Our Lady of La Salette

Feast September 19

Supernatural, Regal Majesty and Immeasurable Goodness

The book by Pie Régamey, Les plus beaux textes sur la Vierge (Éditions La Colombe, Paris, 1946, pp.387 ff.), contains a testimony by Mélanie Calvat, the girl who had the vision of Our Lady of La Salette [read the integral text of the secret here, according to entirely reliable and duly indicated sources], on September 19, 1846:

“The Blessed Virgin was tall and well-proportioned. She seemed so light that a waft of air could blow her over. Yet she remained unmoving and unalterable.

“Her physiognomy was majestic, imposing, but not as imposing as the grandees of the earth. She commanded respectful awe, while her majesty commanded respect interspersed with love.

“She attracted everyone. Everything around her and her person inspired majesty, splendor, and the magnificence of an incomparable queen. She seemed beautiful, clear, immaculate, crystalline, heavenly. She also seemed like a good mother, full of kindness, gentleness, love for us, compassion, and mercy.”

I would say this illiterate shepherdess deserves to be in the French Academy for this admirable description.

All these points about Our Lady’s appearance are most beautiful and symbolize several ideas.

The first idea is that of a downright celestial entity flooded with supernatural values and graces befitting her, whom Saint Gabriel called “full of grace.” Thus, the first idea is the concept of supernaturality.

The second is a regal majesty that is expressed through her and radiates around her.

The third is immeasurable goodness, compassion, mercy, condescension, and an affectionate outpouring of all her gifts on others to make them share in them. Our Lady’s incomparable outpouring of goodness seems contradictory to majesty but is its indispensable accompaniment.

All her features in the description are meant to symbolize this.

Comments on Our Lady's Appearance

"The Blessed Virgin was tall and well-proportioned"

Height is an attribute of majesty. So much so that princes, who are not kings, are called Your Highness. While it is not about physical height, it represents a physical image of height in other senses. Therefore, it wasn’t necessary but fitting that Our Lady had a well-proportioned height, as a well-proportioned height is the opposite of a monolithic, overwhelming, and crushing height. Perfect proportions make height kind and accessible, fitting many small things with grace and harmony, which makes it variegated. It embodies unity in variety.

This perfection of Our Lady’s proportions almost “counterbalances” what may appear somewhat daunting about her height.

“She looked so light that a waft of air could blow her over.”

She was a wholly spiritual being whose body was fully governed by the spirit and not bound by the law of gravity or the earth’s attraction. In her, the supernatural manifested at its fullest.

“She commanded respectful awe, while her majesty commanded respect interspersed with love.”

So, she commanded a respect that instilled fear on the one hand and love on the other. It’s the image of true majesty. This majesty instills reverential fear, but not fear of a lashing, but fear of displeasing such a hallowed being. On the other hand, Our Lady instilled a love for being who she was.

“She attracted everyone.”

True majesty attracts. True majesty does not repel. When you see a majesty that repels, it’s because it’s false.

For example, Napoleon possessed a majesty that was repellent; it lacked any sense of authentic majesty.

“Everything around her and her person inspired majesty, splendor, and the magnificence of an incomparable queen.”

What surrounded her? An ordinary field dotted with a few weeds. But then she arrived and transformed everything into a palace. Why? Because she imparts her glory to everything around her.

“She looked beautiful, clear...”

It’s luminous, supernatural clarity...

“...immaculate, crystalline, heavenly.”

It’s fascinating to observe the need to incorporate the concept of crystalline to affirm Our Lady’s purity and delicate nature. There seems to be a touch of nobility associated with crystals in this.

“She also seemed like a good mother, full of kindness, love for us, compassion and mercy.”

This juxtaposition provides a clear illustration of perfect majesty. That’s why, when composing the Hail Holy Queen, Saint Bernard placed this paradox at the beginning: Hail Holy Queen and then Mother of Mercy—Supreme Queen, Supreme Mother and Mother of Supreme Mercy.

Tears... Sparks of Light

She then speaks about Our Lady’s tears.

“Tears - The Holy Virgin cried almost the entire time she spoke to me. Her tears flowed slowly, one by one, down to her knees; then, they disappeared like sparks of light. They were bright and full of love.

“I had wanted to console her so she wouldn’t cry, but it seemed that she needed to show her tears to display her love better, forgotten by men. Our tender Mother’s tears, far from weakening her air of queenly and ladylike majesty, seemed instead to embellish her and make her more lovable and radiant."

Our Lady cried, but there are two ways of crying: one is full of weakness, and the other is full of pride. You cry when you’re in pain, but you can also cry when you’re above pain.

Let’s see what Our Lady’s weeping is like:

“The Holy Virgin cried almost the entire time she spoke to me. Her tears flowed one by one, slowly, down to her knees.”

All this is symbolic. Her tears flowed slowly, indicating self-control. There was nothing disheveled or convulsive; only the tears of a queen filled with noble and serene sadness. The tears followed one another, reaching down to her knee to indicate the impulse with which they were shed and the depth of soul within them. As if to signify that just as the tears run nearly the whole length of her body, this sorrow floods her entire soul.

“Then, they disappeared like sparks of light.”

Should Our Lady’s tears fall to the ground, forming a little ball mixed with earth, or prosaically soak her dress?

Can we understand a queen whose clothing is damp and heavy with tears? No.

So, this ‘disappearing like sparks’ is beautiful. Her tears shine and, at the last moment, sparkle and are collected by the Eternal Father in His splendors. This is a beautiful solution to a problem that could easily become prosaic.

“They were bright and full of love.”

The tears of such a queen should also be luminous. They cannot be opaque or “earthy” tears. The tears of one who is all-pure can only be crystalline and glow with love. We recognize that a specific glow can signify love. Observe the immense tact in these formulations and how well they are thought out.

“I had wanted to console her so she would not cry, but it seemed that she needed to show her tears to display better her love forgotten by men. ...[F]ar from weakening her air of queenly and ladylike majesty, our tender Mother’s tears seemed instead to embellish her...”

The true queen possesses a unique beauty when she is happy, another when she is sad, and yet another when she is carefree. Each of these beauties is special. Our Lady’s tears bestowed upon her an unmistakable beauty: The beauty of the Queen’s sorrow. It has a physiognomic aspect all its own.

“... and make her more lovable and radiant.”

Lovable, meaning worthy of love. More radiant, meaning her personality expanded.

Windows to Our Lady's Soul

“The eyes of the Blessed Virgin, our tender Mother, cannot be described by human language. To speak of them would require a Seraphim; it would require the very language of God, who formed the Immaculate Virgin, the masterpiece of His power.

“The august Mary’s eyes seemed a thousand times more beautiful than sparkles, diamonds, and precious stones. They were like God’s door through which you could see everything that could enchant the soul.

“Just this vision of the eyes of the purest of Virgins would suffice to be the Heaven of a blessed soul and make it fully comply with the Most High’s will in all events of life’s journey. Whoever saw Our Lady’s eyes would do God’s will forever. That would be enough to impel a soul to continuous acts of praise, thanksgiving, reparation and atonement.

“Only this vision concentrates the soul on God and makes it like a living dead who looks at earthly things, even the seemingly most serious, like children’s toys. She only wanted to hear about God and His glory.

“Sin is the only evil she sees on earth, and because of it, she would die of pain if God didn’t sustain her.”

Our Lady's unique expression emanates from the face, especially the eyes. Enveloped in the ambience they create, I feel invited to enter deep into her gaze. Upon entering, the following thoughts arise.

"The eyes of the Blessed Virgin, our tender Mother, cannot be described by human language. It would take a Seraphim to describe them. It would take the very language of God, who formed the Immaculate Virgin, the masterpiece of His power.”

The face is the summary of the body. The eyes are the summary of the face. In other words, the eyes are the quintessence of all bodily expressions. So, how would Our Lady’s soul express itself in her most noble and expressive body part? It is sublime, and human language cannot describe something sublime.

“Our Lady’s august eyes seemed a thousand times more beautiful than glittering diamonds and precious stones.”

Once again, here is a comparison that should be dear to our hearts: Comparing not only Our Lady’s tears but also her eyes with crystals and precious stones; in the order of matter, crystal is an excellent creature.

“They were like God’s door through which you could see everything that can delight the soul.”

Our Lady’s Litany contains a magnificent expression, Janua Caeli, Gate of Heaven. And Our Lady truly is, more than any angel, the clearest manifestation of God. Anyone looking into her eyes is gazing upon the highest manifestation of a soul that reflects God’s justice. Thus, we understand this is something indescribable. One cannot describe the expression of Our Lady’s gaze with human vocabulary.

Only the gaze of Our Lord Jesus Christ is more transcendent! If we consider His thousand gazes and follow Gospel scenes—thinking of His gaze at the Last Supper—this alone provides a superabundant, magnificent meditation on the Gospels!

“Just seeing the eyes of the purest of Virgins would be enough to make heaven for a blessed person.”

She speaks of the purest of virgins naturally because that gaze’s purity caught her attention. How could it not be pure? It is a “chastening” gaze; one that communicates chastity to those who look at it. Anyone who looks into that gaze could become chaste for life on the spot just by staring into Our Lady’s pure gaze!

That would be sufficient to inspire a soul to fully comply with the will of the Most High throughout their life’s journey. Anyone who gazed into Our Lady’s eyes would fulfill God’s will forever. It would be enough to motivate a soul to engage in continuous acts of praise, thanksgiving, reparation, and atonement. In other words, it would suffice to have so much to praise, atone for, make reparation for, and give thanks for, that one’s entire life could be devoted to it.

“Only this vision concentrates the soul on God and makes it like a living dead person who looks at earthly things, even the seemingly most serious, like children’s toys. She only wanted to hear about God and His glory.”

Once a person has seen this, they don’t care about anything else; they only care about not sinning.

In Summary:

Let’s ask Our Lady of La Salette to fill our souls with some of these graces. Above all, may we desire to see her sacred eyes, mirrors of her Face and Immaculate Heart.

In this way, may we see Our Lady’s eyes in Heaven.

Imagine if this were all there is to Heaven: throughout eternity, feeling Our Lady’s eyes and Our Lord Jesus Christ’s divine gaze fixed upon us. Even if for nothing else, we would have enough material to be flooded with happiness for eternity!

So, to cultivate a desire for Heaven, we should envision an eternity in those eyes, holding all expressions of sublimity, God’s greatness, and love for us, observing and analyzing us, as we eternally absorb them. It would require nothing less for us to develop such an immensely great desire for Heaven that we would feel inclined to offer a prayer asking for what a Counter-Revolutionary should not usually request: the wish to die soon.

The preceding article is taken from an informal lecture Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira gave on September 19, 1966. It has been translated and adapted for publication without his revision.—Ed.