Sinj, (IKA) – In the shrine of Our Lady of Sinj on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven, August 15, in the year of the 300th anniversary of the coronation of the painting of Our Lady of Sinj (1716–2016), more than a hundred thousand of the faithful from all over Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and elsewhere were assembled, of whom some had travelled by foot for hours. People began arriving in the early morning hours. Already at 3 a.m., many priests were available to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Starting at 4 a.m., Masses were celebrated every hour until 9:30 a.m., when bells started ringing and a fanfare was played to signify the beginning of the formal procession from the shrine of Our Lady, the traditional procession through the city streets with the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Sinj.
The painting of Our Lady, adorned with gold, precious stones and numerous votive offerings, was carried by participants in the Alka tournament in full regalia, and the procession included Alka equestrians, seminarians, religious, girls in traditional costumes, representatives of the city and county authorities, Croatian Army, Ministry of Internal Affairs, veterans’ associations, mothers, catechists, firefighters, professors, musicians, employees of the Sinj branch of Caritas, entrepreneurs, medical personnel, various church and civil associations, and people from the town of Sinj and the entire Cetina region. In the procession through the streets of the city, a golden rosary was also carried that will be blessed on September 22, 2016, on the 300th anniversary of the coronation. It is a votive offering from venerators of Our Lady, which will remain in the shrine as a permanent memento of the celebration.
The Eucharistic celebration and formal procession were led by Msgr. Marin Barišić, Archbishop and Metropolitan of Split-Makarska, in concelebration with numerous priests.
“The Heavenly Father, in his merciful love, forgives us and reconciles us with him and with our neighbors. He rejoices that he can forgive us and never tires of doing so. None of us before Him can call upon our righteousness but only upon His mercy. For all of us, this is joyful news: God is a merciful father! It is necessary to discover and witness this life-giving and saving truth, and ultimately live in family and social relationships. And Mother Mary, ‘full of grace,’ is a work of God’s love,” said Archbishop Barišić, and urged those assembled to illuminate our reality with this joyful truth about God and man. He cautioned that we always tend to seek mercy for ourselves while we mercilessly accuse others and erect walls against them, and that the lure of sin makes the false promise that happiness is in selfishness, autonomy and self-sufficiency.
Deliberating upon the selfishness that destroys the family, friends and the society as a whole, he said that “an exodus—ecstasy—from our isolation is necessary and possible. However, not an exodus that would bind our spirits and hearts to having things, because that would be our degradation. It would be an exodus into emptiness—apostasy—falling away from God, alienation from ourselves and neighbors. Only openness to God and man, the proper valuation of the person and things, goal and means. With such an attitude, diversity in society is no longer viewed as division and opposition but as the opportunity for a richer community in diversity.”
Speaking about a more humane and successful future for the Croatian society and the blessed union in marriage and the family, Msgr. Barišić pointed out that it is necessary, like Mother Mary who hurried to visit Elizabeth, to take a step as soon as possible, the step of lustration. “But which and what kind of lustration? Lustration means purification. Indeed, each of us needs to cleanse our conscience, soul and heart, spirit and eyes. We need lustration of our divisions, hatreds and prejudices, in order to recognize our neighbor in each person. We need lustration of the wooden beams from our eyes in order to see and help others more easily remove the thorns from their eyes. First of all, we need lustration—pure hearts—because it is from the heart that we can best see our neighbor and understand his needs.” He stressed how that urgent step helps us to sense the difficulties of others, makes us capable of the solidarity and justice that finds its fullness in merciful love. He explained that God is the first to give us an example of forgiveness and that miraculous lustration of the forgiveness of our sins against God and man, our apostasy—falling away from God and avoiding our neighbor—occurs in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Moreover, our prayers for others, as well as spiritual and physical acts of mercy, open us toward those alienated from us by silence, withheld greetings or a heart filled with hatred.
“Help us, Blessed Virgin, in this Jubilee Year of Mercy, to shorten the path of reconciliation and hasten the time of our forgiveness. Guide us, Mother of Mercy, so that our Croatian homeland may grow in justice and truth, peace and reconciliation. That by building our unity in diversity, we may be open to the future glory of Your and our assumption, through the same Christ, Our Lord,” concluded the Archbishop.