Major Archbishop in Ukraine says "In the midst of this terrible pain, we still look into the light of God's truth, because we feel that we are dying for that truth."
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Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is Friday, April 15, 2022, and Ukraine is already experiencing 51 days of nationwide confrontation, resistance to Russian aggression. Ukraine is on fire. And these lines of fire are getting wider and scarier. Ukraine is on fire from Kharkiv to Mariupol in the east and from Mariupol to Mykolayiv in the south. The cannons are thundering. Bombs, hail and rockets are falling on the heads of civilians.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today is Friday, April 15, 2022, and Ukraine is already experiencing 51 days of nationwide confrontation, resistance to Russian aggression. Ukraine is on fire. And these lines of fire are getting wider and scarier. Ukraine is on fire from Kharkiv to Mariupol in the east and from Mariupol to Mykolayiv in the south. The cannons are thundering. Bombs, hail and rockets are falling on the heads of civilians.
Millions of people have already left their homes.
Unfortunately, the war continues and we understand less and less how it will develop further. Everyone expects another great military confrontation, but Ukraine is praying for victory. Ukraine prays and fights for a just peace. The Ukrainian army heroically, at the cost of its own life, protects the lives of peaceful people and the future of Ukraine and the future of Europe.
In the midst of this terrible pain, we still look into the light of God's truth, because we feel that we are dying for that truth. This truth of God gives meaning to our struggle. That is why today I want to reflect with you on the eighth commandment of God, which protects human life in truth and says: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
This commandment of God follows from the very grounded, profound vocation of God's people to be witnesses of the one and true God. To live in truth in relation to God, to one's neighbor, is the main core, the main element of this testimony. This commandment of God also protects the dignity of a person who has the right to a good name, to a good reputation, who has the right to respect his dignity and the truth about his life and deeds. During the war, the first victim is always the truth. But we know that Christ himself said of himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Therefore, a Christian who lives in the truth during the war, testifies to the truth, speaks the truth is a witness to what he saw and experienced. He thus honors and honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We see that the great war that is being fought in Ukraine today is unparalleled in terms of its scale and intensity since the Second World War. It is a war called a hybrid war: in order to humiliate one's enemy, one is first despised by untruth.
The great war today is connected with a great lie. And we, as Christians, are called to live in the truth and to bear witness to it, even when this truth is not beneficial to anyone, because in this way we fulfill the prophetic government, the prophetic mission of the Christian and the Church. When we bear witness to the truth, we defend the truth of even our ecclesiastical and liturgical gestures, by which we reveal to the world our faith, by which we venerate the Cross of Christ. The truth about man is inextricably linked to the truth of the Christian witness today.
Today I would like to especially thank all those who have the courage to testify to the truth about the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I want to thank all the journalists who are coming to Ukraine these days to show the world the cruel, difficult truth about the crimes of Russians on our land. Many of them were killed and wounded. May the Lord God repay a hundredfold to all the workers of the media who help modern man to know the truth and then follow it.
Today I especially want to thank all the witnesses of Russian crimes who have the courage to testify and speak about it. Living in truth is the power that makes us invincible, because truth has its own power, it must not be explained and defended, it must be witnessed, it must be told to the world, and truth will always prevail, just as light conquers darkness.
God bless Ukraine. Bless the prophets of our time who speak to the conscience of modern man and reveal to him the eternal truth about God present among us. God bless Ukraine, which lives and dies for God's truth today.
May the Lord bless you with His grace and love of man always, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Unfortunately, the war continues and we understand less and less how it will develop further. Everyone expects another great military confrontation, but Ukraine is praying for victory. Ukraine prays and fights for a just peace. The Ukrainian army heroically, at the cost of its own life, protects the lives of peaceful people and the future of Ukraine and the future of Europe.
In the midst of this terrible pain, we still look into the light of God's truth, because we feel that we are dying for that truth. This truth of God gives meaning to our struggle. That is why today I want to reflect with you on the eighth commandment of God, which protects human life in truth and says: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."
This commandment of God follows from the very grounded, profound vocation of God's people to be witnesses of the one and true God. To live in truth in relation to God, to one's neighbor, is the main core, the main element of this testimony. This commandment of God also protects the dignity of a person who has the right to a good name, to a good reputation, who has the right to respect his dignity and the truth about his life and deeds. During the war, the first victim is always the truth. But we know that Christ himself said of himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Therefore, a Christian who lives in the truth during the war, testifies to the truth, speaks the truth is a witness to what he saw and experienced. He thus honors and honors our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We see that the great war that is being fought in Ukraine today is unparalleled in terms of its scale and intensity since the Second World War. It is a war called a hybrid war: in order to humiliate one's enemy, one is first despised by untruth.
The great war today is connected with a great lie. And we, as Christians, are called to live in the truth and to bear witness to it, even when this truth is not beneficial to anyone, because in this way we fulfill the prophetic government, the prophetic mission of the Christian and the Church. When we bear witness to the truth, we defend the truth of even our ecclesiastical and liturgical gestures, by which we reveal to the world our faith, by which we venerate the Cross of Christ. The truth about man is inextricably linked to the truth of the Christian witness today.
Today I would like to especially thank all those who have the courage to testify to the truth about the suffering of the Ukrainian people. I want to thank all the journalists who are coming to Ukraine these days to show the world the cruel, difficult truth about the crimes of Russians on our land. Many of them were killed and wounded. May the Lord God repay a hundredfold to all the workers of the media who help modern man to know the truth and then follow it.
Today I especially want to thank all the witnesses of Russian crimes who have the courage to testify and speak about it. Living in truth is the power that makes us invincible, because truth has its own power, it must not be explained and defended, it must be witnessed, it must be told to the world, and truth will always prevail, just as light conquers darkness.
God bless Ukraine. Bless the prophets of our time who speak to the conscience of modern man and reveal to him the eternal truth about God present among us. God bless Ukraine, which lives and dies for God's truth today.
May the Lord bless you with His grace and love of man always, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Source: UGCC
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