Let us ask the Lord to open the sky over Ukraine for God’s mercy, - His Beatitude Sviatoslav on the second week of Lent

Monday, 21 March 2022, 14:03

“Today every Ukrainian must ask for God's mercy. During the war, we live in danger of death. We do not know what will happen to us in the next moment, what deadly face of war we will encounter, even as we leave this church. That is why it is so important, following the traditional teaching of the Church, that we live in God's grace, be reconciled with God, have no grave sin on our conscience, and be ready for death at any moment. Let us hurry to confession,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the UGCC, emphasized during his homily to the faithful on the second Sunday of Lent.

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According to the Head of the UGCC, today’s Gospel (Mark 2:1-12) is about a great proclamation of God's mercy. He surmises that today the evangelist Mark seeks to introduce Jesus Christ to us as the Messiah, the New Adam, whose central mission is to reopen the heavens for mankind.

Paying attention to the words of Christ: “Son, your sins are forgiven,” the homilist highlighted and explained their deep meaning. In his opinion, these words primarily mean the reconciliation of a man with God. Thus, sin no longer separates man from God, and we have the possibility of real-life communion with Him, the possibility of healing, of returning to the fullness of life in soul, spirit, and body.

According to the Head of the Church, Lent is precisely the time when a person is especially invited to experience God’s mercy. This is a time when it is not so much man who is looking for God, but God who is looking for man. Moreover, God is looking to find our faith. Because it is only through faith that God grants mercy to mankind. Faith is our openness to God.

Thus, His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed out that the open ceiling, the broken roof, which we hear about in the Gospel passage, is an interesting symbol for us today: “On the one hand, it is a symbol of faith, when a person is willing to break everything that prevents him from seeing the heavens, and opens his heart to the power and mercy of God. On the other hand, it is a symbol of God’s movement toward a person, as He breaks Heaven in order to save him, heal him, and pour out His mercy on him.

“Today we plead: God, have mercy on Ukraine. Close the sky above us from deadly Russian missiles and bombs, and at the same time open the sky over Ukraine for Your mercy. We are realizing now that only God can heal our infirmities, our paralysis, which does not allow our body, as well as the body of the state, the national body, to act effectively and resist external aggression,” the hierarch emphasized.

Therefore, the Father and Head of the UGCC continued, this Sunday the Church proclaims the good news that God comes to us even when we experience great pain, grief, and death; He sees our suffering and has mercy on us.

The Head of the Church further recalled that the period of Lent is a time of confession, repentance, penance, and God's mercy. He reminded us that every Ukrainian should go to confession to personally hear the words of absolution.

“May God's mercy be the strength of Ukraine! May God's mercy, which unifies us with Him, give us an inner vital strength to win. May God's mercy heal the wounds of Ukraine, inflicted on us by our enemy today. May these words: ‘Arise, take up your mat, and walk’ (Mark 2:9) be the words of God that give Ukraine victory. Arise, take up your mat, and be at home, on your native, God-given Ukrainian land,” concluded His Beatitude.

The UGCC Department of Information