As Jesus was dying on the cross, he looked at St. John (the apostle whom He loved) and entrusted the care of His Holy Mother to John.. At the same time, Jesus ("Woman, behold your son.") gave all of us to Mary as her children. Our filial relationship with the Blessed Mother is a spiritual one, and while I am sure there was a profound spiritual bond between Our Lady and St. John, he was also responsible for the physical well-being of Mary. St. John traveled to Asia Minor to evangelize. Of course, he brought Our Lady with him. He built her a house in Ephesus, Turkey, where she spent the remainder of her days.
Due to the vision of the Archbishop of Turkey and a series of miracles there is an exact replica of Our Lady's House in Jamaica, Vermont. We traveled the hour or so to visit
Mary's House on Sunday. It was lovely.
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| Ephesus house from outside |
At first, I was surprised. It is small by today's standards--smaller than a two car garage. But it is beautiful, and kind of fancier than I expected. The floors are of marble--white and gray marble in the main part of the house, but pink marble in her bedroom. The stonemason who replicated the house was painstaking in the details. The walls are the same proportional mixture of brick and stone that the original was. The black marble rectangle covering the spot where Our Lady's hearth was, is cracked the same way as the original in Turkey. The distance in front of the house from the stone wall to the door is exactly as it is in Turkey. The house is filled with beautiful arches--even arches within arches. It was fascinating and moving to sit in the house imagining Our Mother going about her daily duties. The beauty of the house is a loving and fitting tribute of St. John to Blessed Mother. Nothing can be too good for the Queen of Heaven and Earth, right?!
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| Ephesus house |
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| Inside Ephesus house -- notice the arches! |
I was expecting an adobe or stucco type of house--much cruder and more rustic. But this is much more appropriate.
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| Large cross on property |
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| Beautiful kids and a beautiful view |
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The owner of the property was on hand to explain to us the process of building this structure and
why a replica of Our Lady's house came to be in a tiny town in Vermont. It was fascinating and reinforced to us the power of God. His hand is very apparent in the inception and construction of this house. Her sharing helped me to grow in trust--a virtue I continually struggle with. Mary, the owner, shared a story about the property going up for tax auction on a particular Tuesday. As they didn't have all of the money to pay the taxes, she simply placed her trust in Our Lady and Our Lord. If this was their work, they would have to provide the tax money. She simply didn't have it. On Friday of the week prior to the auction, she got a phone call from a woman who described herself as not particularly religious. This woman has just returned from Turkey where she visited the original house of Our Lady. Since she had trouble with her knee and hip (both needing replacements) she said a prayer to Mary to help her knee and hip to feel better so that she wouldn't ruin the trip for the other pilgrims. She was able to keep up with the group and not slow them down. The following day, as she boarded their tour bus, her husband asked her where her cane was. She realized that she had no pain and didn't need her once ever-present cane. A trip to the doctor, upon her arrival home, confirmed the miracle--there was nothing wrong with her knee or hip and they no longer needed replacing! She was overwhelmed and wanted to do something for Our Lady. She called Mary in Vermont and asked her if there was anything she needed. Well, of course, Mary mentioned the whole matter of the tax auction. The woman wrote a check to cover the taxes, and that was that. Mary was full of stories like this. Miracles really do happen, and a little stone house nestled in the hills of Vermont, half a world away from the original, is proof.
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| The original (restored) house in Ephesus, Turkey |
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