The ceremony began with a procession around the cathedral, and the Holy Mass was led by the bishop of Srijem, Msgr. Fabijan Svalina together with the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan, Msgr. Peter Palić and the auxiliary bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren. About 30 priests concelebrated, including the provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, the secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Javier Camañes-Forés and the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić.

The anniversary of the consecration of the SMI sisters

In addition to believers and pilgrims, the Cathedral was filled by the Servants of the Little Jesus (SMI), led by the Superior of the Society, sister Marija Banić, who celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the Society's dedication to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Before the start of the Holy Mass, Msgr. Vukšić dedicated that "today the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna celebrates the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to which it is dedicated, with its bishops, priests, monks and nuns and all other believers of Christ". "That's why bishops from Mostar and Banja Luka and Srijem came to visit us. Bishop Svalina's parents were born on the Kupres plateau in the Vrhbosna archdiocese, so dear Fabijan, your presence makes us even more happy. On the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1974, the SMI congregation in this cathedral, in which the earthly remains of their founder, Archbishop Josip Stadler, await the resurrection, consecrated to the Heart of Jesus, and today they will ceremoniously renew the dedication by saying the same words that echoed through this hall half a century ago", said Archbishop Vukšić, greeting those present.

Triple celebration

At the beginning of the Eucharist, Msgr. Svalina pointed out "how nice it is to be in the cathedral when a special day is being celebrated, both for the Cathedral and for the entire Archdiocese and the SMI Society". "This celebration takes us back to the sources in the hall of the Last Supper when Jesus, before celebrating the farewell dinner, made a gesture of love to his disciples through service, by washing their feet. Then followed the greatest love, which is that he left his presence in gifts bread and wine. By starting the Holy Mass celebration, we want to cheer up our heart, prepare it so that the joy of Easter dwells in us, and through this testimony, we also give witness by living the way we received it in the sacrament of baptism, and confirmed it in confirmation and in other sacraments." , said Msgr. Svalina, pointing out that the obstacle to a true Christian life is being closed and selfish and not being open to the Heart of Jesus, which radiates love.

In the appropriate homily, the bishop of Srijem continued this thought by preaching about the concept of the heart, which is "such a simple, ordinary word, and yet difficult to define, because it is rich in both meaning and significance".

"The heart is not first of all a muscle, it is a 'sign': just as the physical heart rules life, the blood flow in the organism, the cessation of its work heralds death, so the 'moral heart' in man is the centre of his spiritual life: it expresses the interior of the rational and of a free being, it best expresses his essence. Blessed is the man who has a 'heart', who is 'good-hearted'. And for intimate friendship, it is said 'heart to heart'", said Bishop Fabijan, noting that "the heart expresses both feelings and passions that come out of our inner being, but also the will which is controlled by reason: the heart, therefore, governs feelings, rules passions, sovereignly decides with freedom".

He underlined that "in the vocabulary of spiritual writers, the heart is the 'centre (end point) of the soul', and in God it is his very essence, that is, love." "It is the heart of the Father, which cries out painfully because of the rebellion of his children, as the prophet Isaiah says. It is the heart of the mother: even if the mother phisicaly abandons her infant, he does not abandon his children. God is a heart and he loves: he is loved the world so much that he sent his only born Son (...) and the man-God loved us and loves us until he was humiliated, until he let his physical heart be pierced by a soldier. The physical heart became a sign of salvation for people. Yes, it is indeed an expressive sign of God's eternal love for us, his incarnate, painful and suffering love", he said and reminded that in order to save themselves from snake bites in the desert, the Israelites had to look at the brass snake, that Moses had done.

"To save ourselves from the bite of the infernal snake in the desert of human life, we too must observe the pierced Heart on the cross. Let us fix our gaze and believe in Love! That is the message of today's Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And our prayer merges with the cry of Saint King David: "Create a pure heart for me, God! (...) Only he who imitates the incomparable Heart, the heart of Jesus, is valid before God", noted Msgr. Svalina pointing out that "Jesus did not proclaim any general or theoretical proclamation: he guaranteed the value of his own gospel and the possibility of its realization with his entire life".

The core of the Feast of the Sacred Heart

He explained that the gospel brings the whole spectrum of life situations that testify to the truth of Jesus' word and at the same time are a permanent example for today's man, and then exhaustively listed only some points of consideration in order to be able to see the signs of the love of Jesus Christ.

"That is why the liturgical celebration of the Heart of Jesus can become an opportunity to reflect on the truth of the history of salvation: God is love, and Christ revealed it to us. God took care of his people, like a caring shepherd for his flock. Christ, as a man, extends the same love, moreover, as a good shepherd, he gives his life for his flock", said the bishop, and at the end he expressed the specific message of the feast in the words of Jesus from the Gospel: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart (Mt 11:29). To learn from him means to 'go to him' and continue his lifestyle and accept his beliefs: to personally testify that God is love, as Christ testified."

After the communion prayer, the Sisters Servants of the Little Jesus who were present, as they did 50 years ago, with deep faith, gratitude and humility, again said the prayer of consecration to the Heart of Jesus, asking for mercy, strength, and perseverance in their mission.

Historical similarity between dioceses

At the end, Msgr. Svalina thanked for having the opportunity to witness the unity of one Church and, so to speak, one nation, since he comes from a diocese located in the Republic of Serbia. He spoke about the similarities between the diocese he leads with the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna and the Banja Luka Diocese and part of Mostar-Duvno. He spoke about the terrible persecution of the Catholic Church in 1945 and 1995, which left parts of the Srijem diocese almost deserted. He congratulated the Servants of the Little Jesus and asked them to include the diocese he leads in their prayers.

The Eucharist was animated by the singing of the cathedral mixed choir Josip Stadler under the direction of Rev. Marko Stanušić.

After the Holy Mass, the sisters gathered for a family gathering at the Egipat monastery on Bjelave in Sarajevo, whose 125^th anniversary of its foundation is being celebrated with heartfelt gratitude in 2024.

By the way, on the same day, the Red Bull Showrun was held in Sarajevo, which included driving a Formula 1 car in the centre of the city. In addition, an all-day entertainment program was organized, and the main road was closed and public transport was not working, which probably prevented the faithful from turning out more en masse for this triple celebration.