On the day of prayer for the dead of Covid-19, the Head of the UGCC called on everyone to take a test of conscience
In his sermon, the Head of the UGCC noted that the time of Lent is a spiritual period in which we look with the eyes of heart at our suffering, beaten, crucified Savior, who wanted to be laid to rest as one of us. "This spiritual search," the preacher explained, "is a search for an answer to the most fundamental question of humanity: Where is God when we feel plagued by a global incurable pandemic? Where is God when we see death in the face and there is nothing we can do?”
His Beatitude Sviatoslav tried to answer these questions: "Right now, during Lent, God says to each of us today: ‘I am where man suffers.’ Today, as we embrace our personal infirmities and pains, our personal sorrow as Christ embraced His Cross, we feel that the meaning of our suffering is salvation and resurrection.”
As we reported earlier, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church joined in the continuous prayer of the Ecumenical Church for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic. Funeral Divine Liturgies are held in Ukraine and abroad, in particular in the parishes of the UGCC in the United States.
"Today, the whole church community," the Father and Head of the UGCC emphasized, "we want to embrace those who mourn the loss of their relatives, friends or acquaintances."
Among the deceased from the coronavirus, for whom the UGCC is now praying, the Head of the Church singled out physicians. “They especially deserve our memory, gratitude and prayer,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Such a funeral prayer, he said, is a manifestation of faith that gives light of hope and reveals the meaning and significance of the tragedies we encounter in difficult times. And this light allows us to move on and live, so that life conquers death.
During the sermon, the Head of the UGCC called on everyone to take "a deep Lenten test of conscience in the circumstances of a pandemic."
The Primate urged every believer to first ask himself personally: did I do everything to prevent the spread of this virus? Did I do everything to ensure the health and life of myself and others?
“Let our prayer not be at the level of good intentions or feelings. May our prayer become concrete actions of a conscious and responsible Christian testimony of faith. Because it is with our hands and actions that God wants to stop the pandemic. He wants to do everything with us and through us so that we can win this difficult and invisible fight," the spiritual leader of Ukrainians concluded.
