Closing service November 17
UNIONTOWN, PA — In response to Pope Francis’ call for all Catholics to seek the mercy of God through a Jubilee Year of Mercy, Archbishop William Skurla of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh opened a special Holy Door of Mercy in the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mt. St. Macrina House of Prayer on March 19, 2016.
The House of Prayer has held a monthly “Mercy Morning” Prayer and Reflection to which the public has been invited.
The door will remain open through the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy on Nov. 20, 2016 with a closing reflection and prayer service with Father John G. Petro on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 10:00 a.m.
During this Jubilee Year, pilgrims pass through a Holy Door to experience the love of God, which consoles, pardons and instills hope. The Holy Doors are symbols of God’s mercy, open to welcome everyone into the compassion of God’s love that Christ proclaims.
It is the “hope and prayer” of Pope Francis that anyone who passes through the Holy Door will have a conversion of heart and soul and in turn share that love and mercy with others, thus making God’s mercy ever-more visible by word and deed.
Many individuals and groups have come from near and far to make personal pilgrimages at the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help where the Door of Mercy is located.
People have come to quietly pray and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, to intercede for our Holy Father, to receive special graces and to pray for personal intentions.
Some pilgrims have processed to the Shrine and then throughout the grounds singing hymns while carrying candles and praising God for His presence that gives light to the darkness.
A number of visitors have shared that they experienced a special peace as they traversed the holy grounds in solitude and prayer and have genuinely experienced that “God Is With Us!”
