heaven with God and with other human beings.

Mary represents the society that has now completed its earthly pilgrimage. She knows God’s entire plan and comes to show us where this dignity of the heavenly dweller is threatened. With her message, she wants to awaken in us a longing for Heaven; she wants to make us aware of the importance of the encounter with her Son in the Eucharist and of the need to show respect for the One who gave Himself entirely for love.

Melanie and Maximin were simple children, but their account of what they experienced in their encounter with the Beautiful Lady had nothing to do with lying or manipulation. They registered everything perfectly: the dress of a peasant girl had not concealed the heavenly majesty of Our Lady; Her manner of speaking had been so extraordinary that even the foreign language and the long conversation with Her became indelibly imprinted in the memory of the seers, for Her speech was strongly marked by an otherworldly origin, and Her voice, despite the affliction, inspired confidence and compassion in the two children. Mary’s tears had visibly moved Melanie and Maximin, and whenever they recounted the event, they noted this fact, in turn arousing deep emotion in their listeners; Mary’s disappearance itself caused the witnesses of the encounter to reflect on the fact that they had not asked Her to take them with her. Although they did not know who the Lady was, they wanted to go wherever She would go, because the impression made by her presence had been so beautiful and beatifying.

Sad, but also great and necessary, was the news brought to us all on that afternoon of 19 September 1846. The Queen of Heaven and Earth comes to make us aware of who we are to God: we are His children. The only predestination stemming from the simple fact of being a man is to go to Heaven. There is no other predestination in God’s plans. If this plan does not lead man to Heaven, it is only his own fault - because man himself does not want it!

The Mother of God and the Mother of men, by generating the most outstanding Man on earth, Jesus Christ, reminds us that in Her Son we are all brothers and sisters. We enjoy the same dignity as the Son of God, for God has decided to adopt us as His children of His divine election.

Although Mary shows us our shortcomings in following God’s plan, when we reflect on His Message, a desire arises within us to pay attention to the things of God and to want to improve our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Mary opens a window for us to see the reality in which she is already present and towards which she wants to direct us all: Heaven and eternal life with God.

Whoever desires this, strengthens her motherly heart.

Flavio Gillio MS

Eusébio Kangupe MS

Karol Porczak MS

Published in MISSION (EN)
Monday, 03 May 2021 14:32

Reflection - May 2021

The message of La Salette sheds light on God’s dream

May 2021

Dreaming with the Son and the Mother

Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So, God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:2627). At the beginning of the book of Genesis and the History of Salvation, we find the “dream of God” for humanity.

We find a similar narrative dynamic at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. In the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus shares with his assembly another dream, that of his public ministry, applying to himself what the Prophet Isaiah writes (Luke 4:14–30). From a narrative point of view, both God and Jesus are characters guided by “goals” and “purposes”. Let us dwell briefly on the figure of Jesus. From the very first moments of his public ministry, Jesus is characterized as a goal-oriented man. The episode of Nazareth, once placed in the context of Luke’s macro-narrative, functions as a programmatic text. This is the “apostolic Magna Charta” of Jesus. In this episode, in fact, the objectives of the ministry of Jesus are outlined, expressed through prophetic imagery and language. Approached in this way, the episode of Nazareth allows us to reflect on the importance of having “goals” and “objectives in the Spirit”, both in our religious and apostolic life.

First: setting “goals and purposes in the Spirit” is a spiritual responsibility (see for example Phil 3:12–15). We can live ‘by default’ or creatively design our life-journey following the impulses of the Spirit. We can live by setting ourselves “goals” and “objectives”, or let circumstances decide for us what to do. This is the difference between living and existing, between living simply by reacting to circumstances or living by designing, crafting our path as followers and disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Second: “goals and purposes in the Spirit” are statements of faith. They say what is important and relevant to us, and at the same time they testify to our experience of God and also to our trust in Him. Often, great “goals” and “purposes” portray a deep faith, while small “goals” or “purposes” may allude to a shaky and superficial faith (see Eph 3,20–21). Often, the measure of our faith in God decides the measure of our dreams, “goals” or “purposes”.

Third: having, both in our religious and apostolic life, “goals and purposes in the Spirit” avoids the risk of losing focus and direction. “Goals and purposes in the Spirit” avoid the risk of running with incertitude by beating the air in vain (see 1 Cor 9:26).

Fourth: “goals and intentions in the Spirit” motivate us to persist and persevere.

Fifth: “goals and intentions in the Spirit” build and shape our Christian character. As we run the race towards our “goals” and “purposes” we also collaborate with the Spirit in building our character as disciples of Jesus of Nazareth (see Phil 3,12).

Now, like the Son, the Mother also has a dream. A dream that becomes a mission for us. The final statement of the Beautiful Lady of La Salette to Maximin and Melanie reveal her dream: “Make it known to all my people.” A dream “in progress”. Her dream. Our “goal or purpose in the Spirit.”

Called to identify with God

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Gen 1:2627).” 

God dreamt of man and created him in his own image and likeness. And although, by disobeying, man lost the divine friendship, sin did not destroy this relationship entirely, since God dreamt of the restoration of the human race and, for this reason, sent forth his Son (Jn 3:16). The plan to send the Son was preceded by great men whose faithfulness was put to the test, like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. With these, and especially after Moses, He dreams of having a whole prophetic people; He dreams of the day when He can purify man, exchange his heart of stone for one of flesh, infuse him with the Holy Spirit. The dream became reality in his Son Jesus Christ who atoned for our sins through his blood shed on the cross. Christ, our peace, gave God the opportunity to bring us closer to him again. The dream is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost with the sending of the Holy Spirit that will create intimacy, relationship and a body whose members are all those who accept the invitation to enter the Kingdom inaugurated by Christ.

God’s dream is identified with the will of God who wants “all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Hence, every man should come to Christ, “the way of truth and life”.

“Come closer, my children; don’t be afraid. I am here to tell you great news.”  In this invitation, the messenger speaks on behalf of her beloved Son. She does not bring a new message, she intends to guide us to put into practice the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is exactly where the message of La Salette leads us, to God’s dream, in the sense that it seeks to free man from the mire of materialism, secularism and indifference in which he is immersed.

If they are converted, rocks and stones will become heaps of wheat!” Convert and believe in the Gospel (Mk 1:15) was the great appeal that Jesus made to the world, and in her apparition at La Salette and other places, Mary continues to repeat the same message. Man’s conversion is a guarantee of his sanctification and the first step towards the harmony of our planet. Man’s state of mind influences the universe to turn to God or to deviate from its Creator. What we are being given to witness today with the Covid-19 pandemic induces us to reconsider our position before God.

The way in which the worldlings have tried to handle the situation by dispensing with God testifies henceforth to man’s bewilderment in viewing things from above. A concrete example is the restrictions that have been imposed upon believers in conducting their services in churches at a time when, paradoxically, the opening of supermarkets and events of various kinds have not been impeded. In this situation of worldliness, it is appropriate to censure our silence, which is confused with a certain conformism. On the contrary, Our Lady strongly affirms the primacy of the spiritual, submitting to God.

Those destined for Heaven

In his sermon Jesus said, “This is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (Jn 6:39).This is God’s plan of action for all time. Called into existence, we are to God “the apple of his eye” for we cooperate in the conception of the new generation. He wishes that every person conceived on earth should partake of life with the Triune God in all of eternity. At the moment of conception man receives an extraordinary gift: the dignity of a potential dweller in Heaven with God and with other human beings.

Mary represents the society that has now completed its earthly pilgrimage. She knows God’s entire plan and comes to show us where this dignity of the heavenly dweller is threatened. With her message, she wants to awaken in us a longing for Heaven; she wants to make us aware of the importance of the encounter with her Son in the Eucharist and of the need to show respect for the One who gave Himself entirely for love.

Melanie and Maximin were simple children, but their account of what they experienced in their encounter with the Beautiful Lady had nothing to do with lying or manipulation. They registered everything perfectly: the dress of a peasant girl had not concealed the heavenly majesty of Our Lady; Her manner of speaking had been so extraordinary that even the foreign language and the long conversation with Her became indelibly imprinted in the memory of the seers, for Her speech was strongly marked by an otherworldly origin, and Her voice, despite the affliction, inspired confidence and compassion in the two children. Mary’s tears had visibly moved Melanie and Maximin, and whenever they recounted the event, they noted this fact, in turn arousing deep emotion in their listeners; Mary’s disappearance itself caused the witnesses of the encounter to reflect on the fact that they had not asked Her to take them with her. Although they did not know who the Lady was, they wanted to go wherever She would go, because the impression made by her presence had been so beautiful and beatifying.

Sad, but also great and necessary, was the news brought to us all on that afternoon of 19 September 1846. The Queen of Heaven and Earth comes to make us aware of who we are to God: we are His children. The only predestination stemming from the simple fact of being a man is to go to Heaven. There is no other predestination in God’s plans. If this plan does not lead man to Heaven, it is only his own fault - because man himself does not want it!

The Mother of God and the Mother of men, by generating the most outstanding Man on earth, Jesus Christ, reminds us that in Her Son we are all brothers and sisters. We enjoy the same dignity as the Son of God, for God has decided to adopt us as His children of His divine election.

Although Mary shows us our shortcomings in following God’s plan, when we reflect on His Message, a desire arises within us to pay attention to the things of God and to want to improve our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Mary opens a window for us to see the reality in which she is already present and towards which she wants to direct us all: Heaven and eternal life with God.

Whoever desires this, strengthens her motherly heart.

Flavio Gillio MS

Eusébio Kangupe MS

Karol Porczak MS

Published in INFO (EN)
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