Pilgrimage draws to a close
Monday marked the end of the 74th annual Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Province at Mount St. Macrina. At 9:15 a.m., a procession from the House of Prayer to the Mother of God Shrine was held. Those who were part of the processional included banner carriers, priests, bishops, the archbishop, sisters and pilgrims.
Also included in the processional was the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that was placed on a special cart pulled by two volunteers.
Once the procession reached the Mother of God Shrine, a Divine Liturgy was held at 9:30 a.m., with Bishop Gerald N. Dino as the celebrant and homilist.
“Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, ‘Our chief need is to have someone to inspire us to do what we need to do,'” said Bishop Dino. “This is the role of the Virgin Mother.”
He continued to explain that people should allow Mary to be the inspiration of their lives. “People think since she was so favored by God, she had an easy time. This is not true,” he said.
He further explained how Mary had to endure many of life’s trials and tribulations such as giving birth to Jesus in a manger, escaping the killing rampage of King Herod and later watching her only son die on a cross.
“God favors us in many different ways. Sometimes with health and sometimes with prosperity,” said Bishop Dino. “Sometimes, his favors and blessings come in the form of a cross.”
He told the faithful that God has a “noble purpose” for each and every one. It might require some struggling and difficulty, but this difficulty is important.
“It is also important for the understanding of the meaning of life.
“Our prayers should not be ‘please for ease’ but for strength during the trials of life,” said Bishop Dino. “The Blessed Mother will protect you and go with you on that journey through life.”
One particular pilgrim who had journeyed to Mount St. Macrina to hear Bishop Dino and to take in the whole experience was Maria Iyengar of McKees Rocks.
Iyengar has been coming to the pilgrimage all of her life.
“My mother was probably pregnant with me when she came here,” she laughs. “We meet a bunch of family members and friends here. It is almost like a reunion. We have a spot where we all meet at the same place each year. We would meet at that particular place when I would come with my grandmother, when I was young.”
She recalls several visits to the pilgrimage when she was younger and how she made friends that she still meets every year.
“This might be the only time you see these people,” she said.
Even though Iyengar enjoys seeing her friends every year, it is the annual Children’s Processional that is her favorite part of the weekend. “The Children’s Processional is always really nice,” she said. “The fact that the bishops will stand up and bless all of the kids is something really special.”
When asked if she would return again next year, Iyengar replied, “Oh yeah. My kids wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The 74th pilgrimage concluded after the Divine Liturgy with a procession with the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help from the Mother of God Shrine to the Monastery.
Next year will mark the 75th Diamond Anniversary of the Labor Day weekend pilgrimage to Mount St. Macrina.
But, Sister Susan Sisko of The Order of Saint Basil the Great reflects on pilgrimages as not being just one weekend out of the year, but taking place throughout our whole lives.
“Our entire lives are pilgrimages, processions through life that ultimately return us to the God from which we came, and this pilgrimage, in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, is a way in which people strengthen and celebrate their relationship with God.”