Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on All Saints’ Sunday
May 25, 2024
To be holy is to fall into temptations, sometimes to sin, but always to get up, apologise, and move on. Our holiness is not permanent, which we gain and never lose again. Here on earth, we must develop and become closer to God every minute. To be holy is to testify to the truth of life, to show with one’s life where God is.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Beloved!
This Sunday we celebrate the memory of all saints. We celebrate the memory of those people who showed us something important with their lives. That life with God is possible, it is necessary, and it is the best. We celebrate the memory of those people we know or have read about and those we don’t know. All those who testified with their lives.
In the Old Testament, we repeatedly read how God addresses the chosen people and says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” But with these words, he is addressing not only the Israelites; he is addressing each of us. He says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And what does it mean to be a saint? Does it mean coming to church every day and praying from morning to evening? Does this mean fulfilling all the traditions and prescriptions that were formed in our people and in our church? Or maybe it’s something else?
I think that to be a saint is, first of all, to be different, to be like God. God is holy; God is love; God is goodness; and we are His image and His likeness. So we should strive to show that image and likeness in this world. As a mirror reflects our image, so we should reflect God’s love, God’s goodness, and God’s holiness in this world. Then, surely, we become saints. To be holy is to be close to God, because He is the source of holiness, and only from Him can we draw something. To be a saint is to have a deep relationship with God and to improve and develop your faith every day. To be a saint is to testify of him to others.
As we heard in today’s Gospel, Christ says that whoever denies me before this generation, I will also deny before my Heavenly Father. To be holy is to put God first. And this is difficult in our lives. And Christ says that whoever loves his or her father or mother more than me is unworthy of me. And whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is unworthy of me. Hard words, but they are fair. Because if we put someone else or something else in the place of God, then that person or thing becomes our God. If someone or something is more important to us than God, then we cannot become saints. We value someone or something more than our Heavenly Father.
To be holy is to fall into temptations, sometimes to sin, but always to get up, apologise, and move on. Our holiness is not permanent, which we gain and never lose again. Here on earth, we must develop and become closer to God every minute. Even through mistakes, through falling, but getting up and moving on. To be holy is to testify to the truth of life, to show with one’s life where God is. Not how good I am, but where God is.
So, on this Sunday, I congratulate all of us on our Name days. Because no matter what name we have, there is such a saint somewhere. And if not, then there is a good opportunity to become that saint and be a patron for others. Greetings to all, and may the Lord, who is the source of everything in our lives, give us strength, wisdom, and courage to be different in this world. Not like this world, but like God. To bear witness to the truth, goodness, and be cheerful. Saints are not sad. To be a little varied, because saints cannot be perfect, but to be with God and in God. And then everything will be fine.
