Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a Blessed Epiphany to you, our friends both near and far! This greeting was meant to be posted yesterday, but one of our Christmas gifts this year has been a superabundance of snow, and after another snowfall in the night, our power went out again just before Lauds of Epiphany. As we prayed the Office by flashlights and candles, we heard Isaiah proclaim that “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness— on them, light has shined.” (Is 9:6-7). It was a good remind to us that Christ’s birth, celebrated at the darkest time of the year in our Northern Hemisphere, truly “shines in the darkness” (Jn 1:5).

By our unofficial count, this most recent snowfall brings us to over a meter of accumulated snow since the weekend before Christmas, when we awoke to find 60 centimetres fallen overnight. Being contemplatives, a temporary inability to leave our monastery is not usually a problem; but that same day, we were expecting both the arrival of an aspirant and our final grocery order before the holidays! Since they could not come to us, we needed to be able to get to them. After Mass, every sister who could donned snow boots, parkas and toques, and began to burrow a path down to the barn where our faithful four-wheel drive was parked. Meanwhile, a kindly neighbour arrived and began to plow our kilometre-long driveway with the tractor. By mid-afternoon, the route to the main road was passible, and two sisters sallied forth to attempt the drive to town. They returned several hours later, and were greeted by both a power outage and a party of sisters with flashlights and sleds ready to cart the boxes of groceries up to the main monastery in the dark (the driveway’s final hill being impassible by car). After a good supper, the electricity returned, and we prayed the Office of Vigils for the Fourth Sunday of Advent with wholehearted and sleepy thanksgiving.

With more snow throughout the week, we were overjoyed to still welcome some brave souls for Mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Other guests came to quietly visit the chapel throughout the Christmas Octave, making the final “pilgrimage” on foot up our driveway’s final hill. For a few days, the snowfall even took a rest, and the sun came out to turn our fields and forest into a real winter wonderland, as you can see in the pictures below.

We continue to hold you in prayer as we begin this new year. With the snow, the situation of our driveway changes day by day. If you would like to visit our chapel or join us for the liturgy, we would recommend good tires, good boots and possibly a phone call in advance to check the situation. May our Emmanuel, God-with-us, bring you joy and peace.