International Commission

Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation*

That same Chapter affirmed that “our life and mission are lived out in the light of the option for the poor and the demands of justice and peace.” [See Our Vision of a Gifted and United Community, at the beginning of the 2012 General Chapter Decisions.]

These “demands” are found in the Old Testament Prophets, who gave voice to God’s own concerns, and they are echoed in the Psalms, the songs of God’s people at worship. This is the atmosphere in which Jesus grew to manhood and discerned his vocation proclaiming the Reign of God. (Recall how he quoted the Prophet Isaiah in announcing his role in Luke’s Gospel [Luke 4:18-22].)

It is this role he passed on to the apostles and, through them, to the Church. We have ample testimony of the Church’s continued discernment on issues of Justice and Peace ever since Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum. The body of the social teachings of the Church has grown over the years, to the point where we now realize that JPIC is not one issue among many that concerns the Church; rather, it is the viewpoint from which the Church understands the Gospel and confronts the world.

General Chapter Decision #8 of 2012 clearly connects this theme to our own La Salette charism of reconciliation, and insists that we further explore the connections inherent there. As an expression of our charism, we understand then that concern for JPIC is not to be identified with a course of action, but with a Gospel spirituality, a way of relating to God, self, others and the world. This spirituality is the fruit of conversion, both personal and communal. With this renewed attitude, we look again at our own Constitutions and past documents, and understand that we have often been about the works of Justice, Peace and concern for Creation without naming them as such.

It is the task of this Commission to be about naming that reality in our life, charism and mission. We are called to animate the workers and structures of JPIC in each Province of the Congregation, and to support Provincial efforts at JPIC by acting as a clearinghouse for information between Provincial and Congregational levels.

*In using the initials JPIC we are following the organization of the Superiors General (USG and UISG) of religious congregations, who drew the understanding of justice and peace from the documents of Vatican II. Early in his papacy, John Paul II added the idea of a concern for the environment as on an equal footing with these two concepts. Hence, the addition of the “Integrity of Creation” piece.

STRUCTURES

 The International Commission is composed of 7  members

 Meetings of the International Commission will take place once every two years. In the meantime they will work via the Internet.

 The Members of the JPIC International Commission are named by the General for 6 years and can be renewed.

 Each Province will establish a Provincial JPIC Commission composed of at least  three members: one La Salette Priest or Brother, one La Salette student, and one lay person. For the sake of continuity, the term for Priest or Brother will not end with the term of the Provincial Council, and can be renewed.

 The Provincial JPIC Commission works under Provincial authority and is invited twice a year to a  Provincial Council meeting.

 The Provincial JPIC commission animates the activities in the Province and communicates appropriate information about issues and activities. Every Year in January, the Provincial Commission will provide to the International Commission a written report about activities in Province so that this might be shared with the Congregation.

Ten Foundational Principles in the Social Teaching of the Church

by Robert P. Maloney, C.M.

Let me begin this article with an exam, a very easy one in fact.How many readers can name:

• the ten commandments?
• the eight beatitudes?
• the four cardinal virtues?
• the three theological virtues?
• the seven sacraments?
• the seven corporal works of mercy?
• the seven capital sins?

Just about everybody, at least with a little prodding of the memory. How many can name ten social principles that are “an essential part of Catholic faith”? Nobody?

Strangely, this question receives the same befuddled response in almost any group of Catholics.Yet the Church has been proclaiming her social doctrine eloquently and repeatedly over the last hundred years.Six years ago, in expressing my hopes for the Congregation of the Mission, I raised a question: “Do (those) whom we train come to sense that Vincentians are `experts’ in the social teaching of the Church?”Even more recently, on January 1, 1999, I offered this challenge to the Daughters of Charity: “I encourage you to make the social teaching of the Church an integral part of the formation of the members of the Company.”

But the truth is, as one bishops’ conference recently stated, “Far too many Catholics are not familiar” with the social teaching of the Church.The bishops added: “Many Catholics do not adequately understand that the social teaching of the Church is an essential part of Catholic faith.”

Why is this essential part of our faith so little known?One reason is that the Catholic social doctrine has not been conveniently condensed for consumption; it has not been “packaged” for catechetical purposes like the ten commandments or the seven sacraments.

How can we help the Church proclaim this relatively unknown, yet essential, part of our faith?In some ways the answer is simple, but also very challenging: we must first know the teaching ourselves and then, secondly, communicate it to others.

Ten principles in the social teaching of the Church

Here are ten building-blocks upon which the Church’s entire social teaching rests.

1.The principle of the Dignity of the Human Person.

“Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family.”

This is the bedrock principle of Catholic social teaching.Every person _ regardless of race, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment or economic status, health, intelligence, achievement or any other differentiating characteristic _ is worthy of respect.It is not what you do or what you have that gives you a claim on respect; it is simply being human that establishes your dignity.Given that dignity, the human person is, in the Catholic view, never a means, always an end.

The body of Catholic social teaching begins with the human person, but it does not end there.Individuals have dignity; but individualism has no place in Catholic social thought.The principle of human dignity gives the human person a claim on membership in a community, the human family.

2.The principle of Respect for Human Life.

“Every person, from the moment of conception to natural death, has inherent dignity and a right to life consistent with that dignity.”

Human life at every stage of development and decline is precious and therefore worthy of protection and respect.It is always wrong directly to attack innocent human life.The Catholic tradition sees the sacredness of human life as part of any moral vision for a just and good society.

3.The Principle of Association.

“Our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social.How we organize our society– in economics and politics, in law and policy– directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.”

The centerpiece of society is the family; family stability must always be protected and never undermined.By association with others _ in families and in other social institutions that foster growth, protect dignity and promote the common good _ human persons achieve their fulfillment.

4.The Principle of Participation.

“We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.”

Without participation, the benefits available to an individual through any social institution cannot be realized.The human person has a right not to be shut out from participating in those institutions that are necessary for human fulfillment.

This principle applies in a special way to conditions associated with work.“Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.If the dignity of work is to be protected, then due basic rights of workers must be respected _ the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.”

5.The Principle of Preferential Protection for the Poor and Vulnerable.

We believe that we touch Christ when we touch the needy.The story of the last judgment plays a very important role in the Catholic Faith tradition.From its earliest days, the Church has taught that we will be judged by what we choose to do or not to do in regard to the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the homeless, the prisoner.Today the Church expresses this teaching in terms of “the preferential option for the poor.”

Why a preferential love for the poor?Why put the needs of the poor first?Because the common good _ the good of society as a whole _ requires it.The opposite of rich and powerful is poor and powerless.If the good of all, the common good, is to prevail, preferential protection must move toward those affected adversely by the absence of power and the presence of privation.Otherwise the balance needed to keep society in one piece will be broken to the detriment of the whole.

6.The Principle of Solidarity.

“Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they live.We are one human family….Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that `loving our neighbor’ has global dimensions in an interdependent world.”

The principle of solidarity leads to choices that will promote and protect the common good.

Solidarity calls us to respond not simply to personal, individual misfortunes; there are societal issues that cry out for more just social structures.For this reason the Church often calls us today not only to engage in charitable works but also to work towards social justice.

7.The Principle of Stewardship.

“The Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation.”

The steward is a manager, not an owner.In an era of rising consciousness about our physical environment, our tradition is calling us to a sense of moral responsibility for the protection of the environment _ croplands, grasslands, woodlands, air, water, minerals and other natural deposits.Stewardship responsibilities also look toward our use of our personal talents, our attention to personal health and our use of personal property.

8.The Principle of Subsidiarity.

This Principle deals chiefly with “the responsibilities and limits of government, and the essential roles of voluntary associations.”

The principle of subsidiarity puts a proper limit on government by insisting that no higher level of organization should perform any function that can be handled efficiently and effectively at a lower level of organization by persons or groups that are closer to the problems and closer to the ground.Oppressive governments are always in violation of the principle of subsidiarity; overactive governments also sometimes violate this principle.

On the other hand, individuals often feel helpless in the face of daunting social problems: unemployment, people sleeping in doorways or begging on street corners.Since these problems have societal dimensions, no one person or one group can do much about them.While giving due regard to subsidiarity, the government entity that collects taxes should help individuals, smaller communities, and the national community to “do something” about such social problems.When we pay taxes, therefore, we are contributing to the establishment of social justice.

9.The Principle of Human Equality.

“Equality of all persons comes from their essential dignity….While differences in talents are a part of God’s plan, social and cultural discrimination in fundamental rights…are not compatible with God’s design.”

Treating equals equally is one way of defining justice, also understood classically as rendering to each person his or her due.Underlying the notion of equality is the simple principle of fairness; one of the earliest ethical stirrings felt in the developing human person is a sense of what is “fair” and what is not.

10.The Principle of the Common Good.

“The common good is understood as the social conditions that allow people to reach their full human potential and to realize their human dignity.”

The social conditions the Church has in mind presuppose “respect for the person,” “the social well-being and development of the group” and the public authority’s maintenance of “peace and security.”Today, in an age of global interdependence, the principle of the common good points to the need for international structures that can promote the just development of persons and families across regional and national lines.

What constitutes the common good is always going to be a matter for debate.The absence of sensitivity to the common good is a sure sign of decay in a society.As a sense of community is eroded, concern for the common good declines.A proper communitarian concern is the antidote to unbridled individualism, which, like unrestrained selfishness in personal relations, can destroy balance, harmony and peace within and among groups, neighborhoods, regions and nations.

Those are the ten principles.There is something wonderful about including these principles of Catholic social teaching among the essentials of the faith.By doing so, we affirm that our beliefs are the basis for action.For the Christian there are not only credenda but also agenda.Our agenda, then, rests on these ten building blocks:

• Dignity of the Human Person
• Human Life
• Association
• Participation
• Preference for the Poor
• Solidarity
• Stewardship
• Subsidiarity
• Equality
• Common Good

Communicating this teaching

I want to encourage all the members of our Vincentian Family to communicate the Church’s social teaching to others.This teaching should be very important for us who live in the Vincentian tradition.The Church’s preferential option for the poor flows from it.The poor will surely benefit to the extent that we, and others, are deeply rooted in this “essential part of Catholic faith.”Let me offer a rapid series of concrete suggestions about how we might “use” these principles.

1.They might constitute

• ten topics for an adult education lecture series,
• ten segments for a semester-long course,
• ten chapters in a text book,
• ten projects in a research center,
• ten sections on a web page.

2.For those who keep files, they might be ten “bins” for gathering the collected wisdom drawn from

• scripture,
• patristic literature,
• Church history,
• theological writings,
• conciliar and papal teaching,
• the teachings of various episcopal conferences,
• other sources, like contemporary literature.

3.Those who enjoy coming up with pneumonics or acronyms might rearrange the order to construct an easily remembered set of capital letters.

4.To incarnate the principles, one might compose ten brief biographical essays focusing on persons who embodied one or more of these principles in a significant way; e.g.,

• St. Vincent,
• St. Louise,
• Frederick Ozanam,
• Rosalie Rendu,
• Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
• Dorothy Day,
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Martin Luther King

5.One might search for excerpts from the great social voices of the past and drop them in each of these ten files:

• Ambrose,
• Chrysostom,
• Aquinas, etc.

6.Using these ten principles as a guide, one might study the great social encyclicals and select key passages that express the principles and then drop them in each of the ten files.

7.One might consult the index of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church to find fuller explanations of the Church’s social teaching and to identify sections of the Catechism that relate to each of these ten principles.

Principles are important.Once internalized, they lead to something.They direct our choices.They prompt us to act.A principled person has a place to stand.He knows where he is coming from and where he wants to go.Principles give us purpose.Those of us who are teachers yearn, deep in our hearts, to help form principled persons who are ready and willing to act responsibly.

These ten principles can serve as the analytical base for any social problem.For example, if anyone wonders why Church documents focus so frequently on war, peace, nuclear weapons, the economy, abortion, euthanasia, health care, education, and a wide range of other topics that have a clear social and moral dimension, these principles provide the necessary framework for understanding that teaching.

Looking back over the last hundred years, Pope John Paul II wrote in Centesimus Annus: “To teach and to spread her social doctrine pertains to the Church’s evangelizing mission and is an essential part of the Christian message.He adds: “The `new evangelization’… must include among its elements a proclamation of the Church’s social doctrine.”Those are strong words.It would be hard to put the matter more clearly.The doctrine is an essential part of our faith.We must proclaim it openly in the new evangelization.

Today I encourage the whole Vincentian Family to take up this challenge.

June 5th is an important day for all persons in our global village but especially for those of us committed to living the Good News of justice, peace and steward of creation. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 and has been commemorated in a different city each year with an international exposition through the week of June 5. This year’s theme is “Planet Earth is our shared Island, let us join forces to protect it”. This theme was chosen in support of the UN designation of 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of the SIDS and the urgency of the dangers threatening them due to climate change. Go for more on: http://www.unep.org/wed/about/#.U4cEmnKSy-k.

5 czerwca jest ważnym dniem dla wszystkich w naszej globalnej wiosce, ale szczególnie dla tych, którzy chcą przeżywać Dobrą Nowinę sprawiedliwości, pokoju i troski o stworzenie. Światowy Dzień Środowiska został ustanowiony przez Zgromadzenie Ogólne Naródów Zjednoczonych w 1972 roku i jest obchodzony w różnych miastach każdego roku poprzez międzynarodowe wystawy, ekspozycje w przebiegu tygodnia. Tematem tego roku jest "Planeta Ziemia jest wspólną wyspą, połączmy siły, aby ją chronić". Ten temat został wybrany, aby  poprzeć wybór Organizacji  Narodów Zjednoczonych roku 2014 jako Międzynarodowego Roku Małych Wysp Rozwijających się Państw  (SIDS). Celem jest większe uświadomienie sobie znaczenia  SIDS oraz niebezpieczeństw im grożacych w związku ze zmianami klimatycznymi. Więcej informacji na stronie: http://www.unep.org/wed/about/#.U4cEmnKSy-k.

Heiligtum Unserer Lieben Frau von La Salette in Engerazhofen

Entstehung der Kapelle

Als den damaligen Pfarrer Josef Steigmaier im Jahre 1857 eine schwere Krankheit befiehl, versprach er, Maria eine Kapelle zu bauen, wenn er genesen sollte. Nach seiner Heilung ging er tatkräftig daran, sein Versprechen einzulösen. Im Jahre 1864 begann man mit dem Bau. Am 19. September 1866 wurde diese Kapelle geweiht und Unserer Lieben Frau von La Salette gewidmet. Hier in der Kapelle haben wir die Darstellung Maria von La Salette über dem Hochaltar, die Glasfenster, das Bild Marias als Deckengemälde, die Statuen ULF von La Salette in der Seitenkapelle und draussen in der Mulde. Mehr Infos zum Thema Erscheinung Marias in La Salette finden Sie hier: www.salettiner.ch

Beschreibung der Kapelle

Der Hochaltar krönt das Gandenbild der mit den Kindern sprechenden Muttergottes von La Salette. Der Altarschrein mit dem Schnitzbild der Beweinung Jesu wurde von Hans Keppner und Hans Könlin aus Pforzheim gemalt und gefasst. Die Vorderseite der Flügel (um 1515) stellt die Heilige Brigitta im grünen Pelzmantel und die heilige Ursula im braunen Kleid dar. Auf der Rückseite haben wir altgotische Reliefs der heiligen Anna Selbstdritt und der heiligen Katharina. Die Predella stellt Christus mit den Aposteln in Halbfiguren dar. 1889 baute man zwei neugotische Seitenaltäre an, die heute den heiligen Bruder Klaus und Petrus Canisius gewidmet sind. Im Laufe der Zeit baute man eine Beichtkapelle und die Empore mit der elektrischen Orgel an. Unter der Empore gibt es Votivwand, wo die Gläubigen kleine Andenken hinterlassen als Zeichen der Gnade, die sie auf die Fürsprache der Schönen Frau erlangt haben. Draussen finden Sie die Nachbildung der Erscheinungsstätte in La Salette, im Jahre 1964 aufgestellte Faksimilefiguren, die die Muttergottes als Weinende, Sprechende und in den Himmel-Fahrende darstellen.

Angebote

Die Salettiner betreuen die Pfarrei und die Kapelle von La Salette seit 1949. Sie bieten den Pilgern in der La Salette Kapelle Folgendes an:

Wallfahrtstag: jeden Montag

17.30 Uhr Rosenkranz

18.00 Uhr Eucharistie und Marienandacht

Pilgersonntage: von Mai bis September, jeweils am dritten Sonntag des Monats:

10.15 Uhr Eucharistie mit Predigt

15.00 Uhr Marienandacht, Vesper und eucharistische Anbetung, Beichtgelegenheit

Kappelenfest: am nach dem 19. September kommenden Sonntag

09.30 Uhr Prozession zur Kapelle

10.00 Uhr Festgottesdienst mit Predigt

14.00 Uhr Mariensandacht mit Predigt

Adresse:

Missionare von La Salette, Nannenbacher Weg 7, D-88299 Leutkirch-Engerazhofen

Telefon:        (49) 7561 36 73 Fax:               (49) 7561 91 32 09 E-Mail:           This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Web-Seite:     www.la-salette-aktuell.de

Sanktuarium Matki Bożej Saletyńskiej w Engerazhofen

Powstanie kaplicy

Kiedy proboszcz parafii Engerazhofen ks. Josef Steigmaier w 1857 zachorował, obiecał Maryi w zamian za wyzdrowienie wybudowanie kaplicy ku Jej czci. Kiedy rzeczywiście wyzdrowiał zaczął w 1964 roku wypełniać swoje przyrzeczenie. 19 września 1866 nowa kaplica została poświęcona i dedykowana Matce Bożej Saletyńskiej. O Maryi i jej zjawieniu na La Salette 19 września 1846 roku przypominają: płaskorzeźba Maryi rozmawiającej z dziećmi ponad głównym ołtarzem, witraże w prezbiterium, obraz Maryi Saletyńskiej na suficie kaplicy, jak również figura Maryi Płaczącej w kaplicy bocznej.

Więcej informacji na temat Zjawienia Maryi w La Salette znajduje się tutaj: www.salettiner.ch

Opis kaplicy

Ołtarz główny więńczy cudowny obraz Maryi Saletyńskiej rozmawiającej z dziećmi. Jego centrum przedstawia opłakiwanie Jezusa wykonane przez Hansa Keppner i Hans Könlin z Pforzheim. Jego skrzydła boczne z 1515 roku przedstawiają na przedniej stronie św. Brygidę w zielonym płaszczu i św. Urszulę w brązowej sukni, a na tylniej stronie gotycki relief św. Anny Samotrzeciej i św. Katarzyny. Predella ołtarza przedstawia półfigury Chrystusa z apostołami.

W roku 1889 dobudowane zostały dwa neogotyckie ołtarze boczne dedykowane św. Bratowi Klausowi (Niklas von Flüe) i św. Piotrowi Kanizjuszowi. Z czasem dobudowana została kaplica spowiedzi i chór z elektrycznymi organami. Pod chórem znajduje się ściana z wotami, gdzie wierni mogą powiesić różne przedmioty jako podziękowanie Pięknej Pani za otrzymane łaski.

Na zewnątrz kaplicy znajduje się Kalwaria saletyńska z trzema scenami Zjawienia w La Salette poświęcona w roku 1964.

Duszpasterstwo

Saletyni obsługują parafię i kaplicę Matki Bożej Saletyńskiej w Engerazhofen od 1949 roku. W programie sanktuarium znajdziemy:

Dzień pielgrzymi: poniedziałek

17.30 Różaniec

18.00 Eucharystia i nabożeństwo maryjne

Niedziele pielgrzymie: od maja do września

10.15 Eucharystia z homilią

15.00 Nabożeństwo maryjne, nieszpory i adoracją Najświętszego Sakramentu, możliwość spowiedzi

Uroczystość odpustowa: w niedzielę po 19-m września

09.30 Procesja do kaplicy

10.00 Eucharystia z homilią

14.00 Nabożeństwo maryjne z błogosławieństwem eucharystycznym

Adres:

Missionare von La Salette

Nannenbacher Weg 7

D-88299 Leutkirch-Engerazhofen

Telefon:   (49) 7561 36 73  Fax:   (49) 7561 91 32 09; E-Mail:   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   Strona internetowa:            www.la-salette-aktuell.de

Podczas uroczystej Mszy św. w sobotę 17 maja br. w bazylice Matki Bożej Saletyńskiej w Dębowcu biskup pomocniczy diecezji kamieniecko-podolskiej na Ukrainie Radosław Zmitrowicz OMI udzielił sakramentu święceń dwóm saletynom: Krzysztofowi Juszczykowi i Jakubowi Pawłowskiemu. Ks. Prowincjał Andrzej Zagórski posłał nowo wyświęconego księdza Krzysztofa do wspólnoty w Trzciance a księdza Jakuba do Rzeszowa.

On Saturday, May 17. in the Basilica of Our Lady of La Salette in Dębowiec auxiliary bishop of Kamyanets-Podolia in Ukraine Radoslaw Zmitrowicz OMI ordained two missionaries: Krzysztof Juszczyk MS and Jakub Pawłowski MS. Fr. Provincial Andrzej Zagórski, assigned Krzysztof to Trzcianka and Jakub to Rzeszów.

French to English translation of a recorded presentation by Bishop Donald Pelletier as delivered at the REJS 2013 (EUROPEAN YOUTH MEETING) at La Salette.
This translation was done directly from the recorded French language delivery of the talk.
Paul Dion,  Lay La Salette.

************************

It is important to know that at 27 years old, the Lord had prepared me for 27 years.  Thirteen years with the family.  We were people with a good family.  Family is very important.  Mother, Father, Sister.  Family is very important.  I was in a surfeit of love.  My mother knew that she was going to die, she was sick.   So she spoiled me with a lot of love.  She knew that she did not have long to live.  So I was spoiled with her love.  I was ten years old when my mother died.  So already the Lord was preparing me.  He was showing me that I had to move.  This was first intervention of God in my life. It was a very important moment.  All was changed.  For  thirteen years, it was all family.  After that it was still always family, but then it was the family of the missionaries of La Salette.  (VIDEO) Therefore, 27 years in all.  Twenty seven years of preparation.   My life, like yours was divided into two parts, if you will.  The 27 years of preparation in which God prepared me.  The thirteen years of preparation in my family, by my family, with my family, and 14 years by , in and with the missionary community of La Salette.  Therefore, at 27 years old I was ready to leave.  I was leaving for the adventure, like Abraham.  Leave your country. Leave your family.  Go to Madagascar. 

So, like I was saying, there are always preparations.  Along the way I was filled by the community.  We had very, very good formators in marvelous locations.  The minor seminary was in the country (la campagne).  It was on a magnificent lake by the name of Mascoma, in New Hampshire. It was in the woods.  It was marvelous for a young man to help him discover nature and to live in a community of  friends.  

Thinking about formation you have some times when you think about what it is that impressed you the most.    Our educators became our friends, and continue to be so to this day.  I still have some friends among them in the United States.  We were 36 when I arrived in the seminary.  Two of us were ordained priests.  And Father Maxfield is still with us and we are very, very close friends.  He is very sick.  He was sick almost all his life.  He worked in Spain.  He suffered for me.  I was never sick. I was always able to work.  So, like I say, 27 years of preparation.  That is very, very important.   Thank God.  God spoiled me. I thank Him for my human formation.  You will see that during your life, your human formation is the most important.  The documents from Rome about formation talk about human formation, spiritual formation, intellectual formation, and pastoral formation. Therefore at 27 years old I was ready to leave, as a young priest for Madagascar.  It was by boat.  So, from New York to Le Havre, by Marseilles to Madagascar we went.  23 days.  
On the ship, I fell in love.  (VIDEO) There was a pretty young lady on board. French.  Very pretty. Her father was very rich.  He was the owner of the Hotel de France in Tananarive.  He had just spent one year in the United States in order to learn English.  So, she sees this handsome young American priest and she wants to speak English.  I am lonesome.  I am ah,ah, little sad, a little lonely. I see  this see this young lady, and so for 23 days Donald spent a lot of time with Marianne.  Of course, it’s all good; for love.  Happily, the rest of the voyage did not last very long.  I did not want to lose my vocation.  But, you know, the Lord talks to us.  “So Donald, you need love?  You had your choice.”   So I arrived, like I say, after twenty three days.  I never saw her again.  So, like you already know, I arrived in Madagascar in 1958.  I cannot describe all my experiences. There are too many.I cannot tell all the ways that God acts in our life.  How God reveals Himself in the events of our life.  He makes a lot of marks on us. 

So, I will give you but one example.  It happened in 1982.  I had been in Madagascar for almost 25 years.  I was the pastor of the cathedral parish of the diocese of Morondava.  It was a city of 60,000 inhabitants.  In the evening between 5 and 7,  I would visit the various sections of the parish, homes and families.  So, every evening at the same time I would leave with the catechist, religious sisters and lay people to visit.  Once, we were in a very heavily populated sector, with narrow paths.   So, we left one house to go to another and it had become a little  dark, and I tripped.  I put my foot down without being sure of my step.  I didn’t see what was in the path.  I fell, Kaaach!  I realized then that I had tripped over a young man.  I became angry and I started to scold him with forceful language.  It was my first reaction.  I was humiliated.  I fell right there and when I looked down, I noticed that he could not walk.  He was dragging himself along.  He had two very small legs and he could not walk.  He was dragging himself along in the dirt.  So, my attitude immediately changed.  I excused myself. “What are you doing there?”  I let him know that I was very sorry.  I asked him where he lived and we went with him to his house.  It was a small cabin, like a small cage.  He was living there with his grandmother.  She was angry.  He would only go out at dark because the family was ashamed of him.  So I told his grandmother that he was already 12 years old.  He could go to school.  She said, “Yes.  How will he go to school?  He cannot walk.”  I said that I would get a wheelchair from the United States; I knew some religious sisters.   I asked them if they could take him in their school.  They said “yes.”  So we got a wheelchair and he started to go to school.  One day, someone told me, ‘You know, Father, this young man can walk.  There’s a hospital in Antsirabe they do surgeries.  They also make prostheses there.”   So, I brought him to Antsirabe.  That’s not easy.  So there he was in Antsirabe.  He was under the care of the hospital for two years.  There were operations.  Braces, canes and shoes, etc.  After two years he returned to Morondava.  Great joy.  The whole town was rejoicing.  “Look, he’s walking!  He’s standing!”  

Then, one day at the parish a woman approached me and said that she too had a child who could not walk.  So I took the information, name, address, etc.  Then a week later, another one. Then a third, a fourth, a fifth…When I had seven, ooop, we leave for Antsirabe.  I take them to the clinic and they stay there.  I continue doing this.  I bring 10; 15; another 10. I had absolutely no idea how I got into this.  I knew nothing about this.  And this never came from me.  I had never felt a vocation to care for the handicapped.  It was an accident.  I tripped over this boy in the dark.  One boy.  When we had 50 the directress of the professor of Antsirabe told that I needed a shop to repair the shoes and the braces of those who were now back in Morondava.  “These things do break,” she said.   So, we built a workshop.  We sent two of the handicapped to Antsirabe to train on how to repair the equipment that had been built for them.  We then started this small shop.  So we went from one thing to another.  I had not one single qualification.  Now there are over 100 handicapped children who today walk with braces, thanks to the one little boy.  We have come to identify over  700 handicapped in Morondava who cannot walk. We have a foyer for the handicapped, both physically and mentally.  We have four religious sisters and two lay people to care for them.  We have handicapped people working in the repair shop.  I have nothing, nothing to do with this.  I know nothing about this.  It is God who acts.  As a person, so much goes back to the family. There is the community.  I could never do anything without my family and the community.  Even now.   I thank God that I still have family. Cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts and the community and the population of Madagascar.  The welcome of the people of Madagascar; The Christian communities of Madagascar welcomed me as a brother.  They showed the love and the support of my work.  This too is very, very important in our  life.  You too have your families, the community and your parish.  There is a need for this community to supports us.  There is the need for us to recognize this community support. 

While I was in Rome, they asked me, “How did you do it, staying there for 50 years?”  I answered that when I left, I told the Superior General, who in those days was father Imhoff, “I’m going to Madagascar for five years.”   No matter what I said, I am still there.  So, I acted.  This work that I was able to do I did it with the Lord.  If I had not fallen over that young man, who knows what would have happened.  But at that moment, I fell off my pride, like St. Paul.  I had sinned by getting angry, but with that, God came and enlightened me  through the foundation of the foyer for the handicapped. He showed me the gate of the temple.  You know the story in the Acts, in chapter three, when Peter tells the handicapped man, “Of gold and silver I have none, but of what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, get up and walk.”  And it is that, which we tried to do.  In Madagascar, in the Malagasy culture, a handicap is like an insult.  It is a shame.  The handicapped are hidden.  The handicapped are hidden because those who know them are ashamed of them.  They are ashamed of them.  A handicap is deemed to be a malediction.  It is considered to be a punishment.  

So the marvel that the Lord did was noticed by many people who would come to Morondava and who would ask us, “Why is it that in Morondava you have so many handicapped people?”  It is not more than the rest.  But thanks to God, we have been able to bring them to the surface. I cannot congratulate myself for this work.  I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  It is the work of God who weaves the story with us.  It is a work of God’s love this rehabilitation of the handicapped.   
Therefore I told this story because it is an example of the work of God through me in my ministry.  So, often, people ask me, “What is the most difficult for the missionary?”  I say, It is not the culture.  It is not the mosquitoes.  It is not the doubts that arise in the deep bush.  There are times when we feel lonesome, we can feel alone.  The solitude can be difficult.  At night we are alone.  The people retire early.  We feel alone.  Isolated.  It is therefore a grace to run to the only solution, prayer. An encounter with the Lord who reveals Himself to us.  

 Now, my mission is on the coast.  I don’t know if you are familiar with Madagascar.  It is an island.  We were on the western coast.  There are very many villages along the length of the coast. There are many of these very small villages who depend on fishing for their living.  These villages are populated by 300, 400, or 1,000 people along the whole length of the coast.  Our diocese has 400 kilometers of coastline.  So I did a lot of travelling on the sea.  It was in the pirogue.  I don’t know if you know what a pirogue¹ is.  It is a very, very ancient technology. It comes from Indonesia.  The pirogue is not found in Africa.  It is believed that people crossed over the ocean in these craft to come to the eastern coast of Madagascar.  When you are in the pirogue, you are at the level of the surface of the sea. There is a sail.  It is magnificent.  If you ever come to Madagascar you have to take a trip in a pirogue.  If you want real adventure, take your trip at night.  That is a mystical, spiritual experience.  You’re in the middle of the ocean, in this tiny pirogue, seated.  The wind is pushing you by the square sail.  The piroguist is the only one controlling the craft.   You are being pushed by the wind in a deep silence.  You can touch the stars.  And so, you feel very close to the Lord, especially because you know that you’re doing it for the Lord.  You know that it is for evangelization. You’re announcing Him.  These are consolations that the Lord gives you to let you feel His presence.  So one time, I had to leave from a distant village to return to Morondava by sea.  This was normally a trip of 4 to 6 hours in the pirogue, if the wind was good.  With no wind, or very poor wind, 10 hours.  It was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  They put me in a pirogue with 400 kilos of  cargo. ( “Targue”)  I was sitting on the cargo.  So it was magnificent.  The stars, the silence and the gentle wind that was pushing us. But  I was being pinched and bothered by the cargo.  All night there was no way to find a comfortable position.  I couldn’t get comfortable with my derriere being pinched and pricked all night. That is one trip that I will never forget.  I was starting my Lent with a sacrifice.  

So there.  That’s how God reveals Himself to us, and offers us consolations as missionaries.  
Also, one time I was making the rounds on foot.  We used to make many rounds on foot.  With a back pack, we would walk from village to village.  It could be 20, 25, 30 kilometers between villages.  You get to a village, stay there two days and move on.  One time, we were in a pagan village.  The welcome was not that great.  I asked the catechist, “How much time to the next village?”  He responded, “Two hours walk.”  So I said, “We can leave at 4:00 in the morning and leave without breakfast.  I can walk for two hours while fasting.  After two hours we will arrive at the village and we will have something to eat.”  So, we left at 4:00 in the morning.  Walking, walking.  Nothing to eat.  No coffee.  Huh.  So we’re walking and it is coming up on two hours.  In fact, at about 8:00 in the morning we had not yet arrived at the village.  At that time I had a moment of weakness.  I could not walk.  I was just HHIISSSHHHH.  I was hungry.  I was weak.  So I said, “Excuse me but we have to stop.  We are going to stop and rest, I can no longer walk.”  Then the catechist said, “You stay here.  Do not move.”  He left.  He was on foot.  He left his baggage.  He left.  I was waiting.  Not more than 1o minutes, believe me, not more than 10 minutes later, he came back carrying a magnificent honeycomb.  He had found a wild beehive and he was able to dislodge the honeycomb.  He gave me that and after I had eaten all the honey that I wanted, I was re-energized.  Thanks to God, I regained my strength and I was able to continue walking.  God was there.  I was moved to tears thinking about how God provides.  He is always there and He is a constant companion.  

Here at La Salette, we are reminded of that.  We have a very strong example of the truth that when we see, it is easy for us to believe.  We are given the example of Maximin’s father who could not think that God was present.  But when Maximin told him that Our Mother had told about the episode at the land at Coin, when the father gave his boy a piece of bread made a deep impression.  Such a trite and banal act did not escape the vigilance of the mother of God.  She was there.  It is only after the fact that they remembered and realized that God was there.  I was the same.  That morning on the way to the village, I was not thinking about God.  I was weak.  I was afraid.  After I had eaten the honey that God had provided in this corner of the deep and isolated bush, I knew in my renewed strength that this was a gift from God.  It is through these experiences that we see God in our life.

1. Translator’s note: I kept this word because it is so distinctive. I learned it as a boy because in Canada some people call the canoe, “pirogue.” This is especially applicable to the dugout canoe of the indigenous people of North America. The essential difference from what is described here and the North American canoe, is that the canoe is not fitted with a sail.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a word that can be described if we look and reflect on it in the La Salette working spirit.

Collaboration can be described on how we give witness to the goal, vision and spirit of what we want to live as La Salette.

Collaboration is an active spirit that leads and moves us into an actual action and awareness of our existence that gives birth to ourSalettine relationship, MS, SNDS and Lay.

It is the spirit that recognizes our, La Salette family, presence and existence in ourworking and being together to actualize our common vision, goals and spirituality.

It is the sharing and accepting of our individual and congregation’s gifts put together that brings us into unity.

Collaboration is a spirit that brings life to our working relationship, working together, working with and not working for.

The spirit of collaboration in order to continue to live needs a constant process of clarification of our goal, being convinced of our co-existence which is vital and important in our commitment  to go through this working relationship.

Collaboration needs a constant communication and the capability to cooperate to bringthis relationshipto live and continue.

"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much". Helen Kaller