I try to visit Holy Cross Monastery 2-3 times a years and have found my interactions with the fathers and brothers to be both a blessing and a challenge to me. I remember on my first visit during the pandemic, I was given the entire guest house due to health concerns mingling people/families at the time. I had driven 12 hours alone to get there from Kansas and when I arrived I was prepared to participate in work starting the following morning (they work two shifts a day) but I had been experiencing some intense spiritual warfare prior to arriving. They never assigned any obedience to me during my first stay and I spent the time mostly alone in prayer and attending services. Fr. Philaret, the Guestmaster who assigns work to pilgrims somehow sensed my need to spend time alone and I was richly blessed as a result. I returned a few months later and was assigned to spend time working in the garden near the church alongside Fr. Damascene, who I now consider a close friend. Also, during my second visit, I sought a blessing from Abbot Seraphim for a monastic father confessor (after having first received a blessing from my parish priest) and he blessed my request by assigning Fr. Basil to this role. Fr. Basil is very cordial but direct in that he expected that I attend confession with him every two weeks (accomplish via Zoom) which was not my previous confession pattern but having the timeframe reduced has very much blessed me. I now visit the monastery with my wife, who is greatly blessed in her Orthodox journey by her visits, and our godsons and others in our area who want to experience monasticism. In contrast, I have visited Mt. Athos twice and have been richly blessed but most of my interactions there were with other pilgrims as you only receive a blessing to spend one night at each of the three monasteries you visit. I mentioned my interactions were both a blessing and a challenge at the beginning. The blessings are obvious from a spiritually perspective, but also over time I consider the monastics at Holy Cross to be part of my extended family, and seeing them brings joy to my heart. The challenge is that the more I visit the more I am struck that there are many elements of the monastic spiritual life that I (we) can incorporate into our normal routine. The monastics work two shifts a day so it's not as if they are physically in church or their cells praying, but they are praying nonetheless wherever they are. This visual representation of continual prayer challenges me in what I considered to be an optimal spiritual pursuit - for the good. Glory to God!
I love how he speaks about the monastery's relationship to the local community. What a beautiful ministry. They aren't trying to convert anyone, but they are so willing to be brothers in Christ to everyone.
Please consider visiting the monastery website and contributing to their building project. They have so many people who want to be monks but limited space.
Thank you for your comment! Here's a nice prayer you could use -> orthodoxtimes.com/prayers-for-departed-souls/ And here's a reader's service you could use -> saintjohnorthodoxchurch.org/2020/04/28/readers-service-for-the-departed/
Father, could I get a blessing to read the lives of the Optina Elders. Or is there a video in the Protecting Veil series that touches on the importance of the Optina Elders in today's monastic life in America?
