Marylake Monastery, King City

Marylake Monastery, King City

Attractions

By: Chris Traber, Staff Writer

The journey begins upon your arrival at the Marylake Retreat Centre in King City.

Once past the ornate stone wall and open wrought iron gate at the crossroads of Bloomington Road and Keele Street, a long and pleasant winding road canopied by lush mature trees leads you to the middle of the serene 814-acre property.

An Augustinian monastery since 1942 and site of Our Lady of Grace Shrine, Marylake is also a popular retreat offering reflection, prayer and spiritual direction.

Owned and operated by Augustinian friars, many of whom live at Marylake, the woodlands, rolling pastures and 40-acre lake offer an atmosphere in which visitors can be attuned to God’s creation, world and word, retreat director Father Laurence Clark said.

“As Catholics, the tradition of retreat is a time of spiritual renewal, quiet prayer and reflection on the Scriptures,” Father Clark said. “The idea is to present what we know, to share the prolific writings of Saint Augustine.

“The keynote at retreat is the prayer, ‘Lord, let me know myself.’ It’s an opportunity to step away from anxiety, to look where we’re going and to look at God.”

The retreat house can accommodate up to 60 overnight visitors.

It was originally the guest house on the estate of Sir Henry Pellatt, (1859-1939) a royalist, military officer, capitalist, financier, philanthropist and builder of Casa Loma in Toronto.

Weekend respites are themed. Groups, male, female, co-ed, individuals, teachers, clergy and youth, often from various GTA parishes and afar, attend retreats to learn, commune with nature and the like-minded and be introspective.

The retreats normally conclude Sunday afternoon. While a weekend away may not answer everyone’s questions, you are encouraged to follow up with a parish priest or your faith’s community leader.

While the Scriptures and learning are premised on Catholicism, all denominations are welcome.

“We don’t discourage anyone,” Father Clark said. “We get people with no religion. We don’t consider them agnostic or atheist. We use the term ‘unchurched’.

“Some of the people at retreat are puzzled, disturbed or may feel inadequate and don’t know who God is. We show them what God is really like. We try and help them see more clearly. It’s about the conversion of good people, conversion to awareness, to take away fear.”

The pristine property, 200 acres of which belong to the Archdiocese of Toronto and the private grades 6 to 12 St. Thomas of Villanova School, has a novel history.

In the early 1900s, Mr. Pellatt had a lodge built for himself, as well as horse and cattle stables. During summer months he employed 24 gardeners to tend the grounds and flower beds.

Marylake and the surrounding area was formed 2.5 billion years ago by the Wisconsin glacier and is part of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

On one occasion, Mr. Pellatt decided to build an island in the lake. He had his men construct a huge pile of dirt on the ice of winter, assuming the dirt would drop with the spring thaw and provide the island.

However the dirt did not drop, but spread and scattered over the lake. Now, instead of having a firm bottom, it is muddy and has lost the characteristics of the other kettle moraine lakes in the area.

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