<em>Bohdan Mandziuk is a seminarian for the Ukrainian Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, and when war broke out was a student at the Three Holy Hierarchs Seminary on the outskirts of Kyiv. He is now continuing his studies at The International Theological Institute at Trumau, near Vienna. </em>
It was in 1833 that a very sick John Henry Newman wrote aboard a ship in the Straits of Bonifacio his now-famous poem “Lead, Kindly Light”. Facing a high fever, it seemed as though he would not survive and he penned it on what he thought was his deathbed. Despite growing up in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, I had not encountered St John Henry Newman until his beatification by the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. I first heard these verses in musical form on the 27 February, 2022, after I had been invited to be part of a recording for BBC Sunday Worship. Since then I have remembered them often, and my love for Newman has grown greatly.
There are so many connotations of light in the Holy Scriptures, in the Old and New Testaments alike. God created light in Genesis, light is mentioned time and again in the Psalms, Paul was blinded by a bright light and it was a star reflecting the light of the sun that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem. How often we hear – in Church, no less – that we must be the light in a dark world. We must realise that this cannot be the case.
In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist – the Forerunner – is described not as the light but only as a witness to the light. Only Christ is the true light. We can be stars that reflect His light, that carry it, but we cannot be the light. We must understand that our task is similar to that of John the Baptist; we are to be witnesses to the light. Let us not forget that Lucifer, the bearer of light, tried become the light himself and was cast out of Heaven.
With this in mind, let us think of Ukraine. I recall of a story that Patriarch Sviatoslav told recently. He was delivering aid to a village in Eastern Ukraine and an elderly lady recognised His Beatitude and cried “God has sent you to me!” In a place where it has become a daily occurrence to see missiles and drones flying overhead, where most of the day is spent without electricity and water, it is dark yet the people do not live in the darkness but always search for the light. The suffering of the Ukrainian people is unimaginable.
Each one of them has a unique and personal story to tell: the young, elderly, mothers, fathers, soldiers, medics, priests and aid workers. Nevertheless there is one underlying quality which all Ukrainian people have: they are witnesses to the light! I think even of my own friends in Ukraine who will sit at the Christmas table without their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters – and yet I never hear from them words of hate. Without doubt anger is present, but evil is not. What anger there is is directed towards the evil that causes innocent people suffering in a barbaric and ongoing invasion from land, sea and air.
This year with eyes turned to Bethlehem we see the star which leads us to the true light: the Son of God lying in the manger. With eyes turned to Ukraine we see different stars: those who reflect the light of Christ despite the conditions they find themselves. Looking to the rest of the world we see the innkeepers who have opened their hearts and homes to all those looking for a safe place to stay. Peace may seem distant and joy may seem muted but God comes to us as a Child to bring us joy and peace to sustain us for another year.
Photo: <em>Pope Benedict XVI presides at Mass for Newman's beatification at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on 19 September 2010. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images</em>
<em>Bohdan Mandziuk is a seminarian for the Ukrainian Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, and when war broke out was a student at the Three Holy Hierarchs Seminary on the outskirts of Kyiv. He is now continuing his studies at The International Theological Institute at Trumau, near Vienna. </em>
It was in 1833 that a very sick John Henry Newman wrote aboard a ship in the Straits of Bonifacio his now-famous poem “Lead, Kindly Light”. Facing a high fever, it seemed as though he would not survive and he penned it on what he thought was his deathbed. Despite growing up in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, I had not encountered St John Henry Newman until his beatification by the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. I first heard these verses in musical form on the 27 February, 2022, after I had been invited to be part of a recording for BBC Sunday Worship. Since then I have remembered them often, and my love for Newman has grown greatly.
There are so many connotations of light in the Holy Scriptures, in the Old and New Testaments alike. God created light in Genesis, light is mentioned time and again in the Psalms, Paul was blinded by a bright light and it was a star reflecting the light of the sun that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem. How often we hear – in Church, no less – that we must be the light in a dark world. We must realise that this cannot be the case.
In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist – the Forerunner – is described not as the light but only as a witness to the light. Only Christ is the true light. We can be stars that reflect His light, that carry it, but we cannot be the light. We must understand that our task is similar to that of John the Baptist; we are to be witnesses to the light. Let us not forget that Lucifer, the bearer of light, tried become the light himself and was cast out of Heaven.
With this in mind, let us think of Ukraine. I recall of a story that Patriarch Sviatoslav told recently. He was delivering aid to a village in Eastern Ukraine and an elderly lady recognised His Beatitude and cried “God has sent you to me!” In a place where it has become a daily occurrence to see missiles and drones flying overhead, where most of the day is spent without electricity and water, it is dark yet the people do not live in the darkness but always search for the light. The suffering of the Ukrainian people is unimaginable.
Each one of them has a unique and personal story to tell: the young, elderly, mothers, fathers, soldiers, medics, priests and aid workers. Nevertheless there is one underlying quality which all Ukrainian people have: they are witnesses to the light! I think even of my own friends in Ukraine who will sit at the Christmas table without their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters – and yet I never hear from them words of hate. Without doubt anger is present, but evil is not. What anger there is is directed towards the evil that causes innocent people suffering in a barbaric and ongoing invasion from land, sea and air.
This year with eyes turned to Bethlehem we see the star which leads us to the true light: the Son of God lying in the manger. With eyes turned to Ukraine we see different stars: those who reflect the light of Christ despite the conditions they find themselves. Looking to the rest of the world we see the innkeepers who have opened their hearts and homes to all those looking for a safe place to stay. Peace may seem distant and joy may seem muted but God comes to us as a Child to bring us joy and peace to sustain us for another year.
Photo: <em>Pope Benedict XVI presides at Mass for Newman's beatification at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on 19 September 2010. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images</em>
