“O you through whom Joy will shine forth”

Now that we live here across the street from the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch, we were excited during our first summer to get involved with the annual eparchial pilgrimage at the shrine. During this year’s pilgrimage, August 15-16, we attempted to revive an abandoned custom of camping out on the grounds. It was a humble start, but we hope it will grow in the coming years. Most successful was the program we organized for teens. Approximately 30 teens and young adults camped out on Saturday night, prayed with us in our chapel, enjoyed a cookout and games, listened to two talks on the theme “O you through whom Joy will shine forth” and participated in other prayers and activities during the pilgrimage. We were especially proud of the youth choir which sang the Akathist to the Mother of God on Saturday evening. The teens were all a pleasure to be with and pray with.

On Sunday morning we gave tours of our house to pilgrims and then invited all to pray the 6th Hour with us in our chapel. The chapel—and the foyer outside of it—were packed, and the singing was incredible. We were so blessed to pray with these awesome pilgrims.

The pilgrims enjoyed the beautiful hierarchical Divine Liturgy on Sunday afternoon and Sr. Celeste’s delicious homemade chicken paprikas afterwards! Thank you to all those who joined us for the weekend or who prayed for its success.

A Colorful Transfiguration

O Christ, You have clothed yourself completely in the nature of Adam, thereby refashioning what had been corrupted. Through your becoming human, You transfigured and glorified our nature. (Matins for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Ode 3)

As we harvest the vegetables in our garden, we are continually amazed by the beautiful plants and multitude of fruit produced by each small seed. Numerous spiritual lessons can be learned from a garden, but as we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord, we contemplate especially the transfiguration of each plant from flower to fruit, and how we are also being transfigured into the beauty of God.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, the Byzantine Church observes the tradition of blessing fruit. Above is a picture of our fruit basket, which we were quite proud of! Some of its contents were harvested from our garden (and some from the grocery store)!

Our garden is flourishing, especially the weeds! We have been enjoying cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, green beans, broccoli and the first of the tomatoes. Our first canning experience of the summer was dill pickles. The garden has been difficult to keep up with, but we are grateful for all the blessings.

We ask for your prayers this weekend as we welcome pilgrims to the shrine for the Eparchy of Parma’s pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Mariapoch. We are especially excited to welcome the group of teens coming to camp out. If you are in the area, please join us!

The unchangeable nature of God, when united with human nature, shone forth with a brilliant light. It revealed to the apostles of Christ a reflection of the immaterial divinity. (Matins for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Ode 5)

"Behold, the Bridegroom is coming..."

Jesus Christ is the divine Bridegroom of the Church. He became incarnate, took on our flesh and came into the world to betroth Himself to His bride with the price of His blood. He invites us, woos us to come to His beautiful garden, His bridal chamber, to envelope us in His love, life, joy and peace (Ephesians 5:25-27). He yearns to be intimately one with each of us, His Bride (Song of Songs 7:11).

The icon of Christ the Bridegroom portrays the selfless love for Christ’s Bride, the Church (Isaiah 54). He is dressed in royal colors as the betrothed King, complying with Sacred Scripture’s account of His mockery by the Roman guards before His crucifixion. The crown is a symbol of His marriage to the Church; the rope, a symbol of bondage to sin, death and corruption which Jesus untied by His death on the Cross; the reed, a symbol of His humility.

During Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week, we celebrate Bridegroom Matins. We sing:

Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night. Blessed is the servant he shall find awake. But the one he shall find neglectful will not be worthy of him. Beware, therefore, O my soul! Do not fall into a deep slumber, lest you be delivered to death and the door of the Kingdom be closed to you. Watch instead and cry out: Holy, Holy, Holy are you, O God. Through the intercession of the Theotokos, have mercy on us. (Troparion)

Other beautiful prayers during Bridegroom Matins include these prayed on Tuesday:

O faithful, let us be on fire with love for the Bridegroom, and with lamps burning, let us go out to meet him. May the light of our virtues shine brightly, and may our faith be radiant. With the wise Virgins, let us prepare to enter the banquet hall of the Lord; - for the divine Spouse offers us all the crown of immortality. (Sessional Hymn One)

O wretched soul, think of your last hours. Be dismayed at the rebuking of the fig tree. Act and double the talent given you with a loving purpose. Be watchful and cry out: Grant that we not be left outside the bridal chamber of Christ. (Kontakion)

May we all stay awake in anticipation and prayer throughout this holiest of weeks, as we prepare to meet the Bridegroom as he emerges from the tomb.

Please also keep us in your prayers as we move into our monastery this weekend!

Welcome to Our Blog!

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Welcome to the blog of the future Christ the Bridegroom Monastery! Let us take a moment to introduce ourselves and our vision, which we hope is also God’s vision.

In January of 2008 Bishop John Kudrick published a letter outlining his vision for a new men’s or women’s monastery (or both) in the Eparchy of Parma. His letter can be read here. (Click on the link to Bishop John's pastoral letter and scroll half way down) We have responded to that call and are in the beginning stages of the formation of a women’s monastery.

Bishop John’s letter is a good starting place to learn about the purpose and spirit of the future monastery, though we will also expand on this as we continue to write here.

So a little about us… My name is Julie. I graduated from The University of Akron in 2008 with a degree in communications (explaining my interest in this blog…), and I currently work at our eparchy’s chancery office in Parma, Ohio. I have been discerning religious life for several years and I am excited to see God’s plan for my life unfold. My interests include pro-life work, drawing and painting, and the color purple…

Celeste is on leave from her community to begin this monastery. (Many know her as Sister Celeste, but during exclaustration canon law states that she cannot be addressed as "Sister"...) Her beautiful optimistic spirit is the sunshine that will bring life to the little seed of our endeavors! Her passions include youth ministry and arguing with Bishop John (playfully of course!) about the possibility of making jelly with crab apples... She insists it is not only possible but quite tasty.

Currently we are fixing up the house that will be our future monastery, across the street from the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch in Burton, Ohio. We will document our progress here! Dry walling, painting, and tearing out a wall to expand our chapel are the projects in motion (with the help of wonderful family and friends).

We look forward with joy to the growth of our community, and to sharing it with you here. Please pray for us! You are welcome to write to us at:
17485 Mumford Rd.
Burton, OH 44021

May you have a blessed season of the Great Fast.