His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, congratulated Ukrainian mothers on Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in Ukraine on the second Sunday of May despite the war.

The Head of the UGCC noted that this is a favorable opportunity for all of us to honor the mothers of Ukraine. “Today, on behalf of the sons and daughters — the children of Ukraine, I want to say to our mothers: Mother, thank you for the gift of life! Thank you for opening this world to me. Oh, Mother, thank you for teaching me to believe in God, and for opening the invisible world to me, the road to eternal life,” said the Primate.

In his video greeting, His Beatitude Sviatoslav stated that today motherhood is wounded all over the world. “Today I wish to express my gratitude to all Ukrainian mothers who perceive the gift of their children’s lives as the greatest and highest gift that the Lord God bestows. I thank you, mothers of Ukraine, who are not afraid of the challenges and difficulties of your vocation and generously open your heart and soul to your children and give them yourselves,” he said.

His Beatitude Sviatoslav affirmed that in Ukraine today, motherhood is also wounded by war.

“Therefore, today,” says the Head of the Church, “we bow our heads in respect to the mothers who lost their children to war and today mourn their sons and daughters who have already been entrusted to the hands of the Heavenly Father and our heavenly Mother, Mary.

“Today we embrace you with our warmth, prayer and support. Today, we especially want to extend our embrace to the mothers who, with tears in their eyes, forgive their children who go to the front to defend their Motherland,” said the Head of the UGCC.

“Today, I want to offer special prayers for the mothers who, night after night, wash their faces with tears, pleading with the Lord God for the rescue of their children who are either in captivity or missing,” he added.

“Congratulations to you, dear mothers, on this day. As we pray to the Lord God, let us remember the words of our Kobzar: ‘And on the renewed land, there will be no enemy, no adversary. There will be sons, there will be mothers, and there will be people on the land.’May this collective prayer for Ukrainian mothers unite us in our faith in victory. Happy holiday, Ukrainian mothers! Christ is risen!”

The UGCC Department for Information