Holy objects—first the World Youth Day Cross, then the relics of St. Therese, and now the Ark of the New Covenant—traveling from one place to another as centering points for prayer and veneration, seem to be a growing form of public devotion, at least in Canada.

Rosemary Hanlon’s death is only one of several beautiful deaths among the local people that we have experienced in recent years. These funerals are just one example among numerous others of the hidden ways in which Catholic culture has been blossoming in families in this area.

Here in Madonna House, too, a tiny Catholic culture is blossoming. In truth, everything we do every day is part of it.

What does that include this month? Well, everything from living and celebrating Holy Week and Easter to sweeping floors and chopping wood.

I am writing this column at the beginning of Holy Week. Just a couple of days ago, we sang Hosannas in procession with cedar branches and then suddenly shifted gears as we listened to the reading of the Passion.

During the Triduum, we will enter into each of those most holy events in the powerful liturgies the Church has given us. Who can ever plumb their depths?

Then after the Easter Vigil, we will continue to celebrate the Resurrection in every way we can—song, decorations, music, food, time to relax, and saying and singing, over and over, "Christ is risen! Truly he is risen!"

It is also spring, which in these northern parts, comes very gradually. It is the time of new lambs, the return of the Canada geese, the tapping the sugar maple trees and the boiling down of sap into delicious maple syrup, and, of course, so much more.

This has also been a time of sickness of various kinds and degrees, plus two or three fractured bones. Among the milder, most widespread forms of the sicknesses have been at least two different kinds of flu. This has meant, among other things, a shuffling to fill in various essential jobs. More serious, several with cancer are continuing chemo or radiation therapy.

Our big news recently is that the bishop of our diocese, Most Rev. Richard W. Smith, has been appointed Archbishop of Edmonton. Our reaction was probably best expressed by Linda Owen—a long, loud sigh: "O-o-o-o-o-h!" Catherine Lynch, who heard the announcement on the radio, said that even the announcer sounded sad giving the news.

What a father he has been to us during the nearly five years he has been here! And what a blessing during this critical time in the process of Catherine’s cause! We are happy for Edmonton, but we are certainly going to miss him.

We always celebrate the feast of St. Joseph—he is so many things to us, including the patron of the men’s department, but this year, the day seemed to have an especially graced atmosphere.

During the morning Peter Gravelle and the carpentry department hosted a teatime drop-in at St. Mary’s. Many, came, even from the main house, and the atmosphere was beautiful.

We also had a special supper (hamburgers) after which Susanne Stubbs, director general of women, gave a lovely thank you to the men for all they do, and especially, for all they are. Then there was a men’s gathering in the evening.

As always in spring, the men have been busy with what we call "flood control." It’s not as bad as it sounds. They just have to make sure—by digging and channeling mainly—that the water from the melting snow flows to the river and not to our basements.

But this year, as will be described in Fr. Denis’ article, "Swamp Creature," Regina Pacis, one of the priests’ residences, had extra problems.

The men, priests and laymen alike, have been working regularly at controlling those rising waters. They even used chain saws to cut 18-inch thick ice blocks from the streambed. The situation is now down to the normal extra water of spring (which still needs channeling).

We have also been studying. The guests just had their last Wednesday morning class, and after we finished our Friday afternoon study groups, we staff gave short reports telling of the fruits of reading and sharing together about the spirituality of our foundress, Catherine Doherty.

There is another form of studying that is ongoing. We have houses in non-English-speaking countries, and more and more visitors are coming from all over the world.

Accordingly, some of us are studying a foreign language, usually in our free time. Over the years, we have been saving language books and tapes from incoming donations, and we are now in the process of setting up a language lab.

The farmers, too, never stop learning. In this past while different ones attended farm-related talks and meetings, plus a farm show and a course in breeding management.

Fr. Denis Lemieux, as part of the winter lecture series, gave a talk, "Gnosticism Then and Now: How an Ancient World View is Being Repackaged for Modern Man and How We Should Respond."

In short, Gnosticism is the belief that it is by secret knowledge that we are saved from an evil world. It is, he said, a human response to the suffering of alienation, fragmentation, and lack of meaning, and that we need to respond to its adherents with compassion.

During Lent our priests went out to give a number of retreats, days of recollection, and parish missions. Cheryl Ann Smith also went out to give a talk—to a women’s group in Windsor.

One rather unusual Lenten event was, believe it or not, a Sunday Italian supper. One of the men guests, George Geordas, organized all the men guests to make gnocchi, an Italian potato pasta. It’s a very time-consuming dish to make for over a hundred people, and George talked his fellow guests into giving up their free afternoon as a Lenten almsgiving for the Madonna House family!

They weren’t the only ones who took on something extra for the community during Lent. Neil Patterson, an applicant, adapted C.S. Lewis’s book, Till We Have Faces, into a play—no easy task, especially since this is a very complex book—and directed it. This play is impossible to describe in a couple of sentences, so suffice it to say that we thoroughly enjoyed it, and it stretched our minds.

I think that’s about it for our news in this tiny corner of God’s world. May the Risen Lord fill you with his peace.