Our Lady of LaSalette Apparition

Our Lady of LaSalette - 1846 France

The French had indeed become cultural Catholics, that is, Catholics in name only.  They were only involved with Church for Baptism, First Holy Communion, Weddings, and Funerals.  Sunday was no longer a day of worship and glorification of God.  It was a workday just like any other.  The churches were empty. First Holy Communionwas more often than not, last Holy Communion. Children were not taught prayers in the home.    There was no example set by the parents.  God was some far off figure who had nothing to do with their lives.  If He truly existed, He was not concerned with their problems. 

Their attitude towards God was a contradiction in terms when one considered where they lived.  The majestic panorama of the mountain was such evidence of the splendor of God, His Perfect artistry, His Perfect Love.   As far as the eye could see were beautiful mountains, one more elegant than the other, broken by streams of fresh water running down to the valleys.  Little houses, nestled in the side of the mountains, were scattered throughout, adding patches of color to the scene.  This could only be the work of a Supreme Being.  No human architect or artist could ever have conceived such a plan.  Sadly, though, many of the gifts of the Lord are either unappreciated, or taken for granted.  This beauty was wasted on the citizens of La Salette.  Their attitude was “You can’t feed your family landscapes.”

Into this setting, we bring two children, Maximin Giraud, age 11, and Melanie Mathieu, age 15.  They both came from the nearby town of Corps.  As small as Corps was, 1300 inhabitants in 1846, the two had never met.  But then, neither was part of the social circle.

Maximin was the product of a drunken father, and an uncaring stepmother, who had no time for him.  Her main concern was taking care of the children she had borne her husband.  The husband passed most of his time at the local cafe, spending the little money he earned on drink.  Maximin was small for his age, but he was healthy.  One night, a farmer from nearby La Salette met Giraud in a cafe, and talked him into letting Maximin tend his cows for a week.  The boy had no experience in this field, but the farmer convinced his father that it was a simple task, which he would have no trouble handling.  That’s how Our Lady got Maximin to the mountain on September 19th of that year.

Melanie Mathieu, on the other hand, was an experienced cowherder at age 15.  Hers was a large family from the other side of Corps.  She was loved by her parents, but they were unable to take care of her.  She was sent out into the streets to beg at an early age.  When she was 8, she baby sat for money.  They hired her out at age 10 as a farm helper.  She never experienced a parent’s warmth, a mother’s touch, or love of any kind at the farms where she worked.  She was not a person to her employers, with whom she lived; rather,  she was treated as one of the farm animals.  The farmers were only interested in what she could produce, not her physical or mental state.  They didn’t care whether she was happy or sad, sick or well.  A scrawny girl, she was very plain, quiet, and sulky.  But who could blame her?  She had been virtually alone from age 10 to 15, when she met Maximin on the mountain of La Salette.

They had one thing in common, these two children from different parts of the same town, whose upbringing had been completely different.  They both had an overpowering desire to be loved by a mother.  This was the most important form of nourishment they lacked.  Little did they know that their Real Mother watched over them from the day of their birth, and all through their life, so that She could give them the gift of this moment in time.

The farms they worked at were near each other.  Melanie and Maximin met on Thursday, September 17, when Maximin arrived from Corps.  Melanie didn’t like Maximin.  He covered up his shyness and insecurity by acting brash and stupid.  She thought him silly.  Actually, the farmer who had talked Maximin’s father into sending him up to La Salette didn’t care for him either.  After the first day, he was sorry he had asked for the boy.  Maximin was lightheaded, flighty.  He couldn’t remember simple orders. 

The following morning, Friday, September 18, the children went up the mountain together, but each went to a different slope with their respective cows.  Maximin had brought a goat and his dog with him.  It was an uneventful day. But being young, they planned on having a beautiful, adventurous time the following day,  Saturday, September 19.  That’s the way with young people.  Each day is a new day, a new adventure.

The morning passed.  The children had brought the cows up, watered them, then ate their lunch together.  They met with some other herders for a short time.  The noon sun warmed them; their eyes became heavy. They both fell asleep in the pasture.  Two hours later, Melanie woke with a start.  She panicked.  She looked around nervously.  Where were the cows?  They were nowhere to be seen.  She awakened Maximin, and the two ran up and down the slopes, looking for their charges.  When they found the cows quietly eating grass on the other side of a slope, they breathed a deep sigh of relief, and ran back towards the place where they had left their lunch, to gather up their knapsacks.

As they approached the edge of a ravine, Melanie stopped.  A burst of bright light in the shape of the sun glistened in front of her.  It was brighter than the sun, causing Melanie to shade her eyes from its brilliance.  She looked away and closed her eyes.  Then she returned her focus to the spot.  It was still there.  She was frightened.  She called out to Maximin.

“Memin” that was his nickname, “come see the light shining down here.”

Maximin could tell by the sound of her voice that something was wrong.  He ran towards her.

“Where is it?” he shouted.

She could hardly speak.  “There”, she pointed weakly in the direction of the unusual light.

The globe grew larger and larger before their eyes. Melanie was mesmerized by the dazzling light.  She dropped the stick which she used to keep the cows in line.  Both children wanted to run, but their legs were like lead.  They couldn’t move.  The globe opened.  They were able to make out the figure of a woman inside.  She was brighter than the sphere, if that was possible.  She was seated, as if on a rock.  Her face was covered by her hands.  Her shoulders heaved.  She was weeping.  The two looked at each other, but did not move. 

Maximin, not knowing what to say, blurted out to Melanie,

“Hold onto that staff of yours, and I will hold onto mine.  If it does anything, I’ll give it a good clout.”

The lady raised her head.  The two children gasped.  There in front of them was the most beautiful face they had ever seen, or imagined.  She was awesome.  She was still crying, but even in tears, she was breathtaking.  Her arms crossed her breasts.  She looked up at the children, with so much love in her eyes that all fear left them.  They melted in the warmth of her gaze.  She opened her arms to them.  Then she spoke.

“Come to me, my children.  Do not be afraid.  I am here to tell you something of the greatest importance.”

Her voice lilted.  It sounded like music.  It was warm and loving, but firm.  She commanded with a gentleness that relaxed them immediately.  She spoke in French, which they did not understand that well. They spoke in the local patois.   They realized, however, that she wanted them to come to her.  Their hearts racing, they approached her.  She met them halfway, gliding in their direction.  The globe followed her, encompassing her in its splendor.  She came so close to them that they were enveloped in the globe also.  She had a sweet, fresh  fragrance about her, a light scent of roses, but different from anything they had ever smelled.  Her clothes sparkled as she moved towards them.  She continued to cry as she spoke to them.

“If my people will not obey,” she said, “I shall be compelled to loose my Son’s arm.  It is so heavy, so pressing that I can no longer restrain it. 

How long have I suffered for you!  If I would not have my Son abandon you, I must pray to Him constantly.  But you pay no attention to it.  No matter how well you pray in the future, no matter how well you act, you will never be able to make up to me what I have endured on your behalf.

I gave you six days for working.  The seventh I have reserved for myself.  But no one will give it to me.  This is what causes the weight of my Son’s arm to be so crushing.  In addition, the cart drivers cannot swear without bringing in my Son’s name.  These are the two things which make His arm so heavy.

If the harvest is spoiled, it is your own fault.  I warned you last year by means of the potatoes.  You paid no attention.  Quite the opposite.   When you found out that the potatoes had decayed, you swore; you blamed my Son.  They will continue to spoil, and by Christmas time this year there will be none left.”

Maximin did not understand a word the lady said.  Melanie struggled, and was able to pick out key words, but much of it was lost on her also.  Mary was aware that the children  were having a problem understanding French.  She saw Melanie give a look to Maximin, who had a blank expression on his face.

“Ah, you do not understand French, my children.  Well then, listen.  I will put it in another way.”  Then she spoke in the local patois.  She repeated what she had told them.  Then she continued.

“If you have grain, it will do no good to sow it, for what you sow the animals will eat, and whatever part of it springs up will crumble into dust when you thresh it.

A great famine is coming.  But before that happens, the children under seven years old will be seized with trembling and die in the arms of their parents.  The grownups will pay for their sins by hunger.  The grapes will rot and the walnuts will turn bad.”

Our Lady turned to Maximin and spoke to him privately.  Melanie knew it was a secret for Maximin alone, because although she could see the lady’s lips moving, and she was as close to the lady as Maximin, she couldn’t hear a word.  The lady then turned to Melanie, and imparted a secret to her also.

THEN SHE GAVE US THE SIGN OF HOPE

“IF THE PEOPLE ARE CONVERTED, THE ROCKS WILL BECOME PILES OF WHEAT AND IT WILL BE FOUND THAT THE POTATOES HAVE SOWN THEMSELVES.”

She turned to the children.  “Do you say your prayers well, my children?”

Maximin avoided her eyes, looking down to the ground.  The two of them answered.  “No Madam, hardly at all.”

She looked so lovingly at them.  “Ah, my children, it is very important to do so, at night and in the morning.  When you don’t have time, at least say an ‘Our Father’ and a ‘Hail Mary’, but when you can, say more.”

Then she returned to the subject at hand.

“Only a few old women go to Mass on Sunday in the summer; everybody else works every Sunday all summer long.  In the winter, when they don’t know what to do with themselves, they go to Mass only to make fun of religion.  During Lent, they go to the butcher shop like dogs”.  (This was a reference to the lack of fasting and abstinence during Lent)

She looked around her.  She sighed a heavy sigh.  She turned her eyes in their direction, completely swallowing them up in the beauty of those eyes.  She spoke to them in French.

“Well, my children, you will make this known to all my people.”

Get the book with the rest of the apparition.