The Archbishop of Vrhbosna Cardinal Vinko Puljić led the solemn Christmas mass in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo yesterday.
The main part of the mass was the Eucharistic service, when the presents were brought to the altar – bread and wine, which symbolize the body and the blood of Jesus.
Cardinal Puljić told the attendees and other believers that there is no Christmas without Jesus and that by celebrating his birth they must know that “he came for our salvation and he came to us”.
“That is Christmas – the birth of Jesus,” said Puljić.
“It is not enough to talk about peace, peace must be built. People who are caught up in hatred and selfishness cannot be the builders of peace. The one who feels peace in his heart is the builder of peace. A man filled with hatred cannot feel joy, because he is poisoned inside,” said Cardinal Puljić.
A lovely custom is that people reconcile before Christmas, with others and with themselves, the Cardinal says, adding: “We want to tell Jesus today – welcome to us and around us. You, Jesus, have place because we accept your message, your sign, your proclamation. Because the birth of Jesus is the true source of joy, and it is even better that he gathered us, showed us that he does not reject us, that he loves us and accepts us. But we also must show that we are worthy of the child of God”.
Puljić emphasized that religion should not be interpreted by attacking others and that hearts poisoned with hatred must be purified.
“Before God we are all humans who carry their sins. We want to advocate for true values and live the sent love in any place we live. I want to you truly feel loved by God. May each one of you be the blessing for the society, as a messenger of peace,” said Cardinal Puljić to the believers.
(Source: klix.ba)
