My Visit to Our Lady of Ephesus House of Prayer

Last Sunday, I had one of those experiences that remind you how thin the veil truly is between the worlds. Following a quiet inner nudge ~ and the prompting of friends who had recently made a serendipitous discovery ~ I set out for Jamaica, Vermont, to visit the Our Lady of Ephesus House of Prayer. Just an hour and a half from where I live, this humble yet extraordinary site is an exact replica of Mother Mary’s house in Ephesus, Turkey ~ the home believed to be her final dwelling place on Earth.

Arriving there, I was utterly stunned. The house sits on what was once a horse farm, nestled among rolling Vermont hills, and every detail of its design has been lovingly and authentically rendered. Built between 2002 and 2006 under the auspices of Mary Fraser Tarinelli and her late husband, Don Tarinelli, and funded through the generosity of donors, it is more than a structure ~ it is a living act of devotion. One can feel it in the stones, in the air, in the stillness that hovers around the grounds. The moment I stepped inside, the voice of recognition rang like a bell within me… and continued to reverberate as I humbly sang Schubert’s Ave Maria inside the walls.

The small home is arranged with the same simplicity and grace as its Turkish counterpart. In the main room, one can almost see Mother Mary tending her fire, her presence palpable in the air. To the right lies the small sleeping room ~ utterly humble, yet saturated with the vibration of the Blessed Mother. It was easy to imagine her resting there, whispering prayers for humanity, or receiving visitors who sought her blessing.

As I stood in that sacred space, I felt my heart open in quiet awe. Here, in the seeming middle of nowhere, a replica of one of the holiest Marian sites on the planet has been anchored ~ its creation inspired by the 19th-century visions of the seer Anne Catherine Emmerich, whose descriptions led to the discovery of the original house in Ephesus. The story of how this Vermont version came into being ~ built stone by stone by a devoted mason, and guided by the Tarinelli’s particular dedication ~ is chronicled on their beautiful website: www.ourladyofephesushouseofprayer.org.

To my utter delight, the earthly Mary herself came out to greet me that day (her own house is elsewhere on the grounds, and Don is interred near the replica in an area now designated as a cemetery). She shared more of the story of how she and her husband brought this vision into form ~ her eyes bright with the same devotion that surely animated Mother Mary herself. Our meeting felt like a small miracle (she only came down because she saw from my car that I was “spending a lot of time there”), another thread woven into the living tapestry of the Mother’s love on Earth.

What amazes me even more is the geometry of grace surrounding me: just 25 minutes from my home lies the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to the Blessed Mother and housing a replica of the Grotto at Lourdes. And another half hour away, in New Lebanon, New York, is yet a third sacred site ~ the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Mother Mary, hello! You have nestled me within a holy triangle of shrines dedicated to your name. It feels like a quiet blessing, a sign that this great Sacred Master’s mantle is ever near, transcending dogma through synchronicity, drawing us closer to her heart through stone and story.