At Mass in Ukraine Cardinal Parolin invokes the miracle of peace

By Antonella Palermo

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, echoed the cry for peace of Pope Francis and the Ukrainian people as he presided over Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv, Ukraine. The pilgrimage site is one of the spiritual centers of the country’s Catholic community. During the Mass, punctuated by evocative hymns and white and blue decorations, the cardinal was warmly welcomed by all. Praying for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the faithful expressed their deep hope for the long-awaited gift of peace for a nation that has suffered for nearly two and a half years of war. Cardinal Parolin reiterated that nothing is impossible for God and sought to reassure the people that the pope is close to them and shares their pain by offering Ukrainians “his fatherly embrace.”

Nothing is impossible with God

In his homily, delivered almost entirely in Ukrainian by Bishop Edward Kawa, auxiliary of the Latin Rite Archdiocese of Lviv, Cardinal Parolin recalled the memory of the first miracle that marked the history of this place of worship. It was in 1627, when Janusz Tyszkiewicz, governor of the lands of kyiv and Zhytomyr, was imprisoned during a battle against the Tartars. Chained, he promised to do a good deed in honor of God and the Virgin Mary if he obtained his freedom. While he was sleeping, unknown brothers appeared to him praying to God and Our Lady for his release.

Mass at the Berdychiv Shrine

After his release, he decided to build a monastery in Berdychiv for the monks he had seen in a dream and whom he recognized among the Carmelites of Lublin three years later. The church was consecrated in 1642. The icon of Our Lady of the Snows, a copy of the one kept in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, known as Salus Populi Romani, was placed on the high altar. The reproduction was donated by Tyszkiewicz himself, who had previously kept it in his family, and it was declared miraculous in 1647 by the then Bishop of kyiv, who was healed after praying before it.

May God convert hearts

Cardinal Parolin encouraged the Ukrainian Church to be “prophetic” and to “pray without ceasing, so that God may convert the hearts of those who, having strayed from his ways and become slaves to their own pride, sow violence and death, trampling on the dignity of children of God in others.” He urged people to pray to the Lord so that hearts of stone may become hearts of flesh.

Faithful at the mass at the Berdychiv shrine

Always trust in God

“Never lose trust and hope in God, especially today, when it seems that evil has the upper hand, when the horrors of war and the pain of the many victims and massive destruction undermine faith in divine goodness, when our arms fall from our hands and we no longer even have the strength to pray,” Cardinal Parolin stressed in his homily. He encouraged us to look at the crucified Christ, this Good Friday, when sin seemed to have triumphed, just at that moment, the bright dawn of Easter broke. Death will not have the last word, he stressed, even if we struggle to see the horizon of the Resurrection.

Pray for the intercession of Our Lady

The last part of Cardinal Parolin’s homily was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God who stands by our side in the midst of our personal crosses and who “accompanies us with gentleness” towards the resurrection. Contemplating the icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv, represented as Odighítria, “the one who guides,” we see how she is a symbol of tenderness and love. “She is the announcer of the dawn,” of Jesus, who is the Light, Cardinal Parolin emphasized, and she is consolation in sadness, ready to offer a safe refuge. He then delivered closing prayers and an invocation.

Icon of Our Lady