On Wednesday, June 1st, in the Franciscan monastery of St. Peter and Paul in Livno, the Fifth Meeting of Priests was organized, which gathered almost 200 priests from all over BiH, but also those who are originally from here.
The program began at 10:00 with a greeting from the local guardian, OFM Pero Kuliš, who briefly reminded of the details of the construction of this monastery building in Gorica.
Path…
The meeting continued with the prayer of the Third Hour, led by the Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica, who also sent greetings, expressed joy and gratitude for another such meeting, and explained its importance, as well as the essence of the priesthood itself. He then explained the contents of the just prayed Third Hour.
After that, a lecture on Living the Priesthood without God – The Road to an Unhappy and Failed Life was given by a doctor, psychologist, head of the Counselling Centre of the Archdiocese of Rijeka and rector of the Central Theological Seminary in Split, rev. Đuliano Trdić. “Sometimes there is too little discernment and too little of the Spirit of God in our plans, so Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation on the Holiness of Gaudete et exsultate says that ‘The gift of discernment has become more and more necessary today’ (No. 167).
The spirit of the world we live in is extremely cold to God and Godly. Indifference to God is also transferred to indifference to one’s neighbour. A utilitarian priest, a calculating priest asks, ‘Why will I love you, why will I serve you if I have no use for it?’ If I do not have the experience that God incarnated to be my servant, that God washed my feet, I quickly become a master from a servant. The spirit of indifference becomes my condition, and the bureaucratic coldness the way I exercise my priesthood. Emotionally distant, superior, heartless and cold.
The sacrament we celebrate requires my commitment to the core of existence, a commitment that requires continuous conversion. Permanent dissatisfaction with myself, holy restlessness that tells me, ‘I have to change my life’. Commitment and continuous decision for God, continuous decision ‘I want to serve’”, explained, among other things, rev. Đuliano.
This was followed by preparations for Holy Confession led by OFM Stipo Kljajić, Professor of Franciscan Theology in Sarajevo. He based the encouragement for the examination of conscience on a Gospel passage read that day at the Holy Mass (Matt. 25: 14-30), which speaks of servants and their talents.
After that, the priests had the opportunity to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
According to statistics from June 1st 2022, a total of 553 diocesan and religious priests currently live and work in four archdioceses in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Vrhbosna, Banja Luka, Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje-Mrkan).
The total number of priests belonging to the BK BiH is as follows:
Vrhbosna Archdiocese: total – 215, lives in the diocese / province – 141;
Diocese of Banja Luka – 29/20
Diocese of Mostar and Duvno – 65/51
Diocese of Trebinje and Mrkan – 28/23
Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena – 256/201
Herzegovina Franciscan Province – 171/105
Total – 764/541.
In addition to the above, there are also Carmelites (3), Salesians (4), Jesuits (3) and Dominicans (2) in BiH.
The Greek Catholic Vicariate of the Diocese of Križevci has 10 parishes and 6 priests in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As we mentioned, the total number of priests living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 1st, 2022 is 553 diocesan and monks and 6 Greek Catholic priests (and 15 deacons), which ads to 33 less than at the beginning of June 2019.
The joint Eucharistic celebration of almost 200 priests
At noon, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan Msgr. Tomo Vukšić – together with all the bishops of the BK BiH, as well as the Archbishop of Vrhbosna in peace cardinal Vinko Puljić, charge d’affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in BiH, Msgr. Amaury Medina Blanco, apostolic visitor with a special role for the parish of Međugorje, Msgr. Aldo Cavalli, Bishop of Križevci, Msgr. Milan Stipić, the newly elected Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, and about 200 other priests present – led the Eucharistic celebration, which began with a solemn procession.
At the beginning, the Archbishop greeted the gathered, noting that during this Holy Mass is especially prayed for all of them – priests from the territory of BK BiH, for those who died since the last meeting three years ago (71 of them), and for new spiritual vocations.
He then blessed the water and, passing through the fully filled Livno church, sprinkled the gathered in memory of the baptism.
The priest must not long for earthly honours
After the proclamation of the Gospel, the Auxiliary Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren, OFM, delivered a special sermon at the beginning, first thanking “the merciful God for this gracious event” and asking for “His blessing so that we can grow spiritually”.
“In many of its pages, the Gospel of John tells us about love, about friendly love (…) That friendly love is completely unconditional, completely selfless and completely boundless. The greatest love is to lay down your life for your friend. Jesus’ death on the cross is the culmination of Jesus’ love, the culmination of his friendship with his Father and his friendship with men. The truth is said in Hebrew ‘emet’ (…) A person is true when he is a reliable, steadfast and faithful friend (…) All great devout Christians throughout history have called Jesus a Friend”, reminded Bishop Marko, citing examples of Tom Kempenz, Theresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola, Hugo and Karl Rahner …
He further explained that the culmination of Jesus’ love, according to John’s Gospel, is the crucifixion. “That love of Jesus comes from his freedom. John makes great contrasts to express this, so he connects what is incompatible with our mind. This world, according to John, considers Jesus’ death on the cross to be the greatest powerlessness, and John considers this very death on the cross to be the greatest power (…) Giving one’s own life for one’s friend, which seems to those in love with power as ultimate impotence, which for us Christians is more powerful than any power of this world. This is what Pope Francis teaches us, answering three questions about priests. He answers the first question as saying that a priest should be ready for the flames of a burning bush to burn his career ambitions and longing for power, as well as his desire to please the powerful. To the second question the Pope answers that the priest must not long for earthly honours, nor be attached to those who are greatest, but to those who are lowest. The Holy Father responds to the third question by claiming that the priest is here for the Kingdom of God, in other words, the priest is here to imitate Jesus Christ who gave his life for his friends”, said Msgr. Semren.
The homily was followed by the renewal of the priestly vows of the assembled priests.
The celebration of the Holy Mass, as well as the prayer of the Third Hour, were animated by the theologians of Franciscan Theology under the direction of OFM Emanuel Josić.
After the Holy Mass, before which the solemn blessing was shared by all the bishops present, a joint photo shoot of the present missionaries was organized in front of the parish church, and the fellowship continued with a joint lunch at the Pavić restaurant.
Let us remind you that the meeting was held in accordance with the previous decision of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina to organize such a gathering of all priests in BiH every three years, which is designed by the Council for Clergy of the BK BiH.
KT
Livno – June 1, 2022
