Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (18: 1-8) in which Jesus tells his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. After reading the Gospel Fr Paul shares a little about the life of St Josaphat whose memorial we celebrate today.Fr Paul notes St Josaphat was born in the Ukraine to Orthodox parents. In 1595 the Union of Brest brought the Ruthenian Church into communion with Catholic Rome while still preserving its own liturgy. That union brought about a schism within the church itself, with one group wanting to remain Orthodox and, therefore, stay the linked to Moscow and Constantinople, while the other group accepted the Union of the churches. St Josaphat joined the first monastery, of the Order of St Basil, to be united to the Catholic Church: he was the first person to do so. He was ordained a priest and, eventually and reluctantly, appointed bishop of Polotsk in 1617. Although King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, supported the union of the churches, the local aristocracy were against it because it threatened their control of the church’s property and monies . Plotting with the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, who visited the Ukraine in 1621, they stirred up trouble and, as a result, Josaphat was murdered by a mob in 1623 while he was on a pastoral visit.Fr Paul says, mindful of the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine and the need for peace, it is especially timely to ask ‘St Josaphat, Pray for us!’