Melanie

Mary Alice Dennis

Most renditions of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at La Salette, France in 1846 deal primarily with the Apparition itself. This book tells the remarkable story of the Apparition and its message, but it addresses the whole subject of La Salette from the viewpoint of the life of Melanie Calvat, the young girl seer, showing her to have been extraor-dinarily graced all her life and most likely a-Saint. Melanie was an unloved and abused child who early on took refuge in conversation with her "Little Brother"-who was actually Jesus appearing to her as a little boy. Covering also Melanie's remarkable experiences as a shepherdess, her adolescence, and the Apparition and its aftermath, the book then describes Melanie's efforts to enter reli-gious life, that "failure," her struggles to carry out Our Lady's wishes and her homeless wandering till the end of her days. Yet it also mentions the holy priests and bishops who guided Melanie-and even considered her to be a Saint.

Also included here is the story of the other seer of La Salette, the irrepressible young Maximin Giraud. Lighthearted and spontaneous, Maximin was entirely different in personality from Melanie, yet just as certainly favored by Our Lady. Thus filled with the unexpected, Melanie will be a total and inspiring surprise to all-but especially to those who already know at least something about the Apparition of Our Lady at La Salette.