Veronica Ferri

Madonna house apostolate

“Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” When Jesus began his ministry, the local people were concerned. Wait a minute, don’t we know this guy? “Is not he the carpenter’s son?” That was how I felt about Madonna House, Combermere. How could I find the Lord in that little, local place?”

            Ever since I was small, I wanted to give my life to God. Maybe I wouldn’t have put it in quite those words. But I remember at my first holy communion being aware of the great love of God. Eucharist, to me, meant union with The Lamb of God. I grew up in a large Catholic family. As a child (still?), I was quite audacious, bold, and driven. I wanted full love and full attention and with thirteen siblings to compete with, this provoked me to act out in bad behaviors. I learned from a very early age what it meant to live in community.

The greatest gifts my parents have given me are my faith and my siblings. As each new brother or sister arrived, there was never a question of accommodation. We were always happy to welcome the baby and the entire family adjusted to him or her. In community, one must live for the other. But in our imperfect family, there were also many painful times that the needs of one dominated the needs of all. I learned that love comes only with the gift of self.

            If it wasn’t for our commitment to daily mass, I doubt our family would have had the grace to keep our faith. We could often be seen trooping in (late!) to St. Columbkille Cathedral for the 7:45 am mass. The seed that had been planted in me at Baptism was watered daily by the Word of God.

             My parents also gave us the gift of higher Education by sending us to Catholic Colleges such as Christendom College, Thomas Aquinas College, and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy. After receiving a degree in Theology and Philosophy, my early desire to give my life to God awoke in me. And so I began a “pilgrimage” of discernment. I worked with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Chicago and St. Louis Missouri, and I stayed with the Dominicans in Nashville Tennessee. I considered the Missionaries of Charity, the Sisters of Life, and the Carmelite cloister. I was worn out from searching! So I decided to take a one month break at Madonna House, Combermere.

            But Lord it was You who were searching me. You searched my heart, my mind, my soul, and discerned my secret inward thoughts. When I arrived in Combermere I was put to work right away! What? No time to pray? But it was in the work that I learned how to pray. It was in words of Catherine Doherty that I began to really live again: “Let yourself be beloved by God”. She taught me that Christ could be found in the dirty dishes, He could be found in the laundry, and He could be found in my neighbor. What a revelation! And in the midst of it all, I discovered that He could be found in me. It is not difficult to give your all when the One Who is All gives Himself to You.

            In this Madonna House life, I have discovered the joy of giving and receiving. All the people in the community struggle to forget self and live for the other.  We fail often! But the perfect communion that we all desire is found only in the life of the Trinity Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And who could have guessed it? In little, local Combermere, Madonna House is sharing in that Trinitarian life.