Metropolitan Borys on Holy Thursday: Christ is in the concreteness of human life
On Thursday, April 14th, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak performed the ritual of the washing the feet of the Philadelphia Archeparchy priests. Twelve priests took part in the ancient ceremony rooted in the Gospels.
«We begin the Triduum, we begin celebrating the truth about God, about His love for us, who we are and who we are called to be”, noted Archbishop Borys in his sermon. He thanked priests, deacon, and the seminarians for answering the call to serve.
With the great sorrow Archbishop mentioned brothers and sisters in Ukraine who suffer from the invasion. “This week and these months Jesus crucified in Ukraine. Jesus suffers as a migrant, as a refugee. Jesus Christ is with orphans, with widows and widowers. He is with the poor. He is with those who are homeless”. “Today people in Ukraine and throughout the world yet they focus, yet they listen and see, they will recognize the Suffering Servant who is so close”, added the homilist.
He encouraged present clergy, religious, and faithful to imagine that this might be the last Holy Week for them. “That kind of approach can help us focus. The most important thing is to see Jesus, to look Him in the eye, to understand that He is calling us brothers and sisters, that He is in the concreteness of human life—in your life and in mine—there it hurts, there is doubt”.
Metropolitan reminded that rituals and traditions must not divert us from the essence. “These salvific moments that we remember become alive, become present and guide us through our own way of the cross and give us a great hope”.
