A Tour of the Madonna House Training Centre

Our Dining Room and Library

Madonna House is no longer a little six-room unfinished house. It has grown in every direction; a dining room, library, chapel and kitchen have been added. As many as 150 people can now be served in this building.

The original library and living room is affectionately called “the little library.” It remains an especially homey spot in the apostolate, with a corner of Russian icons and artifacts, shelves of books and an ever-changing view of the Madawaska River.

The large, newer dining room which was built as a later addition to the house now doubles as a library and family room. Here are held special events for feast days, chit-chat, classes, lectures and movies. Every day, after the noon meal, we share a reading from the Gospel, the Fathers of the Church, the Holy Father's writings, the saints, current authors or something from Catherine Doherty's writings, to make clear the application of the Gospel for us today. Frequently wisdom comes from someone in the discussion which follows. In this manner, we learn to listen to the Spirit.

Most of all, the dining room is the place where a community of love is lived out in an ordinary, everyday setting, a place where everyone comes together as a family in an informal atmosphere. The tables and benches are home-made, donated dishes and cutlery grace the tables, and rows of donated books line the walls.

As more people came to share the life at Madonna House, the ordinary chores of life in Combermere became fertile ground for Catherine to develop and teach a Gospel vision of every task. As the community grew, areas of work and study were divided and her vision grew. What you will see now are the solidified aspects of Madonna House and Catherine's vision about it.

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