Archbishop Stanislav Hočevar main celebrant at the Holy Mass in Medjugorje

On Saturday, November 22, the main Medjugorje parish choir 'Queen of Peace' celebrated its patron saint, Saint Cecilia, and the Holy Mass at which the deceased members of the choir were remembered was presided over by the late Archbishop of Belgrade, Msgr. Stansilav Hočevar, concelebrated by the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, the parish priest of Medjugorje, Fr. Zvonimir Pavičić, and numerous other priests.

''Allow me, dear brothers and sisters, while I rejoice that our small group of pilgrims from Slovenia can also join this magnificent celebration, to express our unity, prayerful communion and hope that the Queen of Peace will accompany us, not only in Europe, but throughout the world, and through our prayers bring peace to everyone. This is our fervent desire and prayerful cry,'' said Monsignor at the beginning of his homily. Hočevar, who then referred to the Gospel passage in which one of the thieves crucified with Christ repents and the other mocks him.

"But in his great love he surpasses all and immediately grants complete happiness to all who cry out to him, and even through the Roman soldier he proclaims to everyone that he is the head of all creation, the true son of God and therefore the future of all peoples. We, brothers and sisters, by the great goodness of God, which he won for us by dying on the cross and rising early on Sunday morning, have given the greatest gift, a gift of which we are not sufficiently aware, which is that in him, the only begotten son of God, we have become by grace, his brothers and sisters, and therefore sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father," said Archbishop Hočevar and continued how we too can be one with Christ, the King of all creation, if with the love of Christ, looking into the heart of the Heavenly Father, we respond to the love of the Father with the love of Jesus.

"Everything you see with your eyes was created for Christ the Lord, so that he might make you and me happy. So, is Christ's knowledge of the Father's goodness also my knowledge? Do I know the Father with that strength of love, the knowledge of my mind and heart with which he loves his Father? We remember the 1700th anniversary of the First or Nicene Council. That First Council particularly emphasized: I believe in one God. Why? Not only so that we would confess with words that we believe in only one God, but so that my knowledge would be equal to the knowledge of Jesus Christ with which he loved his Heavenly Father.

If I do not strive to immerse myself anew every day in that love of the Heavenly Father, to be like my old brother Jesus Christ in everything, I cannot say that I am his brother, that I am his sister. But we know that Christ the Lord not only always admired the beauty and goodness of his Father, but also always repeated, the will of the Heavenly Father, this is my food, this nourishes me and I want to always and everywhere do his will, "said Archbishop Hočevar and added that we can be a brother or sister to Jesus Christ only when we say: Father, may your will be done to me.

"Or as the Most Holy Virgin says: 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word'. If I unite myself in this way with Christ, the King of all creation, then I can say that I am also in the service of the advancement of the kingdom of God. But even that is not enough. Jesus Christ, walking on earth, performing miracles, always remembers his heavenly Father. But what do we carry in our memories? So many different injuries that we have experienced. We very quickly discover that we are not respected, loved, appreciated enough, that the whole world does not applaud us. How fleeting all this is, while God's action in love is so permanent, eternal. Isn't it a pity, brothers and sisters, that we remember everything else, but forget the great, miraculous works of God.

He created everything, as the Holy Scripture says. So everything was created for me. Christ the Lord accepts us as his brothers and sisters. How sad it would be if we forgot this main fact that carries us, that gives us life, and looked only at the wounds that this world brings us," said Archbishop Hočevar, and he concluded his homily with the words: "If we are one in God, like the Virgin Mary, this world will only become beautiful, full of flowers, full of melody, full of new harmonies, full of new symphonies. And God grant that through our prayer, instead of listening to the sound of weapons, we may finally hear that we are all believers of one heart and one soul and that we are transforming this world into just one harmony of peace. Amen."