PASTORAL LETTER OF HIS BEATITUDE SVIATOSLAV
TO YOUTH ON PALM SUNDAY
Beloved in Christ Youth in Ukraine and abroad!
Palm Sunday, the day of Christ’s triumphant entry in Jerusalem, is traditionally for me and the entire leadership of our Church an opportunity to address you with a special letter. I always cherish this opportunity because I consider it a special privilege to reflect together and with you seek answers to questions and needs, which I have heard expressed at various encounters and conversations with you throughout the year.
This year, in spite of the unique life circumstances in which we find ourselves, you, young people, without going to church due to the restrictions that have been placed on us, can listen to or read this appeal of ours. The Church comes to you, wherever you may be: we hope that the voice which will be heard on screens of various sizes and formats, will resonate in your hearts, lift up and inspire each one of you.
It’s a wonderful thing to be young, but also not easy. Being a youth means having an open heart, an inquisitive mind, and a rebellious character that reacts sharply to all forms of injustice, every distortion, any wrong, which adults have learned to ignore or even exploit. For a young person today the challenge increases with the fast pace and virtualization of the global world, the economic crisis and pandemic. For young Ukrainians there is the additional factor of an unjust war of invasion in the east of the country, a war in which for the seventh year now, sons and daughters of our Fatherland continue to die, while defending peace and the future.
Uncertainty and fear have enveloped the world. Motivational speakers will probably earn millions talking on the topic of “How to live in a time of incertitude.” High-school graduates worry about how they will do their SATs and apply to places of higher learning, while university and college graduates wonder whether they will find a job in a world that seems to heading rapidly towards economic crisis. Proprietors of small coffee shops are anxious about whether they will be able to reopen once the quarantine is over, programmers—whether orders from large international companies will be cancelled, as the financial stability of their businesses depend on them. One has the impression that today there isn’t a single young person who does not worry about the uncertainty that hangs over us.
Pope Francis in his address, “Urbi et orbi” (To the City of Rome and the World), which was recently given on the occasion of Special Prayer for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, compares the current situation to a storm on the sea. The entire world is afraid, disoriented and lost, as if sitting in a single boat tossed by waves. In this storm we sense our fragility, our mortality, possibly our inexperience and arrogance.
At the same time, we, Christians, know that in this boat on a turbulent sea God Himself is with us. He became Man and died on the cross, so that we “may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Remembering the Resurrection keeps us from falling into despair, and helps us to continue rowing and, with trust in the Lord, overcome the waves.
The road to the Resurrection begins with the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
The entry into Jerusalem is the beginning of a new era. In his passion, death on the cross and Resurrection our Lord established a New Covenant with all humanity. This new pact no longer involves just one people, is no longer limited to a particular land or culture, but embraces all—each and every one of you. At the Last Supper, which we will prayerfully commemorate this week, Christ gave to his disciples the Mystery of the Eucharist—the Mystery of his Body and Blood, by which this Covenant is established and sealed. He clearly stated that the Blood of the New Covenant is poured our “for you and for many” (see Mt 26:28, Mk 14:24, Lk 22:20). This is our security guarantee in unsure times—He redeemed us, made us his people, has poured out and is pouring out his Blood for us.