We want to warn the whole world against the temptation to “pacify the aggressor” because anyone who tries to appease someone who goes to war with others with the help of various compromises, with the help of various kinds of concessions, only whets their appetite.
That’s according to the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav, who spoke in a daily address on the 120th day of the Russian war against Ukraine, the Church’s press service believes.
“And this is the devil’s way to increase your appetites, needs, despising of others. For he who does not seek God will never find peace,” the hierarch said.
“When Ukraine prays for peace, when she defends this world, she protects the fullness of life, defends the opportunity to live in God and with God,” the head of the church assures.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that, despite all odds, “Ukraine is standing. Ukraine is fighting.”
“Moreover, we feel that we can truly experience this morning thanks to God’s presence among us and thanks to the heroism of the Ukrainian army. That is why this morning we thank the Lord God and the Ukrainian soldiers for their lives,” he said.
On this day, the church leader said he wants to reflect on another fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is vital, especially for the Ukrainian people today. This fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace.
“We hear so much about peace. So many different people today are teaching Ukrainians how to put up with their enemy in particular. We are fighting for and defending peace so much today. We teach our youth, our children to be capable of peace and reconciliation. But what exactly are we talking about when we speak of peace as the fruit of the Holy Spirit?” asks His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
Peace, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, is synonymous with all fullness, Sviatoslav explains. The Lord God created man with certain aspirations. Each of us has certain needs, dreams. Until a person fulfills those aspirations, dreams, desires, he will not have peace. Even when he agrees to peaceful coexistence with his neighbor.
“Only God Himself can fulfill all the aspirations, dreams, desires, needs of the human person to the end. Thus, when a person in the Holy Spirit finds the fullness of life, the fullness of aspirations, the fulfillment of all his desires in God, only then does he receive peace. But this peace still needs to be accepted. We must understand that no one but God can give peace,” His Beatitude Sviatoslav concludes.
