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Published: Sunday, 10th May 2009
Ecce Agnus Dei
In Holy Scripture, the word “Behold” is a special word, because it is always a revelation of one thing or another. We hear that great intertestimental prophet, John the Baptist cry out “Behold the Lamb of God”, “ Behold Him who takes away the sins of the World” Up to that point in history, few, if any knew who Jesus was. However God deigned that for His public ministry, a public announcement was to be made, hence that great cry, “Ecce Agnus Dei”.
When Jesus was dying on the Cross he makes two final revelations where he uses this extraordinary word “Ecce” “behold”twice, “Woman, Behold your son” and son “Behold your Mother” Ecce Mater Tua. (Jn 19;26-28)
Up to the moment when Jesus was dying on the Cross, Mary was His Mother, only after He said, Ecce Mater Tua, did she becomes the Mother of all humanity for ever. This was also a revelation for her as much as it was for John, and so Our Blessed Lady becomes truly a Mother to us and intervenes from time to time in human history.
We know of many times and places where Our Lady has appeared, places that come to mind easily are Fatima in 1917, Lourdes in 1858, Rue Du Bac in Paris in 1830, Guadulupe in Mexico in 1531, and the list goes on and on. However what is important about these apparitions is that they have full approval of the Catholic Church and as such, to have “True Devotion” to our Lady this way. (as Saint Louis De Monfort used to say). There are lots of people running around these days looking for so called apparitions which have no approval of the Catholic Church, nor of its local Bishops and this dear friends this is not “True Devotion”, but rather so called popular piety, while many seek signs and wonders, these people have already lost the faith!
One such apparition, not as well known internationally but fully approved by the Universal Church is the very important apparition of Our Lady in La Salette on September 19th, 1846 in the Diocese of Grenoble in South Eastern France.
September 19th, 1846 happen to fall on a Saturday, which was the Eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, which was celebrated liturgically on the 3rd Sunday of September in the old rite then.
High up on the French Alps was a tiny place called La Salette which sits about 3,000 meters above the small town of Corps. On these mountain slopes there were two children, unknown to each other, but both from Corps, an 11 year old boy, called Maximin Giraud, and a 15 year old girl called Melanie Calvat. Both of them had been entrusted to keep watch over 8 cattle. Neither had been to this place before, Maximin was called at the last minute to replace a sick shephard and Melanie had been so many odd jobs at farms for over 5 years already, that she does not even raise an eyebrow when this job comes along.
So here they were together, on a hot sunny afternoon, minding cows, and deciding to have a nap, slept for a while. On waking they go quickly to look to see where the cows had gone and it was in this looking that they discovered a large ball of light,
And which they went to inspect, so dazzeling did it look. Upon getting closer its light intensified and they began to see inside the light what they both independently say was a “Beautiful Lady” sitting with her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees in what they both described as “deepest grief”. The Beautiful Lady stood up, weeping all the while, and calling them to come closer to her. She asked them to “Come near, my children, do not be afraid, I am here to tell you great news” ( the expression “Grande Novelle” is also translated as “Important News”)The Children came close, but noticed that She was crying, She was tall, and was all light, but her attire was that of a woman of that region. She wore a long dress, with a long apron tied at the waist, a long beautiful shawl. On Her head she wore a “bonnet” a type of alpine hat of the region around which roses formed a crown and which also outlined the fringes of the shawl and shoes. Her face shimmered in Light, but still the tears kept flowing. On her shoulders there seemed to have been a very heavy chain and then a smaller, finer one which held a brilliant Crucifix on her breast. It was a heretofore unseen Crucifix as it had a hammer on one side and pincers on the other. The two children amazed with what they were looking at, took it all in and made mental notes of what they were beholding.
Here we are having an apparition involving the our Blessed Mother from Heaven to two innocent children, one male and the other female as though in a way they represented all humanity, but more certainly, the message they received was for all humanity. The Woman spoke “If my people do not obey, I shall be compelled to “loose My Son’s arm, it is so heavy, I cannot hold it any longer” There was in Europe then, as there is now, an open rebellion against God and His Commandments, and now the Mother is intervening using innocents to deliver a message to the World, that message is still as valid today as it was when spoken.
The Beautiful Lady continues “How long have I suffered for you! If My Son is not going to abandon you, I am obliged to entreat Him without ceasing. But you take no heed of that”. (One can see that She means all humanity, not just the Children) “ 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” said the Lady.
She continues “I have given you six days to work. The seventh I have reserved for myself, yet no one will give it to me. This is what causes the weight of my Son’s arm to be so heavy” (by the seventh day we mean, the holy day of obligation, Sunday- people had stopped going to mass on Sunday and were in fact breaking the third commandment, which commands us to keep holy the Lord’s day). “The cart drivers cannot swear without bringing in my Son’s name (the breaking of the second commandment which commands not to take the “name of the Lord in vain”)
By identifying these two commandments Our Lady is telling the children and the world that all the commandments are being broken and as such there was going to be negative consequence for it. She tells us that She can no longer defend the indefensible. Our Lady continues “ A great famine is coming, but before that happens, children under seven years of age will be seized with trembling and die in the arms of those holding them. The others will pay for their sins by hunger, the grapes will rot and the walnuts will become worm eaten. If you have wheat, it will be no good to sow it, for what you sow the vermin will eat, and whatever part of it that springs up will crumble into dust when you thresh it.” A great famine did ravage Europe, especially the potato famine. The impact and human cost especially on Ireland was greater, as already a third of the population were entirely dependant on the potato for food. As a result millions died all over Europe from Hunger, not just in Ireland, but Germany, France, Italy and Spain in particular. From this Famine came mass migrations in the middle 1840- to the 1860’s where some 37 million people left Europe. Those who stayed, many of whom died of famine, were left with severe hardships. In Ireland, the Famine endured from 1845 to 1849 and Ireland lost almost half of its population if not more. It is predicted that another great famine is on the way.
Our Lady‘s communication to us is intense, firstly She appears in Light (a Woman, clothed with the Sun.( Rev 12;1-2) She speaks to us through youthful innocence, male and female, on the importance of keeping the Commandments (Ex 20; 2-17,31;18,34,28 see also Deuteronomy 5;6-21.) Jesus tells us that “For whoever does the will of my Father, is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt 13;50) and in answer to the young man who asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus answers “if you would enter into life, keep the commandments (Mt 19:16-21)
And so the Beautiful Lady identifies how humanity has broken two commandments, taking the name of the Lord in vain, and not keep holy the Sabbath day as required. Our Lady is not going to discuss adultery or murder or the other commandments with innocence, because at the Litany of Loreto tells us that She is the “Virgo Prudentissima” Virgin Most Prudent! The Church teaches however that the Ten Commandments form an organic and indivisible whole because each commandment refers to the other commandments and to the entire Decalogue. To break one commandment, therefore, is to violate the entire law. (Compendium, Catechism p133.)
The second way Our Lady communicates to us is through Her weeping (“She wept all the while She spoke to us” Maximin and Melane) She is telling us that God is not happy with the state of affairs of man and that his Justice demands that man reconcile and turn away from sin and death toward God and Life.Our Lady cries, for humanity, for each and every one who must now suffer the consequences of open rebellion against God. It would appear that nothing has been learnt from the past, form biblical history. People were no longer praying and held God in contempt. Our Lady tells the children, “if my people are converted, the very stones will become mounds of wheat and the potatoes will grow self sown”. She asks the children if they pray, but gets the wrong answer “not too well”. She instructs them to pray and tells them is so important to pray, at least in the morning and at night, saying the Our Father and a Hail Mary as a minimum. This of course is giving God due recognition, glory and praise, it also makes us children of God because when we pray to Him, we show that we are indeed dependent on Him, but when we don’t pray we treat Him with contempt and have strange and false gods before Him. The children are told that “only a few elderly women go to mass in the summer. Everyone else works every Sunday all summer long. In winter, when they go to mass, it is only to scoff at religion making (poking fun at the Church seems to in vogue nowadays) and in Lent, on fast days eat meat rather than be penitential, “They go to the butcher shop like Dogs”.
The third way that Our Lady communicates to the children was in French, which was at that time the “Universal” language and so communicates to the whole world by this means. She also communicates to them in the local dialect Patois, (4th way) because the message also has local significance. She also communicates to them in silence, speaking heart to heart. (5th way) so She tells us of the good news of eternal life, in the hope that the message will get through, and people will change and turn back to God, and changing their lives from the life of death and the culture of death to the life of grace and holiness The message is a type of Urbi et Orbi, to the village and to the world and iscommunicated to the world, locally, and individually. While speaking in French and before departing says “well my children, you will make this known to all my people”
Who is She that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun,terrible as an army set in battle array?as beautiful as the moon. As resplended as the sun? (Song of Songs 6; 10) The Lord will dawn on you in Radiant Beauty.( first Sunday of Advent) The Beautiful Lady is no doubt from Heaven and communicates to us such, her beauty,(she comes froma very beautiful place) her sorrow, her words, her instructions, and her wishes as she intervenes to try to save mankind from self destruction as they turn away from God.
The Queen of Heaven comes from time to time in the course of human history as a loving Mother, urging us to return to the faith, to pray, to do penance for our sins, to focus on heaven as our desired destiny, although all will not make it, some will go to eternal damnation; for scripture tell us that “those who refuse to believe are condemned already”? (Jn3; 18)
At La Salette She appears as Mother of Sorrows as she has done in Kibeho in Rwanda in 1981 and which has the full approval of the Catholic Church. She has the same message, “be converted” “pray for the conversion of sinners”
Our Lady asks the children to “come close to her” (7th way) as she also asks us to do and as she has done on many occasions in past authentic apparitions. In Paris, at the Chapel in Rue Du Bac, where she appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure, where this Saint of the Miraculous Medal was able to place her hands on Our Lady’s lap. To come close to Our Lady is to imitate her, in her humility before God, in her service to the Church as Mother, in her holiness and perfections and in her desire for the salvation of souls. We can become close to Our Lady through devotion, especially through the Holy Rosary, through consecration to her Immaculate Heart and to have recourse to her with confidence in all our needs. She tells the children that prayer is important, albeit minimal, nevertheless important, and when we get better at praying, we can say more of them. “Come close and do not be afraid”
The world considers itself, in its arrogance; post-Christain and the statistics tend to show a decline in religious belief. Only 5 % of the French go to Sunday Mass and the worldwide figure could be as low as 10% (17% of the world’s population are Catholic). A new “Dark Ages” has decended on Europe and a silent apostacy is on going as people turn away from God and his commandments, but remember, only the fool says in his heart, there is no God. (Psalm 14.1)
“Come close to me for I bring you good news” this is an invitation from Heaven and from our Mother, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand for those who are faithful to God’s holy Commandments and by keeping them, live the new and eternal covenant of Jesus. Heaven is assured, peace is assured, and God’s eternal love is assured. “Make this know to my people” but will anyone listen anymore? The Beautiful Lady looked upward to Heaven and then vanished before their eyes.
This feature is categorised under Marian Shrines