On the Feast of the Annunciation, on the third Sunday of Lent - the Praising of the Cross, Bishop Zahumsko-Herzegovina Mr. Dimitrije presided over the Holy Bishop's Liturgy in the Church of the Annunciation in Dubrovnik. The Reverend Bishop was assisted by the clergy of the Diocese of Zahum-Herzegovina and Primorska, as well as Archpriest-Stavrophor Vasilije Tomić from the Diocese of Canada.
Teaching the faithful with a gospel sermon, Bishop Dimitrije explained that today the Church celebrates the day when the Mother of God conceived with the word of God, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the favor of the Father. He reminded the Bishop of the words of the fathers about the first non-verbal address of God to man, by which man became a living soul, and from that moment every address of God to man became a source of life. Having received the word of the Gospel, man is called to bear good fruit - having conceived from the Holy Spirit, he should bear virtue and good deeds, so that man's heart becomes the abode of the immovable God. The bishop explained that the abode of God, who is unfathomable and cannot be placed in human measures and the material world, became the Most Holy Theotokos - the Mother of God. She occupies a special place in the Church, because, in a certain way, she enabled the home of salvation, expressing the free consent of the human race, saying in the name of all people: "Here is the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to Your word." This made it possible for God, the Holy Trinity - the eternal union of love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - to show a love greater than that, for one of the Holy Trinity to become a man and fulfill all the given commandments.
In order to fulfill the commandments of God, it is necessary to renounce oneself. "Take up your cross and follow the Lord" means renouncing self-sufficiency and egoism, as did the greatest saints, such as St. Basil and the Mother of God, who lived not by their own strength but by God's grace, which directed their natural gifts according to God's will. Man achieves this by living according to the Gospel of God and the spirit of the Liturgy, imitating all the saints, and illuminating the image of the Savior in his heart with the commandments of God.
After the dismissal, Bishop Dimitrije thanked Father Vladan for his hospitality, wished everyone gathered a happy celebration and emphasized that true Christians should always carry the Resurrection of Christ in their hearts, which must be pure, sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is the most important job of Christians wherever they are in the world, in order to be a light to the world and to the earth, they must first purify their hearts like the Blessed Virgin Mary. During today's assembly, in the gate of the temple, on the occasion of the feast and the glory of the temple, the celebration cake and grain were consecrated, and the festive assembly turned into a table of love.

Source: Eparchy of Zahum-Herzegovina