by Yvette Poirier
A big ice storm hit Eastern Ontario and Southern Quebec on January 6-9, causing a lot of damage: in certain areas, people remained a whole month without electricity; many trees were damaged, causing big losses to owners of apple vineyards, maple groves, and to the whole population.
An area in Southern Quebec, called the "dark triangle", was particularly hit, since over 500,000 people were left without electricity for three weeks. From January 6 to January 31, our two houses, powered by a generator, were turned into shelters to receive part of Rougemont's disaster victims. The ladies were put up in the House of St. Michael, and the men, in the House of the Immaculate. The meals were given for all at the House of the Immaculate. Truck loads of food arrived from all over. Charity is still alive in the hearts of our people.
The disaster victims we sheltered were edified by our communal life: at every meal, we say the Angelus and grace; every day, we pray fifteen decades of the Rosary plus the Chaplet of St. Michael; and every day during this disaster, the Holy Mass was celebrated in one of our two houses by the good Father Gérard Montpetit, O.M.I. We were like a family. The victims highly appreciated their stay with us, and many shed tears the day of their departure.
Rougemont is located right in the middle of this "dark triangle" (the three "corners" being the towns of Granby, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and Saint-Hyacinthe). Mrs. Henri- Louis Rodrigue said to us: "You are in the heart of the triangle. You represent the heart of God that beats in this icy triangle to warm human hearts, and to bring light to souls."
In Rougemont, the victims were sheltered by three religious communities: the Oblates, the Cistercians, and the Pilgrims of St. Michael. The news media reported that "thanks to these three communities, the people of Rougemont easily got through the crisis."
The White Berets' Guardian Angel At night, while the whole village of Rougemont was in the dark, one could see two rays of light enlightening the statues of the Immaculate and of St. Michael the Archangel that are on the steeples of our two houses, which were a token of the protection of Heaven. The police and soldiers patrolled the village with helicopters during the night. Here is an anecdote that was reported on a Montreal radio station by one of the patrollers:
"We were patrolling the disaster-stricken area. Above the village of Rougemont, amidst the darkness, we saw two lights that intrigued us. We came near one of them, and saw that it was the Guardian Angel who protects the White Berets."
Many policemen and soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces visited our grounds. Réjean Lefebvre said to them:
"In the past, just a few years ago, there were Holy Hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament in the churches of the Province of Quebec, with Corpus Christi processions, and the Forty Hours devotion. During the month of Mary (May), the Rosary was recited every day in the churches. In those days, people took the time to worship God. Today, they no longer do it; it is the trees who worship God. Just look at the birch trees that are bent down to the ground: nature worships God."
Journalists of the Montreal French-language daily La Presse also visited us. In the January 29, 1998 issue of this daily, there was an article of Martha Gagnon, entitled, "Gilberte Côté-Mercier did not hesitate to open the doors of her community - The Pilgrims of St. Michael sheltered up to 80 victims." Here are some excerpts from this article, which was accompanied by a picture of Mrs. Côté-Mercier with Denise Claveau, one of the disaster victims:
"At 87 years of age, with her eternal white beret on her head, Gilberte Côté-Mercier, an outstanding figure of Social Credit and of the Vers Demain Journal, did not hesitate to open the doors of her community of Rougemont to disaster victims.
" 'When one follows the way of the truth, there is always light,' she said spontaneously upon our arrival. If her body is fragile, her mind is still sharp. The little lady has not lost her composure. A widow since last year, she still delivers lectures and writes articles for the Vers Demain Journal, and dedicates the rest of her time to prayer. 'The Rosary wards off catastrophes,' she said.
"As a matter of fact, the light never went off in the community of the Pilgrims of St. Michael, located in the heart of the village that is popular with tourists. A generator, purchased a few years ago in James Bay, allowed the two buildings to be turned into shelters... Denise Claveau (one of the victims who was sheltered by the White Berets) said: 'I have been warmly welcomed, and I felt like in a bubble, withdrew from the world. Here, one takes the time to listen and to reflect. One can feel a big human warmth.'
"Before we left, Mrs. Côté-Mercier invited the representatives of La Presse to take a moment and pray in the chapel. It was impossible to say no to her..."
Martha Gagnon.
This ice storm is a chastisement, a warning from Heaven to invite souls to repentance. In La Salette, France, in 1846, the Blessed Virgin Mary said that the profanation of the Lord's Day (Sunday) and blasphemies are the two main sins that bring curses. Impiety leads to all vices, to the degradation of morals.
In the Spirago Catechism, one can read that the profanation of the Lord's Day is frequently punished with temporal evils, sickness, and poverty: "The usual punishment for profaning Sunday and of not hearing Mass is to become the captive of vice... To those who work on Sundays, God says, as to the Jews of yore: 'I will quickly visit you with poverty' (Lev. 26:16)."
Before Christmas Day, 1997, a public contempt for God took place in our country, with the abolition upon the request of Quebec's infamous Lucien Bouchard Government of Section 93 of the Canadian Constitution, that guaranteed the existence of denominational school boards in Quebec, and that protected the rights of religious minorities in the other Canadian provinces. The ice storm began on January 6. Last year, in public hearings on education reform, representatives of the region that has now been hit by the ice storm pronounced themselves strongly in favor of the abolition of denominational school boards. This exclusion of God from the Canadian Constitution, this official denial of God in schools, brings upon us the chastisements of God. As the Holy Scriptures say: "They that forsake Yahweh shall be consumed" (Is. 1:28).
Let us renounce Satan and his works by keeping the Commandments of God and of the Church. Let us practice Christian decency, let us give up television "a diabolical invention to corrupt souls and minds." Let us have recourse to the power of the Sacraments: the Holy Eucharist, individual confession. Moreover, let us dedicate ourselves to the apostolate work to bring our brothers and sisters back to the way of the truth. Thus, we will contribute to avoiding several catastrophes.
Yvette Poirier
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