On the date when the Vrhbosna Archdiocese also marks the Day of the Pontifical Missionary Work of St. Peter, concelebrants were the Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, the Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, Monsignor Slađan Ćosić, canons, deans and other clergy.

In addition to them, the Holy Mass was attended by the faithful, nuns, seminarians and members of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the liturgical singing was animated by the Cathedral Choir Josip Stadler, under the direction of rev. Marko Stanušić.

Becoming the Oil of Joy

At the beginning, the attendees were greeted by Msgr. Vukšić and explained that during the ceremony of the consecration of the oil, the oil for the anointment of the sick and the oil of holy chrism are blessed, "with which the Church, through the work of the priests, will invoke health for the sick, and for the confirmed, strength in faith, for the newly ordained, strength in the service of Christ, the consecration of the altar, and for the strengthening of the kingdom of God on earth." He then asked the Lord that "through our conversion, we too may become the oil of joy, as the prophet Isaiah calls the work of the servants of God. "Let each of us in our place, work, and in our calling and mission bring the joy of the Gospel and bear witness to it with our lives", said Archbishop Vukšić.

Oil as a Sign

In his homily entitled The Spirit of the Lord anointed me and sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, Archbishop Vukšić first noted that the Holy Mass of the Consecration of Oil is usually celebrated in the morning hours on Holy Thursday, but for pastoral reasons of distance and priestly obligations during Holy Week, it is possible to celebrate it a few days earlier.

He then noted that oil, as a sign that heals wounds, strengthens weakness, indicates beauty and dignity, strengthens the spirit and body, and supports it in its ability to act, is "the central theme of the celebration and a message to us priests."

Continuing his sermon, he emphasized that according to the Dictionary of Biblical Theology, oil is a gift of God and, along with grain and wine, is among the main foods with which God blesses and nourishes his people (Deuteronomy 11:14).

"Oil is also an ointment that gives the body a pleasant fragrance (Est 2:12), strengthens its limbs (cf. Eze 16:9), soothes the pain of its wounds (Is 1:6). It is also the substance that is put in lamps. It shines before the Lord because God himself issued an irrevocable command to Aaron and his sons for the generations of Israel to bring in his Tabernacle 'pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that the light may burn continually (…). They shall put it in the Tent of Meeting outside the curtain that covers the Testimony, to burn before the Lord from evening to morning' (Is 27:20-21)", said the archbishop, noting that oil in the Holy Scriptures has great and symbolic meaning because it is a sign of God's blessing and the green olive as a symbol indicates the righteous one whom God has blessed and who trusts in God's goodness (…) The Old Testament priests, and especially the high priest, were anointed. The prophets too. And Jesus is the anointed of God. In fact, at the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus applies to himself the well-known words of the prophet Isaiah about anointing as his prophetic dignity and the mission that results from it”, added the archbishop and spoke about the Holy Mass readings when the prophet Isaiah wrote, and Jesus, in a passage from the Gospel of Luke in his inaugural sermon in Nazareth, applied the words of Isaiah to himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me! He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed at liberty, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s grace” (Luke 4:18-19).

He emphasized how in the language and symbolism of today’s liturgical event, oil signifies consecration and mission. "Consecration in the sense of personal dedication to a specific service, and the mission, which is what we are talking about today, is the actual performance of the service for which we have been chosen and agreed to. The oil marks the one who is anointed not only by covering the anointed surface, but especially by penetrating through the pores of the skin of the anointed and literally mixing with him, entering inside, imprinting itself on him", stated Msgr. Vukšić and in this sense noted that this permanent marking by God applies to every Christian who has received the sacrament of baptism and confirmation, and for priests and bishops this mark is also present after receiving the sacrament of holy orders.

In the last part of his homily, he recalled the Holy Mass of the Consecration of the Oil in 2024, when Pope Francis warned that priests in contemporary circumstances are also tempted to be very active and at the same time feel powerless, and therefore lose enthusiasm and “put the oars in the boat”, and “close themselves in lamentation over the situation and over others, thus allowing the greatness of the problem to prevail over the greatness of God”.

"We are called to pour out the oil of God's consolation on all who are grieving or are lonely in contemporary society, especially where there is a lack of real mutual solidarity and fraternal closeness. Namely, we live in a time in which violence, insecurity, economic poverty, social injustice, insecurity, the impermanence of human choices, the temporary nature of conjugal love, the media's vicious circle, instant happiness and unrealistic desires, often prevail. In these circumstances, the entire Church and especially priests are called to pour out the 'oil' of solidarity, fraternal relationships, compassion, mercy, friendship, active love, gentleness and goodness and to permeate people and society with it", said the archbishop, recalling at the end that priests are sent to bring to everyone the spiritual oil of Christ's hope and his joy.

Renewal of Promises

This was followed by the rite of renewal of the priestly promises that the priests accepted at their ordination. Next, before the Lord's Prayer, the oil for the anointing of the sick was blessed. After the prayer of communion, Archbishop Tomo proceeded to consecrate the chrism oil, which is used in baptism, confirmation, ordination of priests and bishops, and in the consecration of churches and altars.

After the Holy Mass, the oil was distributed to the priests present.

Let us repeat that the Holy Mass celebration of the consecration of the oil and the celebration of priestly communion, instead of on Holy Thursday, is regularly celebrated in the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna on Holy Wednesday so that priests from the entire archdiocese can participate in as many numbers as possible.

The Work of Saint Peter the Apostle was founded to address one of the most urgent needs in the spread of evangelization: the education and formation of local clergy by establishing and maintaining seminaries in mission countries, and in this sense to encourage and make Christians even more sensitive to the needs of local clergy in missions.