From swords to plowshares

The chapel that this old forgehas turned into is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace. Instead of using the forge to make weapons, this forge has a different purpose. A furnace turned into an altar to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

At Mass we are united to the sacrifice of Jesus through which we are reconciled to God. This is the true peace that the world cannot give. In the Rite of Peace during the Mass, the Church "entreats peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial communion and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament". GIRM, 82.

"Peace is not something merely exterior. It is mainly found in the heart of those who are open to God's forgiveness. Peace is reconciliation with God, in the blood of Christ. In this way, the habitual participation of the Eucharist makes Christians become men of peace, because during the Mass they receive time and again the peace of Christ, of that reason they are more able to communicate to their brethren the peace that they have received from God." — "Explanation of the Mass", Home of the Mother

The very first Mass celebrated at Ledum farm, in the forge that has now become a chapel, was a requiem Mass for my grandfather Mathias Ledum, who in my father's childhood stood here in the forge and with the help of the fire, straightened tools that had been bent and worn, and at the same time created new tools out of simple materials.That is why it becomes very special to celebrate Mass in the same place, especially Masses for the deceased. By the fire of the Holy Spirit the simple bread and wine become something new, and at the same time the sacrifice of Mass comes the soul of the deceased to aid, in the hope that what has been bent by sin will be straightened in purgatory, returned to its original holiness and thus can become ready to meet Him whose most Sacred Heart is the burning furnace of love.