19 September 2010: Our Lady of La Salette

On this day in 1846, Our Blessed Mother appeared to two children, Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud at La Salette in the French Alps. Mary spoke to them about many things that upset her Son. La Salette was approved by the Church in 1851. (Ted and Maureen Flynn, “The Thunder of Justice”, 1993, p7)

Basically, the message was a plea for humility, prayer and penance, and a warning that a terrible punishment would be levied if people did not repent. (“Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia”, 1991, p571)

‘Notre Dame de La Salette’. France. 1846. Apparition. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

The Warning of La Salette

“The priests, ministers of my Son, by their wicked lives, irreverence and impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, their love of money, honors and pleasures, have become cesspools of impurity. ...

“Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my Son again! The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door, for there is no one left to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people.

“... there is no one left worthy of offering a stainless sacrifice to the Eternal God for the sake of the world.”

Ref: cf Ted and Maureen Flynn, op cit, p112

The Program of Conversion

Prayer is always the prime and fundamental condition for approaching God. We must pray, we must try to pray more, to find the time and place for praying. It is chiefly prayer which gets us away from indifference and makes us sensitive to the things of God and the soul. Prayer also educates our consciences.

The Church ever reminds us of the indispensable necessity of sacramental confession, so we may all live Christ’s resurrection in the liturgy and in our own souls.

‘Almsgiving and fasting’ are closely linked as means of conversion and Christian penance. ‘Fasting’ means some mastery over ourselves; being demanding toward ourselves, being ready to give up something -- food and various pleasures.

In its broadest and most essential meaning, ‘almsgiving’ is readiness to share joys and sorrows with others, to give to one’s neighbor, to the needy in particular; to divide not only material goods with others, but also the gifts of the spirit.

Therefore, turning to God through prayer goes along with turning to mankind. Through fuller solidarity with mankind, with the suffering and especially with the needy, we unite with Christ, suffering and crucified.

Ref: cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p144-5

On Confession

The Church Fathers tell us that leprosy is a representation of sin which deforms the soul in the eyes of God. Our Lord’s order for the lepers to show themselves to the priests, makes it clear that we must go also to the priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

What are the great blessings in this Sacrament? What must we do to approach it worthily? First of all, ‘preparation’. It should be serious and careful, but not scrupulous. To some pious people confession is torture. They needlessly weary themselves in examining their conscience and act of contrition. They are never satisfied in either one. This is a defect.

But there is another fault which we must guard against. That is, treating confession as a matter of routine. Thinking that since everything is included in the ordinary formula of accusation, an examination of conscience is needless. So, too, regarding the act of contrition. They forget to ask God for grace to do it well.

To prepare properly, it would be good to-- 1) Set a particular day and hour for confession, and keep to it, otherwise a temptation to defer it can arise. 2) Hear Mass on the day with the intention to obtain the grace of perfect contrition. Renew this at the Consecration.

A short preparation before entering the confessional suffices. Self-accusation must be humble, sincere, entire. Sincerity could be difficult if we cannot choose the priest. The thought that no sin, no matter how grave, could surprise a confessor, will help us overcome false shame, the cause of so many sacrileges.

The object of frequent confession is perfection. Thus, it is far better to confine the personal accusation to certain principal faults rather than mention an infinity of defects for which true contrition is hard. Otherwise our confessions will be vague and unprofitable.

Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp590-93

The dominant defect

God gave St John a profound grasp of what charity means both in his writings and his personal life. The Lord chose him to care for Our Lady! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John wrote these words of great wisdom--

“The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: He who does not do what is right is not from God; so, too, he who does not love his brother.” (1 Jn 3:10)

Our faults and failures must not discourage us. The Lord, knowing us very well, relies on time and grace plus our desires to improve.

Many spiritual writers claim that progress in a life of piety depends greatly on recognizing and understanding our ‘dominant defect’. That which influences most our behaviour and thinking. (cf R Garrigou-Lagrange, “The Three Ages of Interior Life”, I) It usually is evident in what we do, what we want, what we think: it can be vanity, laziness, impatience, pessimism, a critical spirit.

“If we think of the interior life as a little fortress, then the dominant defect is the weak point in the wall. The enemy of souls looks precisely for this area of vulnerability so he can enter the fortress with relative ease. As a result, we would do well to know this weakness.” (cf R Garrigou-Lagrange, op cit) Most temptations we experience will be related to this dominant defect.

Let us ask God for his grace to overcome this fault. “Mary, Mother of Jesus, ‘sign of consolation and sure hope’ (Second Vatican Council, “Lumen Gentium”, 68) is the guiding light that goes before the pilgrim People of God. She is our Mother. ... the way to reach the Lord. Mary will fill our lives with joy.” (J Urteaga, “The Defects of the Saints”, Madrid 1982)

Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 5:132-3

Our Lady of Healing, near Mount Leon, in Gascony [France. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)]. — Geoffrey, Histoire de la Vierge de Guerison. “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; (http://www.bethlehemobserver.com);(maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)

Our Lady of La Salette, France (1846). (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)