Feast day and celebration at the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St. Ephrem the New
But my faith tells me
That it won't last long
Through a secret miracle
Your cross will conquer.
(Religious hymn)
Saturday September 18, 2022 the Romanian Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St. Ephrem the New from Mono, Ontario celebrated its feast day. At the celebration, together with His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, priests from the Toronto area were also present: Rev. Viorel Țencaliuc - Dean, Rev. Protosyncellus Maxim Morariu, ecclesiarch of the eparchial Cathedral, Rev. Fr. Lucian Pușcariu, Rev. Fr. Mihail Cristea, Rev. Fr. Emanuel Tencaliuc, Rev. Fr. Călin Toderiță - visiting priest, as well as Hieromonk Polycarp Athenagoras, the priest of the monastery who was a welcoming host to all the pilgrims.
It was a pilgrimage weekend where the many pilgrims from Ontario and Quebec were able to enjoy the prayers, participating in the Sacrament of the Holy Anointing on Friday evening and the Divine Liturgy on Saturday.
In the sermon pronounced at the end of the Divine Liturgy, the hierarch made a recapitulation of the great feasts and liturgical celebrations of the year showing that: "The liturgical time, the time of the ecclesiastical year, becomes a time full of grace, a time blessed by God, time in which we are called to participate as well, integrating ourselves into and through these celebrations. This second feast of the church year reminds us of a great mystery, of the Savior's suffering on the Cross for us and for our salvation."
At the same time, HG Bishop Ioan Casian showed that: "We enjoy this celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross inspired by the historical moment of the finding of the Holy Cross but also by the Christian perspective of redemption. If we want to discover God, if we want to gain eternal life, we need to follow the Cross. This means that through all our deeds we walk with Christ, to witness Him here in a world where it is not always easy to do it."
Afterwards, there was a fraternal agape organized with the help and support of several beneficent and merciful pilgrims of this Holy Site.
The celebration was concluded on Sunday, September 18. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Hieromonk Polycarp, the priest of the monastery, offered to the hierarch a miniature copy of the future iconostasis of the monastery as a gift, and as a sign of gratitude to those who actively support this blessed place, icons, books, and small pectoral crosses. He thanked all the pilgrims who came from all over Canada as well as the young people gathered at ITO Canada 2022, reminding that the prayers are uninterrupted at the monastery. He wished to those who came on the pilgrimage to receive healing for their spiritual or physical wounds and to find relief and joy.
Praise the Lord for everything!
(notes by Carmen Ognean)
