THE mISSIONS

The Sower And
The Fields

by Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Today's Gospel tells us about a man who sowed the good seed in his field, and about his enemy, who sowed weeds in the same field.

The owner's servants were very surprised when the weeds appeared together with the wheat. They proposed to pull out the weeds immediately. But the owner did not agree. He directed them to let both grow until the harvest. Then the weeds would be collected and burned and the wheat would be gathered into the barn of the owner.

In this parable, the sower is the Lord, the field is the world, the good seed is the subject of the Kingdom, the weeds are the subjects of evil, and the harvest is the end of the world. So ... Jesus Christ doesn't condemn a sinful man immediately, but allows time for his conversion.

This is very important, because Christ offers mercy more than destruction.

We can apply today's Gospel to the events in the former Russian empire and the Soviet Union. Russia is an Orthodox country. But besides our brethren Orthodox, the Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews and others have been living there for many, many centuries.

The first Catholic parishes in Russia were established in the first centuries of the second millennium. The Catholic Church in the Russian empire before 1917 was developed very well, especially in the western regions.

At the time of the communist revolution of 1917, many countries of the empire received independence and there was the possibility of new development. They also hoped to enjoy religious freedom. At this time in Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine and other republics of the Soviet Union, religions were hardly persecuted.

But, by 1939, the Baltic States were annexed by the USSR and religious persecution was taking place everywhere.

For a better understanding of the scale of the persecution, let me present you with some figures. In European Russia alone, before 1917, there were 150 churches. During the persecution, 148 of them were destroyed, transformed into cinemas, concert halls, restaurants, factories, and so on. It seemed that with the death of the last priest would come the end of religion in Russia. In the 1960's, former Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev promised to show on television the last priest in the Soviet Union.

Really, the evil weed of persecution was sowed in the field of some very faithful nations which are especially devoted to Our Lady.

But God was merciful. Let me remind you, my dear brothers and sisters, about the greatest event of 1917, namely the apparition of our Lady in Fatima, where she predicted the conversion of Russia.

God was so merciful to give to the people of Eastern European countries this great hope for a better future. And so, after the three generations of the dark night of persecution of religion, the Soviet Union collapsed and was disintegrated.

This reminds me of the fact that the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead on the third day. Three days of darkness in the tomb parallels three generations of darkness during the persecution.

Holy Scripture says that no one knows how long is a day for God. So, we can consider three generations as three days. As Jesus Christ was risen from the dead on the third day, Russia is resurrecting after three generations into new life in Christ.

And today, we proclaim the greatness of the Lord and our spirit rejoices in God our Savior, because He has looked with favor on His people who have suffered.

And we bishops from the former Soviet Union would like to say that we feel the spring of the Church in our countries.

We bishops, priests, sisters and laymen have come to the United States, at the invitation of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of America. At this very important time of religious growth in the former Soviet Union ... when there are very sensitive economical transitions and when the people are extremely poor, it is extremely important for us to have the help of the Catholic Church in America. We are very grateful for that help. Please accept our deep gratitude.

It is a great privilege to say Mass here in Virginia and we are grateful for your invitation. There is a special connection between your parish and the former Soviet Union, especially Latvia. The first parish priest and founder of this church is Fr. Anthony Justs. Today he is bishop of the Diocese of Eljava in Latvia.

Each of us here today had a very difficult path to the priesthood, and each of us has had a very difficult time exercising our priestly ministry during the communist regime.

Let me begin with His Excellency Janis Pujats, Archbishop of Ryga in Latvia. He is the most experienced of any of us. For a long time, he was a professor at the Ryga Seminary. It was an extremely difficult time. From one side there were a lot of vocations, from the other, government restrictions. But, the seminary in Ryga has functioned and has prepared priests for the different parts of the Soviet Union.

Monsignor Anton Cosa, the Apostolic Administrator of Moldova, was born and prepared for the priesthood in Romania, where religion was persecuted very harshly. A few years ago, he left his native country in order to help the rebirth of the Church in Moldova.

Bishop John Paul Lenga is Apostolic Administrator for Kazachstan: and republics of middle Asia. The story of his life is extremely interesting. He was born in the Ukraine, was secretly baptized, secretly received his first communion, and secretly was ordained in Lithuania. He did not receive the government's permission to work in Ukraine and had to leave Ukraine for Kazachstan where finally he was officially consecrated bishop.

My name is Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz. I was born in Byelorussia. For the priesthood, I was prepared in Lithuania, in the Kaunas Seminary. For a long time I worked as a priest in Lithuania. Only in Gorbachev's time did I return to my native Byelorussia. From 1989 to 1991 I was bishop in Byelorussia and I have been in Moscow since 1991.

I remember in 1990 at the very day when the new legislation on religious freedom in the USSR was approved. I was staying in Italy. One of the Italian bishops handed me a paper with the article: "Il Dio ritorna a Mosca," "God comes back to Moscow."

Really, God, who never neglected His people, was especially merciful for those who suffered. And now, He bestows on His people His grace through the ministry of His Church, which is rising from destruction and into new life. This process of restoration of religious life is very difficult, especially if we consider that after the 70 years of persecution our countries became a spiritual vacuum.

To fill the Church up with the spirit of the Gospel, we need churches, we need priests, we need religious literature and so on. Thanks be to God, in many parts of the former Soviet Union there have been established seminaries. We have begun to prepare religious and liturgical literature in our native languages. The first three native-born Russian deacons have been ordained this year, and in the coming year, they will be ordained priests.

One of the most urgent problems for us is the lack of ecclesiastical buildings. For example, the Seminary in Russia has been established in 1993. But, until 1995 it was situated in several apartments in Moscow. At the present time, thank God, the Seminary is located in the former historical building of the old St. Petersburg Seminary.

Another example. At the present time in European Russia, there are 86 parishes, but only 18 of them have church buildings and 11 of these 18 are in need of renovation.

We would like to express once more our gratitude to the Conference of American bishops and to the Catholics of America for the help we have been receiving, both spiritual and financial.

The future of our countries will depend on the spirituality of their inhabitants, because only on a solid spiritual foundation is it possible to build a new society.

Let us pray together that America and the former Soviet Union will be the fields of good wheat and we will be countries of people with a great spirituality that leads all of us to eternal life. Amen.

Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz is the Apostolic Administrator of European Russia.