by Sister Elaine Kisinko OSBM

Asking for help is not always an easy thing to do. We might be embarrassed that we cannot complete a task, be unable to handle some object, or decipher or understand some written words. We are usually grateful to those people who kindly come to our aid. When it comes to our prayer lives, however, we never stand alone. God the Father, Jesus, Mary His Mother, the angels and saints always listen, hear us, and help us.
Sometimes our prayers vary in intensity from bright, light and happy words of thanks-giving to dark and painful pleas of hurt and anguish. We might have special places where we appreciate spending time with our Lord whether that be with words or in silence.
A great gift of time and place for prayer is, of course, the 91st annual Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, this year over the Labor Day weekend from August 29 to September 1. As always, it is truly a time set apart for our spiritual growth, renewal, and refreshment.
It seems that difficulties can evoke people to ask in prayer for heavenly intervention and help. People turn to God in prayer. When thinking of our country and our world today, it is obvious that prayer is greatly needed. Increasing violence, unending wars, disregard for human life, natural and unnatural disasters, and the list could go on and on.
Please make an effort, if you are able, to bring your blessed presence to the Pilgrimage. Kindly come with your favorite prayers and hymns. Come to join the others in the prayer and song of our holy and beautiful Church. We Sisters are grateful for each Pilgrim, from the youngest to the oldest who for four unique days will gather with our Bishops, Clergy and each other to ask in hope for the help we need, both personal and for the healing of our country and our world. We pray that the many people from near and far, united in the prayer, faith, and tradition of our treasured Byzantine Catholic Church, will travel to Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown safely to receive the grace of God which awaits them there.