30 April – 6 May , 2023

Fastiv, 30.04-06.05.2023

Christ is Risen!

Fourteen of our school and parish children received their First Holy Communion from the hands of the General Master of the Order, Father Gerard Francisco Timoner, on Good Shepherd Sunday. This is a spring for our community and a joy, because the Church is being renewed in Christ, and we, hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd, follow him, and he feeds and takes care of us. The Master of the Order also met with the volunteers who serve at the St. Martin Center and honored them with the “Benemerenti” award and medal – this is the first time in the centuries-old history of the Order that a group of people has received such an award. “We share with you the graces received, as well as the spiritual fruits of the holy preaching and our service,” says Father Gerard.

The Master also took part in our service in Andriivka, where we, traditionally in the spring, distributed 2,000 chicken as a help and a sign of hope and revival for the residents of Kyiv region. These days we cheer for Kherson, which has become close to us, because a week has passed since we have opened a social kitchen and until Wednesday we were feeding the needy. But after the shelling, the situation changed radically, 21 people died, 48 were injured, and since May 5, a curfew has been introduced in the city for a continuous 58 hours. We hope that on Tuesday we will be able to resume feeding the needy and the disabled in Kherson. This week, we took humanitarian aid to Odesa, where many Kherson residents and forcibly displaced people from the south of Ukraine live, as well as to Chernihiv Oblast, and provided monthly support for IDPs (internally displaced persons) living in the Fastiv community, as well as provided assistance to soldiers’ families. 1,697 food kits, 15,749 kg of humanitarian aid, were distributed.

Thanks to the support of the CEO of Neon Effect, Mr. Zygmund Skołożyński, we purchased diapers for bedridden patients in Kharkiv. We thank all our benefactors and donors for their prayers and support, we remember them in prayer. Thank you to everyone who is with us in this fight.

With prayer

Fr. Mykhailo Romaniv OP