From the Head of the UGCC on the 77th day of the war: God, You who come to us today in the face of the sick, give us the strength to serve You properly!

“Ukraine continues to bleed ... Rivers of tears run through our Motherland… The sea of ​​pain, grief-crying probably reaches the heavens ... In the east of our Ukraine active hostilities are taking place. From what we hear, the enemy is relentlessly trying to invade our lands, storming our cities and villages. He is constantly firing our land, firing from all kinds of weapons that a man possesses today. He is trying to destroy our cities and villages with air bombs. The artillery is constantly working. But our defenders courageously defend the Motherland. That is why we say that Ukraine is standing. Ukraine is struggling. Ukraine defends its dignity and its right to exist”, stated the Head of the UGCC.

Over the last day, the Head of the Church concludes, there is indeed a lot of grief in Ukraine. The full-fledged procedure of evacuating people from the war zone has become almost impossible. Moreover, the enemy is deliberately shelling those small roads of life by which people can still escape from russian bombs and shells. That is why it is vital today to hear the voice of crying of Ukrainian children, women, families…

Hence, His Beatitude Sviatoslav invited the faithful to reflect on another work of mercy, which, according to Jesus Christ, a person does to Him personally - to visit the sick.

He drew attention to the fact that in the conditions of the pandemic it turned out that modern humanity is fragile, vulnerable and sensitive to various types of pain.

We see, says the bishop, that although civilization is evolving, the wounds that a man bears on his body and in his soul are very deep. Being sick during the war is almost grief and a tragedy. In order to recover, a person must be provided with proper medical care. However, in order to overcome the disease, it is still very important that the patient can be visited, served and thus lift up his spirit.

“The Ukrainian people are deeply wounded. We may not be fully aware of the deep wounds this war has inflicted on Ukraine's body today. We see our wounded soldiers telling us with their wounds that Ukraine is crying out to God and to the conscience of our neighbor for salvation”, mentioned the Head of the Church.

The Father and the Head of the UGCC expressed gratitude to Ukrainian physicians who “show the peaks of medical art to save lives in Ukraine.” Special thanks to those, says His Beatitude Sviatoslav, who take care of the sick, take care of them, feed them, try to do everything so that a sick person, especially during the war, does not feel lonely and abandoned.

“We ask You, Lord, to stop this war so that there are no more wounds because we believe that only You have the medicine that can heal human wounds”, mentioned the Head of the UGCC.

The Head of the UGCC also drew attention to the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and explained that it is the Sacrament of Divine Mercy for the sick: “When someone in your family or relatives fall ill, call a priest and the prayer of the Church will save the sick one”.

“God bless Ukraine! God bless the Ukrainian army! God, grant victory to the Ukrainian people! God, You who come to us today in the face of the sick, give us the strength to serve You properly and see You in the face of a sick man who is near today!” the spiritual leader of Ukrainians asks God.

The UGCC Department for Information