“We forgive and ask for forgiveness”: Lutsk commemorates victims of Volhynia tragedy
On Sunday, July 9, in the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Lutsk, the Father and Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, together with the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, and the President of the Bishops’ Conference of Poland, Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki, Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of Ukraine, Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovsky, and representatives of the AUCCRO with the participation of the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland, he took part in a prayerful commemoration of the victims of violence in Volyn during World War II on the 80th anniversary of the tragedy.
The commemoration of the victims began with a joint prayer of reconciliation by representatives of various Christian denominations and religions in the attendance of Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Andrzej Duda. After the prayer, the heads of state lit candles to honor the memory of the victims of the tragedy. “Together, we honor all the innocent victims of Volyn! Memory unites us! Together we are stronger,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram and posted photos of himself and the Polish President.
After a reconciliation prayer, the Apostolic Nuncio celebrated a memorial Mass to Ukraine in the presence of Polish President Andrzej Duda. “We gathered for prayer in the heart of Lutsk. The prayer has the value of changing the heart of each of us,” emphasized Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas. He then named three signs that, in his opinion, are necessary for true conversion and forgiveness. According to him, the first sign is a sincere cry for all the victims of 80 years ago, who reached tens of thousands. “May the Holy Spirit act powerfully in our hearts so that we feel these victims close to us, even if we do not know their names well and do not have a spiritual connection with all of them. Under this condition, when we cry for them, our prayer is sincere,” he said.
“The second sign of conversion is forgiveness,” said the preacher, “and asking for forgiveness of one another. This request is at the heart of the bishops’ appeals in Ukraine and Poland. When our wounds bleed, we do not have the strength to love, so we often keep hurting each other. We need forgiveness and healing in our hearts. We need to love and help each other. Only God can give us such grace,” said the Pope’s representative in Ukraine.
“The third element of conversion is the ability to love. The wounds of the past impede our ability to love today. What greater comfort can we bring to the victims? What greater joy can we bring to God and the Savior Himself? Certainly, this is the perfect love the Apostle Paul tells us about,” the bishop emphasized.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav also addressed the audience with a pastoral word. The Head of the UGCC emphasized the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, which unites not only people of different nationalities but also the living and the dead in one heaven. He noted that we, as Christians who preserve the integrity of the apostolic message and tradition, experience during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist how the visible and invisible world unites around the altar of God: heaven and earth, angels and people. “Today, here, around the throne of God in Lutsk, we hear, as believers, how heaven and earth, the living and the dead say to each other with one voice: we forgive and ask for forgiveness!” the Father and Head of the UGCC emphasized.
“This is the wondrous mystery of the Holy Eucharist, which unites Poles and Ukrainians, the living and the dead, in one heaven. We feel that we are one people of God: Catholics of both rites, Orthodox, and Christians of other faiths. Around the altar, we feel one Lord, faith, and baptism. The same heaven for Poles and Ukrainians, for people of different nations and nationalities,” said the Patriarch. “Surprisingly, the mystical experience of the Eucharist says that our deceased, including the victims of the Volhynia massacre, say through our lips: we forgive and ask for forgiveness,” he said.
“And we here on earth, praying for the innocent victims of terrible events, say: ‘Requiem aeternam dona eis domine et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiéscant in pace. Amen” (Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let your light shine upon them forever. May they rest in peace. Amen) (the official prayer of the RCC for the dead),” His Beatitude Sviatoslav concluded.
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