Robert_Wild_-_Catherine_Doherty_Servant_of_God

ago. And when they hear that our foundress was Russian,
and when they see the many Eastern books on our shelves,
well, they wonder.
Catherine wanted us to understand Orthodoxy, the
great Christian tradition of the East. However, she definitely
wanted us to be Catholic. In fact, there was a long
period where she was fearful that we would not understand
Orthodoxy; then a period when she feared that we
would “go too far” in Eastern ways. But long before Pope
John Paul II articulated his famous “two lungs” phrase,
Catherine had been led by the Spirit to integrate, in our
community, the two great traditions. She saw this as part
of her mission, and it is part of the apostolate of Madonna
House.
Fr. Raya became Archbishop Raya, and eventually a
full-time member of Madonna House. (Another indication
of the different states of life drawn into ecclesial communities.)
He retired in Combermere, and for many years
celebrated Byzantine liturgies, as well as teaching us about
the spirit of the Eastern Church. We strive for unity
between East and West by our prayer, by trying to understand
Orthodoxy ourselves, and by helping others to
understand it. We are not presently involved in any projects
or programs to attain this unity. It is by seeking to
integrate Orthodoxy into our hearts and lives that we
hope to be a small bridge of unity in the Church.
“Going Into the People”
In the latter part of the 19th century, and the early
part of the 20th, Emma, Catherine’s mother, was involved
in the movement in Russia called “going into the people.”
The well-to-do, the educated intellectuals, would go into
the poor villages to nurse, teach, and do menial chores, in
an attempt to bridge the enormous gap between the rich
and the millions of peasants. Catherine went on some of
these excursions.
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