There were some glitches that had to be worked out, of course, but St. Mary’s is a big building and the move was very thoroughly planned. Plus we are used to living closely together.

And though some things are different, such as more crowding and more walking of the half-mile between the two compounds, we continue to do the things we always do.

One lovely new thing that has been happening during our time together is a Friday evening story hour, called “Tales from the Fireside,” which was organized by Karen Maskiew. She rearranges furniture and adds lamps for ambiance, and whoever wishes to sits around and listens to various people reading stories.

These stories have ranged from the hilarious (O Henry’s “The Ransom of Red Chief”) to the inspirational (Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince), to the profound (Graham Greene’s “A Hint of an Explanation”).

At the end of the first evening, Elsie Whitty, one of our elderly members, exclaimed that it was just like when she was a little girl in Scotland and her father would read to the children around the coal fire.

Another lovely event was the women’s supper for our new director general of women, Susanne Stubbs. She had been on holidays when she was elected, and the dinner was the first time we had seen her since then.

When she walked in, there was a long applause and an explosion of joy. Susanne’s voice broke a bit as she told us that she was very, very moved by the trust that we had put in her, and that she also trusts that God will be with her. Then in response to her request, we all gathered around her and had a beautiful praying-over led by Doreen Rousseau.

The dinner, too, was joyous and afterwards there was spontaneous music and a bit of dancing.

So now, for the first time, we have with us all three of our new director generals—of lay men, of lay women, and of priests. Mark Schlingerman was elected a year ago, Fr. David May, six months ago, and now Susanne.

Renovation

And what’s happening with the renovation of the kitchen? Well, it’s not over yet.

And the men, led by Peter Gravelle, have occasionally found ways to get the rest of us involved. They invited us, for example, to an evening “wall washing party.” There was a good turnout and lots of washing and painting got done, helped along by cookies baked by Theresa Girard and Diana Breeze.

Two other evenings there were “oiling the dining room floor parties,” at which several people standing on rags slid along the floor to the accompaniment of dance music in order to work the oil into the hardwood.

The Kitchen

And how is the renovation coming along? Well, the kitchen floor is now laid and covered with vinyl and the walled-in back porch has its new ceiling. Tom White is in the process of installing a new dishwasher, and numerous other big and little jobs are being done while there is the opportunity.

Feastday celebrations go on as usual. For All Saints Day whoever wished to dressed up as a saint for vespers and supper. Then after supper there was a simple but striking presentation in which various people gave quotes both in their mother tongue and in English from a saint from their country.

The guests are having study mornings on Wednesdays—“The Fundamentals of the Spiritual Life” with Fr. Sharkey followed by time to read and study on their own.

And the young men of the spiritual formation program for those are considering priesthood, are studying the encyclical, “Shepherds After My Own Heart” with Fr. Tom Zoeller. The applicants, too, are continuing their various classes.

There have been several talks, workshops, etc. which all or some of us attended. Sara Lee Stadelman and Paul Macken gave us a short performance and showed us an unusual film they had made about St. Catherine of Siena.

Talks

Janine Langen, as part of the Winter Lecture Series, gave us a talk about new Ecclesial Communities. Several staff attended a workshop at our local hospital on spirituality and palliative care. And Caitlin Bridges, director of an Alzheimer’ Society in our county, gave us a talk on that disease.

Margarita Guerrero and Bernadette Gonzales attended the Eucharistic Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Margarita and our associate bishop, Bishop Noel Delaquis, who also attended it, together gave an impromptu talk on it after one Sunday supper.

When they talked, you could sense the explosion of praise and joy that happened when hundreds of thousands of people (one event had four million, according to the press) poured forth their love and praise of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in prayer and gesture and song and music.

St. Juan Diego

The appealing statue of St. Juan Diego that Margarita and Bernadette brought back is currently gracing St. Mary’s dining room.

Bishop Delaquis was only the first in a series of bishops. In fact, someone dubbed one week “the week of the bishops.”

On Monday of that week the auxiliary bishop of a diocese near Durban, South Africa, Bishop Pius Mlungisi Dlungwana and one of his priests were here overnight.

An African Bishop

This bishop had visited a couple of times in the ‘80s when he was studying in Ottawa, and this time he was in Ottawa on a short visit in connection with the work of his diocese with HIV/AIDs. While so nearby, he wanted to reconnect with MH.

On Tuesday Bishop Thomas Kwaku Mensah of the Obuasi diocese in Ghana arrived for a few days’ retreat. One of our MH priests had given a retreat in his diocese, and he wanted to visit “the source.”

Then on Wednesday Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, the newly appointed Melkite Archbishop of the United States, came to visit Archbishop Raya, who continues to be at the hospital. They are old friends, having worked together in both Lebanon and Israel. Archbishop Raya presented him with his own staff, the symbol of his position as shepherd of his flock, the one he had been given when he was consecrated Bishop of Galilee.

Then on Thursday our friend and associate bishop, Bishop Minj of the Simdega Diocese in India arrived for a two-week stay.

He has visited a few times before and a couple of years ago had sent one of his young priests to spend a year here. This time Archbishop Minj made his final promises as an associate of Madonna House.

Final Promises

He spoke about the “wonderful ways of the Lord and Our Lady” in leading him to MH and said that now that he has made his final promises, he hopes that he can live a life committed to living the Gospel without compromise and to loving as Jesus loves.

And speaking of bishops, Mary Kay Rowland went to Washington, D.C. to attend the funeral of Cardinal Hickey. Mary Kay was the founding director of MH Washington, which had opened at Cardinal Hickey’s invitation.

Well, these are the highlights of our news.

By the time you read this, Combermere will be covered with snow and we of the main house community will be back to praying and eating in our own house. Since Christmas will likely be over, may we wish you a blessed, grace-filled, peace-filled ordinary time.