From the Head of the UGCC on Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing women: It is so important for a mother to pass on her faith in God to her children and to tell them the good news of the risen Christ

In his homily, the Head of the UGCC noted that on Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women the Church draws attention of the faithful to the first moments of the good news, the heart of the Gospel - the news of Christ's resurrection, the empty tomb and the Life that overcame death.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav pointed out that on the way to the tomb, the myrrh-bearing women wished the impossible - they went with incense to anoint the body of Jesus and thus complete the funeral rite, but it was impossible to reach the body of Jesus due to all the obstacles posed by Israel and Roman rule. “The desire for the impossible removes the great obstacle on the way to Jesus. On the one hand, the angel of God rolls the stone away but this resurrection of Christ opens the way to the impossible, which they, not even fully aware, aspired and desired. They receive the message from the angel that Christ is risen," the preacher said.

Returning, he continued, myrrh-bearing women become missionary women. This message changes not only the direction of their movement, but the content of their actions, testimonies, and ministries. They no longer feel called to serve the one who died but are called to be bearers of joy, bearers of good news. “They are the first evangelists of the apostles, the first to bring the gospel to the community of Christ's disciples, the first to whom the Lord has entrusted the message of His resurrection”, the Head of the UGCC explained.

In his homily, His Beatitude Sviatoslav also noted that on the second Sunday of May Ukraine celebrates Mother’s Day, and recalled a photo of the so-called “The Madonna of Kyiv” that flew all way around the world - a young woman who was breastfeeding her child while hiding from Russian bombs in the Kyiv metro.

“Why has this photo moved people around the world so much? Because she deeply revealed the nature of a female vocation”, said the head of the UGCC and added: A woman-mother who gives life, who watches over life, not just gives it, but watches for this life to grow and develop, just as the Lord, who gives us life but does not leave us… A mother is the one who has to give life and teach to live it”.

Today's Gospel, said the Head of the UGCC, shows us an even deeper vocation of a woman. “A woman not only cooperates with her husband in the sacrament of the birth of a new life and its upbringing. She is called, like the myrrh-bearing woman, to teach her child to strive for the great, the impossible, and moreover, to arouse in modern man the desire of the living God. Because often we are captive to our own fears, plans that are not commensurate with the difficulties we are experiencing. And we ask how to be certain in the uncertain future. Today, myrrh-bearing women answer: first of all, the future must be desired. For Christ's resurrection is the ultimate future that is open to all”, the Primate said.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that it is the woman in the Church, as a mother and teacher of the faith, who is called to arouse the desire to encounter the risen Christ. A woman who passes on faith to her children opens the door to eternity.

The Head of the UGCC also noted that the words “Who will roll away the stone at us from the entrance to the tomb for us?” are especially relevant for Ukrainians during the war, in which “we must win.”

“We understand that this is a challenge that is often beyond our capabilities, and that this enemy who wants to put us in a grave, stone us, seal us, put up a military guard, and say that we will be buried forever is greater and stronger than us. And today we may be crying as myrrh-bearing women who went to the tomb, accepted the challenge of trouble, and we also ask ourselves: who will roll away this stone for us? But we feel that in that story of the first moment of receiving the news of the resurrection, the Messenger of Christ, the angel, will say to us, Ukrainians, as myrrh-bearers: “Do not be afraid.” And it is the power of the Risen One that will roll away our stone”, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized.

The UGCC Department for Information