SPECIAL PILGRIMAGE EVENT AT FAMOUS HOSHIV SHRINE
September 12, 2017
METROPOLITAN LAWRENCE PARTICIPATES IN MAJOR PILGRIMAGE CELEBRATION AT BASILIAN FATHERS MONASTERY AND SHRINE
The Ukrainian Catholic Synod of Bishops, toward the end of their annual 10-day gathering in Ukraine, traveled to the famous Basilian Fathers’ Monastery and Shrine at Hoshiv, Ukraine. The purpose was to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Ukrainian Catholic monastic Order of Saint Basil the Great (OSBM). The community of Priests that serve St. Nicholas Parish in Winnipeg are members of this Order. The Basilian Fathers also house their Provincial headquarters for all of Canada at their Monastery beside St. Nicholas Church.
At the Shrine at Hoshiv, on September 10th, thousands of pilgrims gathered from around the country. The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, His Beatitude, Sviatoslav, was the main celebrant and preached the homily.
An important part of his sermon spoke about the Holy Eucharist. He spoke of how in the times of persecution during the Communist regime – people would walk for kilometers to be able to be at a Divine Liturgy. He encouraged all to take heart in the mercy and love of the Lord. His Beatitude said that even then when we sin and have lost our pure baptismal garment, we should not fear, but we should approach the Sacrament of Confession, because it the “deposit of God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness in which our Heavenly Father in the Son and through the Holy Spirit gives us once again that wedding garment that makes us capable of worthily of coming forward for Holy Communion… able to sit at the table of the Eucharistic banquet.”
See a Video of the Pilgrimage Divine Liturgy…
