SHRINE NEWS (January 18, 2012)

FR. GILLES GENEST, M.S.—R.I.P.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Gilles Genest, M.S., who was called to God on Tuesday, January 17, 2012.
Fr. Genest was Provincial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Province from 1991 to 1997. Our Shrine was part of that Province before the four North American Provinces merged into one in 2000. At other times he was Local Superior of the Enfield community, and Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Lebanon. His funeral will take place on Saturday, January 21, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, Massachusetts; he will be buried here at the Enfield Shrine in the spring.
A more complete obituary may be found at
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120119/NEWS03/201190330/-1/NEWS04

LOOKING AHEAD
The time has come to start looking forward. The "Shrine Season" will open officially on the Memorial Day weekend. The last Saturday evening Mass will be on May 19; after that Mass will be celebrated on Sunday morning at 11:00, until the end of September. There will be Mass also on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the Shrine Season, at 11:30.
Programs are beginning to take shape, though dates are to be determined. Regular Sunday Devotions (Rosary, La Salette prayers, Benediction) will be at 1:00 p.m. every Sunday unless otherwise noted.
One date is already set. On Sunday, June 3, at 2:00 p.m., there will be an exhibit and conference on the Shroud of Turin. The speaker will be Mr. Francis De Stefano, who has done extensive research about the Shroud. He is especially knowledgeable about the history of the Shroud, including recent research, and Church statements.
Other programs will include: three Healing Services, one each in June, July and September (in August there will be a Healing Service at nearby St. Helena church in Enfield); two days of recollection, one of which have the title, "Living Family Life;" and at least two conferences by Fr. Leo Maxfield, M.S., to complete his series on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
Once all the dates are set—soon, we hope—we will prepare a brochure and make it available as a .pdf file that you can print up at home, or we can send you a copy if you prefer.

Our Mission
   Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette Program Center offers educational and spiritual services in a professional manner to the People of God.  We work with small and large groups using the dynamics of the learning situation to help persons become informed in their Christian convictions. Community experience is a vital technique in formation.  All of our programs are informally structured and seek to build a sense of  community and hospitality among participants.  People of all faiths are welcome.

In addition to our Shrine programming, some of which is scheduled with the diocesan offices and renewal movements within the Church, we host pilgrimages and programs for other groups, inc. civic and ecumenical.  Group food service of either a light lunch or a pasta dinner is available by pre-arrangement for a nominal fee.  Please contact the La Salette Shrine Program Center for further details.

 
Our Lady of La Salette Chapel  
       The Shrine Chapel has a character that fits the setting: its rustic simplicity mirrors the simple and quiet beauty of the surrounding countryside and Lake Mascoma. 
       Wagon wheel lighting reminds all pilgrims that the life journey they are on is slow and steady and that God is calling us forward.
       The old wooden pews provide just enough comfort to prevent our minds from wandering but not enough to distract us from the journey.

Gift Shop ~ 603-632-4301
Manager - Brother David Carignan, MS

Hours for Mothers' Day thru December 1st
Weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Weekends 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Hours for Christmas Season (December)
Weekdays 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Weekends 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Hours for January thru Mothers' Day
Wednesday-Sunday 12 Noon- 4:00 p.m.
(Closed Monday and Tuesday)

        La Salette Gift Shop offers a variety of religious articles of varying prices to accommodate all of life's special occasions that you would want to honor with the depth of the sacred: statues, crucifixes, rosaries, religious jewelry, Nativity figures and more.  We carry a wide selection of books and music as well.

The La Salette Cross
       The children to whom Mary appeared at La Salette, France, on September 19, 1846, described the crucifix on Mary's breast as more radiant than anything else in the apparition.
       A hammer hung on one side and pliers on the other. Although Mary did not explain the significance of these implements, it is thought that the hammer represents sin, which nailed Jesus to the Cross.  Just as the pliers removed the nails, penance and prayer help us reconcile the world to God.
      Around the world, the La Salette Cross has become the characteristic symbol of Mary's message to be reconciled to God.

 
La Salette Cafeteria & Program Center
       The Cafeteria has a fully equipped kitchen. Food service is available on the weekends during Christmas Light season and for our programs.   

          On the 2nd floor is our Program Center, with meeting rooms, and  a library of books and other materials. Please see the Program Center Coordinator for further details.
          The Cafeteria & Program Center is largely used for larger day retreat groups and hosts a variety of civic groups.  These groups need to contact the Program Center Coordinator  far enough in advance to secure its use.  A donation is requested.

Grounds
         La Salette Shrine is located on the shores of Lake Mascoma, on Route 4A in Enfield, New Hampshire. 
        The Shakers (of The Miracle of Enfield) called this patch of heaven "Chosen Vale".  Mascoma's blue waters mirror the birch, pine, and maple that populate the surrounding hills and mountains and give this valley a unique beauty the year 'round. It is no surprise that the spirit jumps into prayer once arrived.

Last Supper Reconciliation Chapel
         A chapel is located on the edge of our property. It is used for many of our prayer and worship programs.  It will soon host our Nativity collection as well.

Pavilion
        On the hill is located the Pavilion. The Pavilion which seats approximately 80 is used as a place for prayer services, music and relaxation.

The Miracle of Enfield: A Vale Chosen by God Himself
        It’s 1782 and many of the folks in Mascoma Valley have become involved in Protestant religious revival.  Since the Nineteenth Century is just around the corner, many wonder if the Lord might not choose this time for his Second Coming.  And if he does come, what might he expect to find among his followers?
        At the invitation of one of the townspeople, two brothers come to the valley to address the faithful on the Shaker religious beliefs.  Their celibate community claims that Mother Ann—their foundress—is the feminine counterpart of Christ and that both men and women must now work diligently to build a perfect earth if they are to be acceptable for a perfect heaven.  A number of the townspeople like what they hear and before long, a community is born.
       The Shakers call Mascoma Valley, “Chosen Vale” and they find God’s presence here in a special way.  Over the years, their example attracts new believers and by the mid-century over 350 members share their lifestyle in Enfield, N.H.  Numerous buildings spring up and the Great Stone Dwelling House (1837) effectively becomes the largest Shaker dwelling house ever built.  Even to this day, this magnificent building stands as a tribute to lives dedicated to God.
       The Shaker industriousness knows no boundaries and seeks perfection in all things.  Their farm skills lead to the development of our modern seed industry; to patent medicines; and to new forestry techniques.  They weave indestructible sweaters, create beautiful and simple furniture, and set to paper a whole repertory of music to praise God and his creation.
       Times change, however, and with new times come changes in values and lifestyles.  As the Twentieth Century draws near, the Shakers become aware of a dwindling membership.  They begin to speak the unspeakable—some of their settlements will have to be closed.  Might this be a sign of the Lord’s Second Coming?  The Shakers are finally faced with closing their Chosen Vale community in 1923.  For four years, the property sits idle.
       In 1927, at the invitation of a parish priest in Lebanon, N.H. Father Zotique Chouinard, M.S., a La Salette Missionary contacts Elder Bruce in Canterbury and begins negotiations for acquisition of the property.  In early December of that year, the Shakers sell Chosen Vale for $25,000 — the sum Father Chouinard was authorized to spend.
      The Enfield property now enters a second phase not unlike the period of the Shakers:  young men are to be trained for the celibate religious life and for the Catholic priesthood.  In August 1928, the Sisters of Saint Martha arrive to attend to the cooking and household tasks once carried out by the Shaker Sisters.
      For forty years the use of this property continues to evolve, but manages to maintain the prayerful commitment of a celibate life dedicated to God along with a quest for practicality and a respect for roots.  The beautiful and stately Mary Keane Memorial Chapel is added in 1930 thanks to the generosity of an eminent benefactress.
      In 1974 the seminary closes its doors as a result of soaring costs and a change in lifestyles, which results in reduced numbers of vocations at the high school level.  Chosen Vale enters yet another phase.  The scenic shores of Mascoma begin to attract families seeking a sacred place in which to rest and be recreated.  Some even sell their homes to be near the La Salette Missionaries in their search for God’s will today.
In the heart of this great valley home there lies a place of special value and sacredness: The Shaker and La Salette Cemeteries.  These sacred grounds bear witness not to death, but to life, to life lived out fully in the service of God.  Here lie in peace such heroes as Moses Johnson who built a number of Shaker Meeting Houses; Caleb Dyer who built many of the great edifices in this Chosen Vale and who brought the Shaker Community to its apex; Rev Zotique Chouinard, M.S. who saw the dream of a LaSalette Community come to life at great personal expense to himself and to the early fathers and brothers; Miss Mary Keane who returned to God the hundredfold of gifts with which he had blessed her; and so many others who were able to find here a special presence of God and who proclaim to all that this valley is special, that this is God’s Chosen Vale.
        La Salette continues to be a special gift from God.  The community which flowed from the apparition of Our Lady at La Salette France in 1846 has grown to encompass mission areas all over the world.  The Enfield community sprang from a residence and mother Province in Hartford, Connecticut.  From Enfield has come a whole new religious Province in the Philippine Islands.  The movement goes on.  Where the future and God will lead cannot be foretold.  Who would have dreamed back in 1782 that today this Chosen Vale would serve families in a special way?  Who would have thought in 1846 when the Shakers were erecting a Sacred Stone that two weeks later Our Lady would appear at La Salette and re-echo the message that “from this ground a spring would flow that would bring healings from afar?”  Who would have dreamed in 1927 that Miss Keane would make possible in 1930 a Church that none could even imagine?
        Many refer to our on-going story as The Miracle of Enfield.  Why doubt it?  Nothing short of a miracle could have brought us to where we are today.  The signs of God never cease to amaze us as we live each sunrise and sunset under his watchful eye.  As St. Paul would say:  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! 

Now and forever, praised be Jesus Christ!