Head of the UGCC: “Your prayer is what makes you a Christian”
Growing in faith is possible only through prayer—personal communication with God—and by living out everything you have heard from Him. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said this during a sermon on March 30, the fourth Sunday of Lent, in the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warsaw (Poland).
The Head of the UGCC presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in concelebration with Bishop Eugeniusz Popowicz, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Przemyśl-Warsaw, as well as the clergy of the archdiocese and Roman Catholic priests, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warsaw.
Commenting on the passage from the Holy Gospel of Mark 9:17–31, in which Jesus Christ is portrayed as a Healer, His Beatitude Sviatoslav emphasized that deliverance from the unclean spirit is healing, because “a person is wholesome only when the Holy Spirit rests in him.”
The Head of the UGCC noted that, faith in God is an open ear through which the Lord acts.
“By driving out the evil spirit, Jesus appears to make not only the son, but also the father and all those present able to hear what the Lord God sends to those people in his word,” he said. “The evangelist Mark describes that a person’s faith in God is the ability to hear.
He noted that the father’s renewed faith leads to his son’s deliverance from the evil spirit.
“I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). His Beatitude Sviatoslav said that this father’s prayer should become the prayer of each of us today.
Speaking about the Christian duty of parents to their children, he noted that it is the healing of the father’s renewed faith leads to his son’s deliverance from the evil spirit: “The father gave bodily life to his son, but did not know how to teach him to believe in God, to communicate with God. And it was the father’s unbelief that caused the evil spirit to enslave his son.”
The Patriarch also emphasized the importance of personal growth in faith, in particular through prayer and personal communication with God.
“During Lent, each of us is invited to test how deeply we are believers,” said the Head of the Church, “What is your prayer, what kind of Christian you are. The more seriously you fast, which means that you accept your faith as a decree, a vocation, as a life goal, the more real and active you are as a Christian.”
Addressing the faithful in Warsaw, His Beatitude Sviatoslav thanked them for their unity around their native Church and then called on them not to forget their homeland and to take care of the spiritual life of their children.
“If children see their parents praying together, they will learn to pray from you,” the Father and Head of the UGCC addressed the parents, “Teach them true freedom, which comes from the power and grace of the Holy Spirit!
Additionally, the Patriarch addressed the Ukrainian youth in Poland, saying that to be a Ukrainian today means to be the best: “I urge our young people to study well, to get the best opportunities, because one day you have to bring back home everything you learn here. But this is all gained through prayer and fasting, daily tireless work.”
The UGCC Department for Information
