Bishop Irynej Bilyk, OSBM - CONGRATULATIONS ON 17 th ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE OF UKRAINE

CONGRATULATIONS ON 17 th ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE OF UKRAINE

�The people that have the LORD as their God will be very happy.
They are the people that he chose to be his own.� (Ps. 33, 12).

We remember these inspired words of the Kind David, Singer of Psalms on the occasion of the extraordinary historical event, which we are celebrating today. This is the 17^th anniversary of the independent existence of the Ukrainian nation, which after the long centuries of slavery, oppression and murder of its people can at last feel the taste of the sweet freedom, which is now shining over the whole Ukraine like the sun.

All Christian Ukraine on the 17^th year of the renewed independence has declared its burning desire to go with the firm pace to the independent life, freedom and liberty, which is mentioned in the words of St. Peter the Apostle: �for you brothers were called to freedom� and not to slavery or arbitrariness, but to freedom to serve each other in brotherly love. So let us thank our Lord for this precious gift of the State Independence. Only in the free Ukraine that is given like the Promised Land to us, sons and daughters of the Ukrainian people, we can build our own house, if it will stand on the hard rock of the God�s truth, peace, mutual respect, patience and love.

God gives everyone the undeniable right and task to build freedom with the help either of words or deeds and this right should be guaranteed by the state. Our national prophet Taras Shevchenko wrote: �in your own house you will see true justice, strength, and liberty�

That�s why we should ask the Lord to enlighten souls and minds of our state and national leaders and all Ukrainian people, so we could develop our national Ukrainian state on the strong foundation of the Christ�s faith and in the spirit of Lord�s commandments and would be able to overcome all difficulties and problems that are oppressing our people, remembering that �if we do not built the house of our state with God, the work of his builders is in vain�.

We can take as example many European nations and easily make sure that a country, which has a strong Catholic Church, has the corresponding high level of freedom and civilization.

While visiting Ukraine in 2001, Pope John Paul II underlined that the real civilization is measured not by the material things, but first of all by the human, moral and spiritual development of the nation and the Catholic Church is the prime institution which takes care of this. So let us build strong, civilized and flourishing Ukraine on the strong foundation of the Catholic Church.

God our Lord, bless our people and hallow those, who believe in You. And You, the Most Holy Mother of God, don�t let us be ashamed, because �it was never heard, that you haven�t helped in the miseries of this earthly life!�

With Archiereyal Blessing

�Bishop Iryney Bilyk, OBSM