Holy Annunciation Monastery
403 West County Road
Sugarloaf, PA 18249
Phone: 570-788-1205
Pilgrims watching the Movie on Saint Therese
and her mission
Dear Pilgrim of St. Therese!
Thank you for making September 30th so memorable!
God bless you, for donating and praying, if unable to be here.
The presence of children added to the joy of the day. Next year, with God’s help, we plan a 2024 Pilgrimage that will include a Blessing of Children.
On Sept 30th our chaplain was hearing confessions for almost three hours- God bless him and the devout laity - but we plan a better arrangement in 2024!
It was in Antioch (so the Act of the Apostles record) that the followers of the Apostles were called “Christians”. Our Byzantine Church Kondakion allows us to rejoice that ours is a living tradition!
Willingly raised on the Cross you bestowed Your mercy on a new people bearing Your name”
To enhance and complete the Sisters’ work of landscaping, plus the help of professionals and dedicated parishioners of St Ann’s, a local friend brought 200 (some VERY large) chrysanthemum plants!
Friends are a treasure and several GCU members donated time and contacts to do what was beyond the Sisters. Manicured lawns; food truck contact; loud-speaker systems…..
First Vespers of St Therese, celebrated by Father Edward Higgins, was followed by the Investiture of 12 Myrrhbearing Lay Sisters of St. John the Beloved, and the final commitment of Sister Veronika (Lynne) Wardach.
The dear Lay Sisters, affiliated to the Monastery gave 3 days of dedication to the Pilgrimage, without which it would have been difficult. (We promise a fuller details about these Ladies of the Lord)
The weather was overcast. Then at the noon Divine Liturgy a bright sun broke from clouds as Bishop Kurt, clad in gold vestments, came forward for his Homily.
We are children of time - time is our treasure. St. John the Beloved, the “Disciple whom Jesus loved” was the opening theme of Bishop Kurt’s Pilgrimage Homily on Sept, 30th. So five days separate their feasts- September 26th- September 30th. Historically John and Therese are almost 18 hundred years apart, yet share a mission to the faithful, namely: –each was first loved by God; each responded to God with Love.
St John and Therese bequeathed a fool-proof recipe to us: His constant saying: “Little children love one another”; Therese advised: ‘ through Love alone we become pleasing to God; my sole ambition is to acquire Love”.
St Maximus the Confessor (whose Four Hundred Texts on Love echo John the Apostle) wrote: “Christians sustain the world.. they live in their own homelands but as passing visitors…. live on earth but behave as if in heaven. They love all and are persecuted by all. In a word what the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world. ..they sustain the world.
Saint Therese welcomes the Pilgrims
Procession with the image of Saint Therese
