Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on the Sunday before the Exaltation
September 9, 2023
Throughout the Old Testament, God comes to meet people, bringing them out of the troubles of their lives, because He wants everyone to be saved. He has prepared a place in His Heavenly Kingdom for each and every one of us since the creation of the world.
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday we hear the Gospel from John, where Christ says essential words for us: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. You know, this is a great joy for us, because God loves us! We hear it often, but do we pay attention to it?
Christ says: “No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven”. God comes to us; He first comes to meet us. God is looking for us… Let’s remember what happened in Paradise when Adam and Eve sinned — God was looking for them and said: “Adam, where are you?” When they were expelled from Paradise, God said: “I will make you return to this Paradise again.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God comes to meet people, bringing them out of the troubles of their lives, because He wants everyone to be saved. He has prepared a place in His Heavenly Kingdom for each and every one of us since the creation of the world. Therefore, His Only Begotten Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, came into this world, took on the flesh, became one of us, died on the cross, and rose from the dead so that each of us who sees Him, who hears Him, who believes in Him may have this eternal life.
So, our faith is our cooperation with God in His desire to save us. Therefore, our faith is our cooperation with God in His desire to return us to heaven, to our life, to life in fullness and in joy.
So, what is our faith? Do we believe God truly loves us? Do we believe that He is the first to come to meet us? Do we believe that He gave His life so that we may live? If so, and we believe in it, then let’s show it in our daily lives! Through prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures, participation in the Mysteries of Confession and the Eucharist; through love for one’s neighbor, through help and mercy. Because our “faith without works is dead.”
Our faith is a deep relationship with God, a personal relationship with our loving Father. Because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. Do you believe in this?
