“Modern Christmas manger”: His Beatitude Sviatoslav highlights the importance of Wound Healing Centers in Christmas message

The Patriarchal Foundation “Mudra Sprava” is involved in the establishment of these Invincibility Points and Wound Healing Centers.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav noted that in winter, the enemy seeks to turn darkness and cold into a weapon of mass destruction in Ukraine, the cheapest in the world! According to him, every night the aggressor’s air attacks methodically destroy our cities and villages, homes and their vital infrastructure, and kill civilians. “The enemy seeks to turn a flourishing country into an icy desert, exporting the emptiness of its own Siberia to Ukraine. What he cannot steal, he ruthlessly destroys; those he cannot enslave, he kills. Where he enters, there is no place for anyone — neither for God nor for man. How much effort he puts into sowing cold, hunger, darkness, and his own spiritual emptiness!” he adds.

But despite uncertainty, anxiety, mourning, and sorrow, we, Ukrainians, celebrate Christmas, as the Head of the UGCC notes, as our ancestors did from generation to generation, even under the rule of the godless communist regime of the last century.

Центр зцілення ран у м. Ружин на Житомирщині

Further, His Beatitude Sviatoslav notes the unique significance of Wound Healing and Resilience Centers, calling them “a special sign of the presence of God’s light among us.” He says that the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and benefactors from around the world contributed to their construction. In turn, those in need and those affected by the Russian war against Ukraine — the most vulnerable social groups in our society — find spiritual and humanitarian support in them. “These centers, usually located near our communities, resemble the cozy place near Bethlehem that St. Joseph found for Mary and where She gave birth and swaddled the Child Jesus,” says His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

“In these modern Christmas mangers, where, thanks to the light of human solidarity during ‘blackouts,’ there is electricity and you can warm up, carols are heard today! There is a place for God, there is a place for every person who can not only satisfy their temporal needs, but also renew the lamp of their own heart, to then shine to others ‘with the hope to which He has called us’ (cf. Eph. 1:18), to be a bearer of resilience for the weary,” adds the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

Освячення Центру зцілення ран у м. Бориспіль, 22 листопада 2024 року

In conclusion, His Beatitude Sviatoslav called on Ukrainians, wherever they may be, to pray for victory and a just peace for Ukraine and to be sacrificial in supporting the affected. “Today, the heart of every believing Ukrainian becomes a hospitable Bethlehem, where Jesus finds refuge, who comes to us in the form of our neighbour in need. It is in the hearts of the sons and daughters of our people, who, whether on their native lands or in settlements, raise their hands in prayer to heaven and extend a helping hand to their neighbour, that the common victory of Ukraine over the modern Herod, who has set out to destroy our people, is forged.”