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February 04, 2016

TO ALL PROVINCIAL SUPERIORS AND THROUGH THEM

TO ALL OUR DEAR CONFRERES!

FRATERNAL GREETINGS FROM THE LAND OF POPE FRANCIS!

            The New Year (2016) started with a flurry of activities starting with the return of our priest student boarders from the various parochial ministries during the Christmas break. On the 2^nd of January Fr. Silvano Marisa with Fr. Alex Valummel left for Angola. Fr. General presided over the Provincial Chapter and Fr. Alex met with the various Treasurers to explain the financial record keeping of the Congregation and other requisites for their office as provided for in our rule. The election of the new Provincial Leadership was communicated to all by our beloved General Secretary. Both returned on the 12^th of January very happy with the mission accomplished.

            Meanwhile, Fr. Joseph Bachand, left for France on the 4^th of January to officially begin his mission of Superior of the International Community at the La Salette Shrine. He continues to be a member of the General Council and will come to Rome occasionally for meetings of the Council. He will certainly remain connected and will be well informed about the activities of the General Council. He has now embarked on a serious deepening of his mastery of the French Language.

            Also in the month of January, the Region of Argentina had its meeting “Ad instar capituli” and elected their Regional Leadership. The new leadership was communicated to you on January 26. On January 28-30, the Indian Matha Province also had a chapter and  elected their provincial leaders. The Chapter was presided over by Fr. Thomas Vellappallil, M.S. as delegate of Fr. Superior General. Results of the election were subsequently communicated to you.

            Here in Rome, we have had some wintry days….with temperatures at times going down to freezing. Fortunately not for long….and not enough to have snow. During all this, Fr. Adilson Schio was basking in the Brazilian summer heat in Marcelino Ramos where he was vacationing with his family. In the latter part of January he also joined the provincial gathering of the Province of Brazil and gave a retreat to the Province. He will be back in Rome, Februay 5. Welcome back Fr. Adilson.

             On the 30^th of January, the Most Rev. Paolo Selvadagi, D.D. the Auxiliary Bishop of the Western Section of the Diocese of Rome officially presented to the Parish Fr. HENRYK PRZEZDZIECKI, M.S. as Administrator of the Parish of Our Lady of La Salette here in Rome. He too remains a member of the General Council. After this, one of his official  acts was to organize a special Mass for all the religious in the parish to mark the annual day for  Religious and the closure of the year of Consecrated Life. The Mass was attend by approximately 35 relgious sisters and our La Salette religious, after which all gathered in our community dining hall for a fraternal breakfast, roman style. (Coffee, bread, butter and jams and some cheese).  

In the afternoon of the 2^nd February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the five of us, Frs. Silvano, Alex, Belarmino, Neil and myself along with two La Salette Sisters from Basilicata (Sounthern Italy) Srs. Balbina and Veronica, went to St. Peter’s Basilica to Concelebrate and assist at the Closing Mass of the Year of Consecrated Life with Pope Francis. The Mass was attended by more than five thousand Religious Priest, nuns, members of Secular Institues and lay people. I had a special privilege of being designated as one of the priests to give out Holy Communion to the faithful gathered on the Piazza outside the Basilica. It was a particularly inspiring experience for me, I am most grafeful. In his homily, the Pope spoke about “meeting”, reflecting on the meeting of Simeon and Anna with the Lord, and the Holy Family. A similar encounter with the Lord is essential to our life of consecration, and all of us are enjoined to achieve and deepen this in our lives.

January marked the last month of schooling in the Italian language for two La Salette sisters: Sr. Clotilde (Fara) Rasoamampionona and Sr. Ja Khawng (Maria). They have been going to language school since October, in preparation for the new mission they will have in the Shrine of Our Lady of the Guard in Marseille, France. The shrine is frequented by many Italians….thus the importance of the ability to communicate in Italian. The two sisters have marvelously acquired this capacity in their months of studies, during which our Generalate was their home. They returned to France February 1. Thank you for your presence with us dear Sisters…and we wish you a fruitful ministry in Marseille.

Finally, we give a hearty welcome to Fr. Adilson who returned from his vacation with renewed energy and much enthusiasm. And at the same time, we wish Fr. Alex Valummel happy trip and fruitful mission to Myanmar. He will visit our confreres and their mission, and  help them to have a better understanding of how to manage our material goods.

We take this opportunity to wish you all a blessed Lenten Season, in this year of Mercy…and the 170^th anniversary of the Merciful Apparition of Our Lady at La Salette. May Our Lord, through our Lady shower an abundance of blessings upon you and all our confreres during this season.

Very truly yours,

Efren L. Musngi, M. S.

OPENING OF POSTULANCY IN NORTH AMERICA

Ever since 1858, February 2 has had a special significance in the life of the La Salette Congregation, Provinces and Regions. For it was on that date that the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette took the vows of religious life for the first time, thus becoming a Religious Congregation.

That is why, 158 years later, February 2 was chosen as the date for the beginning of Postulancy for three candidates of the North American Province.

One of them, Dimitri Demesmin, from Haiti, is already a diocesan priest who feels drawn to the La Salette way of life. He will spend most of his postulancy ministering in the parish of Mary Queen in Friendswood, Texas, while maintaining frequent contact with the Directors of Postulancy, Fr. Brian Schloth and Fr. Ronald Beauchemin, and with the other postulants.

The other two, Joseph Everton and Eric Burtchell, both came to know La Salette through the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, Massachusetts. They will remain in Washington, DC, taking courses for four or five months to ensure their readiness to begin theology studies in the fall of 2017.

The Novitiate will begin this summer.

The Postulancy began with a simple ceremony during a celebration of the Liturgy. On hand for the occasion were members of the Province Formation Committee: Fr. Raymond Cadran (also a member of the Provincial Council), Bro. David Eubank, and Fr. Ted Brown, as well as the Provincial Superior, Fr. René Butler.

Photo above:

From left: Fr. Ted Brown; Bro. David Eubank; Fr. Brian Schloth; Fr. Raymon Cadran; postulants Joseph Everton, Eric Burtchell & Fr. Dimitri Demesmin; Fr. Ronald Beauchemin.

Below: Fr. René Butler, Provincial, with the three postulants: Joseph Everton, Eric Burtchell, and Fr. Dimitri Demesmin

Fr. René Butler MS

January18-26, 2016
Mendiolaza, Argentina

The Regional Assembly and Chapter took place at a retreat center in Mendiolaza, about an hour’s drive from Córdoba.

Besides the 12 perpetually professed and the 2 in temporary vows, two candidates were also present, as well as several lay persons, all from Argentina with the exception of one from the USA. They were joined by the North American Provincial.

The Assembly focused on the Year of Mercy, with talks given by a Chilean priest, Fr. Cristian Mauricio Cárdenas Aguilar. He laid special emphasis on the tendency to indifference which so concerns Pope Francis.

During the Assembly the two candidates, Cesar Atahuichi Ochoa and Germán Ojopi Dasilva began their novitiate. After the meetings they traveled to Brazil where they joined the Brazilian novices at the La Salette Shrine of Marcelino Ramos.

Also, Fr. Joseph Peethuruthel, who had worked in Argentina for about 8 years, came to say goodbye before returning to India.

Friday, January 22, was a free day for the La Salettes, but for the laity it was a day to reflect together on their identity and role in the Region. They then went their separate ways before the “Ad Instar Capituli” meeting began on the Saturday.

Besides the various reports and the election of the Regional Council, the Chapter devoted its energy in particular to three areas:

 Vocations. This remains the most important issue that the Region must face. Plans were made for a Regional event drawing candidates from the different parts of the Region.
 Formation. Strategies and policies were reviewed.
 The 170th Anniversary of the Apparition. The hope is to organize three or four days of recollection in the course of the year, in each of our parishes.

Just before the Assembly, In Córdoba, we celebrated the birthday of Javier Pereira. During the Assembly we celebrated Alfredo Velarde’s 40th Anniversary of Religious Life. Two scholastics, Ariel Muratore and Diego Diaz renewed their vows on the same occasion.

In the photos, it is obvious that Alfredo has not been well. He was operated on for cancer just weeks before these meetings. Nevertheless, his spirits were excellent and his vitality was not much diminished.

Fr. René Butler MS

Missionaries of La Salette from Poland, working in Ukraine renewed their website. It is edited in two languages, Polish and Ukrainian. There are currently 9 Missionaries 8 priests and 1 brother  in 5 towns; Łanowice, Busk, Krivoy Rog, Zaporozhye, Nikopol. Each parish has its own website.

We invite you to visit the new page.

The New Provincial Council elected during the chapter of La Salette Matha Province.

From left

Rev. Fr. Rojan Cheriyadan MS (Provincial Vicar)

 Rev. Fr. Roy Parayil MS (Provincial Superior)

Rev. Fr. Benny Thadathilkunnel MS (Provincial Councilor)

The 4th Provincial Chapter of La Salette Matha Province was held from January 25th to 29th. The Chapter began with a recollection day, adoration and confession. On the first day of the evening the community had the Christmas celebration and exchange of gifts. Rev. Fr. Thomas Vellappallil M.S (The Director of North American La Salette Mission Center) was the delegate of Most. Rev. Fr. Silvano Marisa M.S the Superior General, to preside over the Chapter. There were fruitful discussions and decisions in the Chapter. On January 28th Rev. Fr. Roy Parayil M.S was re-elected as the Provincial Superior of La Salette Matha Province for the second term. Fr. Rojan Cheriyadan M.S was elected as Vicar Provincial and Fr. Benny Thadathilkunnel M.S as the Provincial Councilor. The Chapter came to an end on January 29th Friday with solemn Holy Eucharistic celebration of the New Provincial Council.

Left to right: Fr. Fernando Altamiranda, M.S., Second Assistant

Fr. Alfredo Velarde, M.S., Regional Superior

Fr. Norman Butler, M.S., Regional Vicar

Rome, January 10, 2016

Dear Brothers,

Since this is our first monthly communiqué of the year, on behalf of the General Administration, let me wish you a most Blessed 2016. In the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the year of the 170^th anniversary of the Apparition of La Salette, we pray that the themes of mercy, reconciliation, conversion and hope may feature prominently in your ministry, your community life and your personal experience of God’s presence. And may Our Lady of La Salette, in her maternal tenderness, accompany our journey throughout this year.

Since Fr. Silvano’s Christmas letter, we celebrated Christmas in the General House. Fr. Neil and I celebrated Mass with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, while the rest of the Administration joined the parish next door for Midnight Mass; Christmas morning we again joined the parish. Fr. Adilson departed for Brazil on December 29. He will take vacation, join the Province for their Assembly and preach their annual retreat this year.

Everyone in the General House celebrated the passing of the year watching the fireworks from our rooftop and enjoying a bit of hot mulled wine and spumante with panettone. Again, we joined the parish for Mass on New Year’s Day.

On January 2 there was a send-off lunch and official “good-bye” in my honor, as I prepared to depart the General House for France. In fact, I left the house on January 4. I am writing this from the Shrine of l’Hermitage in Noiretable, where I am spending two weeks. The next two weeks are planned to be spent at Quezac. I will then be attending language school in Angers for four weeks. One hopes that will get my French up to par, so that I can join in the community life and ministry at the Shrine at La Salette.

The afternoon of January 2, Frs. Silvano and Alex left for Angola. Fr. Silvano is presiding at the province’s second Provincial Chapter. Fr. Alex is taking advantage of this time to explain the Congregation’s accounting practices and expectations, so that the Province can standardize their own procedures. The Chapter is proceeding as I write this, and we will notify you of election results as soon as we have them.

The Chapter opened with a memorial Mass in honor of Fr. Robert Harder, for a number of years the “dean” of our Congregation at 101 years old. Fr. Harder (district of Switzerland, Province of Poland), died a few months shy of his 102^nd birthday. He spent many years in Angola, and left his mark on the mission, region and province there. He is also the founder of the Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, with whom we Missionaries have maintained a relationship. In fact, Fr. Belarmino preached a retreat this month to the members of their Community in Rome.

While the Province of Angola was honoring Fr. Harder at the opening of its Chapter, Frs. Belarmino and Celestino traveled from Rome and were attending the funeral Mass in Switzerland, in the name of the General Administration, and as members of the Province of Angola.

The General House has begun helping with confessions at the parish on weekends, someone being assigned to help every Saturday or Sunday. Not only does this help as the care of the parish moves from the Province of Italy to the care of the General Council; but Fr. Silvano tells us that it captures something of the history of the parish being connected to the General House, when the parish was known as a place to come for confessions. In this Year of Mercy, this is most appropriate.

As we look ahead, we call your attention to the upcoming Provincial Chapter of the Province of India. Fr. Efren will preside at this chapter at the end of the month. Please keep them in prayer.

Finally, we remind you that the PPP this year will take place at La Salette from March 19 through April 16. It is not too early to apply for the necessary documents for those students needing visas. Please do not wait, since we would not want to lose a participant due to bureaucracy! Fr. Louis de Pontbriand would be happy to supply the letter of invitation to anyone needing such.

Blessings upon you all and upon each member of your Province,

Sincerely,

Fr. Joe Bachand, M.S.

‘’We found in YouTube some videos about ‘’La Salette world’’. For the moment we invite you to see:

1. La Salette Shrine Drone Aerial and East Boston Madonna Shrine
2.Procession of statue of  Our Lady of La Salette Paete, Laguna, Philippines
3. Sanktuarium Saletyni ( Sanctuaire La Salette ) Dębowiec 38-220 Poland
4. Street Dance Competition and Showdown Competition
Brgy. Muzon, City of Jose Del Monte, Bulacan
5. Le restauration Août 2015 - La Salette

And others…

Go to the menu VIDEO.

Please, look for  other films and let us know so we can put them in the list.

                                                    Blessed Christmas 2015

Happy New Year 2016

Rome, 10 December 2015

“Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity; It is: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.” (MV 2).

My Dear Confreres,

The celebration of Blessed Christmas gives me once again this year, the opportunity to reach out to each of you, wherever you may be, and bring you my fraternal wishes as well as those of the General Council for the Holy Days. Christmas reminds us of the gift that God gave us of himself in the person of Jesus. From the moment of this extraordinary event, our life has been filled with the divine presence, and has been endowed with a special character which we are invited to accept and value; a special character that we are not to keep selfishly for ourselves but to share with others every day. God has revealed his face of a Merciful Father in the Little Child of Bethlehem, born amidst the indifference and rejection of many. His coming was not triumphant, but marked with humility, simplicity, silence and lack of fanfare.

I would like that these greetings reach also our many young men in formation, who are preparing to be of service to the cause of the Gospel in the spirit of Reconciliation; and our sick and elderly brothers whom we appreciate for the witness of their lives and their commitment and fidelity to the Congregation in spite of their diminished physical energy; all those who are experiencing moments of difficulty and uncertainty in their community life and ministry; the many “La Salette Laity” who are guided by the message of the Weeping Virgin, and wish to build with us a bigger “La Salette Charismatic Family.”

This year, Christmas is marked by some ecclesial events which touch us dearly as Missionaaries of La Salette, and which can be an opportunity for us not only to praise the Lord but above all to reaffirm with renewed determination our commitment and love for the Church and to re-appropriate for ourselves the values which are fundamental in our religious, community and charismatic life. These are:

• The beginning of the Year of Mercy and the opening of the Holy Door.
• The celebration of the 170^th Anniversary of the Apparition.

*The opening of the Holy Door which marked the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, in its simplicity, tells us what should be the attitudes we must assume during this year, in a special way for the People of God: to open our hearts to tenderness, to mercy, to reconciliation. “Pope Francis wishes that we be conscious that mercy should not be seen not only as a pure pastoral attitude but above all as the very essence of the Gospel. The Pope has always considered and continues to consider Mercy as the spiritual fulcrum and base of the Joy which comes from the Gospel of Jesus, as he wrote in his Apostolic exhortation: Evangelii Gaudium. Since God is merciful, Jesus of Nazareth has always exhorted his disciples: “Be merciful as the Father is full of mercy.” (cfr. Tomasso Stenico, “The Jubilee of Mercy, 2015). This will indeed be the Evangelical Word that will accompany us, enlightening our minds, our hearts, and our ministry during this whole year.

Like the whole Church, our Congregation: in all its communities, in the parishes it serves, and in the associations and movements it animates, is also called to be an “Oasis of Mercy” (MV, n.22) I invite each and every Province and Region to discern the ways in which this can be concretized, in every level, from the personal to the community level, in such a way that everyone is involved and no one is excluded in the process. Each one of us will be called to live in joy the certainty of being the object of Mercy of the Father. Without this personal experience, all our talking about God and about Mercy for each person, will not be credible, and as a consequence will be an obvious and harmful counter witness.

I would like to gladly remind everyone that the Bishop of Grenoble has also decided to “open the door of Mercy” at La Salette Shrine in France, in as much as it is a destination of many pilgrims coming from the four corners of the planet. The solemn ceremony will take place on the 19^th of March, 2016, on the Feast of St. Joseph. The whole General Council will be there as well as all the participants in the PPP.

*The Celebration of the 170^th Anniversary of the Apparition is another event that unites us all. In fact, what happened on September 19, 1846 is the very basis of our vocation and mission in the Church. It is my wish and hope that decision #3 of the Council of the Congregation in Luanda, 2015, regarding the anniversary would be actualized and put into effect in every Province and community. This commitment will help us acquire a greater consciousness of our being missionaries of reconciliation in a world that is so much in need of mercy and forgiveness because of its having been damaged by discord, division and war.

In his recent trip to Africa, in his homily in the Cathedral of Bangui (29/11/2015) Pope Francis forcefully asked the Catholics to be “builders of forgiveness, to be specialists of reconciliation, and experts of mercy”. In this call, I see the true sense of our mission in the Church today. For this reason, I encourage you all to “own” this message of the Pope, as if it was said to each of us personally.

I am happy to know that numerous projects have already been programmed in the various provinces for this celebration. I do hope that these reflect the profound desire in all of us to more vigorously make known the actuality of the message of reconciliation of the Beautiful Lady, to strengthen our sense of belonging to our religious family in order to motivate the youth to become Missionaries of La Salette, in order to share with us the joys, the challenges and hopes linked with the proclamation of the Gospel in our world of today.

And finally I ask all of you to remember in your prayers the Provinces of Angola and India and the Region of Argentina which will be holding their chapters of election in the coming month of January.

May the Child Jesus whom we shall welcome on Christmas as God made man, bring to the heart of each one,  peace, joy and serenity, and make each of our communities a true “Oasis of Mercy”.

In the name of the General Council, and my own, please accept all our  warm wishes for a Holy and Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year 2016.

Fraternally yours,

Fr. Silvano Marisa, M. S.

News from the General House:

November has been filled with happenings that have enriched the life in the general house:

• On the 3^rd, Fr. Silvano and Henryk returned to Rome after having spent 35 days of Canonical visit to the Philippines and Australia.

• From the 9^th to the 13^th the International Formation Commission met under the accompaniment of Frs. Adilson and Joe. The meeting restudied the document that was submitted to the attention of the Council of the Congregation in Luanda 2015.

• On saturday, the 14^th, in the presence of the General Council, Fr. Heliodoro, Provincial Superior of Italy, and the priests of the Parish, with some student priests of the General House, Fr. Henryk of the General Council, officially assumed his duties as Administrator of the Parish of Our Lady of La Salette in Rome before Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Vicar of Rome.

• On the 16^th and 17^th, the General Council of MS met with the General Council of the La Salette Sisters. It was an important moment of reviewing the mutual commitments undertaken in 2014, among which is the signing of the new contract regarding the joint administration of the Shrine, and other possible areas of collaboration by the two congregations in the near future.

• On the 20th of Nov. Frs. Joe and Silvano participated in the funeral services for Bro. Albert Girard at the Shrine of La Salette. Bro. Albert, a member of the international community, died on the 17^th of November.
  • From 25^th to the 27^th, Fr. Silvano participated in the annual Assembly of the USG (Union of Superiors General) held in the General House of the Salesians (Salesianum). The first part of the meeting was centered on the reports on the recent Synod of Bishops, where some General Superiors participated. The second part was devoted to the election of the President and various institutional councils. Fr. Johri Mauro, OFM Cap. was elected President.

• Also from 25^th to the 28^th the Provincial Secretaries met under the guidance of Frs. Belarmino, Adilson and Joe Bachand. In the meeting, the new software on “General Registry of Members” chosen during the Council of the Congregation in Luanda to facilitate the filing of data of members was presented and explained.

• Sisters Fara and Maria, SNDS, guests at the generalate since Oct. 1, fruitfully continued their study of the Italian Language in one of the schools for foreign students in Rome, in view of a new assignment of attending to and animating Italian pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of Protection in Marseille, France, beginning February 2016.

• On Dec. 4^th, Fr. Joe Bachand, General Councilor, went to the Shrine of La Salette for about 10 days in order to meet with the members of the International community before they disperse for their well-deserved winter vacation. His ministry as local Superior will begin on January 1, 2016.