Puljić and Vukšić's Christmas Greeting: Be Good and Forgive Each Other

(Patria) - On the occasion of the Christmas holiday, the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Metropolitan Vinko Cardinal Puljić, and Auxiliary Bishop Mons. Tomo Vukšić sent their message to priests, monks, nuns, and believers, titled: "With the Birth of Jesus Christ, God-Man Entered Our History." We present it in its entirety:

"This local Church of Vrhbosna felt the need to awaken the spirit of community and common journey of faith. It felt the need to renew everything in Christ. That is why we held and celebrated our first synod. Now we are approaching Christmas, when God stepped onto our life path, becoming incarnate and being born as a child. Thus began His journey with us and for us. We rejoice in this manifested and gifted love of God. But in this, we recognize the call for us to align our personal and common journey with Him. That is why we chose the motto of our synod: 'Renew everything in Christ.' To align our journey with Jesus, we must realize ourselves in smallness, because He became small to be close to us. And He called us to learn from Him, who is meek and humble of heart. There is no renewal in Christ where pride, arrogance, and selfishness reign. To truly celebrate and experience Christmas, we must accept our human limitations, sinfulness, and our dependence on God's love.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, in order to conceive Him by the Holy Spirit, exclaims when she looks at the insignificance of her servant. She teaches us to be aware of our insignificance and true dependence on God. Although in every Our Father we pray: 'Your will be done!', this surrender to God's will has not matured in us. Because of this lack of surrender, fear and disorientation reign in human hearts. To truly experience Christmas, we must follow the path of Mary and the humble Saint Joseph and be available and co-responsible for God's work. And thus, Christmas teaches us synodality, how to walk together and towards each other, God towards us in the little Jesus, and we towards Jesus whose birth we celebrate.

Once, as Jesus approached Jerusalem, He looked at it with pain in His heart and wept over it, saying: 'If only you knew on this day what is needed for peace' (Lk 19:41-44). The time in which we write this, we experience as stressful and tense due to political bickering and the ignoring of man, his rights, and dignity. A strange unease has crept into people, into the media, and into the public. Along with the truth that the powerful play with the little man, the uncertainty of COVID-19 still persists. In contrast to this, Jesus became incarnate and was born to bring man peace in conscience, in soul, and in society. But modern man has not realized what is important for human peace. St. Peter, in his epistle, says: 'Rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ' (1 Pet 1:6-9).

This aggressive consumer mentality tries to 'steal Jesus' from us in public every year. On the occasion of Jesus' birth, various bazaars are opened and cultural events are organized, but Jesus is not there. Again, man has not realized what is important for his peace. St. Paul says in his epistle: 'Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you' (Eph 4:29-32).

Sending you this Christmas message, we wish to encourage you in faith and inspire you to be open to the peace that Jesus brings. May this peace of Christ reign in your consciences, in your families, and in your communities, so that the celebration of Christmas may shine with strong faith, firm trust, and joyfully lived love.

For this peace of Christ to be visible, it is necessary to create mutual reconciliation, forgiveness, and trust. In this spirit, we wish you a Merry Christmas, which will fill your hearts with grace, so that faith may be a joyful experience of Jesus' birth. In a special way, we wish that Christmas brings children a joyful experience of childhood and growth in faith. We wish Merry Christmas to you, young people, so that in your maturity you may be open to Jesus' message and teaching, so that you may become complete people of heart, soul, and mind. To you, dear families, we wish a Merry Christmas with the hope that every family may resemble the Holy Family of Nazareth as much as possible. May the birth of Jesus bring you the joy of community and harmony in love. We especially wish Merry Christmas to you, the sick and infirm, as well as to you who are advanced in age, so that the birth of Jesus may bring you comfort, strength, and firm hope in life.

Let us unite our hearts in prayer to the newborn King, that He may grant His peace in this land, and in the world, wherever people suffer from injustice, persecution, and disenfranchisement.

In this common prayer, with our warmest greetings, we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a blessed summer 2022."