Bishop Stepan Sus during the pilgrimage to the Virgin of Vyshhorod: We, as Christians, must learn to make an effort

Bishop Stepan noted that the pilgrimage is a special time. "For many of us, pilgrimage is associated with a journey. It is also a prayer, and our thoughts are part of this prayer," he said.

A time of pilgrimage is also a time of effort. "We, as Christians, as human beings, must learn to make an effort. These efforts are our desires, our intentions to walk this path, to come to the holy place, to the miraculous icon and to start praying,” Bishop Stepan believes.

"Sometimes it happens in our lives," says the bishop, "that we are alone; then our prayer begins with the words: ‘God, there is no one around me ... Send me the right people who will help me walk the right path of life.’ Therefore, pilgrimage for us is the moment when we allow God or the people He sends us to touch us, to help us to be healed.”

And this means, he emphasizes, to trust ourselves to God, to open our hearts, to show God the places that hurt us, to show the wounds of our past, to discover what worries us and - most importantly - not to be afraid to tell God about this...

During the pilgrimage, Bishop Stepan points out, we have the opportunity to ask the Mother of God for everything we lack for our spiritual growth, for our Christian life, for our ability to be practicing Christians, as those who trust in God, who are not afraid to reveal their past and ask God to heal them. Therefore, pilgrimage is often a personal encounter with God.

"It is important that we finish this pilgrimage as people who are not afraid to be with God," the bishop wished.

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