A Land Apart

Joshua five fifteen

The commander of the Lord's army replied,

‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’

And Joshua did so.

Last week, I went on a day trip with my son to the historic settlement of Sainte-Marie-among-the-Hurons. My goal was simply to be a tourist for the day and have some much needed mother-son time as the summer comes to a close. We met up with my mom, sister and niece and together we entered the gates of Sainte Marie.  

The definition of a pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person’s beliefs and faith.

A pilgrimage is usually intentional. Most often, one decides ahead of time to take a pilgrimage and one can spiritually prepare for such a journey. As a mother, I was equipped with sandwiches, drinks, sunscreen and umbrellas for the day’s adventure. I was not prepared for the deep spiritual pilgrimage that began as I entered the gates of Sainte Marie.

Faith, history and geography collided as I stepped on the soil of Sainte Marie. Out of my heart’s burning bush I heard the voice, “remove your shoes Jane you are standing on holy ground.”

Quietly slipping out of my sandals, with eyes filled tears I stood in the dirt with my mom.

“Mom, this place is holy,” I whispered.

“Now you understand why I wanted to come here.”

At eighty years old my mom knew that our visit to Sainte Marie was a sacred pilgrimage. Five generations of my family stood in the gospel dirt where Christianity began in Canada almost 400 years ago. Only a car ride away in the backyard of Ontario, God revealed the altar of Canada to an ordinary family of unknown pilgrims.

Historically, the land was called Wendake and is the ancestral homeland of the Huron nation, a branch of the Iroquoian family. The Wendake land surrounded by lakes means ‘the land apart’.

Under the encouragement of explorer Samuel de Champlain, French Jesuit priests arrived in Wendake early in the 17th century. Led by patriarch Jean de Brébeuf, the Jesuits were dedicated to bringing Christianity to Canada and were martyred because of their mission.

Behind the rustic church, simple wooden crosses stake and claim Canadian soil for Calvary. They stand as flag posts marking the veiled ancient wells that overflow with the sacrificial tears of our ancestors.

The mantle of our patriarchal forefathers concealed in this holy soil silently wait for generations willing to bear its sacrificial weight. The cloud of witnesses buried under this Canadian altar cry out for us to finish their mission and claim the promise that Canada, a land ‘set apart’ is to be a healer to the nations.

I began my journey to Sainte Marie as a tourist but in the dirt I finish a pilgrim. As we left the gates of Sainte Marie my spirit cried out to God to bless me with a small piece of this sacred mantle. Not worthy of their shoulders, I wish to honour the legacy of our forefathers and bring their mission back to the small Canadian town that I call home.

Hebrews eleven thirteen

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

 Visit www.saintemarieamongthehurons.on.ca for more information.