Dear sisters, dear brothers,

“If we truly trust God, then maybe this most stupid war in the world will come to an end. I came because the Pope wanted me to be with you during this Christmas time,” said Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, while in Fastiv the day before Christmas Eve. This was already his second visit to Fastiv since the beginning of the full-scale war. This time we celebrated together with the people from the refugee house, the members of the Dominican family, and the volunteers and friends from the St. Martin de Porres Center. “I want to share with you joy because God is born, and he brings peace. Let’s hope that this is the last Christmas of wartime.”

We all hope for it! On the night of Christmas, I received greetings from Vera from Fastiv who was in Kryvyi Rih visiting her parents. A few minutes earlier, a Russian rocket from Crimea had landed right next to their building. During the attack, Vera and her parents had hid in the corridor of the building. Many people take shelter like this, especially those in the cities close to the front line. Bathrooms, corridors, and stairway cases become places of refuge and safety during the rocket attacks. During the night and morning of Christmas, Ukraine experienced another mass-attack from rockets and drones. Uliana, who lives in the western part of the country, heard a rocket flying over Chortkiv while she was preparing breakfast for her family. “I want to believe in the Cardinal’s words that this is the last Christmas in wartime,” wrote Vera from Kryvyi Rih under fire.

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity blessed the new dining room in the St. Martin Center. It will be used by people who cannot afford a daily warm meal, especially the elderly and alone. Although the prices of basic food products are increasing, the monthly retirement income of many people in Ukraine does not exceed 100 USD. According to the World Bank, about a third of the citizens in Ukraine currently live below the poverty level. The mayor of Fastiv, who participated in the opening of the dining hall, claims that the real number of such people is much higher. This situation accelerated the decision to create the dining hall. “Very soon we are going to open a laundry center here for those in need,” Fr. Misha shared with us. Many people do not have washing machines in their houses. On top of this, there are interruptions in electricity. “That’s why we want to help people this way — not only in Kherson where the free public laundry has already been running for a couple months — but also in Fastiv,” added the director of the House of St. Martin. When Cardinal Krajewski was blessing the place, he said that we find ourselves in the very heart of the Gospel every time that, thanks to our benefactors, we witness the multiplication of bread similar to the event described in the Gospel.

“Only free people come here,” said Bishop Pawlo Honczaruk describing the guests who visit Kharkiv, a big city in eastern Ukraine not far from the border with Russia. We were all sitting drinking coffee in the diocesan curia listening to the story of this bishop who sees the reality of war and its human stories not only with courage but also with true faith and trust — especially trust in the intercession of Mary. At the beginning of November the socius of the Master of the Order, Fr. Thomas Brogl, and I visited brothers Andrzej and Stanisław who serve at the eastmost Dominican location in Ukraine. Thomas is from Bavaria, so Andrzej proposed that we should stop on the way back to the priory to buy beer from the local brewery. The neighborhood where the Dominicans live is called New Bavaria, and the beer-making traditions are still very much alive. Soon we heard sirens of another air raid alarm. A moment later we received a phone call from the bishop who was clearly worried. He asked if we were okay because just a moment earlier, not far from the place we were passing by, Russian rockets had destroyed the police checkpoint.

Increasingly disturbing news has been coming from Kherson where the St. Martin de Porres Center from Fastiv operates a kitchen for those in need. Igor manages evacuations and aid for the elderly and sick who still live near the frontlines in large numbers. The volunteer showed us a video from the abandoned city center of Kherson. His friend from the organization “Strong because We’re Free” made the following comment about the situation in the city: “This once-beautiful center of Kherson looks now like a post-apocalyptic disaster movie where people who live in it receive each day all the ‘fraternal love’ of the Russian nation. The buzzing of drones scatters the flocks of birds in all directions as they try to escape the metal intruders. The whole world is waiting for New Year festivities, and here in Kherson we live waiting for incoming air raids. It sounds brutal, but they have become a permanent part of our life. The ruins of Kherson are the scars in the hearts of everyone who lives here.” 

Those deep scars become more and more numerous every day. Anna Lodygina, a friend and a journalist from Nova Kakhovka posted a video of a burning building with a moving quote: “My school has been burned. I feel like a part of my life has been burned… I will never forgive them for this.” 

Another friend from Nova Kakhovka is Anastasia Panteleeva from the organization “Media Initiative for Human Rights”. We talked for over an hour about the tragic situation of Ukrainian civilians whom Russians have arrested and kidnapped from occupied territories. “We have 1,877 of such cases documented, although this number is constantly being updated. We hear from different sources when some have been killed or died of disease or lack of access to medical care or when someone has been released.” The situation of civilians who found themselves in prison is very difficult. Usually they are tortured, deprived of any contact with their families, forced to confess actions against Russia, and kept for a long time without sentencing. Very often they end up in the same Russian prisons and penal colonies as prisoners of war, although as civilians they should be treated differently. In contrast to the military prisoners of war, civilians are rarely released in prisoner exchanges. For this reason, demonstrations of family members, especially wives, can be seen in central squares of Kyiv and in other public places as they demand the release of their loved ones from prison. As Anastasia said, “It is one way the families of the imprisoned deal with the situation.” The most difficult thing is the helplessness and the awareness that there is not much you can do to help your family members who are deprived of freedom.

On the night of Christmas, I prayed with Carmelite sisters and a group of people who frequently come to the Carmel chapel. I gave the sisters a Christmas picture with a blessing of the Holy Father that was brought by Cardinal Krajewski. The Pope put on the card a quote from St. Leo the Great: “Natalis Domini, natalis est pacis”. I was very moved by his emphasis that the Nativity of the Lord is also the birth of peace. For this reason, I preached during the homily that every one of us can be a builder of peace. We have already received that gift from Christ in His Nativity. He is in our hearts, and we should share Him with those around us. 

During the Joseph Conrad Literary Prize ceremony of the Polish Institute in Kyiv, I had the opportunity to meet the young Ukrainian writers and poets Andrij Lubka, Oleksandr Mykhed, and Artem Tzech. I always reach for their books and writings with great interest, and I am happy that they are being translated, and not just into Polish and English. I also discovered with great surprise the poetry of Yaryna Chornohuz. The next morning, I went through the pouring rain to the bookstore to buy her latest volume of poetry entitled “[dasein: defense of presence]”. Yaryna’s poetry is written on the frontlines because for many years, the author has been a combat medic and scout. This year’s winner Andrij Lubka remarked that the moral choice of a writer these days consists not only in the decision of what he should say but also what he should be silent about. “We write a lot, but we are also silent about many things. This is undoubtedly a challenge and the drama of a writer: to establish limits for oneself through self-censorship, because the words that we use can strengthen and inspire people in difficult moments, but they can also drive them into despair.” I agree with Lubka. In difficult moments of life, our words have exceptional power. 

Ukrainian artists speak about the current events in a variety of ways. Not far from our priory in Kyiv, a mural appeared depicting a volunteer, Anastasia Tycha. During the Russian occupation in the Kyiv region, she and her husband led out of wartorn Irpin dozens of animals, including dogs who couldn’t move on their own. The mural was inspired by a picture taken on March 9, 2022 by an American photographer Christopher Occhicone. This picture, along with others showing tragic events of the first weeks of Russian aggression, became known around the world symbolizing the courage of Ukrainians, even in rescuing animals.

“The road is hard when you’re carrying on your back your house and your past. We have been deprived of our homes but not of our hearts. Death is terrifying, but love is so defenseless.” These are just a couple sentences that I remember from the show “Wertep. Wschόd”, played in Kyiv by a puppet theater from Kharkiv. The play, based on the poetry of Serhiy Zhadan, refers to a traditional “Wertep” (the Ukrainian equivalent of a nativity scene). “It is a moving tale about the birth of Jesus Christ in the realities of the war in Ukraine. It was the best play I have seen in recent years,” said Father Piotr.

In this letter written at the end of the year, I would like to express my gratitude to all who decided not to be indifferent to the fate of the people in countries torn by war. Pope Francis once said that compassion is the language of God. “That is why He sent us His Son,” said the pope. I would like to wish each and every one of you another year of life full of compassion and hope — a year that marks the Christian Jubilee of 2025.

With gratitude for all of your help and with the request for prayers,

Jarosław Krawiec OP
Kyiv, December 28, 2024