On Sunday, June 18th, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was celebrated with a solemn Eucharistic celebration in the Sarajevo Cathedral, under whose protection the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, as well as the cathedral itself, was placed.
The Eucharistic celebration in the cathedral was led by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Zagreb and the president of the HBK, Msgr. Dražen Kutleša, together with the archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan and president of the BK BiH, Msgr. Tomo Vukšić. Concelebrating with them were: the apostolic nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Msgr. Francis Assisi Chullikatt, Bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Franjo Komarica, bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan, Msgr. Petar Palić, auxiliary bishop of Banja Luka, Msgr. Marko Semren and about 20 priests, including the provincial of the Franciscan province of Bosna Srebrena, OFM Zdravko Dadić, and the vicar general of the Vrhbosna archdiocese, Msgr. Slađan Ćosić.
At the beginning of the Holy Mass, Archbishop Vukšić greeted those present and thanked Archbishop Kutleša in a special way for his arrival, saying that he was looking forward to his recent appointment and the trust the Church had placed in him.
Thanking for the welcome and invitation of Msgr. Vukšić, the Archbishop of Zagreb particularly emphasized his joy at being in the city where he spent five years at the Vrhbosna Theological Seminary.
Old but always fresh piety
After the biblical readings and the proclaimed gospel, Msgr. Kutleša delivered an appropriate sermon in which he recalled at the beginning how the first Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Josip Stadler, proclaimed the Feast of the Heart of Jesus on January 15th, 1882 as the main guardian and patron of the newly founded archdiocese.
“We can say that veneration of the Heart of Jesus is an old devotion, but it is always so refreshing and new in the human heart. All the other mysteries of our faith are like that – the old beauty that is woven into the foundation of our personal lives, but also into the concrete memory of the people. We can build the future without faith, without our identity, without caring about this old beauty, but soon we will run out of enthusiasm and freshness”, warned Msgr. Kutleša, explaining that man without God becomes destructive. Personal, family and social life from which God has been pushed out very quickly becomes a house on the sand, of which Jesus says: “It was a great ruin.”
Answering the question why this is so, he explained that man wants to build, is creative and possesses great creative potential, and reminded of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’, in which it is said that man has never had such power over himself.
Big head, small heart
At the same time, the Archbishop of Zagreb explained that there is no guarantee that he will use this power well and, as the Holy Father said, the enormous technological progress has not kept pace with the development of responsibility, values and conscience.
“In simple words: We have a big head, but a stunted and small heart. Our heart is underdeveloped! How many times have we heard the cry: ‘Have a heart!’ Or: ‘They are heartless, they are heartless!’ So, we have everything, but we don’t have a heart – we have everything, but where is our soul?”, asked Archbishop Dražen, emphasizing that devotion and the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which Christians celebrate today, are more relevant than ever because the open heart of Christ teaches us three fundamental things: “That we are beloved children of God, that we love God who is our Father, and that God loves every person.”
The Eucharist was animated by the singing of the cathedral mixed choir Josip Stadler under the direction of Rev. Marko Stanušić.
KT
