Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Ihor Holovko on the Meat-fare Sunday
February 3, 2024
Let’s live a holy life; let’s be honest with ourselves and with God, so that this story about the Last Judgement does not cause us even a drop of fear or anxiety but is only an assurance of God’s justice and His respect for our life choices.
On the Meat-fare Sunday, we read and listen to the Gospel story about the Last Judgement, about the last days, when our Lord Jesus Christ will come a second time to all the peoples of the earth. At first glance, it may seem to us that on this Sunday, the Holy Church is giving us some sharp or even terrible warning. Some people may fear the Last Judgment. But we, as good Christians, need not be afraid of this. Christ, as the Lord God, calms us, as always, so that we are not worried and not afraid: “Let not your hearts be troubled!” (John 14:1).
Let’s remember the school years, when we also received instructions that warned us about the danger in case of some violation or non-fulfilment of some task. When we did everything flawlessly, there was no fear. Or when we did the assigned homework flawlessly, we didn’t have any fear in front of the teacher in the classroom either. Mostly, fear is when we don’t do something, don’t finish it, or do it wrong. Today, more and more people in the world get behind the wheel of a car and use this mode of transport as a necessity. Traffic rules also contain warnings about the dangers of breaking the rules. But for some reason, the presence of the police on the road causes many people to worry. If we drive a car, we don’t have to worry about whether the police are watching us or not, as long as we drive according to the rules. We often have to learn, in such moments, our sincerity and honesty against compliance with the rules on the road. But when we haven’t done anything wrong, we won’t feel guilty or afraid, even when someone asks about it.
Once a man gave me the following advice: “Live so that you never look back with fear and are not afraid of any kind of inspection.” Let’s live a holy life; let’s be honest with ourselves and with God, so that this story about the Last Judgement does not cause us even a drop of fear or anxiety but is only an assurance of God’s justice and His respect for our life choices. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgement but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
