Melanie: And The Story Of La Salette

by Mary Alice Dennis

Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in France in 1846 and the extraordinary message. Addresses the whole subject from the viewpoint of the life of Melanie Calvat, the young seer, showing her to have been extraordinarily graced all her life. An unloved, abused child who early on took refuge in conversation with her "Little Brother"--Jesus appearing as a young boy. Covers also her adolescence, the Apparition and its aftermath, and her lonely wanderings. 136 pgs 20 Illus, PB

Genres: Biography, Religion

139 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1995

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent read!! I knew of the Marian apparition at LaSalette but I knew nothing of the children seers and only a little about the message of the apparition. This book tells the story of Melanie, one of two children, whom Our Lady appeared to 1846. It is her life story but it also tells us a bit about the other child, Maximin.

I had no idea that Melanie saw, talked, and played with the Christ Child throughout her life from when she was very young. That is my favorite part of her story I think.

This book is such an easy but delightful read. I was captivated because it read like a classic story. It felt like a mix between Heidi and The Little Princess but it was all the more lovable because it was a Catholic story and not just a fairy tale, it was real life. Of course, it was also very startling and heart wrenching what horrible things Melanie suffered throughout her life but she is a great inspiration to offer it all to Jesus and give many flowers of sacrifice and love to Our Lady.

I hope you get a chance to read this book!! It’s important and enjoyable!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, wonderful in depth look at this oft neglected Marian apparition. Neglected willfully by the French clerics since the message was for their return to Orthodoxy and away from heresy. The apparition was only 160 yrs ago but the same issues are prevalent in the Church today.

[Holly Walling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie is the story of the mistreated, and holy little “shepherdess of La Salette” Melanie Calvat. I practically devoured this because almost as soon as I picked it up I couldn’t put it back down again. First of all, the author is a woman of Irish descent with no direct ties to La Salette except for a fascination with Melanie, which immediately got my attention as it seemed a little out of place and random, but God works like that sometimes ya know? Anyways, she wrote this book about Melanie’s extraordinary life from sheer fascination in the holiness and constant wandering of which a soul who saw Mary while still on earth. And surely, Melanie and Maximim have stories quite different from those of other visionaries. It’s somewhat dramatized, but has an impressive bibliography. The only thing I wish it did better was give more information about the apparition and the La Salette secrets themselves, but I suppose that is the task for another book. Knowing at least a little about La Salette made reading this book utterly fascinating.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Melanie Calvat and the apparitions at LaSalette. I wish that this book was written with more footnotes and citations. Still, it had many nice illustrations and pictures. The secret of LaSalette was not published in this book, which I thought odd, since Melanie felt that the dissemination of the secret was her life's mission given to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

[Christian Engler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being apart of the Roman Catholic family is a wonderful thing, and if you ask any Catholic, devout or otherwise, if they have a favorite apparition that resonates deeply with them, for the most part, they will say that they gravitate towards Fatima or Lourdes, which upon reading about them, is quite understandable. But for me, however, I am a La Salette devotee, primarily because the messages that our Blessed Mother gave to Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud are so necessary for today's times: the vital importance of prayer, the acknowledgement of ingratitude and the personal reformation of ourselves according to Church teachings. But what is even more amazing is the attacks against our priests and nuns and religious, a happening that our Holy Mother predicted not only externally but internally as well. And it is a truth that is not limited to France alone nor solely of that time frame. It is in the present and universal.

What makes the appearance of our Holy Mother in the mountains of La Salette so unique is that it was the first time that she appeared to children. And her request wasn't one of building a shrine dedicated to her Son or God or herself. Rather, it was about personal change in accordance with Church teachings, for many had cussed, incorporating the name of her Son, while others only went to Mass in order to mock it. Onward and onward, the criticisms were plenty, and rightfully so. The arm of her Son was so heavy, and her tears were abundant. What makes Mary Alice Dennis's book so absorbing is that it does not focus entirely on the messages but also the messengers, truly less-than-stellar examples of the Christian faith. Yet, they were perfect witnesses because of their ignorant carefree simplicity and honesty (Chapter 9). Because they both were so physically and emotionally beaten down by life and their own loved ones, the afteraffects of their experience left them in a kind of earthly limbo, wandering from place to place, never quite able to find the exact niche to where they belonged.

Melanie: And the Story of Our Lady of La Salette was a good work of religious nonfiction. The latter half of the book was a little better than the first part, as it was not so cutesy, and the beginning was rather questionable in respects to documentation and accuracy. The author does a very good job in profiling the early life of the seers, but she lessens the value of her examination of the apparition by trying to get into the mindset of the witness and somewhat doing the speaking for them. And there is no claim of validity to what she writes, and that harms this work. But again, the second half of the book far surpasses the first, and credibility does seem to be restored.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book about the life of Melanie Calvat one of the visionaries, who Our Lady of La Salette appeared to. (The other being a young boy named Maximin. The book goes into some detail about him as well.) Overall, this was a well written and detailed biography of Melanie's life from childhood until her death. The author is clear and easy to read. My only reason for not giving this book a 5 star rating is because it does not contain the full commentary of Our Lady's message to the children. Parts of it were quoted but I was really interested in reading her entire message to Melanie. I later googled it and readily found it available online. I would highly recommend reading this book...Melanie is surely a Saint! She was a stigmatist and suffered much (happily) throughout her life. We could all learn to suffer more contentedly from her example, for love of Our Lord! The message of Our Lady of La Salette is not as well known as other apparitions, such as Fatima... But the message is important and one that needs spread! Read this book and share it with a friend. Then read the entire commentary of Our Lady of La Salette's message, and you will understand why she wept as she spoke with the young visionaries! The Church is in a state of chastisement and the remnant need to hold steadfast to the Traditions of the Faith!

[ShepherdsDelight · Rating 5 out of 5]

91/100 (= 5.4/6) ≈ 5 Stars

-----------------------------------------
Fascinating! A great surprise to find out Melanie's life was so full of wonders. Incredible sufferings and an amazing example. Captivating in style. For in-depth discussion of the message and secret of La Salette, look elsewhere.