LESSONS FROM A TWO-CENTURY-OLD SHRINE | KAIROS GLOBAL | SEPTEMBER 2022

Author: Derin James

Intro: When they volunteered to help restore an old monastery’s shrine, little did they realise how life-changing it would be. Derin James shares his experience.

We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life (Ephesians 2:10).

I am very excited to describe the wonderful experience we Jesus Youth had at Our Lady of Grace Monastery, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. We were nine of us from different parts of Nova Scotia, gathered at Antigonish.

When Cathy, a devoted Catholic, welcomed us to the monastery all we had in mind was to just help Fr Albert MacPherson restore the shrine located 5 minutes away from the monastery. But as soon as we entered the monastery walls, we were in one of the world's most peaceful places, the exact replica of paradise Jesus mentioned to the penitent thief (good thief) during the crucifixion. It was a whole new realm. A place where a few people lived, who only knew how to love and serve God. 

Our Lady of Grace Monastery is home to the Contemplative Augustinian Nuns. Here these religious sisters live out their lives consecrated to Our Lord, where they pray for petitions received, friends and supporters of the monastery, the Church, and the whole world. When we visited the monastery, there were only 4 nuns and an Augustinian priest, Father Albert MacPherson. He is part of the Augustinian healing ministry. A quick outline of the monastery and the surroundings are as follows: Our Lady of Grace Monastery with its chapel, dormitory rooms, classrooms, library, office, kitchen, and dining areas. An ideal place for spiritual renewal and retreats. Just 2 minutes away from the monastery there is a hermitage which was built for the brothers who lived there years ago for leading a spiritual life and living in solitude to connect with GOD.

It is a special kind of spirituality and when I saw the hermitage, the first thing that popped to my mind was about the three brothers living in the hills of Panchalimedu, in Kerala, India for the past 20 plus years in silence and pure devotion to Christ. 

Well, the most interesting part and the reason for our arrival was to restore the shrine situated 5 minutes away from the monastery. It was such an aesthetic and peaceful place to pray and reflect. The shrine was on a hillside with a shallow river beside it. There is also a freshwater spring that emerged from the hills, believed to be Mother Mary’s miracle. People call it miracle spring water with lots of minerals in it. The people living around would come to collect this spring water in bottles to take it back home when they have some health issues. All of us drank from it and it was so refreshing.

Basically, this shrine is in the woods, and it needs to be cleaned periodically. So, if left untouched the shrine would turn into a forest. The 81-year-old Fr Albert was a tremendous inspiration for all of us. We came to know that restoring and cleaning the shrine was part of his daily routine. So, even if we didn’t show up Father Albert would have done it all on his own. Being healthy adults, we were ashamed at seeing Father dealing with the chainsaw and other equipment because we could barely lift those machines. Father Albert taught us an important lesson: no one and nothingness can also give you happiness. He always had a smile on his face. At some point we even wondered if he was St Francis Assisi, just because he wasn’t talking much but simply loving nature, animals, and the people around. We could evangelize people just like that without talking much. It was a huge reflection for me.

Everyone among us enjoyed the time we spent there. See what Evelin Mariya Joshy has to say about her experience:

‘At first, for me, this was a mission trip for a bunch of us Jesus Youth to help the priest and the Augustinian nuns in the restoration of an almost two-century-old monastery, I mean how cool is that?! But it turned out to be a humbling three days of peaceful retreat, learning and realisations that sprung forth from encountering the extraordinarily ordinary life of the cloister nuns and the people there. It made me think of my call to be readily available to God and to serve the community, expecting nothing in return – to be a selfless giver.  Our days were spent doing the most mundane of things like logging trees, mowing the garden, clearing bushes, doing the dirty dishes, etc. But the joy and togetherness were so much more fulfilling. All in all, it was a blessing to be part of such a mission trip and thinking back it was truly a blessing to be given an opportunity to meet and to know the stories of the lovely people at the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace.’

Apart from the labour and other acts of kindness, Fr Albert gave a healing service and anointed each one of us including some parishioners. It was such a blessing. Like all the Jesus Youth say, it was a great time of reflection and spiritual renewal for us. 

I am concluding with what Cathy MacDougall has to say about our three days at the monastery: ‘It was wonderful to host nine members of Jesus Youth at our local monastery Our Lady of Grace in Antigonish County. These young people were eager and willing to help with whatever needed to be done. It is evident that they love our Lord and wish to serve the Church. I wish them well in all their future endeavours and hope that they will return in the future to help keep the Shrine to Our Lady in top shape. Now more than ever do we need places of prayer for people who have nowhere to turn. This is an oasis of hope and healing for many a pilgrim on life’s journey towards the Lord and his blessed mother. Thank you to Jesus Youth for helping to make this a possibility for people.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving (Colossians 3:23, 24).

Derin James is a 24-year-old who came to Canada as a student and is now working there full-time.