Message to Ukrainian Catholics

Father Ihor Koshyk, Pastor
Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church 
5154 De Longpre Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Dear Father Koshyk, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

My heart is with all of you in this time of sorrow and uncertainty. 

With our Holy Father Pope Francis, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, and Metropolitan Gudziak, I deplore the Russian invasion of your homeland of Ukraine. I am praying intensely for your families and all your loved ones back home. 

Please know that your Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will always be near to you in solidarity and prayer. We are praying for a swift end to the evil of this war. We ask Jesus Christ, the Lord of Peace, to touch the hearts of the aggressors, and move them to conversion. We also call on those in authority to seek a just peace that recognizes the dignity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian people.   

My prayers in this moment, are especially for the innocent victims caught up in this violence, especially the many families who have lost their homes and livelihoods. May God strengthen them, especially the little children. And may God protect the many thousands who are now forced to seek refuge from this senseless bloodshed. 

My dear brothers and sisters, our trust is in the Lord, who guides history according to his loving plan of salvation. We know that His thoughts are of peace and not of affliction, that He crushes wars and casts down the proud. So let us call upon Him in confidence, and ask that He banish this violence from our midst and wipe away all tears. 

As we begin the Holy Season of Lent this week, on Ash Wednesday the Holy Father Pope Francis is inviting us to pray and fast for peace. Let us ask for the grace to give our hearts completely to this effort.

Pray for me, my brothers and sisters, and know that I am praying for you. 

Entrusting you and your families to the Immaculate Heart of Holy Mary, the Queen of Peace, I pray that Our Lord give you peace and be with you all. 

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles