On the date when the Vrhbosna Archdiocese also marks the Day of the Pontifical Missionary Work of St. Peter, the concelebrants were: the Archbishop of Vrhbosna emeritus cardinal Vinko Puljić, the Military Ordinary in Bosnia and Herzegovina Msgr. Miro Relota, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, the Vicar General of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese Msgr. 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.

Fraternal Unity

In a homily entitled Consecrated with the Oil of Joy to Proclaim the Good News, the Archbishop explained the true meaning of the Eucharistic celebration known as the Mass of Consecration of Oil, which gathers the presbytery of each diocese, or representatives of its presbytery, in cathedrals around the world once a year.

"We are gathered as priests of Christ the Lord for the Eucharistic celebration known as the Mass of the Consecration of Oil. This Holy Mass celebration gathers the presbytery of each diocese, or representatives of its presbytery, in the cathedral once a year throughout the world. During this Holy Mass celebration, the gathered priests, together with their bishop, also participate in the rite of blessing the sick and consecrating the oil of Chrism, and renew their priestly promises. At the same time, the presence of a large number of priests and the fact that they come from various regions and from different ministries in the diocese shows the fraternal communion among the priests and their communion with the bishop. Thus, the importance of this Eucharistic celebration is very great both in terms of its liturgical content, which takes place in the cathedral, and in terms of the significant message it sends to the public", explained the preacher, announcing that immediately after the sermon, introducing today's rite of renewal of priestly promises, which is one of the three key elements of this liturgical event, the bishop who presides over the Eucharist begins a conversation with the gathered priests with the words: "We celebrate the anniversary of the memorial day when Christ distributed his priesthood to the apostles and to us.

Love for people

"But for this reason, it may seem strange that not a single biblical reading, which is foreseen to be proclaimed in this Eucharistic celebration, directly refers to the priestly vocation and the priestly apostolic mission. Therefore, it is entirely justified to ask ourselves what the Providence of God wants to convey to the priests, to us gathered today in the Sarajevo Cathedral, as well as to everyone else in other parts of the world", he said, explaining that the answer to the dilemma posed should be sought in the way the questions we will answer are formulated and the emphases that should be recognized in them.

"First, we will be asked whether we will renew our promises before the holy people of God. Then, we will be asked whether we will confirm the promises of sacred service that, on the day of receiving holy orders, we joyfully gave to the Church of Christ. And finally, we will answer the question of whether we will carry out our ministry guided only by zeal for the souls of the brothers and sisters entrusted to our spiritual care. From the discussions set out in the liturgical rite in this way, it follows that the priestly order and ministry find their interpretations and are realized in the right way only when they are fully carried out before the holy people of God, when they are a joyful gift to the Church of Christ and when they are guided only by love for the people to whom Christ sends his priests. In the foreground, therefore, are the fundamental values called the people of God, the community of the Church of Christ and zeal for God's creatures. They are the purpose and meaning of the priesthood. In their service are the priests who, as is also read in the same text, are called to do this by renouncing themselves and faithfully and without desire for gain", he encouraged.

Evangelized Evangelizers

Furthermore, explaining that when consecrated oil is used in the celebration of the sacrament, which is always a way of the Lord's blessing and his presence, the Archbishop explained that it is a sign of God's choice and mercy. "Therefore, our anointing as priests, in which God has endowed us with his election, carries with it the obligation to bring God's mercy to people. Our mission is to give people the oil of joy instead of the garments of mourning and to sing with them a song of thanksgiving instead of the spirit of despair. And only such priests will rightly be called priests of the Lord and ministers of our God. The priest is anointed with the oil of joy in order to bring the joy of the Gospel to the world. He is called to be an evangelized evangelizer. That is, himself imbued with the joy of the Gospel, the priest is sent to radiate that same joy. In this way, the priest is a missionary of Christian joy", he said, adding that the primordial joy and the satisfaction that radiates from it are the spiritual nourishment of man and all his hopes in life.

"They are also a missionary testimony to the world. Therefore, it is always necessary for the one who carries out the mission of a missionary of the Good News, a messenger and witness of God's peace and a builder of reconciliation among people, to be joyful himself. This is especially important in times like ours, when sowers of anxiety and fear multiply on various sides, when violence against human life and dignity increases, when wars flare up and the war drums of new conflicts sound ominously, when distrust and discord spread, when the number of lonely and forgotten people grows, when the multiplication of pleasures does not bring true joy", he said, reminding us that we live in a time when primordial joy is increasingly becoming a great unknown, even in the state of social peace in developed countries. He recalled the words of Saint Pope Paul VI. who said that technological society succeeds in multiplying occasions for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in enabling lasting joy in the depths of human souls, and noted that especially in our time it is becoming obvious that such joy is becoming increasingly rare in people's lives, especially in highly developed societies.

"Simons of Cyrene"

"Joy, however, can also become endangered in the life of every Christian believer and the entire church community, and not even the servants of the Lord are protected from this danger. You see, situations are not rare when lamentation prevails over enthusiasm, worry over gratitude, simple calculation over Christian hope, gossip over enthusiasm", the archbishop warned, and told the priests that in their mission they are called to be servants of joy and help people carry the burdens of life in order to find meaning on their paths.

"We, anointed with the oil of joy, should sing a song of thanksgiving with them and for them. This is the role of missionaries of joy, modern-day "Simons of Cyrene" on the cross roads of people, which is the mission of every servant of God", the preacher encouraged.

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.

It should be noted 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 Society of Saint Peter the Apostle was founded in order to take up for 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, it encouraged Christians and made them even more sensitive to the needs of local clergy in missions.