Ukrainian Catholic bishops of the US led the Lenten retreats hosted by the League of Ukrainian Catholics

Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Bishop Bohdan Danylo, Bishop Paul Chomnycky, and Bishop Benedict Aleksiychuk were spiritual guides during the online event focused on hope, forgiveness, love, and joy.

“Today it is so important to protect our hearts, nurture our vulnerability, drop the masks, reach out, open, and let God's grace work. The healing that is before us, the healing that is needed by every person, every family, every community, the healing that the global human community groans for, it's something that we cannot achieve by ourselves. We need God's grace. We need the Lord's touch”, noted Archbishop Borys. He focused on the topic of healing wounds and trauma, and forgiveness as the first step.

The Archbishop mentioned that due to the totalitarian past fear and distrust are deeply engrained in the Ukrainian identity. “When you live in a system that kills systematically, it is very natural, even physically salvific if you develop reflexes against the outside. If all around you is danger, if you never know when you can be arrested, deported to Siberia, or simply lose your job, you must develop protective mechanisms. And so, people put on masks to hide their vulnerability from others, and they put up facades to make sure that there's a bit of a distance. And they build walls to protect themselves from those who could hurt them”, he explained.

Metropolitan Borys mentioned a book called `The Wounded Healer` written by Father Henry Nouwen, his mentor and friend. “Henry pointed out that it is when we face our own wounds, when we face the reality of our humility, then we open ourselves up to the grace of God that allows us to really become healers”.

He stressed the power of vulnerability. “When we are vulnerable, when we're open, when we're true to ourselves, when we look in the mirror and see reality, the reality of our hearts, our minds, our sinful being, yet a being that is in the image and likeness of God himself, then something profoundly mystical occurs. In our concrete life, the grace of God explodes. It flourishes. It touches. It heals”.