Vatican City, 6 June 2015 (VIS) – The
Cathedral of Sarajevo, consecrated to the Sacred Heart, was the
location of the Pope's meeting with priests, men and women religious,
and seminarians of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The building, damaged
during the siege of Sarajevo, was subsequently restored and is now
able to hold 250 people. At the entrance there is a statue of St.
John Paul II to commemorate his visit in 1997.
Francis was welcomed by the rector of
the Cathedral and greeted by the cardinal archbishop of Sarajevo,
Vinko Puljic. He paused for a moment to worship the Holy Sacrament
and prayed silently before the tomb of the Servant of God Josip
Stadler, the first archbishop of Sarajevo. A priest, a Franciscan
friar and a nun then spoke about the suffering and persecutions they
had experienced during the war in the Balkans.
The Pope, moved by their words, set
aside the discourse he had prepared – extensive extracts of which
we publish below – and addressed some off-the-cuff comments to
them. “These accounts speak for themselves”, he said. “And this
is the memory of your people! A people that forgets the past has no
future. This is the memory of your fathers and mothers in the faith:
only three people have spoken, but behind them there are many, many
others who suffered the same things”.
“Dear sisters, dear brothers, you do
not have the right to forget your own history. Not for the purpose of
revenge, but rather to make peace. Not to look at these testimonies
as something odd, but through them to love as they have loved. In
your blood, in your vocation, there is the vocation and the blood of
these three martyrs. And it is the blood and the vocation of many
religious women and men, many priests, many seminarians. … Keeping
memory alive so as to make peace. Some words struck my heart. One of
them, repeated, 'forgiveness'. A man, a woman who is consecrated to
the Lord’s service who does not know how to forgive, is not
helpful. To forgive a friend who swore at you, or someone with whom
you have argued, or a sister who is jealous of you, this is not all
that difficult. But to forgive the one who slaps you in the face, who
tortures you, who abuses you, who threatens to shoot you … this is
difficult. And these three have done it, and they teach others to do
it”.
“You are blessed who have such
witnesses so close to you: do not forget them, please. Your life will
grow with this memory. … Finally, I wish to say to you that this
has been a story of cruelty. Even today, in this world war we see
many, many, many acts of cruelty. Do always the opposite of cruelty:
have an attitude of tenderness, of brotherhood, of forgiveness. And
carry the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Church, holy Mother Church,
wants it this way: small, tiny martyrdoms, before these small
martyrs, these small witnesses to the Cross of Jesus”.
The following is the address Pope
Francis had prepared:
“I come to your land as a pilgrim of
peace and dialogue, to strengthen and to encourage my brothers and
sisters in the faith, and in particular you, who are called to work
'full time' in the vineyard of the Lord. He says to us, 'I am with
you always, to the close of the age'. This certainty fills us with
consolation and hope, especially when your ministry experiences
difficulties. I think of the sufferings and trials both past and
present in your Christian communities. Although you have lived
through these circumstances, you did not halt, you endured, and
worked hard to confront personal, social and pastoral challenges with
a tireless spirit of service. May the Lord bless your efforts.
“I can imagine that the Catholic
Church’s being numerically a minority in your country, coupled with
the failures that sometime occur in ministry, may at times make you
feel like Jesus’ disciples when, although having toiled all night
long, they caught no fish. However, it is precisely in these moments,
if we entrust ourselves to the Lord, that we experience the power of
His word, the strength of His Spirit, which renews trust and hope in
us. The fruitfulness of our service depends above all on faith: faith
in Christ’s love, from which, as St. Paul reminds us, and which he
know from experience, nothing can separate us! Fraternity within our
communities also sustains and strengthens us: fraternity among
priests, among men and women religious, among consecrated lay
persons, among seminarians. In fact, fraternity among all of us, whom
the Lord has called to leave everything so as to follow Him, gives us
joy and consolation, and renders our work ever more fruitful. We are
witnesses to fraternity!
“'Take heed to yourselves and to all
the flock'. With these words - recorded in the Acts of the Apostles –
St. Paul reminds us that if we want to help others become holy we
cannot neglect ourselves, that is, neglect our own sanctification.
And vice versa: dedication to God’s faithful people, being close to
them in their lives, especially to the poor and the needy, helps us
be conformed ever more to Christ. Attention to one’s own
sanctification and pastoral charity towards people are two sides of
the same coin and are mutually enriching. They must never be
separated.
“What does it mean, today, in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, for a priest or consecrated person to serve the
Lord’s flock?”, asked the Holy Father. “I think it means to
carry out a pastoral ministry of hope, caring for the sheep that are
in the sheepfold, but also going out in search of those who await the
Good News and who do not know where to find it, or who on their own
cannot find their way to Jesus. It means to meet the people where
they live, including those sheep who are outside the sheepfold, far
away, who may not yet have heard of Jesus Christ. It means taking
care of the formation of Catholics in their faith and in their
Christian lives. Encouraging the lay faithful to be protagonists in
the evangelising mission of the Church. For this reason, I exhort you
to develop Catholic communities open and 'going forth', able to
welcome and to encounter, and to be courageous in their evangelical
witness.
“The priest, the consecrated person,
is called to live the anguish and the hope of the people; to work in
concrete circumstances often characterised by tensions, discord,
suspicions, insecurities and poverty. Faced with these painful
situations, we ask God to grant us hearts that can be moved, capable
of showing empathy; there is no greater witness than to be close to
the spiritual and material needs of the faithful. It is the task of
us bishops, priests and religious to make the people feel the
nearness of God; to feel His comforting and healing hand; to be
familiar with the wounds and tears of our people; to never tire of
opening our hearts and offering a hand to all who ask us for help,
and to all those who, perhaps because they feel ashamed, do not ask
our help, but who are in great need of it. In this regard, I wish to
express my deep appreciation to religious sisters for everything they
do with such generosity, and above all for their faithful and
dedicated presence.
“Dear priests, dear men and women
religious, I encourage you to carry out joyfully your pastoral
ministry whose effectiveness is the fruit of faith and grace, but
also the fruit of a humble life, one detached from worldly concerns.
Please, do not fall into the temptation of becoming a self-absorbed
elite. The generous and transparent witness of priestly and religious
life sets an example and gives encouragement to seminarians and to
all those whom the Lord calls to serve Him. Standing by the side of
young men and women, inviting them to share experiences of service
and prayer, you will help them to discover the love of Christ and to
open themselves up to the call of the Lord. May the People of God see
in you that faithful and generous love which Christ has left to His
disciples as a legacy.
“I wish also to offer a word to you,
dear seminarians. Among the many beautiful examples of priests and
consecrated men in your country, we remember in particular the
Servant of God Petar Barbaric. His example unites Herzegovina, where
he was born, to Bosnia, where he made his religious profession, as he
also unites all priests, diocesan or religious. May this young
candidate for the priesthood, whose life was so full of virtue, be a
powerful example to each one of you.
The Virgin Mary is always near us, as a
caring mother. She is the first disciple of the Lord, the first
example of a life dedicated to him and to his brothers. When we find
ourselves in difficulty, or when faced with a situation that makes us
feel the depth of our powerlessness, let us turn to her with
childlike trust. Then she always says to us – as at the wedding at
Cana – 'Do whatever he tells you'. She teaches us to listen to
Jesus and to follow His word, but to do so with faith! This is her
secret, which as a mother, she wishes to transmit to us: faith, a
genuine faith, enough so that even a grain of it can move mountains!
“By abandoning ourselves in trust, we
can serve the Lord with joy, sowing hope everywhere. I assure you of
remembrance in my prayers and I bless each of you and your
communities. I ask you please, do not forget to pray for me”,
concluded Francis, before imparting his final blessing.
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