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Mount St. Macrina was a wagon train stop during the 40th National Road Festival.  The Mount has been a stop almost as long as the festival has been celebrated.  View the photo album here.

All of the Sisters gathered for a Corporate Reflection Weekend at the monastery April 26-28.  It was a joy to have everyone present,including Sisters from Phoenix, St. Petersburg, Erie, Wilkes-Barre, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, the cities where the Sisters serve presently.

The program began Friday evening with an update session with Patti Benford, Administrator of our nursing home, Mount Macrina Manor.

Saturday began with Matins and Divine Liturgy served by Very Rev. John Petro who led the morning program on the topic of prayer.

The Sisters spent the rest of the weekend visioning for the future. The ideas they generated will be the focus of further discussions in August when they meet again before the Pilgrimage.

The spirit was peaceful and joyous as the Sisters met and also celebrated the commemoration of the Samaritan Woman in their communal prayer.

Over the weekend, the Our Lady of Victory Garden received her spring cleanup.  The garden was carefully hand-weeded and pruned.  Organic fertilizers were also applied to the roses and the redbud to aid in growth and flower production.  Seven yards of shredded, undyed mulch was applied as a top dressing to provide moisture retention and organic material for the soil.

Watch the Sisters of St. Basil the Great discuss vocations on a recent episode of “How Is God Calling You?” The program originally aired on the Catholic Television Network of Youngstown, Ohio.

http://youtu.be/fw4dLW3Gd-8

Visit our photo albums and see how beautiful Mount St. Macrina looks adorned with the vibrant colors of spring!

May you live in the peace and joy of Jesus Christ who has
conquered all pain, suffering, and death. Live in the glorious assurance that no matter how dark the night, no matter how anxious the journey, the Son of God has conquered all darkness and death.

May these words of the Angel be your Easter hope each day:

“He is going before you into the Galilee of your
everyday life; there you will see Him, as He told you.”

Peace and blessings to you throughout this holy season,

Sister Seraphim and Sisters

Visit our 2013 Easter Photo Album.

May you have a blessed Holy Week.  LifeQuesters on the Web – 2013 Spring Edition offers a beautiful reflection and prayers for the days ahead leading to Easter.

Amerigo “Pat” Pallini, 95, of Uniontown, Pa., died peacefully on Fri., Feb. 22, 2013 at the Uniontown Hospital.

Pat was the son of the maid and butler who served J.V. Thompson, the Coal Baron, until his death in 1933.  Pat was born in the Thompson mansion and was very much a part of the life of J.V. and his grandchildren who lived at Fox Hill, the enjoining estate. When J.V.’s vision began to fade, Pat read the morning paper to him before going off to school. In his mid-nineties, Pat still got emotional when J. V.’s death was mentioned – he was 16 at the time.

Pat and his parents moved to another part of the property once the Sisters made the mansion their first monastery and renamed Oak Hill Estate Mount St. Macrina.  His parents are buried here. Pat went on to university and spent his life as a chemical engineer after marrying his high school sweetheart. For the last couple of decades he was her faithful caregiver. Hazel died in November after their 72 year relationship.  Everyone expected Pat would want to join her soon.

After Pat’s retirement, he moved back to this area from Ohio where he had raised his two children.  He introduced himself to us and happily supplied fascinating details of life at Oak Hill.  He delighted in regaling folks with the stories at elder hostels held at the mansion, now the House of Prayer, or at the tours during the National Road Festival. He assisted the Laurel Highlands High School Advanced History students in producing a booklet with the history and reprints of the photos of the house during the Thompson’s time, still available.

All who knew Pat – who called himself “Pontius Pilot” since he flew aircraft in his job, were delighted with his Italian charm and humor as well as with his interesting memories of an era gone by.  So many will miss him. We, for our part, will continue to pray, with gratitude, for Pat and Hazel.  Eternal memory and peaceful repose!

The LifeQuesters on the Web – 2013 Lenten edition is now available for you to enjoy!

The Tri-Diocesan Leadership Conference (TDSLC) of Western PA, established in 1974 has reorganized its structure and changed its name to better reflect and expand the association’s representation of Catholic Sisters in Western PA.  The organization is now known as the Catholic Sisters Leadership Council (CSLC) of Western PA. The CSLC will foster relationship and mutual support, share information, engage in dialogue, exercise its collective voice and collaborate with one another and with others.

The Council will consist of representatives from communities ministering in the
Western PA region, and will include a Board of Directors and four officers who
are elected members of leadership in their communities.  Sr. Susan Sisko has been elected co-chair of this newly formed organization. Serving along with her is treasurer Sr. Benita DeMatteis, OSB, (Sister Susan, OSBM), secretary Sr. Mary Norbert Long, SC and co-chair Sr. Maria Fest, CDP.