“Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This line from the Beatitudes could have been written for the people of Ukraine, now facing a second winter of war, almost a year after the Russian invasion of their country last Feb. 24.
“People are freezing and starving. Funerals take place every day. Everywhere you look, there is crying and suffering,” said Bishop Oleksandr Yazlovetskiy, the Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr in Ukraine. In Washington recently for a religious freedom conference and other meetings, he stayed with the Franciscan friars at St. Joseph Church in Herndon and celebrated Mass there Jan. 29.
Introduced simply as “Bishop Alex,” the soft-spoken 43-year-old prelate described the situation in his country and tied it to the day’s Gospel reading (Mt 5:1-12) from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus speaks of persecution, peacemakers, mourning and mercy.
“Blessed are you when they lie about you and say all kinds of evil against you,” Bishop Yazlovetskiy said. “The Russian propaganda is really strong all over the world, but Our Lord is a God of justice. We believe the Lord will not forget the people of Ukraine.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge met with Bishop Yazlovetskiy during his visit to St. Joseph. “It was heart-wrenching to hear him speak of the deaths, suffering and destruction in Ukraine since the invasion by Russia almost a year ago, especially as the bishop spoke with such intimate knowledge of the situation and the men, women and children impacted. Despite such darkness, his faith and trust in God radiated,” Bishop Burbidge said. “He also asked me to express thanks to all in the Diocese of Arlington for our continued prayers asking the Lord to bring this senseless war to an end, so that his peace may reign in his homeland and throughout the world.”
Bishop Yazlovetskiy said in his country this winter, “electricity still cuts off very often and you can always hear the rumble of generators.” The winter has been warmer than usual, but he said he is brought to tears when he walks around Kyiv at dusk and looks up at apartment building windows where children sit to catch the last moments of light so they can finish their homework before dark.
An estimated 6.6 million people are displaced within Ukraine, and thousands of civilian deaths have been reported, according to Catholic Relief Services, the charitable arm of the U.S. bishops overseas. CRS works closely with other relief agencies, including Caritas-Spes Ukraine, the Roman Catholic branch of the international Caritas confederation. Bishop Yazlovetskiy was named president of Caritas-Spes Ukraine Dec. 15, 2022.
But at the Mass, his focus was on prayers for peace and the conversion of hearts.
“Perhaps there are people among you who are able to help Ukraine with a constant prayer for peace,” Bishop Yazlovetskiy said. “Our Lady of Fatima asked the whole world to pray for the conversion of Russia.” Pope Francis and bishops around the world consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary last March 25, the feast of the Annunciation.
Pope John Paul II had consecrated Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary March 25, 1984, in response to Our Lady of Fatima’s request to three children who reported seeing Mary in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. They said she promised the conversion of Russia and peace if her requests for consecration and reparation were heeded.
Bishop Yazlovetskiy, appointed auxiliary bishop in September 2019, thanked the U.S. bishops and the American people for their ongoing support and donations.
In an interview after the Mass, he said Roman Catholics make up only about 1 percent of Ukraine’s 41 million people (more than 60 percent are Orthodox Christians); but at the start of the war, Catholic bishops were the first to send aid and supplies. He said he asked to celebrate Mass and speak at an American parish while in the Washington area, and Bishop Burbidge suggested St. Joseph.
“I know you pray for us; please continue to pray, even for the Russians. Conversion is possible for everyone,” he said. “Prayer is our weapon. It can change everything.”
Find out more
The international Caritas confederation is collecting funds to help Ukraine. In the U.S, that is through Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services at bit.ly/Ukraine_CRS.
Also, the U.S. bishops’ national collection at Masses on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, will be for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, which will support aid to Ukraine.
Credit: Source link
