Odessa, October 2, 2024
Photo: uoc-news.church
In his sermon in Odessa, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Holy Dormition Monastery, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry called on Christians not to be ashamed to repent of their sins and wished them the help of St. Kuksha of Odessa, whose memory was honored that day.
“On this day, the holy Orthodox Church prayerfully glorifies one of its saints—Venerable Kuksha of Odessa, who is an intercessor before God for all who live in this holy city, and for those who honor him,” the primate of all God-loving Ukrainians said, reports the UOC’s Information-Education Department.
Speaking about the parable of those invited to the wedding, His Beatitude said that it speaks of the Kingdom of Heaven, to which the Lord calls all mankind. The Lord calls all to His Kingdom, but “nothing unclean can enter” it. A man is made unclean by their sins, which can be cleansed by repentance, Met. Onuphry emphasized.
“A man can say to the Lord, ‘Forgive me, Lord, I have sinned, I do not have worthy clothes to enter Thy Kingdom.’ Then the Lord will give the man clean clothes or cleanse his garments and make his worthy,” explained His Beatitude.
As the Metropolitan emphasized, an example of such spiritual purity is St. Kuksha, who, despite godless times and persecution, lived piously himself and taught people about pious living and repentance.
“Through the prayers of St. Kuksha, may God help us, dear brothers and sisters, to lead our earthly life purely, immaculately, in holiness,” His Beatitude said.
“When we sin, we mustn’t be ashamed to repent; we should be ashamed to sin... A man is so weak that he often sins willingly or unwillingly. And sins are wounds. You can wound yourself voluntarily or involuntarily—the pain from this is the same. Sins are a disease, a dirt that defiles and oppresses the human soul. Therefore, we must strive in penitential prayers to ask God for forgiveness,” concluded Met. Onuphry.
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