On Sunday, May 9 this year on the occasion of Mother’s Day and 20 years of priesthood of the Igumen of Goshiv monastery father Damian and six other priests, in Goshiv there arrived Bishop Iryney Bilyk, OSBM, canonic of the Papal Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. He was invited by father Damian and received blessing from the ruling Bishop of Ivano-Frankivsk Volodymyr Viytyshyn. Bishop Iryney Bilyk headed the Divine Archiereyal Liturgy, delivered a greeting word and offered his Archiereyal Blessing. Dear in Christ:
Highly venerable father Igumen and Protoigumen, venerable fathers, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Heartly welcome you with our Ukrainian Easter greeting:CHRIST IS RISEN!
With pleasure and joy I came to you from the Eternal City of Rome, the Apostolic Capital to share with you the solemnity of today’s double celebration of the Mother’s Day and 20 years of priesthood of the Igumen of the Goshiv monastery father Damian and other fathers. They received their consecration with the Holy Communion through the hands of Sofron Dmiterko. May his memory be blessed!
Due to God's grace we gathered again on the holy Goshiv mountain to thank God in this Divine Archiereyal Liturgy with “the unitary heart and lips”. We thank God for the gift of our lives, for the gift of motherhood, for the gift of the priesthood so we could sanctify our lives to Him. And we ask for the permanent cover of Our Lady Mother of God and Divine Virgin Mary for our mothers, our priests, for all of us and the entire Ukrainian people.
The Source and Creator of motherhood is God in Three persons who shares this priceless Gift of Life with us and this gift Lord gives us through our earthly mothers.
Of course, we first honor motherhood, which manifested through Divine, Most Pure and Most Blessed our glorious Lady Theotokos and Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the one who is more pure than Cherubims and incomparably more glorious than Seraphims, who gave birth to our Lord.
This motherhood of God is transmitted to all of us as children of God under the cross of Calvary: "Son, behold thy mother", “Woman, behold your son".
Therefore, in troubles and afflictions of life "we hasten to thee, deliver us from all misfortunes your servants", because You are “the consolation to crying, a deputy to humiliated, you are a pier for chased by storms, a shelter to weak, a visitor to sick, a staff for old - Mother of our God. " These majestic hymns are sung to Mary not only in May, but during the year.
Holy Mother - the feast of love and honor and only real reward for it - mutual love! Mother Love is a basis and source of life.
Mother's Day! Blessed be the Ukrainian Women and Mother! Patient and loving. Valiant, unbroken and eternal. Today with hope you give your child to God and
Ukrainian mothers had to go through such tests, which have not undergone other nations. Who can understand the pain and suffering of our mothers, which watched the anguish and agony of their children in times of famine, but no one came to help, no one defended them, nor their children. They have suffered in the Siberian and German prison camps, and prematurely gray-haired mothers could not help their children. Rather than work for the benefit of their children they performed most difficult job of "collective farm fields" or "building of the brighter future." How many feelings and humiliation suffer our poor mothers and their children working in Europe.
They all drank their bitter cup "to the bottom, but were not broken! They gave the church leaders to Ukraine and the nation. That we owe them our today and our independent country!
To be a mother is a great happiness, but also great responsibility.
So turn the words of Metropolitan Andrew in heartfelt prayer for our mothers to our heavenly Mother: "Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us many holy mothers who would bring up many children in the fear of God, love to people and love to their neighbor. Give us mothers, full of heroic love, which would give their love to children and grandchildren. Give us the great favor that women do not fear the burdens of motherhood, and followed thee to thy maternal sacrifice”.
Love, respect for the mother in the Ukrainian consciousness is transferred on the homeland. Best Ukrainian artists in their works showed their praise to native land, compared it with the mother. This sincere love is the basis of patriotism, stability and unbroken spirit of those who fought and still fights for good and independence of Ukraine, who in most difficult times of trouble spared no pains, and sometimes with the cost of their lives protected Ukraine.
Our love, respect and gratitude we send to those mothers who dreamed of, but not saw the freedom of the Church and Ukraine, and gone into eternity. For them it is our respect and gratitude, and reward from the Lord shall be for them the everlasting life.
May the risen Christ live our faith and give hope to our mothers in their current tests.
We especially honor our mothers, who brought up good pastors for our church and nation. Today we turn to the words of sincere gratitude to those mothers who raised those priests who are present here and celebrate their anniversary, who bravely took priest ordination 20 years ago while still in the totalitarian communist regime, though already dying, but still dangerous. They completely sacrified themselves to the service of God and answered in their hearts to Christ's call: "Yes, be on your word.” And Divine Grace through the laying on of hands and prayer rested on them and turned them into heavenly ministers for God's people.
Those ordination occurred without parents and guests during the latest underground years, in the house, because our churches were still occupied.
Anniversary of ordination celebrated this year, which in the Catholic Church was declared the year of the priesthood, and in our Church declared the year of calling. So sincerely greet you venerable Igumen and Fathers, for this is your choice in the time of your youth, your personal dedication to God, through which you can most contribute to God's blessing of our people, the chosen grain of which you have become. You have chosen the best part of which you’ll never be deprived here and in eternity.
Pope Benedict XVI emphasizes that:”We live amid great confusion about the fundamental choices of our life and the questions about what the world is, from where it comes, where we are going, what we must do to carry out the good, how we must live, what are the really pertinent values. In relation to all this there are so many contrasting philosophies, which arise and disappear, creating confusion about the fundamental decisions, how to live, why we do not know more, ordinarily, from what thing and for what thing we were made and where we are going.
Fulfilled in this situation is the word of the Lord, who has compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mark 6:34). The Lord had made this confirmation when he saw the thousands of people who followed him in the desert because, in the diversity of currents of that time, they no longer knew the true meaning of Scripture, what God was saying. The Lord, moved by compassion, interpreted the word of God, he himself is the Word of God, and thus he gave guidance. This is the function in persona Christi of the priest: to render present, in the confusion and disorientation of our times, the light of the Word of God, the light that is Christ himself in this our world. Hence the priest does not teach his own ideas, a philosophy that he himself has invented, has found and that pleases him; the priest does not speak of himself, does not speak by himself, to create perhaps admirers or his own party; he does not say his own things, his own inventions, but, in the confusion of all the philosophies, the priest teaches in the name of Christ present, he proposes the truth that is Christ himself, his word, his way of living and of going forward. True for the priest is what Christ said of himself: "My teaching is not mine" (John 7:16); that is, Christ does not propose himself, but, as Son, is the voice, the word of the Father. The priest must also speak and act like this: "My doctrine is not mine, I do not propagate my ideas or what pleases me, but I am the mouth and heart of Christ and make present this unique and common doctrine, which the universal Church has created and which creates eternal life".
You can train future presidents, major government officials, scholars, businessmen, big of this world. But for earthly and eternal life and for the good of the people the biggest favor and blessing and merit of those mothers who raised their children and didn’t impede follow call of God. We sincerely thank you and give you a bow. May you receive from Almighty Lord God blessing for all your life here and in eternity. Amen.
Photos can be viewed here
