From the Head of the UGCC on the 321 st day of the war: “Today, Christ wants to fit into the destiny of everyone who undergoes the most difficult times”
The Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said in his daily address on the 321 st day of the great, full-scale war that the Russian invader brought to our long-suffering land.
We greet Him with the joyful greeting, “Christ is born!” and answer, “Glorify Him!”. First, however, let us glorify our newborn Savior with words and our lives, actions, love, and respect for those who are the smallest and weakest among us today.
He reminded us that we continue celebrating Christmas according to our liturgical cadences. These days are called the days after the Nativity of Christ, and today, the Eastern Church honors the memory of 20 thousand martyrs burned in Nicomedia. “We get the odd feeling, said the spiritual leader, these days after the Nativity. Joy is intertwined with pain, suffering, and sadness. But in this, God’s in-depth, mysterious plan regarding Christ’s Nativity and man’s salvation is revealed.”
The Holy Fathers said that it is possible to distinguish three moments, three stages of God’s coming to man, and three ways in which the Son of God, Jesus Christ, enters human history and approaches each of us.
“The first stage, the Head of the Church explained, is His birth, dwelling among people in human nature, personal Divine presence among people. In the second stage of Christ’s coming, a consistent approach to man takes place in the body of His Church. And the climax of the existence of the living Christ among us today in the Church is the Holy Eucharist.”
According to the Primate, today, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, Christ wants to be with us, to share our circumstances of historical life.
“He came to us in human form, as a servant, to inscribe his eternal God’s name in these martyred people, the people of Ukraine, to take upon himself our pains, sufferings, even our fears, and infirmities, hardships. He wants to fit into the destiny of everyone who undergoes the most difficult times. He cries with those who weep and fights with those who fight to defend the dignity of man and the freedom of his people,” said the head of the Church.
The UGCC Department for Information
