Concelebrating with Archbishop Vukšić were: Archbishop of Vrhbosna in peace cardinal Vinko Puljić, apostolic nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Francis Assisi Chullikatt, Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Msgr. Dr. Slađan Ćosić, rector of the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary, rev. Dr. Zdenko Spajić and about 10 other priests.

At the beginning of the Holy Mass, greeting the gathered and those who followed the Holy Mass through the media, the archbishop of Vrhbosna congratulated the greatest Christian holiday. "While we remember with gratitude that great event from the life of Jesus and our history of salvation, we ask the dear God to forgive us all our weaknesses in his mercy so that the spiritual resurrection of our conscience, life, thinking and all people can take place", said at the beginning, Msgr. Vukšić.

Faith in one's own resurection

In the opening part of the homily, entitled "Let the heavenly host of angels call out now, let the earth rejoice", Archbishop Tomo recalled the words of the ancient church poet, which were read at the beginning of the Easter vigil ceremony as the opening words of the joyful Hymn to the Easter candle, which symbolically lit up in the dark the night before Easter: "Let the heavenly multitude of angels now appear, / let the servants of God exclaim / and because of the victory of this King / let the trumpets of salvation wail."

Recalling that this candle in the liturgy and spiritual life of the Church indicates the resurrected Jesus Christ, the living victor over death, the light of God that dispels the darkness of the world, he emphasized that it will shine at all solemn Holy Masses, as a visible symbol that reminds believers of Jesus and his victory over darkness of the grave and over the threat that death is the end of everything. "In addition, it indicates Christ, the leader of all people who are called to come out of the darkness of sin, from spiritual death, from the grave of evil and with God's blessing in goodness to follow him on the way to eternity. And with the flickering of its flame, this candle constantly reminds and invites man to, during his earthly life, which is his only way of salvation, avoid all the darkness of the evil one and follow the example of Jesus. Because He said of Himself: ‘I am the light of the world; whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have light of life’ (Jn 8:12)", he said and recalled the rest of the same eulogy: "Let the earth rejoice, illuminated by such a flash, / and illuminated by the brilliance of the eternal King / let it feel that darkness has disappeared throughout the whole world."

He further spoke about how Christians all over the world announce the truth of Jesus' resurrection and their great joy because of this important truth. "This joy of ours is of a spiritual nature and stems from the memory of Jesus' resurrection, which is the foundation on which it is based. From it, as a source, comes faith in one's own resurrection and one's own eternal life. This is how Easter is, except that it is a holiday commemorating the most important event from Jesus’ life, also God's answer to man's desire and natural aspiration to live forever, and man's faith in the resurrection is an expression of his deep desire and natural aspiration", he said and then underlined that for Christian believers death is only a temporary slumber from which they will rise again revived. "From that sleep of death, from that rest in the sleep of peace - as we say about our dear deceased and write on their tombstones, Jesus was the first to 'wake up', resurrected to a new way of life in eternity", he emphasized and perhaps wondered another name for the Easter holiday would be the most suitable one - life. "The celebration of Easter, on the one hand, is the memory of the event of Jesus' resurrection, and on the other hand, His resurrection nourishes our faith in our resurrection and in our eternal life, together with dear God. In such a way, Easter turns into the meaning of life. This is why we believe that each of our lives, once begun on earth, will not have its own ending, but will continue in a different way after the resurrection (...) Precisely because the resurrection of Jesus is the first and because it happened that after it, when it is God's will, the "awakening from sleep" of many others will follow, Jesus is our hope (cf. Tim 1:1)", he explained and further underlined that Easter is also a holiday of hope, a holiday of life, a holiday of longevity, a holiday of joy, a holiday of pleasure, precisely because of the belief that death does not have the last word.

Explaining that every Christian holiday has a contemporary message for society and the moment in which it is celebrated, including Easter, he emphasized that "as believers, we should notice such signs and read and apply their message."

"First of all, it is good that these days the followers of different religions fast and pray and thus prepare for the holidays of their faith (...) What does dear God want to tell us at this time and in this area by this sign of simultaneous and strong devotions? From these exercises, it is beyond doubt that those who perform them are spiritually close to each other if they perform them in the correct way. This spiritual closeness, which is obvious, should be recognized as a value and, of course, translated into everyday life so that we can also on the social level in everyday communication, be close, solidary, humane and noble, generous, especially with those who are in need", he pointed out and added that on Easter "which is the feast of God's mercy and forgiveness, it is important to emphasize that in the mutual life of people there is a big need for mutual forgiveness".

He further spoke about how it is only possible to live in peace with oneself and mutually build a just peace with others in this way. "And while we observe tragedies and hear threats, we must not conclude that we are completely helpless because, although, unfortunately, we cannot stop them, each person can make his contribution by showing by his good example how it should be. He can be like a lighthouse in the dark on a rough sea. Lighthouses, in fact, do not calm the wildness of the waves, but they are very useful and necessary because with their light they show where the dangers are, which should be avoided, and which is the right path that leads the ships to a safe harbour", he said and compared that image with Easter, which "in addition to being the celebration of the victory of life over death, can rightly be called the holiday of a new beginning, the beginning of a new and better way of life.

Easter is the victory of good

Reflecting on other synonyms for Easter, he pointed out that it is the victory of good, which followed a period of domination of evil, after human malice, numerous lies, manipulations and unjust laws, whose victim was Jesus.

"Well, in accordance with that symbolism, may the announced Europeanization of our country be the beginning of a better way for all people. And may, after this 'dawn star', the sun of justice shine over the entire horizon as soon as possible and all injustices cease. To 'enlighten' all and equally," he said, and towards the end of the sermon he returned to Matthew's Gospel, which recorded Jesus' words addressed to his disciples: "Go into all the world, preach the gospel to all creation."

At the end, he said that "there is not a single part in the world, nor a system, nor a civilization and culture, nor a single language and people, which would not be included in the obligation of Jesus' disciples to preach the gospel to them, the basic content of which is the good news of the resurrection".

The liturgical singing was animated by the Cathedral Mixed Choir Josip Stadler, under the direction of Rev. Marko Stanušić. And the assistance at the altar was conducted by Rev. Ivan Rako.

At the end of the Holy Mass, Archbishop Vukšić shared a blessing with a general absolution.

Easter egg in front of the cathedral

Finally, let's add one interesting thing. ¸The City of Sarajevo, together with Mayor Benjamina Karić, placed an Easter egg in front of the cathedral. The artist Benjamin Čengić and the association Obojena klapa were in charge of this installation, that is, its arrangement. Believers, other citizens of Sarajevo and numerous tourists immediately accepted this "small" work of art and took photos in front of it or took popular selfies.