We look to Jesus, who chose poverty to make us free
“Without outside help, we will not survive!” – said Bishop Vitaliy Krivitskiy
Do you see, to what reflection Jesus invited us last Sunday? – Sundays of the Poor: You build a temple and it lies in ruins, you seek peace, and you have wars, you build houses and earthquakes come, you produce food, you argue about healthy food, and you have hundreds of millions of people starving. The Lord Jesus shows us in his Gospel all possible deficits.
What is the answer? Pope Francis says that the answer is Jesus Christ himself, the poor. Any other answer is insufficient. Of course, we can put tents next to the church. We can and should prepare "Soup for the Homeless" – all this we can do but... – all this, this is an ad hoc reaction to the evil screaming at the moment. To be clear– each of these short-term reactions is important and miraculous, and the people behind it are extraordinary, but the answer to the madness of the world, to the madness of war, the madness of hunger and persecution is the poor Christ.
The suffering of people is the same everywhere, unfortunately the biggest victims of the war are the weakest – we saw it in Syria, we see it in Ukraine. They are women, the elderly and children (...) We want to give to priests, nuns, remaining in parishes, in monasteries in Ukraine, where the poorest people come, tools, that is, simply money to buy the most necessary things."
It is therefore primarily about supporting internally displaced refugee. According to data from the International Organization for Migration, at the end of October there were over 6.5 million people in Ukraine who moved inside Ukraine. Their fate is still very uncertain, and this, in the light of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, may trigger an exodus of these people to neighboring countries.
So, what is happening in Ukraine itself? Priests leave their normal work and try to provide what is necessary for life. In the diocese of the Bishop of Kiev-Zhytomyr Vitaliy Krivitskiy, each parish has the task of preparing for the coming winter one room with a stove for wood or coal. The idea is that those who will be without light or heating have a chance to get a hot meal at least once a day and spend a few hours in a room that is heated, to regenerate.
“Without outside help, we will not survive!” – said Bishop Vitaliy Krivitskiy.
"The whole of Europe says it could be cold. However, I want to say that some localities in Ukraine are not prepared for this period at all; not only are there no raw materials, but entire heating control panels are destroyed. About 40 percent of the entire energy infrastructure in Kiev is in ruins," he explained. He added that Kiev is saving light, and for the upcoming Christmas, no one is thinking about lighting Christmas trees and decorating houses with lights. "The worst thing about it all is that people won't be able to keep warm. Once Russia gave us a great famine, today it is trying to give us a great cold. And cold is more dangerous than the lack of bread, because there may be more victims" – noted Bishop Vitaliy Krivitskiy
Bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr emphasized that the Church is doing everything in her power to remedy the danger. "We are building places where people can keep warm. We are looking for new ways to keep it warm; we are looking for additional power generators to save lives" - he explained. "People are looking for firewood where there is a possibility to find it. There is optimism, there is hope that it will not be so terrible, but they are also looking for ways to be safe," he added.
He explained that his country is "dependent on outside help”, we need humanitarian aid. “We are facing another very difficult time. We ask you to be with us, not to forget about us. It's all about survival," he concluded.
Let our concern flow from God's Mercy, which is open to everyone, and let our hearts be open with it. Let us not get tired of helping.
“For your sakes, Christ became poor" (2 Cor 8:9) – Pope Francis reminded us on Sunday.
You can send your offerings –"The crumbs from your tables" to:
The Lay Institute of Divine Mercy Inc.
419 N. Larchmont Blvd. # 41
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Please issue the check to: The Lay Institute of Divine Mercy, Inc.
Also you can donate your “Love Offering” on our website: www.timeofmercy.com