Letter from Br. Błażej: Night 130

July 4, 2022, Monday.

I woke up already in Kiev. On the way back from Poland, from Krakow, there was less traffic on Ukrainian roads, similarly on the streets of Kiev. In our area of the city, peace and quiet. In the east, regular war. People are dying, civilians….. God, for peace, please.

The Word… “Thus says the Lord: “I will lure the bride and lead her into the desert, and speak to her heart.” The desert is a place where there is no life, yet people are alive. War, just the same, is a place where there is no life, but people are alive. What do the desert and war have in common? They are places where God especially speaks powerfully to the heart of man. I am a witness to this, and these letters that I have been writing for 130 nights are also a witness to this. “I will marry you to myself through faithfulness, and you will know the Lord.” A place and time where God gives new life. Deo gratias !!!
We live in the war, we do not live by war.

I returned to Kiev in the company of Sr. Veronica, a Nazareth nun who was in Poland for 58 days, helping, ministering to Ukrainian interrogators at the Przemyśl train station and various places where people, women and children from Ukraine were staying. Capuchin friars did similar service. Deo gratias, to the brothers and sisters.

Voronezh (Russia):
Today (Sunday) evening Br. Maxim went to Belarus. Thank you to the brothers of Belarus for their support and help.

Belgorod (Russia):
Things are calm at our place. We could hear explosions, but it’s about 10 km from us. Greetings and a blessed Sunday I wish you.

Dnipro:
At our place the night without alarms. The chaplain and a volunteer stayed overnight tonight. Today we plan to shop for a second guest room in the renovated part. There is a shortage of oil at gas stations. Brother Leonid on vacation, Wadym and I on site.

May God protect us and grant us Peace….
Brothers of the Custody of Ukraine