News
He is Risen! Updates from Ukraine
The Sisters pray daily in front of this Resurrection Icon in Holy Trinity Chapel at the Basilian Motherhouse in Jenkintown, PA.
The Sisters pray daily in front of this Resurrection Icon in Holy Trinity Chapel at the Basilian Motherhouse in Jenkintown, PA.
He is Risen! The Tomb Is Empty!
The Resurrection is the greatest event in history and yet so mysterious. The Gospels agree in substance but differ in small details. How many women were at the tomb? How many angels? John’s account is especially interesting because he offers more detail than the others.
John reports that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early on Sunday morning, so early that it was still dark. Upon arriving, she found the stone removed and the tomb empty. She ran to tell Peter and John himself, and they ran to investigate. The men saw things just as she had described. But John tells us that he and Peter “did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” They went home, but Mary stayed, mourning Jesus.
At some point, Mary looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting in the very place where Jesus’ body had laid. They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Apparently unfazed by their sudden appearance, Mary replies that Jesus’ body has been stolen.
But then Jesus himself is there and asks, “Why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She is kept from recognizing him and assumes he is the groundskeeper, even saying, ““Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” Only when Jesus calls her by name – “Mary!” – are her eyes opened.
It should be very comforting to know that even those who witnessed these things firsthand experienced misunderstanding and confusion. So if we struggle to believe and to understand the Resurrection, we are not misguided or “failing” at faith. Rather, we are on “the Way” just like the Apostles. Jesus makes this very point to St. Thomas on the Sunday after Easter which is named for him. Our Lord says, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
He is risen! The tomb is empty!
The three Sisters from Holy Trinity Province have returned to Ukraine after a busy and successful trip to the United States. Mother Sevastiana Karvatska, OSBM, Provincial Superior, and Sister Inokentiia Brattsiv, OSBM, Second Provincial Councilor and Econome, work at the Motherhouse in Lviv where they support the Province’s efforts all over Ukraine. There are 142 Sisters active throughout the country. They arrived home shortly before a Russian drone damaged St. Andrew Church, which belongs to the Basilian Fathers and is located less than a mile away. This is an important reminder that nowhere in Ukraine is safe as long as the war continues.
Sister Lucia Murashko, OSBM, Superior of the Zaporizhia Monastery, has returned there to continue the Sisters’ ministry to civilians and military in this very dangerous region. The front lines continue to fluctuate and the people’s needs are unabating.
Funds are still being collected for Holy Trinity Province over the next few weeks which the Jesus, Lover of Humanity Province will forward by wire transfer. Please consider making a donation.
The three Sisters from Holy Trinity Province have returned home after a busy and successful trip the United States. The Provincial Motherhouse of Holy Trinity Province, which is in Lviv, is pictured above.
The three Sisters from Holy Trinity Province have returned to Ukraine after a busy and successful trip to the United States. Mother Sevastiana Karvatska, OSBM, Provincial Superior, and Sister Inokentiia Brattsiv, OSBM, Second Provincial Councilor and Econome, work at the Motherhouse in Lviv where they support the Province’s efforts all over Ukraine. There are 142 Sisters active throughout the country. They arrived home shortly before a Russian drone damaged St. Andrew Church, which belongs to the Basilian Fathers and is located less than a mile away. This is an important reminder that nowhere in Ukraine is safe as long as the war continues.
Sister Lucia Murashko, OSBM, Superior of the Zaporizhia Monastery, has returned there to continue the Sisters’ ministry to civilians and military in this very dangerous region. The front lines continue to fluctuate and the people’s needs are unabating.
Funds are still being collected for Holy Trinity Province over the next few weeks which the Jesus, Lover of Humanity Province will forward by wire transfer. Please consider making a donation.