Listening to the word about wise attitude towards earthly goods, we see how many madmen there are on our Ukrainian land. Wealthy people who received property but who have no wisdom to manage it can be more dangerous to our independent state than its external enemies. This opinion was expressed by Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav during a sermon to the faithful on the 26th Sunday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
To be rich in God, as the preacher explained, means to be able to use and rejoice in what the Lord God gives you, but never to put earthly wealth, possessions and money in the place of God. For when people put earthly riches in the place of God, their labor and fruits become a heavy tyrant that takes away their freedom. Their wealth enslaves them.
“That is why this Word of God teaches us to get rich in God, and not to gather exclusively for ourselves," said the Primate.
"An oligarchic state cannot be strong and independent, because this type of madmen do not know how to do wise deeds for the common good," said the spiritual leader of Ukrainians.
That voice of wisdom, he emphasizes, sounds to each of us today. Because no matter how much we have, little or a lot, we can be crazy even with a little money. "Folk wisdom says: ‘If you want to help yourself, first help your neighbor.’ We must first give alms, and only then stand before God's face to repent of our sins and ask for His mercy for ourselves and for our relatives,” the preacher urges to ponder.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also reminded that today we celebrate a special day - the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Head of the UGCC, especially in recent years, it is our soldiers who can be teachers of wisdom for Ukrainian oligarchs, because they have realized that there is something more valuable than money.
"We are praying for our soldiers today. Today we remember in prayer all those who gave their lives defending our independent state, because they acted the wisest, they really became rich in God," added His Beatitude Sviatoslav.