Dear sisters, dear brothers, It’s been a bit longer than usual since my last letter. Looking at what’s going on around us, it seems like we’re witnessing a transition from a certain kind of romanticism of the first days of war to the realism and pragmatism of the second month. What do I mean? First of all, that we’re getting…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, Yesterday Kyiv had one of its quietest days since the beginning of the war. I didn’t hear a single siren, although when I looked at the “Digital Kyiv” app, I found out there had been two air raid alarms. Only two; other days there had been as many as twenty. Yesterday you couldn’t hear repeated explosions,…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, On Sunday, the world learned about the horrible war crimes committed against the defenseless civilian population in Bucha, the city located less than 20 km west of Kyiv. Until recently, it had been an oasis of peace. Now this beautifully located town has become part of the history of human wickedness. That evening, I was listening…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, Little Romek celebrated his sixth birthday yesterday. When I was visiting the brothers in Chortkiv two days ago, he was sitting with his dad in our priory’s parish office, which also functions as a guest room. They were looking at something on his computer. We peeked in for a moment, and he immediately ran to us,…
Dear sisters, dear brothers “Father, the air raid alarm has been going for over two hours. Are you in the shelter?” As I was beginning to write, I received this message from Vera, from the House of Saint Martin in Fastiv. Tonight, just like yesterday, the air raid was announced covering almost the whole country; the news reported multiple rocket…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, As I’m walking through springtime Kyiv, it feels like the war has just ended. Each day, the streets are filling with a growing number of people; new stores are opening up; new coffee shops, restaurants, and services are unlocking their doors. Even the bazaar, not far from our priory, is seeing merchants returning, although until recently…
Dear sisters, dear brothers, Recently I’ve spent most of my time sending letters. It was hard to find spare time to do it sooner, but it’s very important to me that thank-you notes from the brothers in Ukraine find their way to all the people supporting the Dominican mission in the country at war. Many people and many institutions around…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, Father Igor celebrated Mass today in our chapel. This is his third First Eucharist, after Fastiv and Khmelnytskyi, but the first one in Kyiv. Apart from receiving the graces attached to the special blessing, we also received a wonderful homily from Father Igor. As he spoke about Saint Stephen, about this “something” that makes us happy,…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, Today I made a phone call to an older woman whose son fights on the frontlines. “Good morning, this is Father Jarosław…” On the other end: silence. I introduced myself again and explained why I’m calling. After a while, she told me that the unfamiliar male voice in the receiver had surprised and frightened her. How…
Dear Sisters, Dear Brothers, It’s been over two weeks since my last letter from Ukraine. This longer period between correspondences might give the impression of a return to normalcy. If one of you arrived now in Kyiv or Lviv not knowing a war has been going on for over four months, you might not see at first glance that not…
