A Tour of the Madonna House Training Centre

Praying with the Work of our Hands

Catherine Doherty was in the habit of examining each situation that came before her in the light of the Gospels. No matter how small or mundane the problem, no matter how great or overwhelming it seemed to be, she saw the subtle signs of God and the deep-seated needs of human nature. This gave her the courage to respond to life with a persevering, Christ-like love. She called this insight the “vision of the whole” and described it like this:

It is important to understand that the ordinariness of routine daily life is the warp and woof of living the Gospel without compromise. No part of the Gospel is abstract. Each part demands, cries out for, an incarnation. Spirituality must be incarnate, as Jesus Christ was incarnate. Unless it is, it isn't true spirituality.

First and foremost is the love for God. Scripture tells us that we must love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind and strength (Mark 12:30). And so we should. But this doesn't mean that we must spend our whole day in formal prayer. It means that we go about our Father's business. We also pray with the work of our hands.

Catherine was by nature a bridge-builder. All her life, she sought to gather and unite into community everything that was around her, even what seemed to be irreconcilable opposites. In Catherine's vocabulary, every versus became an and: rich/poor, clergy/laity, Byzantium/Rome, intellectual/blue collar, black/white, technology/art, and men/women. Especially contemplation/action.

Catherine wanted her followers in Madonna House to be mystics in the marketplace, who wedded the two opposites: feet on the ground/head in the clouds.

“It never occurs to me that I can possibly separate anything from love,” she said. “For example, I will speak of washing dishes. If I have the attitude that this is a beautiful ‘little thing’ that I can give to God, then washing a cup becomes an adventure! Do you get the picture? Every little thing should be done perfectly, completely, connected with God. Otherwise, it ceases to be interesting. It has no sense and no being. Doing little things with our whole hearts is our vocation.”

As people joined her, Catherine taught them to work so their love and energies could be more fully focused on the task at hand. She wrote outlines of how each department could best live the Gospel. Her outlines were a source of inspiration, helping many people find beauty and joy in what formerly had seemed meaningless drudgery. The thoughts in her outlines apply not only to Madonna House, but to many areas of life.

Her meditation for typists, for instance, applies equally well to computer operators, and is good advice for anyone who deals with inanimate objects. She says, “You are greater than the machine. You are the master of it. But never take out on the machine that which you should take out of your heart.”

By evaluating life in the light of the Gospels, the human heart begins to see the true nature of work: its great dignity before God, its inestimable value in his eternal plan. Christians can accept every task they perform, because they know that they are following their Master:

Jesus picked up a towel and fastened it round his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, and to dry them with the towel. He sat down again and spoke to them. “Do you realize what I have just done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are quite right, for that is what I am. But if I, your Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you must be ready to wash one another's feet. I have done this as an example... Once you realize these things, you will find your happiness in doing them.” (John 13:1–17).

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