In spite of the many difficulties and agonies that external missionary work presents, in whatever part of the world it is established, it also has special blessings and graces.
Such a special blessing in recent times, the grace of the Virgin Mary has merited us to acquire a beautiful Monastery dedicated to Her Name, which will be celebrated on August 23rd, on the ninth day of Her Assumption. It is built in a panoramic position with the alternation of the green of the plains and the blue of the endless oceanic sea resting the mind, while the canopy of the cool clear air cools the face and soothes the soul.
The Divine Liturgy is celebrated every Sunday and feast day. Our humble and innocent Orthodox Christians with their sweet voices echo praises to our Holy Triune God and while they are taking the Body and Blood of Christ the Saviour, on their faces are painted the holiness and joy of Holy Communion.
The table of love that follows finds them all, young and old, headed by their clergymen, tasting together the poor but so tasty delicacies that the good God provides for them each time, just like the birds of heaven. “Thou openest Thy hand, and givest every living creature of blessedness.”
And as they all feel that the Monastery is the centre of their spiritual life, they are happy and proud to see that across the street the cells where the monks will live have started to be built, and they help as much as they can, some with payment and others free of charge.
They are also happy because the foundation stone for the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, which will be built about 200 meters from the Monastery of Panagia, has been laid. They also started the opening of the road from where cars will transport the necessary materials for the construction of the Holy Church and the Orphanage.
It is indeed a blessed creation and a divine blessing to have a Monastery in a missionary Metropolis. It is the hothouse of virtue and the foundation of Orthodox spirituality. All the holy fathers of the Church and the missionaries started from monasteries and knew the secrets of holiness. These are what today’s missionaries are called upon to teach young Christians. The truth is aptly expressed in the words of St. Gregory the Theologian:
“Be first cleansed, and be clean, be enlightened, and be illuminated, and come in, and bring others in.”
So we thank the Holy God, especially for this blessed creation of the Holy Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
“It will be a candelabra always lit in the middle of the ocean. An eternal symbol of divine worship and prayer in the Pacific islands, which have begun to learn to the rhythm of Orthodoxy.
In Heaven the stars and on earth the candelabra of the Holy Monasteries and Temples and of all Christian houses. Glory to His name, holy and sacred.”
The New Zealand Amphilochius
