Mount St. Macrina pilgrimage opens
Vanna Weaver
Following along to the divine liturgy are (from left) Deacon Candidate John Russel, Seminarian Andrew Summerson and Deacon Michael Mandelas. The 77th annual Pilgrimage at Mount Saint Macrina opened Saturday and continues through Monday.
Vanna Weaver
Martin Herman, 12, of Garwood, N.J., fills holy water containers during the 77th annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount St. Macrina Saturday.
From left: Father David Hannis, Deacon Lance Weakland, Father Joseph Hutsko, and Father Basil Hutsko prepare to distribute holy communion to divine lituragy participants at the 77th Annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown.
?The 77th annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount St. Macrina near Uniontown is officially opened.
Sister Seraphim Olsafsky, provincial for the Sisters of St. Basil, greeted pilgrims Saturday following the noontime Divine Liturgy at the shrine altar.
鈥淏rother and sister pilgrims, as I welcome you in the name of all the Sisters of St. Basil and our Basilian Associates, I pray that as our day unfolds here at the sacred mount, you choose to seek a place in your soul that neither space nor time can touch,鈥� Olsafsky told the guests.
Later, she commented, 鈥淚 think that everything is very peaceful and quiet and we thank God for the beautiful weather. We welcome all our pilgrims and are grateful to God they were able to come.鈥�
Liturgical events are taking place throughout the weekend, including Monday, however, the official welcome was moved to Saturday and the closing is taking place after the 4 p.m. Divine Liturgy today at the Mother of God Shrine, celebrated by Bishop William Skurla of Passaic, N.J. and administrator of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh.
The pilgrimage opened Saturday morning with a procession of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from the House of Prayer to the Shrine Altar. This was followed by a solemn blessing of water at the Lourdes Grotto by the Very Rev. Eugene Yackanich, administrator of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, with pilgrims able to obtain water to drink or take home in bottles.
Sharon Sevachko of Las Cruces, N.M., made her first trip to the pilgrimage with her husband, Mark, and daughter Tianna, who have been here before.
鈥淭hey promised me I would love it and I love it,鈥� she said.
Sevachko carried several bottles of blessed water to take home.
鈥淭here蘑菇视频 so much evil on television and sometimes you feel that evil is taking over the world,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he water helps wash that away.鈥�
Meanwhile, brother and sister Katarina Hermanova, 14, and Martin Herman, 12, of Linden, N.J., were filling cups and bottles of blessed water for the pilgrims.
Hermanova said, 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 like spreading joy. It蘑菇视频 helping people.鈥�
Herman said, 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 an act of kindness for strangers. You don鈥� t have to know people to be kind to them.鈥�
Bishop Gerald N. Dino of Eparchy of Phoenix celebrated the noontime Divine Liturgy. In his homily, he noted the strong faith of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that is chronicled in the New Testament of the Bible and compared it to Abraham, which is told in the Old Testament. He noted the early Church referred to Mary as the Daughter of Abraham.
Dino urged people to become stronger in their faith, saying, 鈥淚f people would put their lives in the hands of God and trust him, they would be much happier and much healthier.鈥�