It is God’s power and authority to heal and give life that is so important to remember today as our world trembles over the pandemic. Apparently, everyone has friends, relatives or acquaintances who have become its victims.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav wrote this in his Message to the Youth on Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday, the feast of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, is the day when the Church envelops young people with her thoughts and prayers with exceptional attention.
"We want to accompany young people who are growing and being formed at this time of enormous challenges and trials. If you are now twenty-one years old, then a third of your life has been shrouded in the gloom of war in eastern Ukraine, and for the last year and a half you have been experiencing a global pandemic that the world has not known for centuries,” the Church leader writes.
To these disasters should be added political polarization, economic unrest in many of our countries of residence, and the personal turbulence inherent in every young person - and we get sometimes almost an explosive mixture.
"But Christ gives everyone a chance," says His Beatitude Sviatoslav. "The King, whom we greet today with willow branches, does not take anything from us, but gives everything to us as only God can give."
The Head of the UGCC emphasizes that the coronavirus has hit the very heart of human relations. But our neighbors, according to the Primate, are not only danger, but also salvation. These are doctors who are desperately fighting for every life; volunteers who buy respirators and oxygen concentrators; benefactors who help with money and food; our neighbors and friends, who, despite all the restrictions, accompany us with their friendly thoughts, sincere prayer, daily service.
"The pandemic teaches us not to be afraid, but to understand that, despite our fragility, we are still strong. However, we are not yet fully aware of how deep this global trauma is. The coronavirus has exposed and exacerbated the emotional and social problems of many people," notes His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
"Dear young people, it is with you that the Church will try to heal the wounds of modern man caused by the pandemic and other challenges and problems posed by the global disease," the Head of the UGCC says.
Mankind needs a Healer. Only the Lord, emphasizes the Primate, can find us, fill us with meaning, and reassure us that we are able to survive this storm. The Lord calms the storm and at the same time teaches us to row.