Today is the anniversary of Our Lady’s apparition at La Salette, France, high in the French Alps, on September 19, 1846, to two cow-herding children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud.
Appearing within a brilliant sphere of light, Our Lady sat weeping, with Her elbows on Her knees and Her face bowed in Her hands. When She spoke to the children, pleading that we amend our lives, tears streamed down Her face.
“If My Son is not to cast you off,” She lamented, “I am obliged to entreat Him without ceasing, but you take not the least heed of that. If My people will not obey, I shall be compelled to loose My Son’s arm. It is so heavy and so pressing that I can no longer restrain it.
“God has appointed you six days for working. The seventh He has reserved for Himself, but no one gives it to Him. This is what causes the weight of My Son’s arm to be so crushing. Only a few rather old women go to Mass in the summer. Everyone else works every Sunday all summer long. And in winter, when they don’t know what to do with themselves, they go to Mass only to scoff at religion. During Lent, they go to the butcher-shop like dogs.
“The cart-drivers cannot swear without bringing in and abusing My Son’s Name. These are the two things which make My Son’s arm so burdensome.”
Tragically, the sins of the world today are undoubtedly much greater than they were about 180 years ago, including the particular crimes of which Our Lady complained – the desecration of Sundays by servile work,1 and blasphemies against the Holy Name of Her Son,2 which in our time are committed more frequently and shamelessly than ever. May God have mercy on us.
Fatima and La Salette
La Salette is one of the most important modern apparitions of Our Lady which led up to Fatima. In this list we would certainly include Our Lady’s apparitions at Rue de Bac in Paris (1830) and at Lourdes (1858).
In 1830, Our Lady emphasized that She was conceived without sin. At Lourdes, She declared Herself the Immaculate Conception. At Fatima, She revealed Her Immaculate Heart. There is a natural progression and development here in Our Lady’s self-revelation.
In 1830, Our Blessed Mother gave us the Miraculous Medal to combat the rationalism of unbelievers. At Lourdes, She urged us to pray the Rosary and do penance. At Fatima, She repeated those themes, worked the greatest of Her miracles, and taught us about devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. Again, we see continuity in Her message as She provides us with a progressively more profound understanding of the need for penance.
At La Salette, Our Lady warned us of coming chastisements for men’s unrepented sins. Mankind did not heed Her warning and the revolution against God grew stronger and more ubiquitous. She spoke again at Fatima of the sins of the world and the terrible punishments they would bring, and still the great mass of mankind – including Church leadership – has refused to cease offending God and to convert.
At La Salette, we learned how Our Lord was offended by the direct insults against Him: the blasphemous use of His Name and desecration of His Day. At Fatima, we learn how Our Lord is even more offended by the five types of blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of His Mother.
At La Salette Our Lady displayed the instruments of Her Son’s Passion (the cross, the hammer, and pincers) and called for reparation. At Fatima, She reveals Her own Heart surrounded by thorns and gave a vision of the Church undergoing a passion (with the Pope, religious, and laity being martyred at the foot of a cross). The call for reparation at La Salette was great; at Fatima it is even more urgent.
After being carefully scrutinized, the Message of Fatima was approved by the Bishop of Leira-Fatima (1930). The Popes have since then repeatedly affirmed the supernatural character of Fatima. Nevertheless, Fatima began to be undermined by churchmen after it had already been approved. A parallel modus operandi is at work eroding La Salette. After an extensive investigation, the local bishop of Grenoble, Bishop Philibert de Bruillard, formally affirmed its supernatural character and approved its public devotion (1851). Years later it began to be attacked and discredited.
At La Salette, Our Lady gave the seers certain secrets. She did so at Fatima as well. In both cases, opposition and trouble arose when various ecclesiastics tried to pry the secrets from the seers or cast doubt on the veracity of Our Lady’s words.
Naysayers and scoffers among bishops and priests have done much to discredit the full Message of Fatima and cast suspicion on the truthfulness of the longest living seer, Sister Lucia. One of their primary means of attacking Fatima was to only accept part of Our Lady’s Message as authentic while claiming Lucia fabricated other parts.
We see the same pattern at work regarding La Salette. Great opposition was raised by Bishop Dupanloup of Orelans, who led the liberal faction of French bishops. He influenced many French bishops and even officials in the Curia against Melanie. The dissemination of Melanie’s secret was then largely prevented (certainly in France) and Melanie suffered much persecution from ecclesiastics.
The Secret of Our Lady of La Salette
The Secret confided to Mélanie by Our Lady of La Salette includes much of what is reliably believed to comprise the Third Secret of Fatima – though within a larger context in the message of La Salette, tracing events even until the end of time. The Secret of La Salette warns of:
- a diabolic disorientation affecting a lukewarm and errant Catholic clergy;
- a widespread loss of faith;
- a schism and bloody persecution of the Church;
- particularly violent trials which the Holy Father will suffer; and
- the Church’s eventual calling upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, Whose intervention will triumph over the rampant evils in the world, bringing about a glorious period of peace.
Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us!