Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Deacon Vitalii Leheta on All Saints’ Sunday
May 30, 2026
The Holy Spirit, who descended upon the Apostles, was not given to them alone. He is given to each one of us through Baptism and Confirmation. When we remember this, we begin to seek happiness not only in earthly things but above all in spiritual ones. We care not only for material needs but first and foremost for our souls. This is precisely what the saints whom we commemorate today remind us of: the human person was created for heaven.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today the Church celebrates the first Sunday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit — the Sunday of All Saints. It is a profound and deeply symbolic feast. Last Sunday we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles; today we see the fruits of His action — holy men and women who responded to God’s grace through the way they lived their lives.
The saints are not only people of centuries past, nor only monks, nuns, or martyrs. The saints are those who allowed God to work in their lives. They too experienced weaknesses, fears, temptations, and hardships. The difference between them and many others was that they did not turn away from God.
In today’s Gospel we hear, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Holiness does not begin with great miracles but with small daily choices: to remain honest, to forgive, to pray even when we do not feel like it, to help our neighbour, and not to be ashamed of our faith.
The Holy Spirit, who descended upon the Apostles, was not given to them alone. He is given to each one of us through Baptism and Confirmation. When we remember this, we begin to seek happiness not only in earthly things but above all in spiritual ones. We care not only for material needs but first and foremost for our souls. This is precisely what the saints whom we commemorate today remind us of: the human person was created for heaven.
Today’s feast also reminds us that holiness has many faces. Among the saints are clergy and lay people, the rich and the poor, the young and the old, married people and monastics. God calls every person to holiness. Perhaps some may think, “I cannot become a saint.” Yet holiness is not the same as sinlessness. Holiness is a sincere desire and a constant effort to root out evil from our hearts and to follow Christ, who is the perfect model of holiness. Holiness means continually returning to God after we have fallen. This is the example the saints give us. It is the struggle to choose what is good. It is fidelity to God even after mistakes and failures.
Especially today, during russia’s war against Ukraine, in a time of anxiety and uncertainty, the world is in need of holy people — people of light, prayer, mercy, and truth. Perhaps the Lord is not calling us to extraordinary acts of heroism, but He is certainly calling us to live love in our daily lives.
Therefore, let us ask All Saints today to pray for us and for our Mother Ukraine, and let us ask the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts. May each of us remember that holiness is not something distant or unattainable. It is a path on which the Lord invites every one of us to walk.
Amen.
