Kiev, March 19, 2024
Photo: news.church.ua
His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine asked forgiveness from his flock on Forgiveness Sunday and encouraged everyone to reconcile among themselves in order to begin Great Lent with spiritual peace.
“We stand on the threshold of a blessed time, and according to our good custom, or rather according to the words of the Lord, we try to reconcile with each other on this day as much as possible, so that we can embark on the saving path of Great Lent in peace and spiritual quietude and reach the bright feast of Christ’s Resurrection,” the Ukrainian primate said, reports the UOC’s Information-Education Department.
The point of fasting, His Beatitude reminded, is to cleanse ourselves of the impurities of both flesh and spirit and to free ourselves from sin.
He continued:
In order for our fast to be useful and our asceticism to be useful, there’s one condition that the Lord has given us in today’s Gospel: If you forgive people their iniquities, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people their iniquities, your father will not forgive you your iniquities (Mt. 6:14,15). That is, there’s a condition that if I want God to forgive me, I must forgive the one who has offended me. No matter where he is, who he is, I must forgive him.
If we hold grudges, we make ourselves incapable of receiving God’s forgiveness, Met. Onuphry preached. Thus, we must force ourselves, if necessary, to forgive others.
“It’s difficult, but you have to force yourself. And gradually, with the help of prayer, self-reproach, you’ll be able to forgive another from the bottom of your heart,” His Beatitude said.
He then asked and offered everyone forgiveness.
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