Whoever holds Christ will never wander in the darkness, Head of the UGCC on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
Monday, 17 February 2020, 11:15 On the Feast of Candlemas, His Beatitude Sviatoslav led the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Procathedral of St. Sophia in Rome. After the liturgy, the Head of the UGCC met with the consecrated persons from various congregations of the UGCC in Rome.-
See also:
- "I ask you to be worthy ambassadors of your homeland", the Head of the UGCC to those who were forced to leave Ukraine
- The head of the UGCC expresses his condolences over the repose of Bishop Emeritus Robert Moskal
- Today Russia is again committing a sin of Svyatopolk the Accursed, - The Head of the UGCC on the day of commemoration of Saints Borys and Hlib
Explaining the concept of salvation in Scripture, His Beatitude Sviatoslav mentioned in his sermon the tenth punishment on Egypt, when “God sent an angel of death, from which only the firstborn of the people of Israel could escape. Then, for the first time, people saw salvation: they realized that God not only gave them life, but also saved them, gives them freedom. From that moment, a new phase in the life of Israel began. So to see salvation meant to see the children saved from death.”
This Old Testament event, as explained by the Bishop, takes on a new meaning with the coming to the land of Jesus Christ: “Today, on the fortieth day after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph bring Him to the temple, performing two precepts. One saying was that the firstborn belongs to God. Bringing the firstborn, the family sacrificed him to the temple. The second law prescribed that after a period of purification a woman must offer sacrifice to God."
"Simeon announces to us the moment when one can see salvation. First, when it says that the old man will not see death until he meets the Messiah, and second, when Simeon himself says, 'You can let me go in peace,' because he realizes that he is not afraid of death, because the One he holds in his arms can save him from death. What Simeon is experiencing at this moment is a herald of not an end, but a new life,” said the Head of the UGCC.
Summarizing the explanation of the event of Candlemas, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that the modern man also needs to "see salvation". And he added: "Often we see only darkness around us: the darkness of hatred and war, the darkness of the modern culture of death, the darkness of despair and confusion. In this darkness, modern man is incapable of seeing salvation."
The light in the modern world, stressed the Head of the UGCC, should be the testimony of the faith of Christians. "Whoever holds Christ will never wander in the darkness. Christians are called to discover that our lives are God's gift, the Lord cares for us, He is our light. Christians must testify that the life we have is a gift of God. My life is ultimately God-owned. The mission of Christians is to be bearers of light,” he said.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the UGCC coincides with the Day of Consecrated Life. In his sermon, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that "a modern man can see salvation only when he sees the entire dedication of others." Therefore, the Head of the UGCC addressed the consecrated persons: “Be a light to the world, because looking at your dedication to God, the world can see salvation. A consecrated life is life for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven."
The Primate also addressed the parents, reminding them that the children are not their property, but God's gift. “Therefore, have the courage to give your children a dedication to God at some point. Turn them back to our Savior's hands, allow Simeon and Anna to carry them on their hands so that they may also be a light to the world."
The Secretariat of the Head of the UGCC in Rome
We can imagine what the prayer of the prisoners in the Russian torture centers in the Ukrainian Kharkiv region was like – Head of the UGCC on the 206th day of the war 17 September
A vast cemetery, a mass burial, was found near the city of Izyum, in which more than 400 innocently killed and tortured people have already been...
- Глава УГКЦ у 158-й день війни: «Нехай Господь прийме з уст нашої Церкви псалми та моління за всіх тих, які особливо просять нашої молитви»
- «Сила, яка походить із вірності Христові, є стержнем, який ніхто не може зламати», – Блаженніший Святослав
- Глава УГКЦ у 157-й день війни: «В ім’я Боже ми засуджуємо звірства в Оленівці і світ повинен це засудити як особливий вияв дикості й жорстокості»
- «Боже, почуй наш плач і поспіши нам на допомогу і порятунок!», – Глава УГКЦ у 156-й день війни
- «Бог йому дав серце і душу українського народу»: відбулася щорічна проща до Прилбичів з нагоди уродин митрополита Андрея Шептицького
- Глава УГКЦ: «Я горджуся українськими патріотами, які без найменшої краплі ненависті готові захищати своє»
- Блаженніший Святослав закликав українську молодь скласти присягу на вірність Христові
- Глава УГКЦ у 155-й день війни: «Помолімося, щоб не втратити скарбу віри князя Володимира»
- Блаженніший Святослав у День державності України: «Наша Держава – це для нас питання життя або смерті»
- Глава УГКЦ у 154-й день війни: «Нехай Господь Бог прийме у свої вічні обійми журналістів, які віддали за правду своє життя в Україні»
- Глава УГКЦ у 153-й день війни: «Принесімо наш біль перед Боже обличчя і будьмо певні, що Він нас вислухає»
- Глава УГКЦ у 152-й день війни: «Помолімся молитву заступництва за наших воїнів»
- «Віруюча людина не може бути байдужою, коли бачить страждання іншої людини», – владика Богдан Дзюрах
- «Серед нашого страждання творімо простір для прояву Божої всемогутності», – Глава УГКЦ у 6-ту неділю після П’ятдесятниці
- Глава УГКЦ у 151-й день війни: «Російське віроломство ми перемагаємо силою любові до нашої Батьківщини»