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Nature and all it contains called our family to the great outdoors time and time again. Our problem on these vacations, however, was getting to Mass on Sundays. There were times when we drove a hundred miles to attend Mass.
Fortunately, a friend had heard about a “vacation place” called “Cana Colony” in Combermere, Ontario, where there was Mass every day. But that was all he knew.
This lack of information was certainly not enlightening. But we checked a roadmap and found a small dot which said, “Combermere.” It was 250 miles from home. After much thought and discussion, we agreed that this was the place for us.
The day we left was dull; it was raining off and on. The trip was tedious and dreary, especially since we didn’t know where we were going or what we would find.
When we got to Combermere, we stopped and asked a number of people where Cana was, but to no avail. We were getting desperate. But still we drove on because our faith in the Holy Spirit was pushing us on.
At long last, we came to a dirt road where a young man was pushing a wheelbarrow. Once again, we asked where we could find a place called “Cana.” He said, “I’m going there. Please follow me.” We found out later that he was a seminarian and a member of Madonna House.
We were so excited. Then the first building we saw was the little chapel tucked in among the trees.
Cana gave us the opportunity to talk with Catherine Doherty and with friendly and loving priests who were at Cana to serve the families. But much more important to us than that, the Eucharist was available every morning. What more could you ask for? Cana was a dream come true.
Cana also “gave us” Madonna House. My husband and I had been searching for God, and the Holy Spirit had led us to the field where a treasure was hidden. We “bought” the field with much delight and no regrets (cf. Mt 13:44).
