The Eparchy of Parma's Family Camp is less than a month away!

Have you heard about the Eparchy of Parma's Family Camp yet? It will be held right across the street from our monastery. 

Among the new endeavors of the Eparchy of Parma this year is the Family Camp, which will be held on the grounds of the eparchial jewel and pilgrimage place, the Shrine of Our Lady Mariapoch, July 14-17, 2022 in Burton, OH.

Come and discover the fullness of eastern spirituality, in prayers and in sharing how the Word of God is acting in your life with fellow Byzantine Catholic families from across the eparchy. Enjoy an extended weekend with your spouse while your children have fun with our camp staff playing games and activities as well as spiritually growing in the Byzantine Catholic faith.

All families will camp on the grounds of the shrine, so bring a tent or camper for the weekend. Food will be provided by the eparchy.

Family Camp is open to all families, not just those in the Eparchy of Parma. 

Please visit this link for more information and to register.

We hope to see you there, and we are praying that this event will be an enriching experience for everyone who comes, as well as for their parishes when they return home. 

Introducing: our Special Guests for this Year's Bridegroom's Banquet

 

Every year, at the Bridegroom's Banquet, we provide some entertainment while the donations are being counted. This year, we decided to do something a little different. Our entertainment is going to be a talk from Matt and Cameron Fradd titled "Chastity - Not just for Celibates." We're looking forward to hearing their real world perspective on living out the virtue of chastity. 

In addition to giving the talk with her husband Matt, Cameron will be the emcee for the evening. 

For all of the details about the event and to register, please visit The Bridegroom's Banquet tab at the top of this page.

About Cameron: 

Cameron Fradd is the founder of Among the Lilies, a podcast for women “who are tired of pretending and ready to be real!” She speaks weekly to a growing community of women about being authentic and real.

She also speaks passionately about Feminine Genius and believes that all women are beautiful and wonderfully made. She has an unshakable faith in Our Lord and deep desire to share her heart with others, especially women.

Through the podcast, social media, and various speaking engagements, she is passionate about helping women discover their identity as beloved daughters of God. 

She spends most of her time raising and homeschooling her four beautiful energetic children in Steubenville, Ohio, where she lives with her husband, Matt Fradd. Together, she and Matt have done many amazing things, more specifically they co-authored the book Restored: True Stories of Love and Lust After Porn. 

Cameron says, "With a smile always on my face and praise on my lips, I press onward one day at a time, uttering the words of my Patron Saint Joan of Arc, 'It was for this that I was born!'"

About Matt: 

Matt Fradd is the creator and host of the Pints With Aquinas podcast. He is the author and coauthor of several books including, Does God Exist? A Socratic Dialogue on the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas.

Matt earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy from Holy Apostles College & Seminary which also awarded him an honorary doctorate.

He lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with his wife Cameron and their four kids.

Registration for the Bridegroom's Banquet is now open!

 

For all of the details and to register, please visit the Bridegroom's Banquet tab.

And please invite your friends!

We're looking forward to spending a beautiful evening with you, reflecting on this year's theme, "Receive the Gift": Reflections on Chastity. We'll see you there!

Thank You to our Spring Work Day Volunteers!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

This past Saturday, we were completely blown away by the generosity of all who came to help at our work day. Our refrigerators were overflowing with food for the potluck meals. Our grounds and monastery were full of people cutting down trees, cleaning up gardens, cleaning windows, deep cleaning the poustinias, and so much more. We had over a hundred people with us throughout the day who helped on the monastery grounds and at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch. 

We closed the day with Great Vespers in our chapel. The singing was so loud that those who had to leave a couple minutes early to set up dinner could hear the singing from the far end of the monastery's yard across the street. It was a beautiful day with so many beautiful people. 

Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of it. 

We have a few more photos from the day here. 

The Angel Exclaimed / Shine in Splendor - New Video on YouTube

 
Christ is Risen!

We'd like to share with you the fruit of many recent choir practices. We are really enjoying singing this beautiful choral composition of The Angel Exclaimed and Shine in Splendor which Mother Cecilia introduced us to this year. It came from her home parish, St. Joseph in Brecksville, and after many hours at the piano, she was able to transpose it from four parts into two, within our vocal range. It was quite the project, but we're so glad she was able to persevere with us who have no vocal training and who had never heard this version of the hymn before. 

We hope you enjoy listening to it, and that you would be able to persevere in Paschal joy! 

Christ is Risen!

Some more information:

• This hymn in sung during Resurrection Matins and Paschal Divine Liturgies in place of "It is Truly Proper."
• We don't know who the composer is. (If you do, please let us know!)
• It was adapted into English by Michael Karaffa, former choir director of St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church in Brecksville, Ohio. 

Spring Work Day, 2022

Hello friends, 

You're invited to join us for a day of work projects (mostly outdoor), prayer, food and fun at the monastery and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch on Saturday, May 28th. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome! 

The day begins at 10 a.m., includes lunch, and closes with vespers at 5 p.m. followed by a cookout.

Come whenever available, and bring a side dish to share if you can. 

The monastery is located at 17485 Mumford Rd. Burton, Ohio. 

Please RSVP here by Thursday, May 26th, so that the appropriate amount of food can be prepared. 

Photos from Holy Week and Pascha 2022

Christ is Risen! 

We'd like to share a little glimpse into what our Great and Holy Week and Pascha looked like this year. The full photo album can be viewed here, and a little taste of it is below. It started out with sunshine, crocuses and daffodils and ended with a light dusting of snow on Pascha. 

It was so wonderful to pray with all of the guests we had during the week. We are so glad to get to share our prayer with all of you, and we are especially grateful to all of the priests who celebrated the services and liturgies for us throughout the week. 

Palm and Flowery Sunday Procession

Great and Holy Friday, Procession during Entombment Vespers

Resurrection Matins Procession ending at the chapel door