May the Lord teach us to be merciful to sinners and not indifferent to their salvation, - from the Head of the UGCC on the 80th day of the war

“It is said that the conversion of a person is one of the greatest miracles that God performs. It is a gift, a grace of the action of the Holy Spirit. However the work of mercy to help to admonish the sinner is the vocation of every Christian”, explained the Head of the UGCC.

The Primate stated that on the 80th day of the war we have good news – Ukraine stood up for in Kharkiv. It was not only possible to defend this historically large city of millions but, as was the case with Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy, show that Slobozhanshchyna, a region located on the border with the russian federation, is truly historical Ukraine.

“Today we thank all the defenders of Kharkiv and those who gave their lives for the freedom of this ancient Ukrainian city”, the Head of the UGCC emphasizes.

He also noted that the enemy does not lay down arms. He is actively and massively attacking, trying to completely capture the territories of Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions, he wants to gain a foothold in Zaporizhzhia. That night, massive missile and artillery strikes damaged part of the infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk region. Mykolayiv was fired upon.

On this day, His Beatitude Sviatoslav began a series of reflections on works of mercy for the soul of his neighbor, reflecting on the first of them – to admonish the sinner.

“We know, the bishop says, that the human soul, particularly its powers, which are the mind, will, and feelings are like a stirring wheel that guides a person. Therefore, our destiny depends on our state of mind and spiritual health, not only in the earthly part of our life journey, but also eternal life, the possibility or impossibility of participating in the eternal happiness that God gives us”.

We also know, he continued, that when the Lord looks at a sinful person, the first thing He notices is not so much the sin the person commits, but his child who has fallen into the clutches of the bondage of sin.

“The conversion of the sinner, his deliverance from the snares of evil, man's ability to be free from evil is a sign of true freedom”, the Head of the UGCC emphasized.

We sometimes get impression, the Primate says, that to admonish the sinner means to interfere in his internal affairs, his private space. Sometimes a person in extreme individualism of modern culture believes that no one else should interfere in what is happening in his heart.

However, according to him, a person sometimes finds herself in dire need of someone sent by the Lord to save her from the bondage of sin.

“If we all kept vigil over the state of the soul, not only our own but also our neighbor, then, perhaps, there would be less evil in the world”, His Beatitude Sviatoslav believes.

“God, save Ukraine! God, convert those who are killing us today! God, turn away from sin all those who devise wicked plans and are the cause of the scourge of war in the modern world! God bless the Ukrainian army, which stops the sinful attacker! God bless the children of Ukraine, turn us all away from sin and give us true freedom, which is the freedom to do good”, asks the spiritual leader of Ukrainians.

 The UGCC Department for Information