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In wars, children are the first victims. Not only do they suffer in the moment; it also marks them for the rest of their lives. It’s a burden that they will always carry.
Children are not on the battle lines or in the tanks. We’ve seen them in the arms of their mothers, on trains that take them to exile, and in shelters. Some have caught the world’s attention, like the child who crossed the border on foot after walking almost 750 miles alone with a telephone number written on his hand, or the little girl who sang “Let It Go” from Frozen in a bunker before the sad gaze of the adults in the shelter who didn’t want to lose hope.
Now, a video has just gone viral in which we see a Ukrainian child singing before a cross.
A Ukrainian Catholic boy praying pic.twitter.com/gDnUzlAbBb
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) March 22, 2022
God loves the prayers of children. Although not much information is available about the video, the person who recorded it is no doubt a family member.
The song that the boy is praying in Ukrainian is addressed to Jesus on the cross:
I sing, God, for the living and for the dead.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
And I say “God, save us and Ukraine.”
I say to God “I love you.”
He then makes the sign of the cross in the Orthodox fashion, from right to left. The video was recorded on March 22, when we were about a month into the invasion of Ukraine. Together with the boy, we all ask God to end the war.
The video, which has already gone viral, was recorded in a city that could be Lviv or Kyiv; it’s not clear. Those cobblestone streets speak of a heritage and roots, of a history that belongs to everyone. Prayer is a powerful weapon and this child has given us a lesson that we must not ignore. “If we do not become like children,” remember? Jesus is speaking to us through this video.
And today we celebrate...