On Sunday, September 25th, in the parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Bihać, the 56th World Day of Social Communication was marked at the level of the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Holy Mass was led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić, president of the Council for Social Media of the BK BiH, with the concelebration of the auxiliary bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren, general secretary of the BK BiH and editor-in-chief of the Catholic Press Agency, Msgr. Ivo Tomašević, guardian of the Petrićevac Franciscan monastery OFM Domagoj Šimić, editor-in-chief of Naša ognjišta OFM Gabriel Mioč, local parish priest OFM Ivan Tučić, parish vicar OFM Ivan Lovrić, parish priest of Zavalje and director of the Ivan Pavao II Catholic School Centre in Bihać rev. Marko Crnjek and the archbishop’s secretary, rev. Dino Mustafi.
At the beginning of the Holy Mass, parish priest OFM Ivan greeted the priests and believers present, among them especially representatives of the media: KTA, journalists from Katolički tjednik, Naša ognjišta, representatives of the Croatian Catholic Society of Journalists and employees of Radio Maria BiH.
Listening is the first factor of dialogue
In the appropriate homily, Msgr. Vukšić first reminded of the celebration of this day at the level of the entire Catholic Church in the world, and then referred to the Pope’s message this year and its theme: Listening with the ear of the heart. “Everything should start from listening, i.e. from the desire to be in a friendly relationship with others because we are social beings and were not created to live alone and isolated. A person tends to avoid the relationship, to ‘shut his ears’ so that he does not have to listen, to turn his back on the other and not to see his needs. This refusal to listen and love often turns into aggression towards the other in the end (…) In many conversations, people do not communicate at all, but simply wait for the other to finish speaking in order to impose their point of view. In these situations, the dialogue becomes a duologue, that is, a two-voice monologue”, said Msgr. Vukšić, adding that listening is the first factor of good communication and that there is no good journalism without listening.
The service we owe to others
He continued, looking back at the message of the Holy Father, about how, not only in the Church, but also in society in general, there is a strong need to listen. Just as the Pope says, he emphasized listening as the most precious and fruitful gift we can give to each other. “Listening is the first service we owe to other people. And whoever does not know how to listen to his brother and sister, very soon will not be able to listen to God either. That’s why: ‘We need to listen with God’s ear if we want to be able to speak his Word’ (D. Bonhöffer). Experienced soul carers know how important the ‘apostolate of the ear’ is in pastoral work with people. One should know how to listen before speaking, as the apostle James warns: ‘Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak’ (James 1:19). In this sense, setting aside some of your own time to listen to people is the first act of love”, said the Archbishop of Vrhbosna.
He concluded the sermon with the thought that the Church needs multiple voices, in such a way that each voice responsibly listens to other voices. He also invoked the intercession of St. Francis De Sales, the patron saint of journalists, and recommended to God’s blessing all workers in the means of social communication.
At the end of the Holy Mass celebration, the parish priest OFM Ivan, presented Msgr. Vukšić with an appropriate gift: an artistic painting.
The liturgical celebration was animated with singing by the parish choir accompanied by sister Blanka Šturum, and it was possible to follow it live via radio waves and the YouTube channel of Radio Maria BiH.
After the pastoral blessing of the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, a joint photo session followed, and the celebration, with refreshments, continued in the church yard.
Let’s mention that at the level of the BK BiH, Media Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in September, when a Holy Mass is held on that occasion, every year in a different arch/diocese, in order to highlight the importance of all parts of BiH where Catholic-Croats live.
KT
Bihać – September 26, 2022
