Bearing Christ in the ordinary

I have been reflecting the last several weeks on my call to spiritual motherhood, which made itself profoundly manifest at my profession.  The weeks following the profession have been a time of learning from Jesus, through the example of the Mother of God, what it means to be a spiritual mother.

In my search to learn more about Mary’s maternity, I was led to pick up a book called The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander, which has been teaching me much about Mary’s example of motherhood.  I was pondering Mary’s pregnancy and how we are all called, nuns in particular, to be pregnant with God.  We are called to bear Christ to the world, not through extraordinary means, but through the ordinariness of everyday life.

      “Yes, it certainly seemed that God wanted to give the world the impression that it is ordinary for Him to be born of a human creature.
     Well, that is a fact.  God did mean it to be the ordinary thing, for it is His will that Christ shall be born in every human being’s life and not, as a rule, through extraordinary things, but through the ordinary daily life and the human love that people give to one another.” (Caryll Houselander, The Reed of God, ‘Fiat’ p. 18)

Not much has changed outwardly in my daily life since my life profession.  I still have the same work to do, I still have the same sisters to love, I still must respond ‘yes’ every day to all the calls that Jesus makes.  What is different is that I now interiorly have the grace to fulfill my vows to Him, if I just turn to Jesus in every ordinary situation and allow Him to unite Himself to me through the very mundaneness of everyday life.  I must surrender in each situation to His will and allow Him to love through me each person I encounter – filled with Him within me and bearing Him, not myself, forth to the world.

     “The surrender that is asked of us includes complete and absolute trust; it must be like Our Lady’s surrender, without condition and without reservation.
     We shall not be asked to do more than the Mother of God; we shall not be asked to become extraordinary or set apart or to make a hard and fast rule of life or to compile a manual of mortification or heroic resolutions; we shall not be asked to cultivate our souls life rare hothouse flowers; we shall not, most of us, even be allowed to do that.
     What we shall be asked to give is our flesh and blood, our daily life – our thoughts, our service to one another, our affections and loves, our words, our intellect, our waking, working, and sleeping, our ordinary human joys and sorrows – to God.
     To surrender all that we are, as we are, to the Spirit of Love in order that our lives may bear Christ into the world – that is what we shall be asked.” (Ibid, p.19)

So here is my challenge to you in the final days of the Nativity Fast or Advent: Remember… that it is more important to come bearing Christ rather than gifts to all the festivities you will be attending… that you should share the joy of a life lived in union with Christ along with your Christmas cookies… that you should love each person you encounter in these final days of preparation, from the UPS delivery man bringing your last minute Amazon purchases, to your kids who may do more to hinder your holiday decorating than help.  Each of these moments is an opportunity to incarnate Christ, to experience the true meaning of Christmas and to receive the promise of God’s love as Mary did, in the very normalness of life.

Mother Gabriella

Entrusted to God and to the Church

Our community grew to six members on September 30th, when we welcomed Victoria Olsen as a dokimos (postulant) during Vespers for the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God. Victoria entered on the patronal feast day of her home parish, Holy Protection of the Mother of God Byzantine parish in Denver.  Her pastor, Fr. Michael O'Loughlin, was able to make the trip out to be present for her entrance day. He reminded us that the feast day is also the patronal feast of Victoria's home eparchy, Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix! Victoria's parents, grandmas and a cousin were also able to be present. Enjoy these photos from the day!

Here are some beautiful words from our bishop's homily:

“Entrusting: what a beautiful concept…on this Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God.  Jesus entrusted his good friend, John, to His Mother.  He said ‘Here is your mother.  Trust her.’  And we know that Mary is that image of the Church, and God entrusts us to this beautiful instutition, organization, family: the Church.  And so we do trust and we do have to have that kind of faith, and today is an opportunity for us to entrust ourselves into the hands of: a superior, into the hands of those who have been given to us for support. …We know that Victoria has in the past and will continue to thank her family, and we in the name of the Church thank her family for showing her that right to trust, that ability to trust.  [This trust] comes from living in a strong family, or it comes later in life with the grace of God. …We take a moment to be reminded of those to whom we are entrusted. …We thank God for the gift of His Mother, whose mantle is held over us, to show us that indeed it is a mantle of love, a mantle of interest and care for us.  And so, how appropriate we do trust, and we indeed want to maintain that newness in our life and not lose that first fervor that is easy to lose. …I am sure that God has great things in store for [Victoria] as she continues her discernment now to determine if in fact this community is where she will find God’s plan for her.”

Our new sisters explain their names

Our new rasophore nuns, Sr. Emilia and Sr. Iliana, were tonsured on September 7, and they would like to share with you about the saints and inspiration behind the monastic names they received:

Sr. Emilia
Feast Day: May 8

“You shall be given a new name
which the LORD himself will give. . .
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
your God rejoice over you.”
(Isaiah 62:2,5)

“…the handmaid of God, Sr. Emilia.” These words are the words spoken by my bishop on the day of my tonsure. I did not know my name up to this point. When he said, “Emilia,” my heart skipped a beat. That was my number one choice, but it wasn’t one of the three choices that I submitted to Mother Theodora. I had already received that name in eighth grade, when I was confirmed. I told God in prayer one day, “I love Emilia, I feel called to take that name, but I already did. If it is really you asking me to take this name again, I need you to make Mother pick it without it being an option and without me saying it’s the number one name on my heart. I need to know it is your will, Lord.”

My seventh grade year, my mom passed away just two weeks after having the youngest of my siblings, Edward Benedict. If he had been a girl, my mom wanted to name him Emilia Rose, after St. John Paul II’s mom, who died when he was young. In honor of my mom, I chose to take Emilia as my confirmation name that next year. When I submitted that name I had to write a little report on St. Emilia. Here are some of the things that I found interesting then, which are even more so now:

St. Emilia was the mother of ten children, five of whom are canonized saints. She instilled the Christian faith in her children, teaching them to pray and devote their lives to the Church (this reminded me greatly of my own saintly mother). The most well-known children of St. Emilia’s are St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Macrina. Because of her holiness and the holiness of her children, St. Emilia is referred to as “The Mother of Saints.” She left everything behind to start a monastery with her oldest daughter Macrina. They began to live humble lives with other women who sought union with God.

These points about her life affect me more now because of the connection with the Byzantine Church. Her children are celebrated on the Byzantine calendar and St. Basil the Great has a special liturgy that we, the faithful, use during Great Lent. When I was in eighth grade, I had no idea what the Byzantine Catholic Church was. I had no idea that down the road I would be tonsured a rasaphore nun in a Byzantine monastery and receive that same name again. Looking back at this process, I can clearly see God’s hand at work in my life. He truly picked my name the day I was tonsured and it means that much more because of the connection with my mother.

Now that I am called Sr. Emilia, I will live each day remembering to emulate this holy saint. I will look to her for guidance in holiness, for examples of how to be a good mother for those children of God that come to me seeking spiritual motherhood. Above all, I will remember and be connected to my own mother each day as I remember her love for God and her dedication to raise me and my ten siblings in the love of the Lord, my heavenly Father. I will have the memories of her example to help me in religious life; to always love the Lord above all else, and strive to lead the souls whom I encounter to heaven, to union with God.

“You are now God’s daughter; you belong. In Christ, you are His favorite, His beloved.”
(Abba’s Heart, by Neal Lozano)

Sr. Iliana                        

Feast day: July 20th, Elias the Prophet  

Meaning: “My God has answered” in Hebrew 

Pronounced: ee-lee-ah-nah (Iliana, the Ukrainian spelling of Eliana, feminine of Elias)  

The Lord placed the name Iliana on my heart on Pentecost Sunday, and filled my heart with a burning desire to be named after the great prophet Elias. I felt unworthy to be named after such a great prophet, so full of fiery zeal, when I was so small and prone to fear. Elias was “filled with jealous zeal for the Lord” (I Kg 19:10). He was taken to heaven in a “chariot of fire” (II Kg 2:11) and when he was born, his father saw “angels of God hovering around the child, wrapping the child in fire and feeding it flames” (The Prologue of Ohrid). So, too, I wished to be caught up in the flames of His love.  

The next day, I decided to ask the Lord if this was the name He had chosen, and asked Elias if he was, in fact, adopting me as his little pupil. I began to read about the Transfiguration, and was immediately struck by the image of Jesus speaking to Elias face to face, and so I understood that Elias would teach me to pray and speak with the Lord face to face, “as a man speaks with a friend” (Ex 33:11). When Jesus said that “Elias has come already,” the disciples “understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist” (Mt 17:12-13), and so I understood that with Elias as my patron, I would also have John the Baptist, the “friend of the Bridegroom” (Jn 3:29) as my patron as well. As we continued to celebrate Pentecost, I felt that by choosing the prophet Elias as my patron, I could also cry out with Elisha, “Let me inherit a double share of your spirit” (II Kg 2:9).  

I felt that the three most courageous, zealous prophets of the Lord were adopting me, a small little soul so prone to fear, teaching me that “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (II Cor 3:17) and helping me hear the “still, small voice” (I Kg 19:12) of the Lord speak to my heart, “To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid” (Lk 12:4). As I pondered these things through the day, I continued to ask the Lord if this was what He was choosing for me. Then I went to the chapel for Vespers, and soon discovered that we were having Great Vespers, for the Feast of the third finding of the head of John the Baptist! The friend of the Bridegroom had adopted me and my soul rejoiced! Then the Lord confirmed this burning desire during the readings for Great Vespers, when Mother suddenly read, “Lo, I will send you Elias, the prophet” (Mal 3:23). 

I began to research the feminine name of Elias and discovered that Iliana meant “my God has answered” in Hebrew. This meaning resonated so deeply, for I knew in my heart that my vocation to be a nun at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery was a beautiful answer to prayer from the Lord. As Elias had “quenched his thirst by the stream” that the Lord had provided (I Kg 17:6), so too, the Lord was quenching my thirst for Him. As the “hand of the Lord had come down upon Elias” (I Kings 18:46) so that he could accomplish the Lord’s work, so too, the Lord’s hand was coming down on me.

“Beautifully Made, Wholly Redeemed”

We are finally getting around to sharing with you about our busy summer! This post is about our Girls' Camp, which took place in June. We are still smiling as we think about it!

Twenty “Beautifully Made, Wholly Redeemed” teen girls gathered at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery for the seventh annual Eparchy of Parma Girl’s Camp, June 25-28. Coming from parishes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and even as far away as Texas, the girls came to encounter Christ’s love through the Mystery of Holy Repentance (Confession).

View our photo album

“Beautifully Made, Wholly Redeemed,” the theme of this year’s camp, emphasized the original beauty in which we were all created in infinite love and in the image of God. The girls watched the classic Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast,” which illustrated the beauty and dignity that lies deep within the heart of each one of us, and is not just reliant on our outward appearance. In our small group discussions, we looked more closely at these words from Scripture: “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Throughout the camp, we explored the main themes of salvation history. “In the divine image He created him; male and female He created them…God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good” (Genesis 1: 27, 31). The truth is that we are all made very good, but the lies of the devil and the fruit of sin in our lives leave us ashamed, and we hide from God. We read in Genesis that after the fall, “God then called to Adam” (Genesis 3:9). Throughout salvation history, God has been calling to each one of us, desiring to restore within us the original beauty of His creation, desiring to be reconciled with us, desiring to embrace each one of us as His beloved child.

Sr. Cecilia gave the main presentation this year, explaining the Mystery of Holy Repentance (Confession) and how Confession is a renewal of our baptism. After Confession we are completely reconciled with God, as clean as a baby that has just immerged from the baptismal font. She quoted an exorcist who said, “The devil fears one good Confession more than a thousand exorcisms,” because when we immerge from the confessional we are completely pure, a “new creation.” After Sr. Cecilia’s talk, one of the girls shared that this was the first time she had truly understood what was actually happening in Confession.

Mary Fetsko of Holy Transfiguration Parish in Mentor, Ohio, shared her personal testimony as a single woman living in the world, and how God has been working in her life. She reflected on how God’s mercy in the Mystery of Holy Repentance had helped her understand her own dignity and beauty in God’s eyes. Jason and Brooke Roberts of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Akron, Ohio, gave a talk about their vocation to marriage. They emphasized that love is not always a feeling but a choice you make every morning, and they also spoke about how Confession has helped strengthen their marriage.  

Dokimos (postulant) Moki Lonchyna shared her remarkable vocation story and how God has spoken to her of His love through prayer and the Mystery of Holy Repentance. She shared that her vocation, as is every vocation, was a response to His particular call upon her heart. After Moki’s talk, one of the girls commented, “This is the kind of story you read in a book, but this one actually happened!” Chris Kelly, a youth minister at Sts. Robert and William Parish in Euclid, Ohio, followed with an inspiring talk about how God fulfills our desires through the vocation he is calling us to, and how the deepest desire of every woman in the desire to be loved.

Although the main theme of the camp was related to Confession, we found that prayer  and God’s love became a focus for many of our small group discussions. We learned of a personal God who cares deeply about each of our hearts, who speaks to our hearts of His love, and who wants to be with us. Prayer is simply being with God, even when you do not know what to say. When you take time to be with Him you begin to hear Him speaking to your heart of His love. The girls themselves expressed so beautifully the fruits of the camp. Georgianna Hartung shared that “it brought me closer to Jesus and showed me a way to listen to Him.” Yana Monaco shared that “praying, Confession and various discussions opened my eyes to a more intimate and loving fellowship to people and especially to God.”

The camp culminated in a time of quiet reflection and prayer and an opportunity for Confession on Saturday evening. Most of the girls wrote that their favorite part of the camp was Confession. One girl shared that “it was very powerful and cleansing,” and “I know of His forgiveness and mercy, and I’m more open to prayer.” Elisabeth Hartung shared, “I’ve come to understand more fully my need for love, love that can only come from God.” Veronica Perts also shared, “I found hope and courage and LOVE in Jesus Christ. I experienced the love Jesus has for me.”

Our girls were not only showered with torrential downpours of God’s mercy and love during the camp, but with torrential downpours of rain as well. Our “camp” turned into a sleepover very quickly, as all the girls had to sleep in the monastery due to the rain. Although many girls lamented our flooded tents and soccer “field,” the camp remained very prayerful and fun. Our spirits were not completely dampened, and we were still able to make our crafts, share in group discussions, and get to know each other better.

The camp closed with a joint Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the flooded boys’ camp participants at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch, across the street from the monastery. After liturgy, the campers and their families shared a delicious lunch prepared by Richard Plishka, and the campers received rewards from the Sisters and facilitators. To encourage more girls to attend the camp next year, one of the participants said, “It was a spiritual strength booster and will leave you changed.”

"How wonderful is this doubt of Thomas!"

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
Happy Thomas Sunday!

"Although the doors were locked, You appeared to Your disciples, O Christ; but through providence, Thomas was not with them. For he said: I will not believe until I see the Lord, until I see the side from which the blood and water of our baptism came forth, until I see the wound by which He healed all people from the great wound, and I see that He is not a pure spirit, but a person made of flesh and bones. Therefore, O Lord, who trampled Death and made Thomas firm in his belief, O Lord, glory to You!" (From the stichera at Vespers for Thomas Sunday).

In the prayers of Vespers we also sing: "How wonderful is this doubt of Thomas! It brought the hearts of believers to the knowledge of God." God chooses to use our weaknesses for His glory! May we never become discouraged by our weaknesses, but cry out instead, "My Lord and my God!" and turn quickly to Him, offering Him the very things that seem to us to be stumbling blocks in our relationship with Him. Let us approach with confidence the wound of Christ "by which He healed all people from the great wound"--the great wound of sin we received by listening to the great lie of Satan: that God does not love us and does not intend for us to be like Him. Jesus' first words to His disciples were, "Peace be with you!" He did not come and condemn them for abandoning Him in His Passion...He came bringing peace and mercy.

Here at the monastery, our celebration of Christ's Passion and Resurrection was a powerful experience for each of us personally, as well as a community. A Byzantine Carmelite priest, Fr. Cyril, came from Chicago to stay with us and celebrate the services here from Great & Holy Friday until Bright Monday. It was a great gift to be able to celebrate all of the services in our chapel, and to spend this holy time with another monastic. Other priests from our eparchy helped out as well, and Bishop John celebrated Bridegroom Matins here on Holy Wednesday.  Our photos may not be able to convey the deep spiritual beauty of this time, but at least they can give you a little glimpse!

Holy Mother Mary (of Egypt), pray to God for us!

Today is the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (the 5th Sunday of the Great Fast).  During the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, which we led at the Cathedral in Parma on Thursday (click here for photos), we followed the tradition of reading the story of St. Mary's life. Listening to this story of profound repentance was a powerful experience for us, and others who participated in the Great Canon also expressed that they were moved by this story.

"Once you were filled with all kinds of harlotry; but today, through repentance, you have shown yourself to be a bride of Christ.  Yearning for the angelic life, you crushed the devils with the weapon of the cross.  Therefore, O glorious Mary, you became a bride in the kingdom." --Kontakion of St. Mary of Egypt

Bishop John has asked us to pray today, on the commemoration of this Egyptian saint, in a special way for peace in the world.  Please join us in praying these petitions that were included during the Divine Liturgy at the monastery and in each parish of our eparchy today:

Special Petitions in the Litany of Fervent Supplication (after the Gospel)

Loving Lord, look down with merciful eyes on your servants who, with faith, bow before your great kindness. You are good beyond all measure, and merciful beyond all mercy. You are the abode of calmness, peace and concord. Put an end to the hatred that separates us from one another, and lead all of us to love, mutual respect and tranquility by Your grace, and for your glory.  We pray you, O most powerful King, hear and have mercy.

One of the hundreds of prostrations during the Great Canon

Response:  Lord, have mercy. (Three times)

Lord, you commanded that everything be done for your glory. You spoke peace to a sinful world and brought us the gift of reconciliation by Your suffering, death and Resurrection. Teach us, the people who bear Your name, to follow Your example. May our faith, hope, and charity turn hatred to love, conflict to peace, and death to eternal life by Your grace. We pray you, O generous creator, hear and have mercy.

Response:  Lord, have mercy. (Three times)

Mother Theodora's thoughts on fasting

Despite terrible road conditions due to the overnight snow, we made it down to Akron on Sunday morning for the Divine Liturgy at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church.  Mother was invited to speak after the Divine Liturgy about fasting.  During the brunch, Moki shared her vocation story with the parishioners.  We were welcomed with the greatest hospitality by the loving parishioners!  Their pastor, Fr. Vsevelod ("Fr. Sal") Shevchuk is the brother of Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.  Fr. Vsevelod's wife is due any day now with their second child! Please pray for this beautiful parish as they celebrate their 100th anniversary.

We would like to share with you a portion of Mother's talk:

Serbian bishop Nikolai of Ochrid said (regarding his experience at the tomb in Jerusalem on Easter morning):

“We waited, and at last our expectations were fulfilled. When the Patriarch sang 'Christ is risen,' a heavy burden fell from our souls. We felt as if we also had been raised from the dead. All at once, from all around, the same cry resounded like the noise of many waters. 'Christ is risen' sang the Greeks, the Russians, the Arabs, the Serbs, the Copts, the Armenians, the Ethiopians one after another, each in his own tongue, in his own melody…Coming out from the service at dawn, we began to regard everything in the light of the glory of Christ’s resurrection, and all appeared different from what it had yesterday; everything seemed better, more expressive, more glorious. Only in the light of the Resurrection does life receive meaning."

This experience of resurrection joy is foundational to our worship and is the root of our Christian life and hope.  Yet if we are to experience the beauty and power of the Resurrection, each of us needs to go through a journey, a time of preparation and waiting. Without going through this journey of waiting—of expectant preparation, the deeper meaning of the Easter celebration will be lost.  In others words, if we do not die, we will not resurrect.

Fasting is a way of emptying ourselves in order to be filled with God. The purpose of fasting is also to discipline ourselves and to gain control of our passions. The soul is strengthened through self-denial and grace.

We as human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, are body and spirit. Our spirit could not express itself without the body and the body is alive and animated by the spirit.  Since we are a synthesis of body and spirit, both the body and spirit need to go through this time of preparation and be attentive not to neglect one or the other.

St. John Chrysostom teaches us about the meaning of the true nature of the Fast:

“The value of fasting does not consist in abstinence only from food, but in a letting go of sinful practices, since he who limits his fasting only to an abstinence from meat is he who especially demeans the fast.  Do you fast?  Give me proof of it by your works.  If you see a poor man, take pity on him!  If you see a friend enjoying honor, do not envy him.  For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of your bodies.  Let the hands fast by being pure from greed.  Let the feet fast by ceasing from running to forbidden spectacles. Let the eyes fast by being taught never to fix themselves rudely upon handsome countenances…For it would be an instance of the highest absurdity to abstain from meals and from unlawful food because of the fast, but with the eyes to feed on what is forbidden.  Do you not eat flesh when you feed on immorality by means of the eyes?  Let the ear also fast. The fasting of the ear is not to receive evil speaking and slander.  Let the mouth also fast from fowl words.
HERE’S THE ZINGER:
For what does it profit if we abstain from meat, and yet bite and devour our brother?”

There needs to be a proper balance between the body and the spirit.  St. Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…glorify God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).  Without physical abstinence a full and true fast cannot be kept; yet we have to be careful not to treat the rules about eating and drinking as an end in themselves.

Ascetic fasting always has an inward and unseen purpose. The primary aim of fasting is to make us aware of our helplessness and dependence on God. We experience hunger, thirst and physical strain in order to lead us to a sense of inward brokenness and repentance. Through fasting and prayer we realize, in a profound way, the words of Jesus, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). 

If it is important not to overlook the physical requirements of fasting, it is even more important not to overlook its inward significance. If we disregard the spiritual aspects of the Fast, then fasting without prayer becomes a mere diet. And...prayer and fasting without works of charity is dead. 

Moki with Fr. Sal's wife Helen and son Juri

The gospel of the Paralytic has a message of perseverance and hope. The paralytic was unable to get to Jesus because of his condition and the crowd. The friends of the paralytic overcame the obstacles that were in the way of their love for their friend. The gospel says, "Jesus saw their faith..." It was through their faith that the paralytic was healed. We, through our faith, through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving can bring others to Christ and overcome obstacles of spiritual paralysis or anything that separates them from Christ.

Fasting makes us light, vigilant, free and joyful. In time, it actually makes us work more diligently and think more clearly. 

When we over eat and drink we can become complacent and self-reliant. We become spiritually sluggish and our well-meaning intentions to pray or exercise an act of almsgiving can yield to compromise. Our opportunity to spend intimate time with God, a loved one or someone in need may ultimately end in a fruitless enslavement with something like a Smartphone.  

The Lenten journey, the Christian life itself, is a real battle. If it is true fasting it will lead us to temptation, weakness, doubt and irritation. We will probably fail many times in various ways.  Let it be said that there is no growth in the Christian life without the unpleasant experience of failures.  Did you start the fast with enthusiasm and then give up after your first failure? “Oh well, I messed up, maybe next year.”

The real test actually comes after your first failure.  If after having failed in your efforts, you start all over again and do not give up no matter how many times you fail, sooner or later your fasting, prayer and almsgiving will bear spiritual fruit. 

Be patient with yourself. There are no shortcuts to holiness (other than martyrdom!).

We have 5 more weeks--35 more days--of fasting, prayer and almsgiving. We have 35 more days of preparation and waiting, waiting for our expectations of the resurrection to be fulfilled. 

Let the fast be one of hunger and thirst for God. At the end of the Lenten journey we can say with all our being, “We waited, and at last our expectations were fulfilled. Only in the light of the Resurrection does life receive meaning.”

(Some points adapted from The Meaning of the Great Fast: The True Nature of Fasting by Mother Mary and Bishop Kallistos Ware)

"He refashions us through the cleansing that He receives"

Happy Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord!

Here are some photos from our celebration of the feast.

"The One who clothes Himself with light as with a robe deigned, for our sakes, to become as we are.  Today He is clothed in the streams of the Jordan even though He has no need to be purified.  He refashions us through the cleansing that He receives.  What a marvelous wonder!  He creates anew without fire and refashions without tearing apart; He grants salvation to those enlightened in Him, Christ our God, the Savior of our souls." 

(Litija at Great Compline for the Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord)