The family of George Rolheiser lived in Saratov, Russia, when the Lord said to George, “Go from your country to a land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you.”
So George went with his wife and family to Saskatchewan, to the prairie hills near the border. The Lord said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” And they built a church at St. Donatus. And some moved east and some west; some north and some south, and the parish grew (based on Genesis 12).
It’s not the “Little Brown Church in the Dell,” but to some of us it is “more dear” as we revisit our childhood memories.
This year we celebrated 100 years of faith in St. Donatus, just south of the Cactus Lake oil fields, near the Alberta/ Saskatchewan border. “No spot is so dear to my childhood as the old stone church on the hill.”
St. Donatus, pictured holding lightning bolts, has intervened in our lives. There was a terrible storm with tornado force winds on my aunt’s farm. She prayed to St. Donatus as the winds moved the house on its foundations. When it passed, the storm had destroyed trees in its path as it moved toward the house. It turned at the house, sparing it, and wreaked its destruction as it continued elsewhere.
Prayer brings results. There was a Eucharistic Congress at Prince Albert, some years back, and a dark storm cloud was approaching the outdoor site. Cardinal Leger turned to the gathering and prayed briefly in English, “Let us pray for a good temperature.” The cloud split in two and passed by on both sides, leaving the gathering in peace.
The 100th anniversary was not a time to celebrate nostalgia, but to celebrate our faith roots, said Father Ron Rolheiser during his refl ection on the occasion. We nurture ourselves from these roots,
he said.
Faith is “caught” in church and at the family table. Faith is inhaled in the community’s actions and values, he continued. The centre of our faith has held in St. Donatus. Ron quoted William Butler Yeats who spoke about his loss of faith. Yeats said the centre of his faith collapsed. But there is something about the prairie geography that shapes us and gives us strength.
“Show me your landscape and I’ll tell you who you are,” said Jose Ortega.
“The prairies have given us a unique capacity to carry loneliness,” said Ron. “As well, the prairies gave us a sense of humility.
“You know you’re not the centre of the universe,” he quipped. And there is another gift the prairies have given us which Ron called “Saskatchewan tough.” We have a resiliency that tells us “there is always a morning after.”
Part of the landscape of St. Donatus is the history of the saint the church is named after. In 173 A.D. Donatus’ legion was miraculously saved by a divine thunderstorm. Legend credited St Donatus’ prayer, who thanked God for the deliverance.
Donatus was later martyred by the emperor. A later miracle on June 30, 1652, describes a Jesuit priest, Fr. Heerde, saying mass when lightning struck the church and lit the altar and the priest on fi re. He invoked the aid of Saint Donatus and was miraculously restored unharmed.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).
