Bishop Irynej Bilyk, OSBM - Holy Liturgy at Vatican Radio on holiday Annunciation

Holy Liturgy at Vatican Radio on holiday Annunciation

On April 7, 2009 on the occasion of the holiday of Annunciation, in the Radio Vatican chapel named after it His Eminence Bishop Iryney, OSBM, Canonic of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, offered the Divine Liturgy and delivered the homily in the Ukrainian rite. Father Vitaly Hrabatyn and Teodosiy Gren, OSBM co-served in the liturgy. Roman Riznyak sang the Apostle. Sisters of the Congregaation of Immaculate Virgin Mary, Fathers and Brothers of the Basilian Order, representatives of the Ukrainian community in Rome were singing the liturgy.

We offer a record of this Holy Liturgy hold in the Vatican Radio chapel of the Annunciation:

Reflections on reading from the Apostle: (A. Andrew Yevchuk)

Homily of Bishop Iriney Bilyk on Vatican Radio on the occasion of the Annunciation April 7, 2009 year of God

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Dear audience!

From the Eternal City of Rome, from the Apostolic capital, from the house of the Holy Father warmly welcome all of You on the waves of our Vatican radio with the Ukrainian Christian greeting:

Glory to Jesus Christ!

With pleasure and joy I greet You with today's solemn and grand holiday of the Annunciation of Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady, which is so widely celebrated by the Ukrainian people.

�Today is the beginning of our salvation and revelation of the eternal God�s mystery: the Son of God became the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announces this grace. So let us speak with him to Mother of God: Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!� (Annunciation Troparion).

Annunciation is the beginning of our salvation. This day, which yearningly expected Adam and Eve, which was predicted by the prophets, for which longed the Old Testament patriarchs and righteous, because on this day heaven united with earth: God became a man, and dwell in the bosom of Immaculate Virgin Mary.

Although the historical moment of the time looked hopeless, the Promised Land suffered from despotism of the tyrant Herod. It seemed that people had no hope to improve the life situation. They had shared into parties who started to fight between themselves. Disorder and injustice ruled everywhere.

And, although Jerusalem continued to live in the light of its former glory - in fact it was embraced by darkness and mist. Social injustice reached its climax: incredible luxury at the court, rich people enjoyed the life, while most people were behind the poverty line. Unemployment, hunger, begging, and transmigration reached unprecedented proportions.

Just when it seemed that God does not hear and does not see human grief and trouble, He intervenes in human history and sends angel Gabriel to announce the joyful tidings of salvation. Angel appears to Mary to announce: the time has come for salvation and revelation of the kingdom of God in the world.

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke with great love and tenderness depicts the image of Mary - Virgin, Mother, God. Mary appears there in the role of Mother for all mankind, thirsty for God's word, like dry land for rain. She represents the hope of Israel, based on truth and future, includes the whole human reality, which is enriched by God. She is the expression of humanity, which accepts God, which is fed with the word of God and becomes the means of �big acts of the Almighty�, because God of Ages chose Her to be Mother to His Son.

Angel of God was sent into the province of Judea, which all treated with disdain � in the Pagan Galilee, in an unknown city, which no one ever responded favorably, in Nazareth, to a poor hut, to Virgin Mary, which was espoused to Joseph from David home.

Here Evangelist does not mention anything about the glorious origin, the virtues and merits, but repeats the words of the angel, who calls her �favorable� and �blessed among women�: �Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women� (Luk 1.28). These are the words of greeting from God told through the angel Gabriel to the earthly person - to Mary. These are the words of greeting from Heaven to Earth.

Father of Mercy wanted Embodiment was forestalled by the agreement of the One, which was meant to be Mother, so as the first woman Eve caused death, so the new woman Mary caused life (II Vat. Synod, Dogm. const. �Lumen gentium�). Indeed, to give voluntarily consent of her faith Mary should have been driven by God's grace.

Big and incomprehensible mystery. With the consent of Mary: �Here I am servant of Lord: let me be on your word!� (Luk 1.38) God begins his life on earth as Man. And therefore with the agreement there started the salvation of the human race, there opens a way of redemption and salvation for all of us.

This solemn moment of Annunciation, crucial for the history of mankind and the world, Maria calls herself with the modest name �servant of Lord�. She wants even deeper to subdue before God and in the modesty of her life give herself completely into the hands of God to be ready to hear the word of God and accomplish it even if it will cost very much anguish and sorrows. This does not mean that Mary abdicates her own will - She consciously and voluntarily agrees with everything that Lord will demand from her in the ministry for the salvation of the world and building the Kingdom of God in human souls.

Love of Mary to God grows into love to the neighbor. So she hurries to the hill valley, to the city of Judah, to help old cousin Elizabeth. Bearing her peace-joyful greeting of messianic days. She doesn�t tell her about the Annunciation, but the Holy Spirit opens to Elizabeth the great Secret. Visiting Elizabeth - this is a moment of God�s grace, which firms faith of Mary and inspires confidence in the act of Annunciation.

Elizabeth, full of Holy Spirit welcomes Mary: �Blessed art thou among women and Blessed the fruit of thy womb� (Luk 1.42). Greetings of Elizabeth becomes our greeting and love hymn to Mary, when we prey �Ave Maria�, repeating these inspired words of the Divine Holy Spirit and together with St. Elizabeth and our people stand in the long row of generations, which proclaims Mary blessed for over thousand years of Christian history.

To glorify and praise today's solemn and grand holiday of Annunciation there begin in Ukraine annual pilgrimages in our numerous pilgrimage places devoted to Mary: Ulashkivtsi, Pohonya, Krekhiv and Goshiv, where today a new majestic chapel is consecrated.

Dear in Christ, from the Apostolic capital, from the house of Holy Father I open-heartedly greet You and spiritually unite with You there where you are today gathered to honor and glorify Virgin Mary in Her Annunciation in front of Her miraculous icons, and together with You sing a song of victory to the chosen Queen, because She has the overwhelming power to protect us from all ills (from Akaphist).

Together with St. Elizabeth we wonder: And whence {is} this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luk 1.43).

Mary gives us Jesus, her Son, She is the Mother of God and our Mother. We can and should trust her all our concerns and our requests.

Especially in the present times, the times of social antagonism, party and government hatred, in times of social crises and trials, Annunciation of the Holy Mother of God just like it was then to Israel is now for us the guarantee of future and better times and gives us hope, because Virgin Mary will not leave us, when our souls together with hers glorifies Lord, and he bring down the mighty from their thrones, lift up the humble, feed the hungry, send the rich with empty hands away (cf. Luk 1.46-53).

May the Virgin Mary teach us how even in sufferings and pain give ourselves to serving God, mutilated in the minds of our brothers and sisters, in the people materially and spiritually impoverished, deceived by political promises of unscrupulous politicians and government officials, the distorted faces of hungry in the faces of concerned parents, aged pensioners, in tired faces of our workers abroad deprived of the main conditions for a decent life.

�We have no other help, no other hope than You, Virgin Mary! You help us, in You we trust and You we glorify: for we are Thy servants, let us be not ashamed�(From the prayer). Amen.

And on this solemn occasion I give to all of You, dear in Christ, Your families and friends my Archiereyal blessing!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the Communion of the Spirit shall come upon you and stay with you now, always and for ever!

� Bishop Iryney Bilyk, OSBM,
Canonic of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major

Photos can be viewed here