From Kenya to Spain: Catholics around the world prayed for Ukraine
This is reported by the Catholic Media Center.
On the day of prayer for peace, Pope Francis met with pilgrims at the Vatican and also called on them and those who united through the means of communication to pray for Ukraine.
"Let us pray for peace, saying 'Our Father': this is the prayer of children who turn to the same father, this is the prayer that makes us brothers and sisters, this is the prayer of brothers and sisters who ask for reconciliation and harmony," the pontiff said.
Prayer for peace in Ukraine was also heard in the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. During a prayer service initiated by the community of St. Aegidius, headed by Archbishop Gallagher, Secretary for interstate relations of the Holy See, was also present by representatives of the diplomatic corps.
The archbishop noted that everyone knows how tragic the war is and how serious its consequences are, which is obvious in our time.
"These are painful situations that deprive many people of even the most basic rights. It is even more scandalous to see that conflicts are most affected not by those who decide whether to start them or not, but first of all by those who are only helpless victims," the hierarch stressed.
A prayer for peace in Ukraine was also held in Kenya (organized by the Orionist sisters).
They also prayed for peace in the Spanish parish of St. John Paul II in Albacete.
The representative of the Holy Father in Ukraine, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, led a prayer for peace at the Cathedral of Kyiv, which was organized by the community of St. John the Baptist. Aegidius.
During the prayer service, the nuncio stressed that the disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be "Missionaries of Peace." They cannot bring peace or violence, and they have no right to impose peace on anyone. Jesus invites us to pray together, we cannot sit idly by, because "without us, Jesus, the Son of God, remains, so to speak, 'powerless' in this world."
Concluding the words addressed to the participants of the prayer service, Archbishop Kulbokas said the following prayer: "Have mercy, Lord, on me and my brothers."
The prayer for peace was especially heartfelt in the cathedral of Kharkiv. It is this diocese that feels the reality of war most of all.
Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk led prayers and Holy Mass. During the sermon, he emphasized the symbolism of the prayer on January 26, because on this day the Church honors Sts Timothy and Titus. These are those who reprimanded, heard and accepted God's presence, God's grace and God's peace, were filled with him and faithfully continued in this, did everything to not only preserve God's peace but also multiply it in their hearts and the hearts of other people.
"These two saints and this word that the Lord gives us today fit very well into the intention that we carry in our hearts today, Express in our prayers, bringing these prayers together with the whole Church for the gift of peace, for the preservation of freedom, for the preservation of our borders," the Bishop stressed.
However, as Bishop Edward Kava pointed out, we should not limit our prayer to just one day.
"Today we should all ask ourselves this because the time has come to entrust God with all the most precious things that we have – our lives, our homeland, our families and humbly forgive so that God will take care of all this. Peace is too serious a matter to devote only one day to pray for it, so let us pray tirelessly until our prayer is heard and even then we must not stop. I encourage you to ask for the intercession of the blessed Martyrs of Pariakoto – Fr Zbignev and Fr Michal, two martyrs from Pariakoto, they know very well what it's like to be victims of terrorists," Bishop Kava shared in a Facebook post.
