Pilgrimage to Canada
By Brother Christopher
“Father, may they be one, just as you are in
me and I am in you...” John 17:21
During the week of the Octave of
Christian Unity (January 18-25), Brother Stavros and I had the opportunity to
visit two Roman Catholic monastic communities in Quebec, Canada: the Jerusalem
Community of Montreal, and Val Notre-Dame, a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery in
St-Jean-de-Matta, about an hour northwest of Montreal. How the trip transpired
goes back to a brief encounter I had with Dom Andre Barbeau, the Abbot of Val
Notre-Dame, over a year ago. In the course of our conversation, he mentioned
that his community had long wished to make a connection with an Orthodox
monastery, so he asked if some sort of visit might be possible during the
celebration of the following year’s Octave? I replied that since we’re a small
community, it would all depend on scheduling, but that in principle we would be
open to such a visit.
As the months passed and we became
involved in numerous projects here at New Skete, I forgot about my meeting with
Dom Andre. However, in the middle of November I received an email from him in
which he reminded me of his invitation and his sincere hope that we would be
able to come. Looking at the calendar, I was happy to see that things were
quiet enough during that week to enable a couple of us to make the trip. So we
accepted his gracious offer.
Since it would be a fairly long trip
to Val Notre-Dame, Brother Stavros suggested that we divide the trip in half
and spend an overnight in Montreal with the Jerusalem Community, whom he had
visited several times in the past, and who had visited us once at New Skete.
The Jerusalem Community is distinctive in that they are a monastic community
who live their monastic vocation in small groups of monastic communities “at
the heart of the city,” in urban settings primarily in France and elsewhere in
Europe. They also founded a house in Montreal in 2004. Each community is
composed of monks and nuns who live separately; they support themselves by
working a half day in the local community, but the core of their life is their
prayer and common worship, in which they gather together three times daily.
When we contacted frere
Pierre-Benoit, the guest master, he said we would be most welcome. We learned
that they, too, would be having an ecumenical service the night of our arrival,
to which we were also invited. After arriving in the afternoon and having
dinner with the brothers, we took a brief walk around Montreal and arrived back
in time for the evening service. The singing of the monks and nuns is quite
beautiful, and about 120 lay people were present in church, quite remarkable
for a Friday evening. The guest preacher was Pastor Richard Bonetto, from the
Presbyterian Church of St Luke in Montreal, who offered a sermon on 1 Samuel
16:6,7 in which the main theme was how God sees the heart and is not impressed
by externals. One interesting anecdote that Pastor Bonetto brought up was how
John Calvin loved the Fathers of the Church, how he read them and was deeply
influenced by them. Then, winking at Brother Stavros and myself, he said that
it could even be said that Calvin was a “Presbyterian hesychast.”
After the service we attended a
fellowship hour and had the opportunity to meet several of the nuns and lay
people who were present. There was a very convivial atmosphere to the
gathering, a nice expression of the spirit of the week of unity. After a good night’s sleep and Lauds the
following morning, we said goodbye to the community and began the next leg of
our trip north to the Abbey of Val Notre-Dame.
Val Notre-Dame is outside the small
village of St Jean-de-Matta, about an hour or so northwest of Montreal. It is
in a very beautiful rural locale on 500 acres of woodland. When we arrived we
were greeted warmly by Dom Andre, who got us settled in our rooms and then gave
us a tour of the monastery. The monastery is quite modern, but strikingly
beautiful, with lines of windows throughout that let in an abundance of natural
light. It was built in 2006 when the community decided to relocate from their
previous location in Oka, outside Montreal, in order to have greater solitude.
As we toured the monastery with Dom Andre, I thought to myself that it was
without doubt the cleanest monastery I had ever seen. It had received several
architectural awards, and it was clear that the monks had spent a lot of time
thinking about how to make it functional while at the same time stunningly
beautiful. As an example, the Abbey Church is a graceful combination of natural
wood, slate, large windows, and very tasteful statuary. Behind the altar is a
floor-to-ceiling window that looks out on the wooded property and nearby
mountain. The acoustics in church are beautiful. There is plenty of room for
visitors, and an overlook in the upper rear of the church provides a place
where infirmed brothers can look down from the infirmary while a service is
going on. It is a very thoughtful way to keep the infirmed monks connected with
the community’s prayer. The community numbers 19 monks, and while it is an
aging community, we had the distinct sense that it remains quite vigorous. The
services are done with deep reverence, and the singing is very good. The fact
that we were allowed to stay in the cloister and that we were placed in choir
for the services was a real privilege. Brother Stavros and I felt very much at
home and were warmly welcomed throughout our visit. These were indeed brother
monks, who share the same passion for the monastic vocation as we do.
During our visit we were able to
offer two presentations to the community on Orthodox monastic life, which
proved to be a helpful entry into mutual dialogue and sharing, the limitations
of our French notwithstanding. We also were asked to participate in a Sunday
“Ecumenical” Vespers by singing several Orthodox hymns at several points in the
service. We sang a Radiant Light (Phos
Hilaron) at the
beginning of Vespers and the Byzantine “Christ is Risen” at the end. After that
Vespers we joined the community for a gathering with Pastor Laurent, a local
Protestant minister and friend of the monastery, who, along with two of his
associates, spoke to the community about their work locally in youth and prison
ministries.
Because our stay was to last four
days, we had a chance the next day to see the monastery chocolate factory (they
make delectable chocolates and fruitcakes), and then in the afternoon we were
able to snowshoe on groomed trails that cut through the front half of the
property. One of the ways the community supports itself is by renting out about
half their land to a local ski club, who use it for cross-country skiing and
snowshoeing. So we took the monks up on their suggestion for some fresh air.
Because of the beauty of the property and the crisp, crystal clear day, our
snow trek was truly memorable. At one point we were treated to an overlook with
a commanding view of the monastery below. Glorious!
Originally we had intended to stay
for four days, but it turned into five when a massive snow and ice storm on
Tuesday delayed our departure one day. Neither of us uttered a word of
complaint. Indeed, the visit had been a mini-retreat and a graced opportunity
to make new friends. When we finally were able to depart the following day, we
did so with gifts of books, chocolates, caramels, and fruitcakes for our
community that the monks were sending us home with—a sign of love of generosity
that deeply touched us. On our way home we stopped back in Montreal to visit
with our friend Dr John Hadjinicolaou and his gracious wife, Lila, and to pick
up the copies of our latest book, Fossil
or Leaven: Essays Collected in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of New Skete,[1] which we published in
collaboration with Alexander Press, John’s publishing company. It was a
delightful visit, and they could not have been more hospitable. By the time we
left for the border, our car was crammed with “booty from the north,” and
thankfully we had no problems at the border with customs.
This was the first time we had ever
participated in an Octave of Christian Unity, but the experience was fruitful
and deeply meaningful. While respecting the different traditions represented by
all who were there, we were able to pray together for an as yet unrealized
unity, and to witness to the common monastic values we all share. It made me
conscious of the positive role the monastic life can play in furthering mutual
understanding among the Christian churches, as well as the importance of having
an Orthodox presence in ecumenical work.
