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When I sat down to write this news column, my first thought was: this has certainly been a full, rich time. My second thought was: we could say that here about any time of year.
One of the things that makes this true is our feasts—both those of the liturgical calendar and our own particular Madonna House feasts.
The main one during this time-frame is June 8th, the feast of Our Lady of Combermere. This is the day applicants make their First Promises, thus becoming members of our community, and staff not yet in Final Promises renew this commitment for one year or two or forever.
Like any of our major feasts, it was not confined to one day. Much preparation was required—cleaning, decorating, practicing music, preparing foods, picking and arranging flowers, mowing lawns, etc., etc., etc.
All this time the feast was in the air. I was struck by how many mealtime conversations centered around Promises, with staff telling stories of their own Promises retreats and Promises Day. And over and over I heard someone say to a guest, “Have you been here for Promises before? No? You are in for a wonderful day!”
But big graces come at a price. Before the graces of a big feast day, like Promises, there is usually some kind of upset, break down, or other confusion. So it is probably not surprising that around 10 a.m. of the morning before the Promises retreat, a 65-year-old water pipe came apart—the main water line at St. Mary’s.
A deluge of water suddenly poured from the ceiling. There was the sound of men shouting to each other, and within five minutes the water to the whole building had been shut off.
Our heroes, Tom White, Michael Amaral, and Jeremiah Barker had the pipe fixed in about an hour!
Then late on June 7th, the pump that feeds water to two buildings—one containing a staff dorm and our main office and the other the women guests’ dorm—stopped working. Again our brothers came to the rescue and figured out a temporary fix until they could replace the pump.
I guess it was all part of Our Lady’s plan to get us ready for the graces of June 8th.
Back to the feast: The first event of Promises was the retreat for all those making them. This is a unique kind of retreat—one combining spiritual input with special foods and beautiful decorations that bring pleasure and joy.
There were Masses, songs, talks, and long festive meals. And there was time to pray and to share with one another.
On the day itself, the center was, of course, the making and renewing of Promises at a festive Mass. Staff, working guests, and family and friends of those making Promises filled the chapel.
This year, family and friends came from the extremes of the proverbial “from near and far.” The closest were the family of Martha Reilander, who is from Pembroke, only an hour and a half away, and the farthest, the family of Flora Hye Jin Jeon, who came all the way from Korea.
And that wasn’t the only example of our international character. Two banners at the main house were in Korean, and more significantly, Promises were made in three languages besides English—in Korean, Spanish, and Italian. The two Koreans wore beautiful traditional dresses from their country.
But in whatever language and in whatever dress, it is, of course, the making of Promises that is the essence as I said before. Who can fail to be moved by hearing and seeing young people give their lives to God?
The Mass was followed by photos and a reception. After a cool, rainy spring, this was a warm brilliantly sunny day. And it was great to see the children—nieces and nephews and children of friends of those making Promises—running and playing in the new grass.
In fact, the presence of several young families in our celibate community was a witness to the beauty of the vocation of marriage.
The day continued with socializing, a rosary at the statue of Our Lady of Combermere, and a festive supper.
Then the next day was Pentecost. The days seemed somehow one. We had sung to the Holy Spirit just before the making of Promises, and listening to the Spirit is of the essence of our Madonna House vocation. Moreover, to say the obvious, no vocation is possible without the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost included another festive Mass, more festive meals, and, as is our custom, we each received on a decorated slip of paper, a gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit.
And now it is back to Ordinary Time, and ordinary life, too, is rich and full. After a spring that felt more like winter, summer has suddenly burst upon us.
Trees, bare or snow-covered all winter, are now proudly displaying their millions of newborn leaves, and the lush new grass is growing quickly. New lambs and calves have been born, the apple trees are in blossom, and the fruit and vegetables we depend on are planted and growing. We will harvest the first of them—rhubarb—on Thursday.
Besides Promises, the other major event of this time-frame was in May, the annual meeting of the directors’ of our mission houses.
This is a holy time, a time of discussion and discernment, a time to look at what the Holy Spirit is doing in our apostolate, both in Combermere and in our mission houses, a time to listen to how he wants us to move at this time.
And, as usual, there were events during the meetings.
We had a picnic, a great time for us to visit with the directors.
The March for Life in Ottawa occurred during that time, and whoever wished to, of the directors and the rest of us, attended. We were well-represented.
A lot of us also went to the funeral at our parish of a very long-time friend. Bob Young, who along with his wife Jean, who died last year, had been a friend and benefactor and helper of Madonna House in many ways.
The Youngs played a major role in establishing our house in Aquia, Virginia, whose main work was family retreats. Then, after Madonna House had started Cana Colony, a similar apostolate in Combermere, they became the first host couple. They continued doing this important work for many, many years.
Summer is here. The gift and book shops and the museum are on summer hours, and today, before I finalized this column, we had our all-house bee to clean and ready the grounds and cabins for the families coming to Cana.
During the bee, we received word that Joe Hogan, our staff worker who has been dying, died. All stopped to say the rosary.
This has been quite a week: Saturday, Promises Day; Sunday, Pentecost; Tuesday, the Cana bee. Friday we will have Joe’s wake and Saturday, his funeral.
May this summer be for you a time of restoration, joy, and beauty.
PROMISES 2019
FIRST PROMISES
Flora Hye Jin Jeon
Seoul, KOREA
Jeremiah Barker
Derby, Vermont
Nicholas Parrott
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland
RENEWALS
Ana Sofia Corona Gaxiola
Guadalajara, MEXICO
Maria Kim
Seoul, KOREA
Alec Bonacci
Hilltown, Pennsylvania
Morgen Grigg
Kitchener, Ontario
Mark Olzewski
Windsor, Ontario
Miriam Story
Owen Sound, Ontario
Giulia Velocci
Toronto, Ontario
FINAL PROMISES
Sara Matthews
Waterloo, Ontario
Martha Reilander
Pembroke, Ontario
Michael Amaral
Brampton, Ontario
