One needs to work on one’s soul from an early age. The thought that spiritual life can be postponed for older age is a lie of the world that must be ignored, said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra on December 27, 2020, on the 29th Sunday after Pentecost, the commemoration day of the Holy Forefathers, reports the Information and Education Department of the UOC.
As the metropolitan emphasized, we must be extremely attentive to the Lord’s call “to be members of the Church and to prepare ourselves to become citizens of Heaven with the help of the Church Sacraments, fasting and prayer.” One must ignore false calls of the world, such as: live while you are young, you will have time to think about your soul when you are older. This path leads a person away from God.
“In the best case scenario, the world says: “Man, don’t rush, wait, don’t go to church yet, don’t think about your soul, but work in business, science, politics and the like. Later, when you are older, you will pray and fast”. This is wrong, this is a lie! When a person becomes old, he can no longer fast, pray, or fight. He is already feeble and weak. A young man who has rejected his passions and is on the path to God can lead an ascetic life, work hard, and become a spiritual hero,” explained His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
That is why it is necessary to follow the path to the Kingdom of God from an early age, the archpastor continued. Certainly, each person has his own path towards God: “Some people accept the faith with their mother’s milk, some come to the Church later, and others come to the Church in adulthood.”
“But whenever the Lord calls a person, he must get up and go. Not go in order to say that he bought a land, or bought oxen, or got married, and that he has no time. You don’t need to excuse yourself, you don’t need to apologize, but you should pursue the path to the Kingdom of God,” said the metropolitan.
A person who follows the path to God, whether he is rich or poor, healthy or sick, old or young, is truly happy, the Primate of the UOC emphasized.
“If a person follows the path that doesn’t lead to God, he is unhappy, even if he gains everything on earth. He can put everything in a heap, sit on top of it, but he will be a deeply unhappy person nonetheless,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry.
Therefore, you do not need to focus your attention on the temporary things, you need to seek and strive for the eternal.
“We must listen to the call of God. And in order to follow the path of God, one must try to live according to the commandments of God. The commandments of God are the way of God. And this path leads a person to blessings even here on earth, and to salvation in Heaven,” concluded the metropolitan.
During the service, special prayers were offered for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, and for health of doctors and patients.
