The first person to be beatified on U.S. soil was raised in the Byzantine Catholic Church!

"And even in the world I felt very intensely that if people only sought God in all earnestness they would find Him. And if all would only make use of the ordinary duties and trials of their state in the way God intended, they would all become saints," wrote Sr. Miriam Teresa to her spiritual director (Letter to Father Benedict, O.S.B., August 19, 1926).  

Carpathian Connection Article

This spiritual director perceived something very special in Sr. Miriam Teresa, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth.  He perceived a life of heroic virtue and cooperation with the grace of God, which the Church will proclaim publicly this Saturday, October 4, when she is beatified (proclaimed "Blessed") at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J.--the first person ever to be beatified on U.S. soil.  The Church beatifies and canonizes (the final step in the process of declaring sainthood) certain members of the Body of Christ in order to hold them up as examples of virtue for the faithful--with the hope that all the faithful will seek to learn from their example and to emulate their virtues as they are able in their state of life.  As you can see from the above quote of Sr. Miriam Teresa, this young woman, who died at the age of 26 in 1927, felt very strongly that all people can become saints.

Her spiritual director played an important part in assuring that the wisdom she gained from her life with Christ would be available to others.  He asked her to write a set of spiritual conferences which he would then give to her and the other novices, without revealing their source.  After her death, he posted a note on the bulletin board which stated, "The conferences that I have been giving to the sisters were written by Sr. Miriam Teresa."  These conferences were later published in book form with the title, "Greater Perfection." This book, and her biography, are available through the Sisters of Charity.  Her teachings on prayer are especially helpful.

"As long as we try we need never fear or worry, for we are advancing.  Only when we give up trying have we cause for real anxiety about our progress...for we feel secure.  But it is a false security, in which a proud self and a prouder devil have steeped us" (Greater Perfection, Conference 13).

In addition to her beautiful teachings and the historic nature of her beatification, there is yet another exciting aspect of her life...Sr. Miriam Teresa was raised in the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic Church!  She was baptized at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church in Bayonne, N.J.  She attended the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, N.J., and entered the Roman Catholic community she was familiar with from her college days, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth.  Bishop Kurt Burnette, the Byzantine Catholic bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic, will celebrate a Liturgy of Thanksgiving on Sunday, October 5, at 3:00 p.m., at her home parish in Bayonne.

We are happy to introduce you to our new friend!  For more information about Sr. Miriam Teresa, here are some resources:
National Catholic Register Article
Sisters of Charity Page

Eric Genuis at the Shrine!

We are excited to share with you that concert pianist Eric Genuis will be at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch (across the street from our monastery) on Friday, October 3rd at 7:30pm for a free concert!  For those who will not be attending the Eparchy of Parma's assembly, please consider attending this evening of music and fun with Eric.

Here is a little information about Eric:

The career of composer, virtuoso pianist and acclaimed performer, Eric Genuis, began in Krakow, Poland in 1997. A government dignitary heard Genuis’ music and he was invited to headline the entertainment for an AIDS benefit concert. This premier performance was attended by 15,000 people. Since then, Genuis continues to perform worldwide, upwards of 100 concerts each year.

Eric has received praise from music industry greats such as Joel Sill (Music Supervisor for films Munich and Forest Gump) who said "I remain a fan and look forward to him
being more broadly discovered and to watching as his audience expands and appreciates his fine talents" and John Debney (Film Composer for The Passion of the Christ and Spy Kids), who proclaimed "From a musicians perspective, Eric Genuis' music is brilliant- superbly crafted, unique in style and expertly performed." Eric has collaborated with famed British Maestro, Allen Wilson and the Slovak National Symphony to produce four CD's of his original work.

Genuis' musical education includes achieving First Class A.R.C.T. Honors in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He has completed course work in film scoring from the Berklee College of Music. Eric Genuis is a musical tour de force and his concerts are a proven thrill to music lovers of both classical and contemporary music.

For more information about Eric, visit his website.

For more information about the concert, contact John at 440-251-8594.

Reminder - RSVP for the Fall Workday!

Join us for a day of outdoor and indoor work projects, prayer, food and fun at the monastery on Saturday, September 27.  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 at whatever time you are available, and bring a side dish to share if you can.  Please RSVP* by Tuesday, September 23, to 440-834-0290 or christthebridegroom@gmail.com, so that the appropriate amount of food can be prepared.  

Facebook Event

*Please RSVP with:
1. The number of adults (include teens) and the number of kids (12 and under) 
2. Will you be here for lunch and/or dinner?
3. The dish you plan to bring 

Thank you!

Guys, lest you think this work day is just about raking leaves, here is a list of some of things we need you for!

-Gutter repair (let us know ahead of time if you are able to do this)
-Cutting down dead trees (does anyone have a chainsaw they can bring?)
-Heavy lifting in the chapel
-Fix stone pathway
-Painting the eaves

Enjoy our summer/fall newsletter!

Enjoy our reflections from our pilgrimage to St. John Paul II's canonization, as well as what we have been up to and what is going on this fall at the monastery!

Fall Discernment Retreat opportunity for young women!

We are excited to announce our annual discernment retreat for young women:

"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!” (Song of Songs 2:10).  Single Catholic women, ages 18-35, who would like to take a weekend to pray about a possible vocation to the monastic or religious life, are invited to inquire about attending our upcoming discernment retreat, Thurs., Oct. 30 – Sun., Nov. 2, 2014.  Come and experience our life of prayer, listen to talks on prayer and discernment, make use of the opportunity to get to know the nuns, and receive healing through the Mystery of Holy Repentance (Confession).  In addition to talks from the sisters, there will also be an exciting talk on discernment from Fr. Michael Lee - and we will be celebrating Mother Theodora's Feast Day!  If you are interested in this retreat, or a future retreat or discernment opportunity fill out our online Vocation Inquiry Form.  Space is limited for the retreat, so be sure to fill out the form by October 17.  Mother Theodora will call you to talk about availability.  If you have already filled out the form, simply call Mother Theodora.  With questions, call 440-834-0290 or email christthebridegroom@gmail.com.

Click here to view the brochure!

Click here to view pictures from last year's retreat!

The Girls' Camp article we promised!

Well, it's been a busy summer, so we're finally getting around to posting our article about our Girls' Camp in June.  This article was published in a recent issue of our eparchy's newspaper, Horizons.  We have seen some of the participants since the camp, and they are still glowing!

The knots of sin, separating the Girls’ Camp participants from God and from each other, were “unTangled” at the sixth annual Eparchy of Parma Girls’ Camp, June 26-29.  Coming from parishes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, twenty teen girls camped out on the grounds of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery in Burton, Ohio.

Pulling spiritual lessons out of the recent Disney movie Tangled, the teen girls at this camp, hosted by the nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, learned about their “identity in Christ through Mary.”  Sr. Cecilia explained how St. Irenaeus described Mary as the new Eve, and how the knots of sin tied by Eve—when she listened to the lies of the devil instead of the truth of God’s love—were untied by Mary’s trust in God’s love and obedience to His word.  Sr. Cecilia gave each participant a prayer card with an icon of “Mary, Untangler of Knots,” the favorite Marian devotion of Pope Francis.

The girls also learned about their dignity in God’s eyes through a personal witness by young adult facilitator Sarah Fetsko of Holy Transfiguration Parish in Mentor, Ohio, and a talk by Patrick Schultz, a seminarian of the Diocese of Cleveland.

The camp, sponsored by the Office of Vocations, also beautifully portrayed the vocations of marriage and monastic life in talks by Ben and Alliree Zushin and dokimos (postulant) Jacqui of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery.  The exciting journey of discernment was shared in these talks and the discussions that followed.

The talks were interspersed with prayer and plenty of fun activities, including multiple impromptu games of soccer.  The girls bonded with each other through recreation, and they discovered that the nuns could be quite competitive too!  In small groups, the girls re-wrote the lyrics to a Disney song according to a spiritual truth they learned during the camp, and they performed these “music videos” on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday evening provided an extended opportunity for prayer and an invitation to place the tangled mess of sin before God through the mystery of holy repentance (confession).  After confession, said Scarlett Archuletta, “We all realized we love each other, and are the keeper of each other’s souls.”  Elizabeth Hartung was struck during the camp by “the feeling of unity with all the girls, like we were all together with the same goal.”

“I honestly think that this weekend I allowed my heart to open and allow God to come in,” said Macrina Bagay.  She also enjoyed “meeting all these amazing girls who share the same passion as me.”  Hartung said, “My experiences here finally gave me the courage to say ‘yes’.”

The camp closed with a joint Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with the boys’ camp participants and their families at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch, across the street from the monastery.  The campers and their families then enjoyed a lunch and awards program before saying “goodbye for now” to their new friends.

Thanks is due to St. Ann’s Ministry and St. George Men’s Group at St. Nicholas Church in Barberton for purchasing additional tents for the growing Boys’ and Girls’ Camps, and to the Ladies’ Auxiliary and the Men’s Club at St. Joseph Church in Brecksville for providing for a new scholarship fund.

Click here to view the full photo album!

You're invited to our fall work day & cookout, September 27th!

Join us for a day of outdoor and indoor work projects, prayer, food and fun at the monastery on Saturday, September 27.  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 at whatever time you are available, and bring a side dish to share if you can.  Please RSVP* by Tuesday, September 23, to 440-834-0290 or christthebridegroom@gmail.com, so that the appropriate amount of food can be prepared.  Facebook Event

*Please RSVP with:
1. The number of adults (include teens) and the number of kids (12 and under) 
2. Will you be here for lunch and/or dinner?
3. The dish you plan to bring
Thank you!

Guys, lest you think this work day is just about raking leaves, here is a list of some of things we need you for!

-Gutter repair (let us know ahead of time if you are able to do this)
-Cutting down dead trees (does anyone have a chainsaw they can bring?)
-Heavy lifting in the chapel
-Fix stone pathway
-Painting the eaves

Pilgrim George: "Rejoice, O you who have borne the Guide of the Lost"

Happy New [Liturgical] Year!  Here's some inspiration to start your new year!

This is the talk Pilgrim George gave at the annual Eparchy of Parma pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch on August 17.  In this talk, Pilgrim George takes the examples of Bartimaeus (blind), Zacchaeus (up a tree), and Lazarus (dead in the tomb), to show us that we are all spiritually lost and in need of God.

"Jesus came to earth to show us how to worship, love & serve the Father...so we come together on pilgrimage to purify our hearts, to allow ourselves to make that total surrender of our lives to the Lord."

"Everything we do is meant to change OUR hearts--to be like the heart of Jesus...so that we are no longer blind."



Facebook page for the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch