Holy Mass celebration was led by the retired Archbishop of Vrhbosna, cardinal Vinko Puljić in concelebration with the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Jozo Marinčić, Charge d'Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Sarajevo, Msgr. Amaury Medina Blanca and about 20 other priests. Numerous nuns from various societies were joined by theologians from all three theological seminaries in BiH, who also assisted at the altar under the leadership of rev. Ivan Rako.

First, cardinal Puljić blessed the candles and congratulated the gathered nuns on the Day of Consecrated Life, followed by a candlelight procession inside the church.

Elder Simon - righteous and God-fearing

The sermon was delivered by Archbishop Vukšić, who at the beginning reminded that according to Jewish custom, ie according to the law of Moses, every male firstborn was shown and thus dedicated to the Lord. This seemed to be a special rite in the Temple in Jerusalem, which was performed on the fortieth day after birth.

“Today is exactly 40 days since Christmas, so today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also called the Candlemas”, said Archbishop Tomo and reminded that in the Gospel that shows Jesus’ presentation, a very important figure is also elder man Simon, described by evangelist Luke as a righteous and God-fearing man, that expected the Consolation of Israel, that is, the fulfilment of the hope that the Saviour would come and that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.

“Simon is a prophetic point that connects and unites God’s promise that the Saviour will come and fulfil that promise. For at that moment he expressed his confession of faith in the new event of salvation in the old words of the prophet Isaiah: For my eyes have seen your salvation (Isaiah 40: 5); Which thou hast prepared before the face of all nations (cf. Is 52:10); Light to the enlightenment of the people (cf. Is 42: 6); The glory of his people of Israel (cf. Is 46:13)”, the archbishop explained.

Responsibility for our house

Also, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna noted that today, for the 26^th time, the Catholic Church celebrates the World Day of Consecrated Life, with which the Church wants to emphasize the importance of the priestly, monastic and religious people and joy for their existence and contribution.

“In our presentations as Christian believers, each of which, both episcopal and priestly, and that of the lay faithful of Christ, both married, family, and social, and especially monastic and religious, always stems from a personal encounter with Christ”, said Archbishop Vukšić.

Prayer for the renewal of religious vows

After the prayer of the faithful in silence, the nuns and theologians brought gifts: candles, communions and wine. After the communion prayer, the monks and nuns present prayed the prayer for the renewal of their religious vows. Liturgical singing was animated by the choir Fra Nenad Dujić under the direction of OFM Emanuel Josić.

Holy Mass on the eve of the Day of Consecrated Life

The President of the Conference of Senior Religious Leaders, OFM Jozo Marinčić, led the Holy Mass on the eve of the Day of Consecrated Life. In addition to priests and nuns from various societies and theologians and candidates, cardinal Vinko was also present.

As an introduction to the Eucharistic celebration, adoration before the Blessed Sacrament was organized, led by the Master at the Franciscan Theological Seminary in Sarajevo, OFM Danijel Nikolić, and the appropriate reflections were read by the Franciscan School Sisters of the Bosnian-Croatian Province. Liturgical singing was animated by Franciscan theologians with the organ accompaniment of Master OFM Emanuel Josić.