‘The spirit of the Good Samaritan’: acts of generosity bring hope to the people of Ukraine

Lyudmila and Yuri sheltered under pillows on the floor for over a year when the war broke out in Ukraine. The married couple had waited expectantly for their planned retirement in Odessa, but had to flee to Moldova when their hometown was bombarded by heavy artillery.

Initially, Lyudmila and Yuri lived at a refugee centre because they could not afford a place to stay, but it was noisy, and Yuri, who has a disability, needed somewhere quiet. Thankfully, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) shelter program was able to find them an apartment, where they have found some solace and peace.

Lyudmila and Yuri, whose children and grandchildren are still in Ukraine, say their greatest wish is ‘to see an end to this war, to go back home and, of course, to see everyone ... We wish for peace on earth. It’s the greatest of our wishes. There is nothing else.’

Lyudmila and Yuri are among the 6.5 million people who have been displaced from Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2014. Of these, 116,000 have found shelter in Moldova.

Nina and her husband Adrian are one of the Moldovan families who have received people into their homes. For several months, they provided shelter and a safe place for Vera and her grandson Ruslan to settle into their new lives. ‘It’s really okay to open your doors to a stranger,’ Adrian says. ‘That’s what people call us, right? A small nation with a big heart.’

‘I’m not home, but it feels like home,’ Vera says. ‘It was so nice of them to receive me here.’

Yana and her husband also found refuge in a Moldovan family, and have been living with them for two years. Yana says the generosity of the people in Moldova moved them to tears. ‘It almost feels like home, but our hearts are still back there,’ Yana says. ‘Words cannot express how much we want to go home.’ Yana’s parents are still in Ukraine.

CRS—along with Caritas Moldova—provide support for host families and refugees such as these. The program offers cash assistance, rent and utility subsidies, and small repairs. The Caritas Australia Ukraine Appeal supports CRS, as they help Ukrainians in need.

In a recent letter addressed to the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halych—Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek–Catholic Church—Sviatoslav Shevchuk wrote that ‘we remain grateful for the many expressions of solidarity and support that our Church and suffering people have received this past year from our brothers and sisters throughout the world’.

Virtually every bishop and pastor in Ukraine is called to share in the pain and loss of so many souls ... And yet, the courage and faith of our people remain strong, as they defend freedom and human life.

Observing that ‘If not for those who live by the spirit of the Good Samaritan, we certainly would not be able to survive’, he thanked ‘the Catholic faithful and people of Australia for their understanding and generosity in this time of crisis’, expressing particular gratitude to the Bishops’ Conference ‘for the second Christmas humanitarian aid to Ukraine collection, which was received by the Patriarchal Foundation Mudra Sprava.’ Dioceses across Australia have provided support to newly arrived Ukrainians, he wrote, including the opportunity to attend Catholic schools free of charge, among many other initiatives.

This year, the Ukrainian Greek–Catholic Church is focusing on ‘proclaiming a Gospel of hope’. ‘With the loss of so many sons and daughters, father and mothers, brothers and sisters serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, virtually every bishop and pastor in Ukraine is called to share in the pain and loss of so many souls, as we seek to comfort and prayerfully accompany bereaved family members,’ Archbishop Shevchuk wrote. ‘And yet, the courage and faith of our people remain strong, as they defend freedom and human life,’ sustained by their faith in a loving God, and the support of men and women of goodwill around the world.

Archbishop Shevchuk thanked his brother bishops, clergy, religious and all the lay faithful in Australia for their spiritual solidarity and assured them of his continued prayers. Concluding with a reference to Our Lady of Zarvanytsia—who according to Ukrainian tradition appeared to a monk in 1240 as he was fleeing Mongol invaders, touching him with her veil, or ‘omophorian’—Archbishop Shevchuk wrote, ‘May the Most Holy Theotokos [God-bearer] of Zarvanytsia, under whose omophorion we have gathered, protect the people of Australia from every adversary and all harm, and may our All-merciful Lord bless you with his peace.’