by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

In Russia, there are two words for truth. The absolute truth, and the thing said to obtain what you want: the pravda.

When our Lord in the parable of the good Samaritan spoke of how the Jewish Priest and Levite walked to the other side of the road, to avoid helping the man who lay wounded and beaten, He was referring to the worse kind of hypocrisy in His day: that of one who publicly professes to serve God according to the Law (Torah) of God, but who makes excuses not to.

For in the Mosaic Law, which God gave through Moses, there was two great commandments: the second of which was, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”.

Well, the Priest and Levite were hypocrites who bent their practice away from the observance of this precept. Because, by going to the other side of the road, the beaten man, was no longer near them, and thus no longer their neighbor!

But imagine what is not in the Parable: that the Priest and Levite on their next stop, stayed at an inn, and began to make up complete lies to justify what they did, even going so far as to call the man who was beaten up an evil corrupt man who deserved it.

Even our Blessed Lord did not imagine such villainy.

However, what God did not imagine, some American conservatives are inventing.

Take the case of the Ukrainian MP whose wife was caught by Hungarian Customs agents, fleeing Ukraine with more than 20 million dollars worth of cash.

Today, July 3, 2022, Canon212.com, which used to be very reliable, but since March has been linking to every Russian propaganda story out there, posted a link to this tweet:

The Tweet as you can see is from July 1.

It makes it look, in the comments on that thread, that she was running off with American financial aid. The implication is that Ukraine is so corrupt, there is little point sending them any help.

But the reality is quite different.

The story is actually from March 21, of this year, BEFORE the Ukraine got any financial aid from the USA.

Also, her husband is not only a Member of Parliament, he is one of the wealthiest men in Ukraine, in his own right.

Here is the story:

There it is reported that she was not smuggling money from bribes but from her own personal fortune. She kept it in cash. She tried to leave the country without declaring it.

As Americans would agree, that should not even be a crime, for what a person does with their wealth is their own right, as it is their property. It is a crime in Europe, which run by Socialists despises anyone who is independently wealthy and not dependent upon politicians for handouts.

So the real story is of an entrepeneur’s wife acting hastily in fear of her life, with the Russians pouring into her country.

That does not fit the narrative that some Conservatives need to justify them walking to the other side of the road.

But do they even care to lie anymore, to defend their sin?

Imagine what Our Lord would have said to a priest or levite who made up such lies to defend his sin! And then maybe you will be able to contemplate the size of the lighting bolts which will strike forth from His Throne of Judgement on the last day, at such villainy which defends the indefensible in the name of virtue.

https://www.twitter.com/OMC_HQ/status/1543467567699861504

English Translation of the Above

Father Vitaly Voietsa: “Our oath is a sign of faith, God’s presence and a constant reminder for everyone that we promised to be near God’s throne”

Ukraine has more than once impressed the world with its spiritual power. In the most difficult moments, the strength of the spirit supports our defenders. They feel how many people believe in them. Faith in all its manifestations strengthens and inspires us. The military medical chaplain of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Archpriest Vitaly Voetsa, like all military and military medical chaplains, adheres to the oath to be faithful to the Church and the Ukrainian people. His ministry is on the front lines, on the front, in hospitals, among all those who need support and the Word of God.

— What is the essence of the oath and chaplain service?

– When we are ordained as priests, we take an oath, just like the military. Our oath is a sign of faith, God’s presence, and a constant reminder to everyone that we have promised at God’s throne. When we swear allegiance to the Church and the Ukrainian people, it is not a formality or a relic of the past. We solemnly swear to be faithful, and this helps us in crisis situations, such as now, not to retreat, to hold on to the end. I am often asked what has helped and supported me in difficult moments. It was this that “gave wings” and prompted us to take actions that we all did!

His Beatitude Patriarch Lubomyr Huzar outlined the rule for chaplains: “To be close.” When we are close, words are superfluous. You can look into the eyes, feel a person’s breath, mood, and at that moment already know how to help and support. Being around is an action. The task of a chaplain is to be close to a person who needs it, to feel how to help him. His Beatitude Svyatoslav Shevchuk, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, defined another task for chaplains: “to be where there is the greatest need.” It is subtle to feel where you can serve.

— Now chaplains have joined the volunteer movement, in addition to helping hospitals and traditional work in military units?

– It should be understood that in this situation, the chaplain’s activity is a team effort, someone found food, hygiene products, medicines, someone got a gas tank, a car. And after that, the chaplain can work logistically. When we were prepared for chaplain service, it was usually theory and elementary practice, particularly in peacetime. Yes, we served in military units, hospitals, but the year 2014 became a real challenge for each of us… I remember the first trips to the east of Ukraine, joint prayers, the first wounded in hospitals, then our service was a movement of the heart, a new experience that and today has its own content and development. We worked as equals with the doctors who treated the body, and the chaplains who treated the wounded souls. And not only the wounded, but also the medics themselves, who sometimes need more support due to constant emotional exhaustion. They need communication, smiles, consolation. Sometimes a banal sign of attention, an apple that you brought from the bottom of your heart, or a small icon, or even a candy, creates spiritual support.

— Now you go to the front-line zone, to the liberated territories, do you manage to help many?

– A lot has been achieved, it is a whole network of chaplains, in particular of our Church, in all corners of Ukraine, who go to military units, work to get the necessary thing: for example, generators, food, clothes, medicines or ambulances for our military. This is a big team effort: finding, issuing documents, developing logistics, solving fuel problems. We strive to be close in different ways. The territory in which I was involved as a military chaplain was: from Novohrad-Volynskyi to Zadniprovye, these are military units, stationary and field, and military hospitals, in particular field hospitals. Now there are other challenges and other geographical positions, but the work continues and at an even greater pace. We not only bring something at our discretion, say, food, hygiene products, blankets, sleeping bags, but at the same time it is a monitoring of needs, and such trips are not one-time. We spread the word about the needs among the chaplains and volunteers and carry the essentials. Once we arrived at the position, among other things, we brought a lot of wet wipes, and the soldiers joked that we had brought them a “shower”. It would seem that in peacetime such a trifle, but for them, during the war, it is of great value.

— Obviously, humanitarian cargo is not the main thing in these trips?

— It is important for the soldiers that the priest came to them. The guys were happy about this, for many it is not so important what we brought, the main thing is that we came ourselves. They wanted to see their chaplain, because often there is no priest in the unit or in the positions who would come with a prayer and a good word. They are waiting for us, even just to chat, to receive a blessing, some went straight to confession, some asked that a prayer be made for them, then we prayed the Service of God or other prayers.

— Did the Easter greeting trips have a special meaning for both the soldiers and you?

— Yes, the Easter visits were a great joy, because the guys on the front lines still wanted a real Easter, not a loaf of bread with raisins, but to experience the Resurrection of Christ through the words of the chaplain. Thanks to the Department of Military Chaplaincy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which takes care of such moments, a greeting was organized on Maundy Thursday. His Beatitude Svyatoslav Shevchuk consecrated more than six thousand pasaks and meat products, and with his blessing we delivered them all over Ukraine. And I saw people I knew in peacetime – emaciated, sleepless, with tired eyes, but they all have a common feature – their eyes are burning, burning with the desire for victory. I never heard them whine or complain about the government, political circumstances. We all have a common enemy, who has declared himself the enemy of us all.

by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

After months of complaints and inexplicable problems, not finding solutions, I have changed the software used to subscribe to FromRome.Info.

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by Br. Alexis Bugnolo

I am shaken back into the reality of the great die-off, by recent events, whereby two colleagues have told me of deaths among their family in the space of 3 days. Both in the USA. Both sudden deaths during sleep.

So, I ask my readers, if they have similar stories to share for recent months and especially in the last two weeks. Please comment below.

Editor’s Note:

International Aid Organizations, among which is the Red Cross, are sitting on 2 Billion Sterling worth of humanitarian aid aimed at Ukraine. But these organizations have disbursed barely 1/4 of 1 % of that.

That is why I recommend other aid organizations, like the one’s I head, Ordo Militaris Inc., and Cross Azure (which is working on getting a bank account and should have one by the end of next week).

Ordo Militaris Inc. is already receiving funds, and I will be cooperating with a group of US Vets to organize the supply of hundreds of liters of IV fluid to save wounded civilians and soldiers on the front lines in Eastern Ukraine. When I have more information, I will give specifics. But with this project, I expect to disburse nearly 80% of the funds of our small Humanitarian Project. To think that one can save the life of an innocent for as little as $10 of IV fluid! — Please think about this, and give these poor victims the chance to survive and live a full productive life by making a GENEROUS donation! — Please also share this appeal.