help for ukraine

my mother survived the wwii japanese occupation in the northern philippines. for about eight months, she and my aunt were sent into the hills about five miles from their hometown candon ilocos sur to be safe from the soldiers.

other young girls were not so fortunate.

their brother, david, brought them rice once a week under the cloak of darkness. it was survival mode for them. these are the consequences of war that leaders do not usually consider. war brings countless sins and suffering

i have been thinking a lot about the women and children who are currently fleeing russia’s invasion of ukraine. the numbers are staggering; each person has a story.

we have a claretian community in western ukraine who are helping the refugees. on facebook, on of our priest, fr wojciech, is documenting what he sees there ( https://www.facebook.com/wojciech.kobylinski.35 )

if you would like to pray for and/or financially support our work in ukraine, you can do that through our usa-canadian province ministry of the shrine of st jude. please look at:

Support and Prayers for Ukraine

let us pray:

Through your intercession, St. Jude, please help me to always be open to the calming presence of God. Help me to remember how important my forgiveness toward others can be, for their peace as well as for mine. I will continue to pray for peace between nations. But I also want to contribute to building peace in the corners of the world that I live in, and with the people I meet . . . whether I know them well or not. May God grant my family peace. And may He grant me peace and strength as I continue to work to follow Jesus’ teachings. Thank you, St. Jude, for being a source of deep hope and for bringing my petitions to God. Amen