Holy Cross Monastery

These past two weeks, a lot of cleaning and repairing has been taking place in the guesthouse while we are without guests for the month of August. August is a good time for monks to go on vacation or family visits. This Sunday, Br. Ephrem is preaching and teaching at Bethesda Episcopal Church, in Saratoga Springs, NY. On the last Sunday of July, Br. Randy organized one of his...

This week, Joshua Reinke continue his one-month aspirant visit. On Tuesday, our long-awaited electronic piano for the church arrived. Thank you to all our generous donors. We collected enough to upgrade to an even better piano than we had set our sight on. This one sounds lovely. For the moment, it will live in the side aisle when not in use, but we may decide to store it in ...

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY Br. Robert Leo Sevensky, OHC The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, July 26, 2026 1 Kings 3:5-12 Romans 8:26-39 Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Click here for an audio of the sermon Last Sunday, Brother Ephrem spoke to us about the hero’s journey, that archetypal tale which becomes a pattern for human life. He used this to illustrate the story of Jacob a...

Br. Daniel is on a family visit and vacation in Michigan, coming home soon. This week, our new Associate Christine Hales, from Sarasota, FL, led an icon-writing retreat for a dozen guests. Her teaching of painting icons prayerfully is always popular. This week, the retreatants were writing an icon of St Francis of Assisi with the wolf of Gubbio. The legend of St. Francis and ...

Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, New York Br. Ephrem Arcement, OHC The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 19, 2026 Genesis 28:10-19a Romans 8:12-25 Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 Click here for an audio of the sermon In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the great mythologist Joseph Campbell describes the narrative pattern of the hero myth as follows: A hero ventures forth fro...