A very long time ago during the 1930s, before extensive, creative and extravagant Christmas decorating of house and lawn, our family home got a lot of attention. Continue reading
Author Archives: Sister Elaine Kisinko
Pilgrimage Time
Summer 2019: What do we need? Fewer rainy days and damaging storms? Less bickering and competition among our civic leaders so they could work together for good and effective government? More people to come to church? Crime and violence to be gone? Peace throughout the world? Healing and health for those who are suffering? Healing the pain of broken relationships? This list could go on and on, and these are but a few of the ills with which we struggle in this time in which we live.
However imperfect we think our lives may be with questions such as these, this is the gift of time that God has given to each of us in which to live every day as best we can. In recognizing this, we pray to Him in thanksgiving, for help, healing, peace, consolation, etc. We pray personally, communally at the Divine Liturgy and at special times, places or occasions. One such special time, place and occasion is, of course, the annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mt. St. Macrina in Uniontown, Pa.
This coming Labor Day weekend will be the 85th time that the hierarchy, clergy, monastics and faithful people will have gathered to give glory to God and to honor His Mother as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. They come to pray, receive the mysteries of healing, and to Continue reading
Golden jubilee – June
50th Anniversary of Metropolitan Church to be observed in June Fifty years ago an event occurred which had a positive, profound and lasting effect on our history in America. The Holy Father Pope Paul VI issued a decree on February … Continue reading
Reaching out
People throughout the entire country were shocked and emotionally assaulted on Oct. 27, 2018 when a gunman went through the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, Pa. spreading death and injury. As the congregants gathered … Continue reading
On the move
“What we enjoy today is their legacy and gift to us”
History shows us that there is constant m o v e m e n t among people. Whether driven by a need to improve their lives or whether forced by an unfriendly environment or by hostile forces, humans have always managed to travel to better their lot. From the earliest days, we read in the Bible that Adam and Eve had to move out of the Garden of Eden. Their son Cain was compelled to wander the earth after he killed his brother. Even Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, and while He was still young, the family became immigrants in a strange land after fleeing to Egypt.
Many of us, in our personal histories, can acknowledge that our grandparents or great-grandparents were immigrants coming from Eastern Europe. They crossed the great Atlantic Ocean, usually under extremely poor conditions. For the most part, they were not welcomed in this strange land of a different language and customs completely unknown to them. But as they struggled, worked hard, and helped each other, they became acclimated to an entirely different way of life. What we enjoy today is their legacy and gift to us. Continue reading
Appreciating Pilgrimage 2018
When my great-nephew was five-and-a-half years old, I praised him for being exceptionally well behaved at his grandmother’s wake at the funeral home. I told him how good he was and how proud we were of him. His response was, “You … Continue reading
A Child’s Greek Catholic Christmas
Memories Of Christmas 1935 at St. Mary in Monessen, PA. Jan. 7, 1935, I was six years old. I did not have to go to school that day, although I would rather have been there since I did not want … Continue reading
Pilgrimage 2017: People? Participation?
“Every person who journeys to become a pilgrim brings a blessing to be shared” I love our Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at our monastery in Uniontown, Pa. I appreciate the ways in which Jesus … Continue reading
My Pilgrimage
I am part of a very great number of people who grew up with the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mt. St. Macrina in Uniontown, Pa. As this wonderful event changed, evolved and grew … Continue reading