Today marks the 177th anniversary of the apparitions of La Salette, which took place 12 years before the better-known apparitions at Lourdes. Before the apparition, on September 19, 1846, La Salette was an unknown village, lost among the French Alps. Today, this place, at an altitude of 1,800 meters, surrounded by a breathtaking landscape, is home to the shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. But let us discover this Marian apparition together.
The Beautiful Lady in tears
It all began on September 19, 1846, when two children, Mélanie and Maximin, saw a Beautiful Lady while they were grazing cows in an alpine pasture in the municipality of La Salette.
In the middle of a small valley, they suddenly caught sight of a globe of light «as if the sun had fallen there». Slowly, the globe opened, and in the dazzling light they caught a glimpse of a woman sitting, with her elbows on her knees and her face hidden in her hands, weeping. The Beautiful Lady stood up and invited them to come closer. Reassured, Maximin and Mélanie ran down the slope until they found themselves very close to her.
The Beautiful Lady did not stop weeping.
How does Mary appear, and what does she ask?
The Virgin is surrounded by a light emanating from the crucifix she wears on her chest. On either side of the crucifix are a hammer and pincers. The Beautiful Lady wears a shawl on which a large chain is visible. She is adorned with a triple crown of roses: around her face, on the shawl, and at her feet. Continuing to weep, she entrusts them with a message to «make known to all her people», in which she asks them to resume their journey of faith; she calls them to penance, perseverance in prayer, and, in particular, faithfulness to Sunday Mass. These are important words grounded in a sound spiritual life, one made up of simple actions and choices that can turn life into a wonderful journey toward its destination.
Why does the Mother of God weep?
«The Virgin wants us to know that we lack this sense of sin, which makes her sob and weep. We must therefore truly think of God as experiencing a kind of suffering because of our present situation, because of the situation of Christians and our communities. God is truly attentive to our condition, to infidelity, sins, insults, violence, war, and dishonesty. He suffers because of our offenses and is angered by the evil that his children inflict upon themselves. Likewise, he rejoices in all the good we do for each of our least brothers and sisters. He is distressed by all the obstacles that stand in the way of his plan of love. We are therefore invited to understand the inner meaning of God’s love for humanity, which the Virgin instills in our hearts as a grace» (Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in Choose Life, Then, Editrice Shalom).
The Virgin appeared at La Salette to once again manifest the presence in our world and in our lives of the saving power found in Christ Jesus: she comes to implore us in tears to listen to the words of her Son and to convert; even today she wants to lead all of us, her children, to the joy that comes from fulfilling the mission entrusted by God to humanity.
