Monday, July 15, 2024

Obedient Unto Sickness

A Reflection by Mother Petra

During the Great Fast, we were blessed to visit the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.  We arrived in time to join the nuns for prayer in their chapel at noon, then joined them for lunch, spent the afternoon in conversation and sharing, prayed Vespers with them, and departed for our own monastery. 

In these nuns, who have decades more experience than our young monastery, we saw a mirror of the beauty and significance of our own monastic life.  A friend recently said to me, “Sometimes, while I’m driving around running errands, I remember all of you here, praying in your chapel, and I think—that’s why the world continues to exist.”  Of course, being immersed in our life, I don’t have any such sense myself!  Yet as I stood in their chapel, I looked upon these beautiful nuns and glimpsed the same reality:  Faithfulness like this upholds the world.  Like Abraham before the Face of God, interceding for Sodom (“Will You spare it for ten righteous men…?”).

We were moved by our conversations with the nuns, and grateful to receive spiritual wisdom and insight both from Mother Christophora, their abbess, and from the other nuns.  At once point, the topic of sickness in community emerged, and I asked Mother Christophora if she would speak about illness in the monastic life.  She explained that, upon entering the monastic life, it is a common experience to become ill.  Perhaps this is an attack of the evil one to discourage a young monastic, perhaps it is trial permitted by the Lord to try her vocation or purify her motivations, perhaps it is simply the natural result of the real intensity of our monastic life which takes a toll on the body.  But then she shared words of Fr. Thomas Hopko which deeply impressed each of us:  “In this country we don’t have elders, so our illnesses are our elders because they teach us obedience.”  She concluded with her own observation, “Afterall, He [Jesus] didn’t say ‘Take up your cross and fight it’!”

So often, it can seem that illness is an impediment to “real” life—keeping us from fully participating in liturgical prayer or other forms of asceticism, from fasting or keeping vigils to the extent we would desire, from accomplishing as much work as we would prefer, from accepting invitations to give talks or spiritual direction.  Yet isn’t this thwarting of personal expectation, desire, and preference the very definition of asceticism?  Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk of Chicago recently commented to us that illness is an asceticism the Lord is giving us; we are not choosing it.  Therefore, it is a better asceticism because there is no self-will in it, but rather has the purity of coming direct from the mind of God. 

As a nun who has poor health, I am often pained to see the strain my illnesses place on my sisters.  But what a paradigm shift if we came to see each of these limitations, not as arbitrarily imposed by circumstances beyond our control, but rather as an invitation to deeper surrender and obedience in conformity to the will of the Father!  Since our visit, we have begun referring to our diagnoses as “elders” and “eldresses,” coming to recognize the necessities and treatments (all of them inconvenient!) as an obedience—an asceticism—given by the Lord to the whole community. 

I hope those of you who suffer from illness in the world will also be granted grace to trust that nothing touches you that does not pass through the hands of the Father, and that He knows what He is asking of you:  Perhaps not the service or work you desire to do, but trustful rest, slowing down, the willing sacrifice of pain offered to the Lord with faith in His goodness and power to transform our suffering so that it, like Christ’s, becomes a source of redemption in the world and in our own souls. 

I was recently reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the Sacrament of the Sick.  It teaches that “in a certain way he [the sick person receiving the anointing] is consecrated to bear fruit by configuration to the Savior’s Redemptive Passion.  Suffering, a consequence of original sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus.” Further, the sick Christian “contributes to the sanctification of the Church and to the good of all men for whom the Church suffers and offers herself through Christ to God the Father.” (CCC, 1521-1522, emphasis mine).  Sickness is not useless, not meaningless!!!  Our surrender to the Father’s will in our sickness is tremendously significant work!  This does not mean we do not seek to alleviate suffering (we should!), but when our efforts fail, or when the treatments themselves prove to be a form of suffering (or, at the very least, inconvenience), let us pray for deeper faith to bow in obedience to the will of God revealed in our circumstances.  Let us cry out with Jesus in the Garden—after pouring out our pain and distress to our good Father, Who attentively gathers all our tears and holds us as we weep—“Yet not my will, but Your will, be done.”  May we be so conformed to Christ, the Obedient One Who was “obedient unto death” (Phil. 2:8), that we consent to be obedient unto sickness, as long as the Lord allows.

Mother Petra praying at the grave of Mother Alexandra (born Princess Ileana of Romania), the foundress of The Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, whose life and writing were significant in her own monastic formation.

 

Monday, July 1, 2024

Early Summer Updates: A Time of Gratitude

Early summer has been for us a time of gratitude for the Father’s provision and care.  We want to thank all those who came out for our Spring Work Day!  Many families and individuals joined us for several hours of work projects around the monastery, chapel, and grounds.  After our labors, we prayed Vespers together down at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch, and enjoyed visiting over a potluck dinner.  It gave us joy to be able to fellowship with you, your help eased our burdens.

 A few weeks ago, Olivia (formerly known as Sister Onuphria) discerned that the Lord was not calling her to continue in our monastic life.  She asked us to share with you her gratitude in the following message: 

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me over the last three years since I entered the monastery. I'm so grateful for your support, and I am especially grateful to the nuns for all of their sisterly love, generosity, and prayer during my time in the monastery and now as I continue on. The last three years have been a tremendous gift. I love the nuns so much and so deeply appreciate my time at Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. Please continue to pray for me while I transition back into the world. 

We are grateful for the years when we were blessed to share daily life with Olivia!  She has our love and prayers as she continues to pursue the Lord.

Earlier in the month, Bishop Benedict (Venedykt Aleksiychuk) of Chicago graced us with his prayerful presence by bringing three of his priests to pray Vespers with us.  We are grateful for the opportunity to pray with our fellow Eastern (Ukrainian) Catholic fathers and brothers!


Our garden is delivering a beautiful yield, both in the form of sunflowers and other blooms, and edible produce.  Several volunteers, both volunteers on the Work Day and also others who offered the gift of their time and energy afterward, helped us put new soil in our raised garden beds.  Now we are reaping a harvest of parsley, arugula, chard, blueberries, and more.  We grateful for the gift of participating in God’s work by cultivating the natural resources He has given us.  


Finally, we were grateful for, and delighted by, the Mullins’ Family’s second annual “Ora et Labora Vacation.”  Don, Rachel, and their children (Eric, Samuel, Amelia & Margaret) camped down at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch for a week, doing work projects both at the shrine and here at the monastery, spending time together having fun as a family, and joining us for prayers in our chapel.  They brought such energy and love with them, both to prayer and to work!  Their final evening, they invited us down to the shrine for dinner, where Rachel cooked a delicious fast-friendly Indian dinner.  We are grateful for their friendship, faithfulness, and their service for the Lord.

Please remember our first ever Summer Picnic is coming up on Saturday, July 6—and you are invited!  We’ll gather at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch (across the street from the monastery:  17486 Mumford Rd., Burton, Ohio 44021) for Vespers at 4:30 p.m. in the outdoor chapel, followed by a picnic dinner.  We’ll be happy to visit with you until around 8:30 p.m.  For those who have never visited the monastery before, we’ll be glad to give you a brief tour of the monastery and chapel.  Please bring your own picnic dinner and beverages.  You may also want to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs in case we run out of room at the shrine’s picnic tables.  If you plan to attend, RSP using this form so that we can have enough booklets available for Vespers and notify you if anything changes. 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

New Issue of Pomegranate Blossoms


After a long hiatus, we finally published a new issue of Pomegranate Blossoms

Some of the "news" isn't so "new" at this point, but we still hope you enjoy the photos from our chapel renovations, a letter from Mother Cecilia, photos from Mother Cecilia's institution as hegumena, and more!



Monday, June 17, 2024

Mother Theodora granted exclaustration

Mother Theodora, of her own volition, petitioned for and has been granted exclaustration (leave of absence) from the monastery for two years. We greatly value your prayers during this time of discernment. 

She will use her baptismal name, Celeste, during this time. According to Canon Law, during exclaustration a nun does not wear the monastic habit. 

Thursday, May 23, 2024

Our First Ever Summer Picnic - Saturday, July 6th


We'd like to invite you to our Monastery Summer Picnic on Saturday, July 6, 2024. This is the first time we're doing this, and we're looking forward to this opportunity to welcome anyone who would like to come to pray, eat, and spend time with us. For the sake of space, we will gather at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch (across the street from our monastery) for Vespers at 4:30pm in the outdoor chapel and then a picnic dinner following. We'll be happy to visit with you until around 8:30pm. For those who haven't visited the monastery before, we'll be glad to give you a little tour of our monastery and chapel. 

Please bring your own picnic dinner and beverages. You may also want to bring a picnic blanket or lawn chairs in case we run out of room at the shrine's picnic tables. 

Please RSVP using this link so that we can have enough booklets available for Vespers and notify you if anything changes. 

The address of the Shrine is 17486 Mumford Road, Burton, OH 44021. Please give us a call (440-834-0290) or send us an email (christthebridegroom@gmail.com) if you have any questions. 

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Spring at the Monastery


We hope you all are having a blessed celebration of Pentecost! 

We're really enjoying this spring season. For community recreation a couple weeks ago, Mother Cecilia took us on a little adventure down to the Shrine to give us a spring wild flower tour. It was very beautiful. This past week, as we walked outside to go to Vespers, many of us were shocked that the trees suddenly had leaves. These little changes have been accompanied by the movement from the Great Fast, into Pascha, and now, Pentecost.





We had a blessed Great and Holy Week. We were very grateful to be joined by Bishop Robert, some faculty and seminarians from Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Seminary in Pittsburgh, and many other priests and faithful for our patronal celebration of Bridegroom Matins on Holy Wednesday. It was truly beautiful. 

We were very grateful to have a joyful Pascha. All of the rest of our life doesn't compute without the Resurrection, and it's wonderful to get to express that in the liturgy and in other paschal festivities. During Bright Week, we enjoyed the short, joyous liturgical prayer, some much needed free time to recover from Great and Holy Week, and time as a community. You can find more photos of these celebrations here

On April 8th, we got to experience the total solar eclipse around 3:15pm. It was very exciting that our monastery was in the path of totality. We were all able to watch the world transform around us, in this place which is so familiar to us. It was really amazing to see everything go dark and feel an evening-like chill settle over everything. The eerie light cast strangely sharp shadows on the ground. The roosters at the neighboring farms started to crow and the birds, bugs, and frogs joined in with all of their various sounds as the eclipse approached totality. It was really an amazing experience. 


The week of the eclipse, Mother Natalia ventured out West with Wyoming Catholic College. They asked her to be the spiritual director of their women's poustinia trip. She visited the college briefly, and then the group set out for the desert of Moab and spent a few days in silence and prayer in the wilderness.


Recently, Mother Cecilia, Mother Gabriella, and Mother Natalia went to Long Island for the CMSWR's annual Formators' Workshop. They were surrounded by about 130 other women religious and received some good support for their roles in giving formation to discerners, dokimoi, and rasophores in our monastery. This is the third year we have participated in the workshop. 

While some nuns were at the formation workshop, Mother Iliana and Sister Onuphria drove down to Steubenville, Ohio, for part of a day to record an episode of Franciscan University Presents. Mother Iliana talked about her book, The Light of His Eyes, with the show's host, Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and panelists Dr. Scott Hahn and Dr. Regis Martin. The show will air on EWTN sometime in October, and we'll be sure to let you know when it does. 


Finally, we are so grateful to all who have helped us with work around the monastery lately. We really couldn't keep the monastery going without you. We are especially grateful to the group who came out a week before our work day to take care of this tree (photo to the left) that fell in a wind storm earlier this spring. We are also immensely thankful to God for the success of our spring work day. Thank you to all those who came and helped us with a plethora of outdoor and indoor work here and at the Shrine. It was so great to get to spend time working, praying, and visiting with all of you. We're so blessed to have your help!

Thursday, April 4, 2024

Join us for our Spring Work Day on May 18th!

 

Volunteers helping us weed and mulch a garden.

The world is beginning to turn green again, and you know what that means! It's time to invite you all to our Spring Work Day! 

We hope you can join us for a day of outdoor and indoor work projects, prayer, food and fun at the monastery and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch on Saturday, May 18. Volunteers of all ages and abilities are welcome! The day begins at 1:30 p.m. and closes with Vespers at 5:00 p.m., followed by a cookout. Come whenever available, and please bring a side dish to share. The monastery is located at 17485 Mumford Rd. Burton, Ohio. Please RSVP using this online form by Monday, May 13th, so that the appropriate amount of food can be prepared. 

Some tools to bring that may be of help: shovels, trowels, work gloves, wheel barrow, pruning sheers (please mark your name on tools). We may also have a painting project, so consider wearing painting clothes. Thanks!

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Join us for Bridegroom Matins on March 27th!

 


We hope you all are having a blessed Great Fast. It's really flying by, and as we approach its final days and Great and Holy Week, we wanted to take the opportunity to invite you to pray with us. 

We invite you to join us for Bridegroom Matins, our patronal commemoration, on Wednesday, March 27, at 9:00 a.m. in our monastery chapel. We are looking forward to praying this service, which is so important to our monastery, with Bishop Robert for the first time. The readings and hymns of this service help us embrace a spirit of watchfulness and vigilance as we enter into the commemoration of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection in the following days. This year, we will not be having a breakfast after Bridegroom Matins, but all are welcome to spend time praying in the chapel afterwards. 

Other Great and Holy Week and Paschal Services: Keep an eye on our "Liturgy & Events Schedule" page to see when you can join us in praying through the services of our Lord's passion, death, and resurrection. 

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Reminder! The Great Canon is on March 14th!

 

Join the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery for a special Lenten service, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, on Thursday, March 14, at St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church, 8111 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville, Ohio. This powerful service of repentance includes beautiful melodies, plentiful Scriptural and spiritual nourishment, hundreds of prostrations, and the moving life story of the penitent St. Mary of Egypt. The evening will also be a great opportunity for the Mystery of Holy Repentance (Confession) and to venerate a relic of St. Mary of Egypt. Please bring a fasting-friendly potluck dish to share (no meat, dairy, eggs or fish) if you join us for dinner at 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the hall below the church. The Canon will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at about 9:00 p.m. All are invited to come for part or all of the Canon, even if you are not physically able to participate in the prostrations. No RSVP necessary. 

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Special Opportunities to Pray with us this Great Fast

 


As we begin this Fast, we'd like to share some upcoming opportunities for you to join us in prayer. 

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts: We have this liturgy in our monastery chapel each Wednesday and Friday during the Great Fast at 3:00. Please check our Liturgy Schedule tab to be sure. We'd love to have you join us. 

Daily Prayer: All are welcome to join us for any of our prayer. Please see our Great Fast Schedule 2024 for the times of each service, and please note that you may want to call ahead just to be sure we haven't had to change our schedule that day. 

The Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete: Join the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery for a special Lenten service, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, on Thursday, March 14, at St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church, 8111 Brecksville Rd, Brecksville, Ohio. This powerful service of repentance includes beautiful melodies, plentiful Scriptural and spiritual nourishment, hundreds of prostrations, and the moving life story of the penitent St. Mary of Egypt. The evening will also be a great opportunity for the Mystery of Holy Repentance (Confession) and to venerate a relic of St. Mary of Egypt. Please bring a fasting-friendly potluck dish to share (no meat, dairy, eggs or fish) if you join us for dinner at 4:30-5:30 p.m. in the hall below the church. The Canon will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at about 9:00 p.m. All are invited to come for part or all of the Canon, even if you are not physically able to participate in the prostrations.

Bridegroom Matins: We invite you to join us for Bridegroom Matins, our patronal commemoration, on Wednesday, March 27, at 9:00 a.m. in our monastery chapel. We are looking forward to praying this service, which is so important to our monastery, with Bishop Robert for the first time. The readings and hymns of this service help us embrace a spirit of watchfulness and vigilance as we enter into the commemoration of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection in the following days. This year, we will not be having a breakfast after Bridegroom Matins, but all are welcome to spend time praying in the chapel afterwards. 

Sunday, February 4, 2024

New Weekly Videos from Mother Natalia

 

Recently, Matt Fradd asked Mother Natalia to create weekly videos for his show Pints with Aquinas. After some discernment, waiting until a good time, and then a full day of setting up a nice place for her to record undisturbed, we are excited that this weekly segment begins today! We hope that the fruits of our monastic life which Mother Natalia shares in the videos will be a blessing for those who watch.  

In this first video, Mother Natalia talks about the Feast of Theophany and bringing our shame into the light of Christ. 


A new 10 to 20-minute-long video will be posted on the Pints with Aquinas YouTube channel (linked above) every Sunday. 

Saturday, January 13, 2024

Mother Cecilia's Institution as our Hegumena

 


On Sunday, December 31st, 2023, Mother Cecilia was officially instituted as our hegumena. Below are some of her reflections on the day of the institution as well as the meaning behind the design of her staff. 

May God grant Mother Cecilia many blessed years as our shepherdess! 






About the Significance of Today’s Date

I suggested today’s date to Bishop Robert as a possibility for my institution as hegumena because it is both the leave-taking of the feast of the Nativity (the Nativity having a lot of significance to me in my spiritual life) and because today, the Sunday after the Nativity, is the Byzantine feast of St. Joseph, the patron of my home parish. The Lord, however, had even more reasons in mind.

Recently, when I prayed and asked about the significance of the day, what immediately came to mind was that today is not only the feast of St. Joseph, but also of King David and St. James the Brother of the Lord (the day commemorates these important people in the family of Jesus). I asked what their significance is for this day. And I immediately understood: they are all shepherds, just like I am becoming! And they had shepherd’s staffs, just like I am receiving from the hand of the shepherd of our eparchy! David was literally a shepherd, and also became the king and shepherd of Israel. St. Joseph’s staff bloomed as a sign that he was to be chosen as the betrothed of Mary, and he was the shepherd of the Holy Family, protecting them and leading them to Egypt and back. And St. James was the first bishop of Jerusalem, with his bishop’s staff signifying that a bishop is a shepherd of the Church.

About the Design of My Staff

My staff was carved by Kyle Rosser, seminarian for the Diocese of Cleveland. I’m really grateful for his willingness to take on this project, and for his prayerful work. I sketched a design, and he turned it into a carving. I’d like to share with you the meaning behind the design (and the Lord will probably keep showing me His meanings!).

The first line of Psalm 22(23) is carved into the center of the design: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Even though this staff is being handed to me as a symbol of the protection, care and guidance that I must give to this monastic flock, it is really the Lord’s staff—the staff of the Good Shepherd. He is shepherding me as I shepherd, and shepherding through and with me.

This first line of the psalm also signifies for me the entire psalm, one of my favorites. The symbols carved into the staff represent parts of the psalm. The chalice signifies for me the line, “My cup overflows,” or, in the Septuagint, “Your cup inebriates me like the best wine.” I see myself as the cup, and the wine as the love of God (which is really God Himself). I feel called to consent to being empty so that God can fill me with Himself, and to focus most especially in my spiritual life to letting myself be loved. I believe that letting myself be loved is what God truly most desires, because this is why He made us, to love us. And I believe that letting myself be loved is the most important step in loving others, because we need His love with which to love, and in this way, “my cup overflows.” I believe that even as hegumena, my first and most important call is to let myself be loved.

The branch behind the chalice is an olive branch, and the staff is also carved out of olive wood. This symbol signifies oil, and refers to the line, “You anoint my head with oil.” Oil is used in Scripture and the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) in connection with the descent of the Holy Spirit. Kings were anointed with oil, and Christians are also anointed, chosen by God for Himself and for a special mission. Although a hegumena is not anointed with oil in the institution service, she is chosen by the Holy Spirit, and is called to “anoint” others with the other purpose of oil: healing.

Wine and oil…these are the medicines used by the Good Samaritan on the wounds of the man beaten by robbers. Wine to sanitize and oil to heal. I pray that the Lord bring healing to each of us, in the monastery and beyond, beaten by the robbers—the demons, and left half-dead by our passions. I desire to do my part to help Him bring about this healing—healing, which at its deepest level, means communion with the God who is love. This is why we nuns are in the monastery, and why each person was created. By looking at my staff, may I remember.