On Sunday, February 23, In the Sunday of the Last Judgment, a divine Liturgy was performed in our Cathedral. At the end of it, priest John Tsupko, in his sermon, urged all parishioners to think about the Last Judgment that awaits all: the living and the dead. In the gospel reading of the day, the main issue of the coming Judgment is revealed. The Lord will come in His glory, surrounded by His angels, and divide all the people, as a shepherd divides sheep and goats. And He will say, “come, you blessed ones, and stand at my right hand, for when I was hungry, you fed Me, when I was thirsty, you gave Me drink, I was homeless, and you let Me in, I was naked, and you clothed Me, I was sick, and you visited Me, I was in prison, and you came to Me. Enter the Kingdom of God, prepared for you from the beginning of time.” And the righteous asked the Lord, when did we see You, and when did all these things come to You? The Lord replied, ” when you did this to one of My lesser brothers, you did it to Me.” He equates Himself with people in need. If we do something kind and merciful to those who are nearby, to those who ask us for help, we will do it to Him. If we have shown mercy to any person, no matter how poor or homeless, then the Lord will show mercy to us at the Last Judgment. Judgment without mercy – to one who has not shown mercy.

Do not think that you need to find someone on the street and do him a good deed. Start with your loved ones, with your family, with your children, parents and loved ones, with those who need our help, our mercy. If all this is not in our heart, how can we meet the Lord? How can we even go to Him and celebrate Easter if we reject Him?

In the coming week, you need to prepare your womb, which will mostly suffer after the beginning of the Lent. The Church christianized the pagan holiday Shrovetide. Pagan moods on Shrovetide call for more revelry and gluttony. And the Church says the opposite: tame your belly, repent, show mercy and compassion, stop in your vain life. Next Sunday we will ask each other for forgiveness. One day is not enough. We will spend the next week on this, meeting with our relatives. And let us remember that each of us will stand at the throne of God at the Last Judgment. While we still have time and opportunity to improve.

We will prepare for a pleasant Fast, so that we can spend it calmly, in peace, look inside ourselves, and overcome our passions. To honor the Great feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Christ Is Risen!

At the end of the divine Liturgy, priest John Tsupko gave an extensive tour of the Cathedral to the soldiers of the southern military district. Father John told the audience about the history of the Cossacks, the construction of the Army Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection, talked about faith, the Church and spiritual life, and answered questions.

The center of Christian life is love, love in its special new Testament sense, sacrificial love preached by Christ in his sermon on the mount. To whom, if not to people who fought in the war, can the words of the Savior be fully attributed: “There is no more that love, as if someone puts his soul for his friends”?