REVLOC, Pennsylvania (LifeSiteNews) — Father Andriy Kelt, a Ukrainian Catholic priest in western Pennsylvania, celebrated his parish’s annual Divine Liturgy “in defense of marriage” to counter LGBT “pride month” on Sunday.

On June 28, Kelt celebrated the liturgy with the intention of “restoring chastity and traditional marriage and family” in the United States at Holy Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church and his two other parishes. During a “mini-homily” at the end of the liturgy, the priest compared our modern age with the time of Noah before the flood and emphasized the need to pray for the restoration of purity and chastity and implore God’s mercy on our nation as secular society continues to promote same-sex “marriage,” and other vices associated with the LGBT movement.

Kelt also discussed the scandal and confusion caused by Catholic clergy who openly celebrate pro-LGBT Masses or commemorate LGBT “pride month,” the apparent shift in our culture, the need to rely on God to change our culture, the importance of practicing the virtue of humility to counter “pride,” and more.

Importance of praying for God’s mercy and purity

During the homily, Kelt recalled being stuck in traffic for hours on the way home from Kentucky the day before due to intense flooding and seeing a large rainbow appear after the storm finally let up. He said this reminded him of Noah’s Ark, compared our modern world with the time preceding the Great Flood, and stressed that the rainbow, which appeared after the flood, symbolized God’s mercy on humanity, which is ultimately why we need to implore His mercy today.

“Secular culture, of course, perverted the sign of God’s forgiveness and mercy: the rainbow. It’s so necessary for us to come together and pray for God’s mercy, for the sins that we all commit, sins against chastity (because) this is something that afflicts everyone,” the priest said.

Fr. Andriy Kelt celebrates Divine Liturgy ‘in defense of marriage.’ [Credit: Antonino Cambria]

WATCH: Ukrainian Catholic priest boldly affirms Church teaching against same-sex ‘marriage’

“We all feel temptations to go against God’s design for human sexuality, marriage, family, and the secular culture publicly celebrates some of these sins … sins that God destroyed the earth for,” he added. “When I saw this rainbow in the sky, it reminded me of God’s ineffable mercy and forgiveness. We are asking Him to forgive us all, forgive our nation for all of those sins that are celebrated in our nation during this month of June.”

Indeed, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered” and “contrary to the natural law” and that the homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered.” The Catechism is very clear that homosexual activity can never be approved and repeats that “(h)omosexual persons are called to chastity.” Homosexual acts are mortal sins; therefore, anyone who commits these sins and does not repent through the sacrament of confession is in danger of hell.

Kelt highlighted the importance of becoming “pure of heart” so that the faithful may see the kingdom of God.

“Why is purity and chastity so important? Because without it, we will never see God and experience His presence in our (lives),” the priest said. “Purity and justice is something that is badly needed in the lives of our nation, but in the lives of all people, young and old.”

“We ask God to give us that. So that our children and all of us can see God with a pure heart and give Him glory,” he added.

Only God can change our culture

In an interview with LifeSiteNews after the Divine Liturgy, Kelt explained that this annual liturgy is so important because we can’t change our culture without God.

“You can’t really change culture without this spiritual foundation; only God can change (our) hearts. I can say all kinds of stuff, but without God’s grace, without prayer, especially prayer in the Divine Liturgy during the Eucharist, we can never change anything,” he said.

“So, we’ve been doing this for many years, and we’ll continue, because a lot of people need prayers. Like our Blessed Mother said, there are so many people for whom there’s no one to pray for.”

During her fourth apparition in Fatima, Portugal, Our Lady implored the faithful to pray and make sacrifices for sinners, “for many souls go to hell because there is no one to sacrifice and pray for them.”

Kelt continued:

It’s not that we’re just praying for them because we think we are better. We are all fallen, and we just need God to forgive all of us. We’re in the same boat, so to speak … And we need God to give us His mercy and forgive all of us.

‘Pride’ Masses vs. ‘hospital for sinners’

The priest called out the “pride Masses” that are celebrated by many dissident priests across the globe each year as “scandalous.”

“The Church is called to be a hospital for the sinner. When people come (they are not meant to) celebrate sin, but repent of sin, right? And when you try to celebrate the sin of ‘pride,’ the worst sin that’s out there, they’re hurting other people, spiritually and emotionally, because they basically want to make themselves feel better,” he said. “And virtue signal, that’s basically all it is. That’s why it is important for all parishes to stand up to this evil agenda and make our voices heard, defending God’s design for human sexuality, marriage, (and the) family. It’s necessary.”

READ: California bishop celebrates second annual ‘LGBTQ+’ Mass during ‘pride’ month

Current ‘shift’ in our culture

Kelt expressed hope at the fact that, as reported extensively by LifeSiteNews, LGBT “pride month” celebrations have been significantly quieter in recent years. There has been lower attendance at “pride” events, several major companies have slashed their previous “pride” commitments, an increasing number of athletes have refused to wear rainbow-colored gear for their team’s “pride nights,” or written Bible passages on them, and five U.S. states have even proclaimed June as a month to celebrate the family instead of the LGBT movement.

“There is a change happening in society. There’s more and more pushback against this evil agenda because people see how perversive and hurtful it is to society, to marriage, and just to a person as an individual,” the priest said.

“Because when you go against your nature, what happens? You hurt yourself. If you go against God’s laws, you’re going to hurt yourself,” he added. “(If you say) ‘Oh, I don’t like the law of gravity.’ Well, it doesn’t matter whether you like it or not; (if) you go against this law, you’re going to hurt yourself. It doesn’t matter which one it is. So we as a Church need to stand up for what is right.”

READ: Five US states reject LGBT ‘pride’ month, reclaim June for marriage, family, God

The priest concluded by urging the faithful to continue praying for and speaking out against “pride” while also cultivating the opposing virtue of humility in their lives.

“(Humility) is probably the most difficult virtue, right? (But) we need to show that we are not just saying this because we think we are better, but because we know that sin is terrible for us,” he said. “We don’t want sin in our lives because it destroys us. And we want others to understand that so they can be truly free.”

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