dormition

  • Day 14: The Vine, and the Cluster of Grapes

    ByJobin

    🍇 DAY 14 | THE VINE, AND THE CLUSTER OF GRAPES

    “As the new wine is found in the cluster… Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it.”
    Isaiah 65:8

    We have almost reached the end of the Shoonoyo Fast.

    For fourteen days we have followed the images through which our Fathers saw the mystery of the Mother of God: earth, garden, ark, ship, bush, rock, tent, staff, tree, palace, chariot and gate. Today, the final figure before the feast brings us somewhere very familiar: to a vine, a cluster of grapes, and finally to the chalice.

    The Syriac Fathers call Mary the Virgin Vine, from whom came the Cluster whose wine is the “Medicine of Life.” St Ephrem’s tradition sees in this image something profoundly Eucharistic. The Cluster is Christ. He takes His humanity from the Vine, is pressed for the life of the world, and the Wine of Life is given to us.

    There is also something deeply comforting here. One ancient hymn imagines Adam and Eve, still grieving over what was lost in Eden, tasting this Wine and finding comfort in their grief.

    Fourteen days ago, we began with Eve outside the garden. Today, the Fathers place a cup in her hands.

    And tomorrow, the Church places the same mystery into ours.

    Day 14: The Vine, and the Cluster of Grapes

    🍇 Read the full reflection on Seeking Theosis:

  • Day 13: The Gate That Stayed Shut

    ByJobin

    🚪 **Seeking Theosis | Day 13 of the Shoonoyo Fast**

    **THE GATE THAT STAYED SHUT**

    Ezekiel was shown a mysterious gate in the east that would remain closed:

    **“Because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.”**
    *Ezekiel 44:2*

    The Syriac Fathers saw in this closed gate an image of the Blessed Virgin, the Ever-Virgin through whom the Lord entered our world.

    But the image carries a beautiful message for us too.

    We all have places in our lives that seem closed: grief that has not moved, relationships that cannot easily be repaired, prayers that seem unanswered, and wounds we do not know how to open.

    Yet Christ is not defeated by what is closed.

    He entered through the closed gate. He rose from the sealed tomb. He appeared among disciples behind locked doors.

    And when He stood among those frightened disciples, His first words were:

    **“Peace be unto you.”**

    As we approach the end of the Shoonoyo Fast, Day 13 invites us to bring even our closed places before Christ.

    We may not know how to open them.

    **But He knows how to enter them.**

    📖 Read **Day 13: The Gate That Stayed Shut** on Seeking Theosis:

  • Day 5 – The Ship Whose Cargo is God

    ByJobin

    The Syriac Fathers gave the Blessed Virgin one of the most beautiful titles ever written:

    “Welcome, O Ship whose cargo is God.”

    She carried no earthly treasure.

    She carried the eternal Word made flesh.

    The One who steers the whole creation allowed Himself to be carried within His Mother’s womb so that the riches of heaven might reach the shores of humanity.

    Even today, this beautiful imagery continues to be sung in the Friday Vespers of the Shehimo in the Indian Orthodox Church.

    As we continue our journey through the Shoonoyo Fast, the question it leaves us with is simple:

    Are we waiting with open hearts to receive the Treasure that heaven has brought to us?

    📖 Read the full reflection on Seeking Theosis.

    “She is the ship. He is the Treasure.”