The Rule of the Mother of God:
In 1846, during an apparition that was soon approved by Church authorities, Mary spoke to two young shepherds in the French Alps at a place called LaSalette. She told them to tell the people that God was very grieved at the way they were not keeping Sunday as a holy day, and at the custom, even among children, of using his Name in vain. Then She spoke of future punishments, employing very symbolic language. Finally, in almost legal terms, She dictated a new Rule for a religious Order which is destined to play a role in the era of the “Last Times.” This era did not refer to the end of the world, but the transition when the “time of satan” would yield to the “time of Christ,” and this latter era would inaugurate a long, beautiful period.
​
The French text of the Rule bears the
Nihil obstat: Sainte-Marie de la Pierre-qui-Vire, 22 août 1952, Dom Denis HURRE, Abbé.
Imprimatur : Sens, en la fête du Christ-Roi, 26 Octobre 1952, Frédéric LAMY, Archevêque
The English Translation
is the meticulous work of Monsieur Noël Pineau of Brittany for "Sister Anne" Farran (© 2016)
The Blessed Virgin said to Melanie: “This is the Rule that you will make my daughters, who will be here when the Rule will be approved by the superiors, follow exactly. My Missionaries will follow the same Rule:
1. The members of this Order of the Mother of God will love God above all things and their neighbor as themselves for the pure love of God.
2. The spirit of this Order is none other than the Spirit of Jesus Christ in Himself, and the Spirit of Jesus in souls.
3. The members of this Order will apply themselves to study Jesus Christ and to imitate Him, and the more Jesus will be known, the more they will humble themselves at the sight of their nothingness, of their weakness, of their incapacity, without divine grace, for doing real good in souls.
4. They will be perfectly obedient in everything and everywhere.
5. Each of them will preserve themselves in a great chastity of body and spirit that Jesus Christ may make his abode in them.
6. The members of this Order will have only one heart and one soul in the love of Jesus Christ.
7. They will not have anything of their own as their own, but everything must be held in common, without having any ambition for the least transient thing. I want my children to be naked, deprived of all things.
8. They will have great, unbounded charity. They will bear the suffering of everyone, following the example of their Divine Master, and they will not make anyone suffer.
9. The members of the Order will obey their superiors and they will render them the honor and respect which are due to them, with great simplicity of heart.
10. The superioress will be vigilant with sweetness to see that the Rule is obeyed. From time to time she will discuss matters with the Missionary Father who will have the care of your souls, that she may be helped to govern the house well. She will be the humblest, and more severe with herself than with others. She will correct the faults of her daughters with great sweetness and prudence. She will always raise her soul to God before making a correction.
11. There will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament day and night in the sanctuary during the months of September, February and May, where the members of the Order will delight themselves in happy hours when charity or the salvation of souls will not keep them elsewhere.
12. They will lead a very interior life, although laborious, uniting the contemplative life to the active; they will sacrifice themselves, and all will make themselves victims of Jesus and Jesus crucified.
13. Everyday they will receive the Bread of Life with true piety. You will, however, be able to withhold Communion from some members when you see that they are not following in the steps of Jesus crucified.
14. In addition to the fasting commanded by the Church, they will also keep the months of September, February and May in fasting; they will make use of some instruments of penance; those who are too feeble and will not be able to do works of expiation, will offer with humility and sweetness their infirmity to Jesus Christ.
15. They will fast every Friday and do some penance. All these works will be offered for the souls in Purgatory, in favor of the conversion of sinners and for their own advancement in the love of God.
16. The members of the Order will act with great humility and great sweetness towards the laity, and will receive them with great goodness; those who will be the most humble will have the first place in the Heart of Jesus, as well as in mine.
17. The members will have only one heart and one soul; no one will hold fast to one’s own will.
18. They will be of an angelic purity, they will observe great modesty everywhere and in everything.
19. All will guard a great silence, carefully avoiding useless conversations with strangers.
20. Subjects who will want to be received will be of a very sincere disposition to give themselves entirely to God, and to sacrifice themselves for his love. They will attach themselves well to obedience, which will conduct them to heaven.
21. They will only be admitted among the postulants after having completed a retreat of twelve days, during which they will make a general confession to the Missionary Father, the Confessor of the Community; if they are disposed to labor with all their strength to sanctify themselves and to acquire the virtues which are proper to a victim who wants to immolate oneself every day for the God of heaven and earth, they will be received into the novitiate, and three months will pass before they take the habit of the Order; and they will remember well that they have only been admitted to the house of the Mother of God to labor towards their sanctification through prayer, penance and all the works regarding the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
22. My Missionaries will be the Apostles of the Last Times; they will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its purity throughout the earth.
23. They will have an indefatigable zeal, they will preach the reform of hearts, penance and the observance of the law of God; they will preach on the necessity of prayer, on contempt of the things of the earth, on death, judgment, paradise and hell; on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They will fortify people’s Faith so that when the devil will come, a great number of people may not be deceived.
24. New subjects will be well-formed in Christian virtues and in the practice of humility, charity, obedience, renunciation and sweetness.
25. The novitiate will be six years. Those who will have given proof of solid virtues and who will want to be counted among the number of combatants of Jesus Christ in this Order, will beseech this grace from the superioress on their knees; and after you will have made them acknowledge their obligations to the Rule which I give you, if they promise you to observe it faithfully, you will receive them.
26. Prayer will be made in common in the sanctuary, at the time which will be convenient and which will be established.
27. One will eat in the common refectory that which will be necessary to sustain life and labor towards the glory of God; at the same time that the body will be given that which is convenient, the soul will fortify itself by holy reading which will take place during the meal.
28. One will have the greatest care of the infirm and sick members.
29. If one member offended another by word or some other act, this one is to repair the fault as soon as possible.
30. All members of this Order are to genuflect each time they will pass before the tabernacle where Jesus Christ is present.
31. Each time the subjects will encounter one another, one will say: “May Jesus be loved by all hearts!” The other will answer: “Amen!”
32. The Sisters are to pray the Office as the religious of Correnc near Grenoble; the chapters and other practices will be made in the same manner.
33. All the members will wear a Cross like mine.
Observe well my Rule!”