The Secrets of La Salette    195 

the Virgin Mary (paragraphs 12, 16, 23, and 27). The important correction 

made in the 1904 edition was to clearly distinguish Melanie's comments 

from the words of the Virgin Mary. In this new translation, Melanie's 

comments are also kept distinct from the secret itself by being placed in 

italics. 

    Abbe Combe corresponded with Melanie directly regarding the 1904 

edition. She made a number of additional remarks about particular 

sentences in the secret. Her responses on several key points are included 

below. 

    This new translation is a fairly literal one. A looser translation would have 

made certain sentences sound better and be more grammatically correct (in 

English), but would also have relied more on the translator's interpretation 

of the text. The more literal translation given below sometimes prefers a 

more awkward choice of words and grammar in order to remain closer to 

the original wording and phrasing used by the Virgin Mary. I hope that this 

approach will better preserve the depth, breadth, and multiple levels of 

meaning which can be found in these words spoken by the Virgin Mary to 

us all. 

    Melanie's secret consists of 33 paragraphs. These were not numbered in 

her original publication of the secret; I have numbered them for the sake of 

clarity. I have kept the capitalization of words the same as in the 1904 

edition, except that I have also capitalized all pronouns referring to God and 

the first person singular pronoun `I' (which in French is not usually 

capitalized). I will quote her secret one or two paragraphs at a time and 

comment on each paragraph. 

1.   Melanie, what I am going to tell you now will not always be secret. You 

will be allowed to publish it in 1858.  

2.   The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests, by their bad life, by their 

irreverences and their impiety in celebrating the holy mysteries, by love of 

money, love of honor and of pleasures, the priests have become cesspools of 

impurity. Yes, the priests are asking for vengeance, and vengeance is 

suspended over their heads. Woe to the priests and to persons consecrated to 

God, who by their infidelities and their bad life are crucifying anew my Son! 

The sins of persons consecrated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for 

vengeance, and see how vengeance is at their doors, because there is no 

longer found anyone to implore mercy and forgiveness for the people; there 

are no longer generous souls, there is no longer anyone worthy to offer the 

Victim without blemish to the Eternal on behalf of the world.