Knowledge of God

Dear friends! I want to share my way of knowing God. I was born in an Orthodox family, where church rules and rituals were not observed, as in many Soviet families of that time. My grandmother gave me the first knowledge about God, after her death I had little experience of faith in God, which I did not use in my life. My wife’s family, also Orthodox, followed church rules and rituals, but this was not decisive and did not permeate our family.

When the daughter was born, she was baptized in the Orthodox Church. As a family, we periodically visited the holy places of Russia. There was a longing for God, and I was looking for Him, but I did not feel a response in my heart. And then my daughter came to the rescue. At first, she went to a prayer group in a temple where they knew about Medjugorje. In 2023, the daughter went to Medjugorje, and more information related to the heart began to emerge. A prayer of the Rosary appeared, which gathered our family for joint prayer.

I experienced the sermons from Medjugorje most strongly, which I listened to online, the acquaintance with Catholic priests who were perceived as close, and the sermons in which I found answers. This led to my decision to convert to the Catholic Church in September

  1. I am in the process of learning and this is what inspires and strengthens me.

With God’s help, my dream came true – to come to Medjugorje. Here I felt a special grace of peace and tranquility, you can hear about it many times, but it is enough to feel it once – and you will not confuse it with anything. On this trip, I was lucky to get to know the “Light of Mary” community, where I saw living faith, kindness and love for God and peopleA special mercy is the meeting with the Capuchin brothers, with whom I had the opportunity to pray together, and the deepest impressions remained from climbing the Križevac mountain with them, reflecting on the Way of the Cross of Jesus. On the mountain, I felt that the sufferings of Jesus are not in vain, and everyone has the opportunity to repent, atone for their sins, God will always help, you just have to trust, take a step towards Him. Prayer, the Eucharist, reading the Holy Scriptures, meditation, fasting gradually open my heart to love and goodness, a different state of mind and heart, for which I am very grateful.

Oleksandr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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