After a year of diaconal ministry in the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, what are your most important lessons? What is something new that you learned about the Church, God, and yourself?
The most important lesson of my diaconal ministry in the Archeparchy was learning to overcome the language barrier and the fear of not being understood by communicating and serving in a foreign language that I had to learn almost from the beginning. The example of people where I had the opportunity to serve as a deacon taught me to be myself and to be human, realizing that language will improve over time, and people understand it.
The Lord said: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." (Mt. 6,22-23). When we wear glasses, things are magnified. When we wear sunglasses, the world becomes darker around us. Often things do not change but it depends on how we look at them. Therefore, I am learning to look through the prism of God's love and will try to encourage others to do the same.
Also, life in the USA has taught me to value my family and the time spent with them, because we often do not have this time. When my son smiles and is happy that I am with him, it recharges me when I feel tired. Despite duties and different projects, it is important to find time for the domestic church - family. Mother Teresa said: “What can you do to strengthen peace in the whole world? Go home and love your family." A happy family is the first step, teaches how to move on and how to allocate time correctly so as not to spin like a squirrel in a wheel.
What challenges do you see for your priestly ministry - both existing challenges and new ones?
One of the challenges for my priestly ministry will be to pay attention to the new needs of modern people. That is, to help them to keep faith and values in a world that is increasingly secularized.
The work with the youngest parishioners and their spiritual support is important for the future of the Church. Working with children and youth in the parish is important because this is the age of forming a worldview and setting life priorities. Today's young people move very rapidly but sometimes without knowing their destination. It is important to show everyone that God loves them and is waiting for them through their neighbors, family, and community. The Church must be a community that leads by example, that witnesses and that loves. I wish not to serve people, but together with people to serve God, encouraging them to be active participants in the Body of Christ.
In the modern age, necessary new tools for priestly ministry when communicating with the faithful and preaching the Gospel are modern technologies and social media. Having said this, I will try not to lose personal communication and relationships.
Also, a challenge will be working with people who were forced to flee because of the war as well as encouraging others to help those who remained in Ukraine and continue to suffer from the war. How to work? How to heal the wounds of war? This question is addressed by His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk who gives several pieces of advice: to be with people, not to leave them alone and not to get used to war. These are difficult questions that need to be addressed together and we together need to search for the remedy. In one video His Beatitude Sviatoslav said: “Young men and women who saw death often return home with gray hair. They feel deep disappointment when they meet an immature politician or public leader, and especially when they encounter an immature priest." These words struck me. Therefore, it is so important to try to feel more deeply the needs of people who are sincere and seek sincerity and help in the Church.
Speaking in the context of our Archeparchy, not only young people need priestly dedication but also elderly people. It is important to be here and now, at this very moment, with those who are in need and often feel lonely, the value of every moment in life is equally important. Once, while making pierogi with the parishioners of the Church of the Holy Myrrh-Bearer (Swarthmore, PA), where more than 40 elderly people were very focused on the process but at the same time in a relaxed and happy way they shared the achievements of their children, the joy of health improvement, and plans for the future, I stopped for a moment and thought - this is what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like.
