Flowers From the

Monastery Garden

The weekend of the Myrrhbearing Women (3^rd Sunday of Pascha, 2004), six women from Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church traveled to the Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Monastery in Rives Junction, Michigan, not far from Jackson. This is a women’s monastery of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate (OCA).

We stayed in the monastery’s guest house and ate in the small refectory (dining hall), whose walls were painted with large icons. The nuns served us and other visitors delicious meals.

Church services were celebrated primarily in English, occasionally alternating with Romanian and now and again a little Greek. Since English is the native language of only one of the nuns, this shows the earnestness of their desire to plant the faith and the monastic life firmly in America!

There are about six sisters, who were joined during the time of our visit by two nuns visiting from the famous monastery of Varatek in Romania.

Saturday morning we attended Divine Liturgy, followed by a Memorial service. In the afternoon, the Abbess, Mother Gabriela, spoke with us in the sitting room of the Guest House. We had chosen a quiet weekend so that we would have this opportunity to talk and ask questions.

Mother Gabriela told us about growing up in Romania during the Communist era. Although the harsh atheistic regime discouraged all religious activities, the immediate area around her home contained several large monasteries, one of which she joined at the age of 18.

Mother Gabriela offered some words on balancing the need for prayer, quiet and solitude with the many activities of parish and family life.

The nuns, although devoted to a life of prayer, have many demands placed upon the time and energies of their small community. They offer hospitality to visitors and spiritual help to people who come with many and various needs, as well as taking care of the monastery grounds and various labors to support their community.

At the monastery, both nuns and visitors are expected to preserve a prayerful and recollected attitude whether in church, at meals, doing chores, walking in the woods, or alone in one’s room. Mother Gabriela suggested that we should regard our parishes the same way, treating every part of the church property and every church activity as sacred. Our attitude of reverence, recollection, prayer and gentle consideration for each other should not be abandoned when we adjourn to the church hall or when we conduct meetings. Every parish activity should be prepared for, begin, and end with prayer. She suggested remembering the phrase, “Bless and forgive,” much used at the monastery, so that it becomes our constant attitude in dealing with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

On the topic of love, she reminded us that “Every person is created by God in the same way, and for the same reason.” God loves and desires the salvation and perfection of every person He created. Each one, throughout the world, Christian or non-Christian, was created for a purpose. God loves each one equally. There is no one who “doesn’t count.” Likewise, we should never limit our love, concern, and desire to understand to other Orthodox or to other Christians.

“Every person is an abyss,” she stressed. Getting to really know someone takes a lifetime. We should recognize that we cannot immediately love each person we meet, but must start with understanding, let this mature into liking, and finally into love. There is no person who does not hunger for kindness, patience, and consideration.

Mother Gabriela also stressed the importance of living for today: tomorrow is not ours. In our busy lives we will never get everything done, she said. We must not become discouraged about this, but remember that God is also the Lord of time.

Difficulties are a normal part of life. When things go wrong, we should remember that “Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” (Romans 8:35) She suggested memorizing Bible verses as an “emergency kit” we can draw on when things go wrong.

Saturday afternoon some of us helped the nuns with various projects around the monastery grounds. We also found time for shopping in the bookstore which has a wonderful selection of icons and gift items. At Saturday evening services there was a sense of joyful anticipation of the Lord’s Day.

Before Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, Father Roman Braga read the Akathist to Our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ. How fervently and lovingly he pronounced the sacred name of Jesus which begins each line of this beautiful composition!

After Divine Liturgy on Sunday, we had a final meal, this time in the large refectory with many visitors present. Before leaving for home, we found the time to tell Fr. Roman and Mother Gabriela how wonderful our experiences at the monastery had been. With Paschal joy in their voices and with shining eyes, they replied that it was no wonder, for Jesus is alive here!” And indeed He is!

Each of us carried away treasured memories from our brief stay. We offer these below as a bouquet of FLOWERS FROM THE MONASTERY GARDEN.

[Click on pictures to enlarge.]

{ On the road to Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Monastery in Rives Junction, Michigan, not far from Jackson.

{ Entrance from the road.

{ Sashki, the monastery dog. When our cars first pulled into the monastery parking lot, she greeted us growling in a cautious undertone, but wagging her tail. By morning, she had accepted us and led the way on a walk in the woods.

{ The guest house, and one of the cheerful rooms. Each room is dedicated to a particular saint whose icon adorns the wall. Furnishings consist of two other icons, two single beds, a night table under a window, a lamp and a wastebasket - and that is all!

{ The church, outside and in.

{ The kliros where the nuns’ sweet, unaffected voices sang the hauntingly simple Niamets melody for “Christ is Risen” again and again. We hope to introduce it to our own choir!

{The tuaca or semandron, a wooden board which is beaten with mallets to call the nuns to prayer. Both the tuaca and bells are housed in the belltower.

{ Enjoying quiet moments admiring the gardens, sitting by the path that leads through the woods, visiting the monastery’s cemetery.

{ The nuns have a Prayer Garden built for children - but not just for children! Curiously shaped rocks, pieces of driftwood, and stumps have been cleverly combined with icons, verses of Scripture, and miniature figures to commemorate Biblical events and lives of saints. The Prayer Garden is a pilgrimage in miniature! Shown here:

“The Ladder of Divine Ascent” - wooden figures of nuns ascend the steps, while the little nun who was reached the top beams and raises her arms in triumph.”