Ukraine Archbishop explains "The war continues… Air bombs and rockets continue to fall on our peaceful cities and villages."
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Christ is Risen!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today is Thursday, May 19, 2022, and for the 85th day the Ukrainian people are fighting against full-scale Russian aggression.
The war continues… Air bombs and rockets continue to fall on our peaceful cities and villages. According to reports from the front, the largest fighting is taking place in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The military amused us with the fact that the Russians completely failed in their offensive in four directions and our army is successfully defending the Motherland. However, air strikes continue in different parts of Ukraine: Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolayiv regions, which would like to live a peaceful life.
We especially pray for Mariupol, for those people who still need the attention of the world community there. We pray for all those who are in the occupied Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, in all cities and villages, which were cut off by the invaders from the body of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people.
We want to help all those who have suffered from this war, including those who have been forcibly displaced, those who have been away from home, and those who have been wounded. We pray for our soldiers who have been taken prisoner by the enemy.
But Ukraine stands. Ukraine is struggling. Ukraine wins. And today the whole world sees the real will of Ukraine - to be a free, independent state.
Today I would like to reflect on another work of charity for the soul of our neighbor, which is perhaps the best reflection of God's love for us: forgiveness from the heart. Of course, when someone offends us, hurts us, we take offense. Any evil, especially unjust, strikes us.
This work of charity teaches us to overcome evil with love and tells us that the Lord God, who loves man, does not care about man's attitude toward Him. God's love is greater than the sins and insults that man can inflict on Him: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God's love heals our sins, our hatred. The Lord God cares that man's evil first falls on his head. When a person sins, insults the Lord God, he hurts himself first. And God's mercy, on the contrary, saves her evil. When we treat our neighbors the same way the Lord God treats us, we show His presence among us.
Forgiveness from the heart, especially in personal relationships, means overcoming the evil that another could do to me. Because it often happens that someone insulted me, but did not notice it. And the insult I carry in my heart to my neighbor oppresses me. So when I forgive an insult, I throw that inner evil out of my own heart and the insult doesn't hurt me anymore.
Moreover, by forgiving with our love, we destroy evil and sin. Therefore, let us not allow our images to destroy us from within. May our images disappear with the power of God's love that we can pass on to others.
God bless Ukraine! God, heal the wounds inflicted on the souls of Ukrainians by this difficult war! God, teach us to forgive, in particular our neighbors, relatives!
Let the images, small or large, not undermine our families, our parishes, our communities. May every insult be overcome by the power of forgiveness in the name of God, as a work of mercy for the soul of our neighbor.
God bless Ukraine! God bless the Ukrainian army! God bless all those who help each other! God bless all those who struggle with their own images! God bless all those who are defending the Motherland today! God bless the Ukrainian people.
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, with His grace and love of man, always, now, and forever and ever. Amen.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today is Thursday, May 19, 2022, and for the 85th day the Ukrainian people are fighting against full-scale Russian aggression.
The war continues… Air bombs and rockets continue to fall on our peaceful cities and villages. According to reports from the front, the largest fighting is taking place in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The military amused us with the fact that the Russians completely failed in their offensive in four directions and our army is successfully defending the Motherland. However, air strikes continue in different parts of Ukraine: Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolayiv regions, which would like to live a peaceful life.
We especially pray for Mariupol, for those people who still need the attention of the world community there. We pray for all those who are in the occupied Kherson, Melitopol and Berdyansk, in all cities and villages, which were cut off by the invaders from the body of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people.
We want to help all those who have suffered from this war, including those who have been forcibly displaced, those who have been away from home, and those who have been wounded. We pray for our soldiers who have been taken prisoner by the enemy.
But Ukraine stands. Ukraine is struggling. Ukraine wins. And today the whole world sees the real will of Ukraine - to be a free, independent state.
Today I would like to reflect on another work of charity for the soul of our neighbor, which is perhaps the best reflection of God's love for us: forgiveness from the heart. Of course, when someone offends us, hurts us, we take offense. Any evil, especially unjust, strikes us.
This work of charity teaches us to overcome evil with love and tells us that the Lord God, who loves man, does not care about man's attitude toward Him. God's love is greater than the sins and insults that man can inflict on Him: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
God's love heals our sins, our hatred. The Lord God cares that man's evil first falls on his head. When a person sins, insults the Lord God, he hurts himself first. And God's mercy, on the contrary, saves her evil. When we treat our neighbors the same way the Lord God treats us, we show His presence among us.
Forgiveness from the heart, especially in personal relationships, means overcoming the evil that another could do to me. Because it often happens that someone insulted me, but did not notice it. And the insult I carry in my heart to my neighbor oppresses me. So when I forgive an insult, I throw that inner evil out of my own heart and the insult doesn't hurt me anymore.
Moreover, by forgiving with our love, we destroy evil and sin. Therefore, let us not allow our images to destroy us from within. May our images disappear with the power of God's love that we can pass on to others.
God bless Ukraine! God, heal the wounds inflicted on the souls of Ukrainians by this difficult war! God, teach us to forgive, in particular our neighbors, relatives!
Let the images, small or large, not undermine our families, our parishes, our communities. May every insult be overcome by the power of forgiveness in the name of God, as a work of mercy for the soul of our neighbor.
God bless Ukraine! God bless the Ukrainian army! God bless all those who help each other! God bless all those who struggle with their own images! God bless all those who are defending the Motherland today! God bless the Ukrainian people.
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, with His grace and love of man, always, now, and forever and ever. Amen.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
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