Today Christ says: I am killed with you, I am near. Your wounds become Mine, — His Beatitude Sviatoslav in Ternopil
On Saturday, October 1, His Beatitude Sviatoslav presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in the Arch-Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ternopil on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the resumption of activity of the Ternopil branch of the Federation of Ukrainian Catholic Students “Obnova.” The “What is our tomorrow?” conference began with this Liturgy.
During the sermon, the bishop reflected on the conversation of Jesus Christ with non-believers, which we hear about in today’s Gospel. “Answering the question, who are you? Christ repeats several times, ‘I am that I am.’ He uses the most profound phrases of the Old Testament to outline His identity and answer the question of who He is. Note that these are the words that the Lord God spoke to Moses when he asked for His name. God said about himself ‘Yahweh’ — the Living One.
“What does it mean that God exists? Perhaps someone today, listening to these words, will say: ‘Yes, God exists somewhere,’ as agnostics often say. But the words ‘I am that I am’ mean ‘I am the one who is for you, with you.’ God reveals himself to those who accompany a person in the most challenging moments of his personal, national, and state life. When we Christians look at the crucified Savior, we see the revelation of God, who, being immortal, became a man to die for me. Even at the moment of death, the most unbearable suffering, He is with you and for you. Sometimes it seems to us that God is not there at the moment of the deepest grief. In the war and bomb shelters, people asked, where is God when we are being killed? Today, Christ says: ‘I am being killed with you, I am with you. Even more, your wounds become My wounds.’
His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked the Ukrainian youth, girls, and boys, who came from different parts of Ukraine to Ternopil that day. The burden of the war fell on the shoulders of Ukrainian youth.
According to the Patriarch, Ukraine will be how Ukrainian youth build it. “Our youth are strong, wise, and they seek God. Therefore, I want to testify confidently that the Lord is with you.”
