The Session of the National Council of Papal Missionary Workings (PMD) of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in the Missionary Center on November 20th.
In addition to the national director of PMD BiH, Msgr. Luka Tunjić, all the diocesan directors of PMD BiH participated as well: Msgr. Vlado Lukenda, OFM Stipan Radić, rev. Pero Miličević and rev. Josip Tadić and sister Davorka Šarić, a staff member in the Missionary Center.
After praying and greeting from Msgr. Tunjić, the directors discussed the implementation of the guidelines given by the bishops of the BK BiH in their letter on the occasion of the proclamation of the Missionary Year (beginning of October 2018 – end of October 2019), as a preparation for the Extraordinary Mission Month in October 2019.
Keeping within the guidelines, the principals emphasized the importance of missionary cooperation between all levels of this local Church with our missionaries. Prayer for the missions that bishops have recommended to pray for every Sunday and feast day, as well as rosary prayer and other forms of missionary sacrifice, are key to deepening missionary awareness and strengthening faith.
”Following Church mission documents, our missionaries put prayer in the first place, as the zeal of prayer will also produce concrete acts of love for missions. Bishops have recommended to all institutions and generations that this year they should focus and implore their activities towards missions in the spirit of the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud. In the Spring Dean Coronas, the directors see a special chance that all active priests will get to know PMD, Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, and other mission documents a little bit better. The importance of the media speech on the missions and the creation of promotional mission materials is also emphasized”, told us the National PMD BiH director after the session.
Msgr. Tunjić told them that he was already building missionary prospects, a mission booklet in the form of a comic book about the Work of St. Childhood, mission posters, thumbnails and other items. Furthermore, the directors agreed that the Annual Assembly of the National Council of PMD BiH, according to the rotating key, will be in Sarajevo from March 3rd to 6th, 2019. It will begin with the evening Mass in the Sarajevo Cathedral, led by the Archbishop of Vrhbosna
Vinko cardinal Puljić. Since the annual pastoral-financial statements from all dioceses are the center of the Annual Assembly, the way of preparing reports is agreed, as well as the need for all parishes to hand over their collections to economists by the end of January, so that reports can be completed, handed over to the Mission Headquarters and entered in the foreseen tables.
Although the number of believers is decreasing, the principals have been pleased to note that missions are not diminished and that other missionary actions are also increasing: MIVA, mission boxes, calendars, olive branches … and that there is still room for spreading missionary awareness amongst firstly priests, monks, nuns, seminaries, novices, and all of God’s people, which is the first obligation of the Pontifical Missionary Work, the Missionary Community.
It was agreed that an invitation will be made to General Secretary of the PMD Missionary Community, Father Fabrizio Meroni, to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina next year and to give lectures to the spiritual people who are the first promoters of spiritual awareness in a particular Church.
”Our priests and believers are ready to respond to missionary actions, but church documents remind us of Christ’s constant command and evangelization of the whole world, which is the duty of all baptized people. It is necessary to create a mentality so that the missions become the style of our lives as Pope Francis tells us”, said Msgr. Tunjić who then thanked the principals for their cooperation and wished we all use this time of dedication for the missions that the Holy Spirit gave us.
KT
www.nedjelja.ba
