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Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today is Friday, June 9, 2022, and Ukraine is experiencing the 106th day of the great war that Russia has started against our people.
The most intense fighting is in the Ukrainian Luhansk region and the Ukrainian Donetsk region. At the same time, most oblasts in eastern, southern and central Ukraine are under fire. The situation of our civilian population in the occupied territories is tragic and deteriorating daily. It is becoming clear that the war that Russia has started against Ukraine is colonial in nature. They are once again trying to turn Ukraine into a colony, almost in the heart of Europe. Killings, rapes, and robberies accompany this colonial war, and, sadly, Russia exports and sells on the international market everything that can be looted in Ukraine.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Today is Friday, June 9, 2022, and Ukraine is experiencing the 106th day of the great war that Russia has started against our people.
The most intense fighting is in the Ukrainian Luhansk region and the Ukrainian Donetsk region. At the same time, most oblasts in eastern, southern and central Ukraine are under fire. The situation of our civilian population in the occupied territories is tragic and deteriorating daily. It is becoming clear that the war that Russia has started against Ukraine is colonial in nature. They are once again trying to turn Ukraine into a colony, almost in the heart of Europe. Killings, rapes, and robberies accompany this colonial war, and, sadly, Russia exports and sells on the international market everything that can be looted in Ukraine.
Today I appeal to the world community, to the conscience of people around the world: do not buy loot in Ukraine! Because otherwise you become accomplices in the crimes committed by the occupiers when they came to Ukrainian soil. Today we offer prayers for those people who have fallen into the clutches of the enemy and have no other help, no other hope than the Lord God and the Christian conscience of all people of good will. Indeed, thanks to God's power and grace and to the Ukrainian soldiers, we can still see the sunlight this morning and send prayers to the Lord God for Ukraine, for its people and for the whole world.
Today we are also experiencing the seventh day of the Decade of Mission. God's word tells us about prayer. For, in fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit and Teacher of prayer. True Christian prayer is always in the Holy Spirit. However, today Christ reveals to us another profound truth about Christian prayer. He says, "Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you."
What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Obviously, it is not just about calling on Jesus or remembering Him in prayer. Our Savior reveals to us the truth about human nature. Man was created by the Creator as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Apostle Paul teaches us: "Behold, the Holy Spirit, who has been poured out into our hearts, will cry out from within man to heaven, to Heavenly Father, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' The Holy Spirit, as the Teacher of true Christian prayer, is the Spirit of community, bringing us to life in Christ, and making the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - alive in man. Therefore, man, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, is the abode of the Holy Trinity. And to ask the Father in the name of Jesus means to be and live in Him, in Christ. Then, as St. Augustine teaches us, we become members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and Christ himself prays in us, with us and for us to Heavenly Father as the Head of this Body.
Thus, it is not a private prayer or a personal request separate from the prayer of the whole Church or the Savior. Father who hears the cry of the Holy Spirit "Abba, Father!" from the hearts of believing people and the prayer of his Son for those whom he presents to the Father as his disciples, as children of God, he hears these prayers.
Today, taught by the Holy Spirit, we pray together in the name of our Savior Jesus to the Father, crying out for one thing - peace for Ukraine, an end to the war. We pray for the Ukrainian army. We pray that the Lord will stop the murderous hand of our enemies, because not only Ukraine has the right to defend itself, but our enemy has the right to be stopped so that he does not commit any more crimes.
We ask: Father, accept our prayers in the name of Jesus and bless our Motherland with the power and action of the Holy Spirit!
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, with His grace and love for mankind, always, now, and forever and ever. Amen.
Today we are also experiencing the seventh day of the Decade of Mission. God's word tells us about prayer. For, in fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit and Teacher of prayer. True Christian prayer is always in the Holy Spirit. However, today Christ reveals to us another profound truth about Christian prayer. He says, "Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you."
What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? Obviously, it is not just about calling on Jesus or remembering Him in prayer. Our Savior reveals to us the truth about human nature. Man was created by the Creator as a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Apostle Paul teaches us: "Behold, the Holy Spirit, who has been poured out into our hearts, will cry out from within man to heaven, to Heavenly Father, crying out, 'Abba, Father!' The Holy Spirit, as the Teacher of true Christian prayer, is the Spirit of community, bringing us to life in Christ, and making the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - alive in man. Therefore, man, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, is the abode of the Holy Trinity. And to ask the Father in the name of Jesus means to be and live in Him, in Christ. Then, as St. Augustine teaches us, we become members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and Christ himself prays in us, with us and for us to Heavenly Father as the Head of this Body.
Thus, it is not a private prayer or a personal request separate from the prayer of the whole Church or the Savior. Father who hears the cry of the Holy Spirit "Abba, Father!" from the hearts of believing people and the prayer of his Son for those whom he presents to the Father as his disciples, as children of God, he hears these prayers.
Today, taught by the Holy Spirit, we pray together in the name of our Savior Jesus to the Father, crying out for one thing - peace for Ukraine, an end to the war. We pray for the Ukrainian army. We pray that the Lord will stop the murderous hand of our enemies, because not only Ukraine has the right to defend itself, but our enemy has the right to be stopped so that he does not commit any more crimes.
We ask: Father, accept our prayers in the name of Jesus and bless our Motherland with the power and action of the Holy Spirit!
The blessing of the Lord be upon you, with His grace and love for mankind, always, now, and forever and ever. Amen.
Source: Official Youtube Channel of the UGCC Linked Above
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