Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,

Thank you for allowing me time to present to you something of our plans and our hopes for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which takes place in Dublin, Ireland from June 10th to June 17th 2012. We are very conscious of our historical links with the Church on the mainland of Europe. This is symbolised by the choice of St. Columbanus of Bobbio as one of the patron saints of the Congress. Columbanus, as many of you will know, established monastic foundations in France, Switzerland and in Italy. He was one of many whose ministry is still commemorated all over Europe.

Social and Ecclesial Context
The International Eucharistic Congress comes at an important moment in the history of the Irish Church, when we are seeking to:
•    renew and strengthen faith which has been greatly challenged through increasing secularism in our society
•    restore relationships of trust which have been undermined by the abuse of children by some of our clergy and by our institutional failure to manage that as well as we should
•    build up a spirit of Christian solidarity against the background of an economic crisis brought about by the thirst for power and the desire for excessive profit

It is undoubtedly providential that the Congress takes place in the same year as the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which was such an important moment in the renewal of the Church and of its engagement with the modern world.

As Blessed Pope John Paul II reminded the Roman Curia in 1990:
Koinonia is a dimension which clothes the very constitution of the Church and every expression of it: from the profession of faith to the testimony of praxis, from the transmission of doc¬trine to the articulation of structures. Rightly, then, the teaching of the Second Vatican Council insists on it, making it the inspiring idea and the central axis of its documents.

That same Koinonia is central to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress. The theme of the Congress, taken from Lumen gentium 7 and approved by Pope Benedict XVI is “The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another.”

Pastoral Preparation:
When we last celebrated an International Eucharistic Congress in Ireland in 1932, people came to Dublin on foot, on bicycles and by horse and cart. Many of them who are still alive and active speak about the journey to the Congress.
In our preparations for the 2012 Congress, we have also been inviting people to participate in a journey; this time and interior journey of spiritual and pastoral preparation for the Congress. We have tried to present the Congress as much more than just an event.

Our programme of preparation is in four stages and invites people to reflect on four key elements of Eucharist and of Communion, namely:
•    The meaning of Christian assembly
•    The role of the Scriptures in forming us into “one body in Christ”
•    The meaning of the Eucharist as Sacrifice and Sacrament
•    The relationship between our Christian assembly, in which we are nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, and the mission which is entrusted to us as Christians living in the world

A variety of pastoral resources has been prepared to support this programme. These and other pastoral resources are available for you on USB key which is in the information pack prepared by the Congress office. They include:
•    The Theological Reflections, available at present in four languages
•    the Congress Prayer, which is available in eight languages
•    The Congress logo, designed by an artist from my own diocese,
•    the Congress Hymn, “Though we are Many”, which has so far been translated into French and Italian

As a symbol of the invitation to the Eucharist and to the Congress, we have been using a Bell which is carried from parish to parish all over Ireland. People, young and old, have come out in large numbers to welcome the Bell and it has helped us to create an awareness of the Congress. The bell is accompanied by four specially written icons which reflect the four key themes of the pastoral preparation.

The Programme of the Congress:
The Congress week will be celebrated at the showground of the Royal Dublin, which is the venue each year for the Dublin International Horse Show. The opening Mass will be celebrated in the evening on Sunday June 10th (Corpus Christi).

The RDS is a single venue which includes a large outdoor arena and a large number of spaces which can be used for workshops and cultural events. Three of the large halls will be used as the prayer space; the exhibition hall and the youth space. The youth space will have its own dedicated programme of workshops, catechesis, prayer and music.

Each day of the Congress will have its own theme, linked to the overall theme of Eucharistic communion. These themes are as follows:
•    Monday: Communion and Baptism (with a strong ecumenical focus)
•    Tuesday: Communion, Marriage & Family (family day)
•    Wednesday: Communion and Ministry, Ordained and Lay
•    Thursday: Communion and Reconciliation
•    Friday: Communion, Suffering & Healing
•    Saturday: Communion in the Word, through Mary

The catechesis, testimonies and workshops on each day will be linked to the theme of the day. On most days, the Eucharist will be celebrated in plenary session in the main arena. On Monday, however, it will be celebrated in the morning time in parish Churches, according to language group and nationality. We hope that this will provide the opportunity for people of other nationalities living in Dublin to meet and to celebrate with pilgrims coming from their own home countries.

We are planning an extensive programme of workshops and spiritual, pastoral and cultural aspects of the Congress theme. We have already received favourable response from many of those, in various European countries, who have been invited to contribute to that programme.  

The Statio Orbis will be celebrated at Croke Park. This is a modern stadium with a long history. It is one of the largest sporting venues in Europe and home to the Gaelic Athletic Association.

The Ecumenical Dimension:
Monday deserves particular mention. On that day, we are inviting Christians of other traditions to join with us in celebrating our Baptismal Communion. The catechesis that day will be given by Bro. Alois (prior of Taizé). The principal liturgy (a celebration of the Word and Water, will be presided over by Archbishop Michael Jackson, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin).

This ecumenical dimension is not simply “for the day”. It has been part of our entire preparation of the Congress. The perception of many in Europe is that ecumenism in Ireland would be almost impossible because of our troubled history. The reality is quite different. Our troubled history makes practical ecumenism a real imperative for us. One of the important challenges facing us in modern Ireland is to build relationships which allow Christians of every tradition to bear common witness to Christ in an increasingly secular society.

Without in any sense denying the extent to which our communion is limited, we have chosen to build on what we have in common: Baptism, the Word of God; a commitment to mission. Clergy of the Anglican and Methodist traditions have contributed actively to the development of our theological reflection and our pastoral preparation programme, bringing the richness of their traditions. The Eucharistic Congress Bell has visited Churches of other Christian traditions and other Holy Places which are shared by all.

Theological Symposium:
In your pack, you have some information on the Theological Symposium which takes place from 6-9th June 2012, just before the Congress. The focus of this theological symposium is on: Ecclesial Communion 50 years after Vatican II. One day is given specifically to the consideration of the Ecumenical aspects of Ecclesial Communion.

Among the keynote speakers are Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, Prof. Geoffrey Wainright, Prof. Piero Coda, Professor Dr. Martin Stuflesser

On line Registration for the Congress:
The Eucharistic Congress web-site is available in seven languages. It is a work-in-progress and the translation is being supported by volunteers in countries throughout Europe. In addition to the pastoral information available on the web-site, it is now possible to register on-line, either as an individual pilgrim or as a group. While Ireland is a relatively high-cost economy, we have chosen to keep the registration costs as low as possible, to facilitate the participation of as many people as possible.

At present we are proposing registration options for seven days or for three days, each of which brings with it the option of participating in the Statio Orbis, on Sunday June 17th.

The standard registration packages include access to the Congress and the pilgrim pack, including liturgy books and Congress programme. We have not included transport tickets or meal vouchers, because these would have increased the costs of the package for everybody. They are, however, available for those who wish to have them.
Accommodation:
Dublin is a relatively small city, but it does have a large supply of accommodation, much of it in easy range of the Congress venues. Our conference partner CSSL, in addition to providing the registration service on our behalf, has also made arrangements to pre-reserve accommodation at the best possible rates for pilgrims. Accommodation is available in hotels, Bed and Breakfast accommodation, student residences and hostels.

Clergy Accreditation:
For obvious reasons, clergy wishing to minister at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress will require a testimonial provided by their ordinary – be that their diocesan bishop or their major religious superior. We are aware that it places a burden on you, but we are also sure that you will understand the necessity for it in the context of a major international event, in which clergy play such a pivotal role. The sooner this process begins, the better we can make sure that everything is done on schedule.

Bishops and major superiors will be asked to complete the normal registration process and accreditation will be provide by the Congress based on photographic ID.

All the necessary information about registration and accreditation is available on the Congress web-site at www.iec2012.ie

“Woman you have great faith – let your wish be granted”

Ten days ago we gathered here in this Cathedral to send off 132 young pilgrims from this diocese who have gone to Madrid.  Today we are delighted to meet and greet this group from Brooklyn and tomorrow we meet and send on their way a group from New Jersey.  They are all on their way to meet the Pope.  He, in turn, will invite them to meet Jesus Christ and make Him their friend.

All these young people, and their leaders, are on their way to meet about two million other pilgrims.  I believe Pope Benedict will send them all back from Madrid with their faith strengthened in Jesus Christ and realising that we are all, by reason of our Christian baptism, planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.  The Pope will give them a mission, a task, a job, to come back and bear witness to the joy of being a follower of Jesus Christ.  

In his message for this World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI has said he would like all young people to share the experience of World Youth Day.  Why?  Because he says, “It is an experience which can prove decisive for their lives.  It is an experience of the Lord and of his love for each of us”.

Jesus himself tells us that he is our life.  So Christina faith is not only a matter of believing that certain things are true but, above all, Christian faith is a personal relationship  with Jesus Christ.

Christian faith is an encounter with the Son of God that that gives new energy to the whole of our existence.  In today’s Gospel we have heard of one woman’s outstanding encounter with Christ.  When the Canaanite woman met the Son of God, not only did she get new energy herself but her sick daughter got new energy which healed her sickness and put an end to her torments.

“Woman you have great faith, let you wish be granted”. Surely this is one of the most sweet-sounding sentences in the whole Gospel – which of us would not give our right arm, as we say, to hear it spoken about ourselves.  It reminds us of that other pearl spoken by Jesus on the Cross to the good thief:  “Amen, I say to you.  This day you will be with me in Paradise”. How much better can it get than that?  Let us just recall why Jesus was in these foreign parts of Tyre and Sidon.

He had gone there to escape – to escape the negativity, the rejection, the hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees.  Then, lo and behold, Jesus hears someone in the crowd who has great faith in him and in his power.  It came from a source that was least expected to have such faith a foreigner – a wman.  This episode is an outstanding example of an encounter with the Son of God that gives new energy and new life.

Someone gave me a prayer recently and it could have been written by the Canaanite woman.  

Teach me O Lord to be sweet and gentle in all the events of life.
In disappointments and in the thoughtlessness of others,
In the insincerity of those I trusted.
Let me put myself aside to think of the happiness of others.
To hide my little pains and heartaches
So that I may be the only one to suffer from them.
Teach me to profit from the suffering that comes across my path
Let me use it that it may mellow, not harden nor embitter me.
Make me patient, not irritated.  
Make me broad in my forgiveness – not narrow, haughty or overbearing.

This mother thinks of the happiness of her daughter – that is her obsession.  She puts herself, and her needs, aside to think of the health and happiness of her daughter.

‘Have mercy on me, Sir, my daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition’.  The love which every parent has for a sick child drives her on.  She has a sense of mission – to find healing for her beloved daughter.  It is the cry of desperation of a loving parent at her wits end.  It is a story of love and of great faith – the faith of this woman – from the middle of the mountains.  But Jesus did not say a word to her.  We are not told why.  It reminds us of so many of our prayers that apparently go unanswered.

So therefore, I ask all of you to pray earnestly for the two million young people, en route to Madrid, that they may all be strengthen in faith as a result of their pilgrimage.  I also ask you to pray earnestly for the thirty young people from Malta who spent the last month here – helping the Missionaries of Charity run their Summer Camp for some 200 children here in Armagh.  They came at their own expense and they won the minds and hearts of the children by the way they treated them with such love and patience and respect.

Last week the world was stunned by the rioting of so many young people in English cities.  The politicians blamed the Police – the Police said they did their best and Mr Brattan said that all of society needed to examine their conscience.  The parents of one teenager, appearing in Court, said they were too busy to attend the hearing.   Perhaps they were.  It gives food for thought but I cannot help feeling that a lot of those teenagers were restless because they are not loved at home.  Contrast that approach with the heroine of today’s Gospel.

Today we join Jesus in celebrating the faith of this wonderful woman.  She reminds us of people who have made a deep impression on us.  She belonged to two groups who were considered inferior at the time of Jesus – she was a woman and she was a foreigner.  She represented all who, by their greatness, challenges the false values of our age.  She represented the many people in the course of history who started off as outsiders but who eventually brought a new richness to the Church.   For example, Rome, Greece and Ireland were the so-called “pagan nations” of the first centuries.  But they all brought a new dimension to the message of Jesus.  The outstanding fact is that the concerns of this great lady were not for herself but totally for her daughter.  She reminds us of the great unsung heroines of our times –

•    The women who gather at the gates of prisons to visit relatives who have been arrested or sentenced.  
•    The women who spend their lives caring for elderly parents or siblings with disabilities.
•    She represents all those who are passionately committed to a noble cause – raising funds for worthy causes at home and abroad – in season and out of season.
•    The refugee mothers of Somalia and the sacrifices they make for the love of their children.

She was not concerned about what others thought of her.  She came out and at once began to shout.  People who are passionate about something do not mind making a nuisance of themselves.  

Jesus went to Tyne and Sidon because he was being harassed and rejected by the Scribes and Pharisees but then there was the Canaanite woman waiting to ask his help and raise his spirits with her strong faith in him.

• We ask today to be humble like Jesus so that we may recognise publicly the great faith of others.  
• We ask forgiveness that, in a world of plenty, there are still people who must be content with the scraps. 
• At the same time we ask the Lord not to let us grow discouraged or give in to bitterness.  
• We pray that we can, in fact, see that there are many scraps falling from the table that can nourish us and that our wishes can be granted.

It is the same Jesus who speaks to all of us – whether we are here in Armagh or in Brooklyn or in Spain.  He speaks to us and invites us to put our trust in him.  He comes to us to give us the strength to follow him and to love him as He has loved us.  The disciples were urging him to give this lady what she wanted and then send her away.  But Jesus never sends anyone away.  He has promised to be with us until the end of time.  He is our joy and our hope.  May he say, of each one of us, ‘you have great faith.  Let your wish be granted’.

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you all here today.  We come to every Mass to be nourished with the Good News of Jesus Christ and with His Body and Blood.  Today the Good News of the First Reading is that Jesus comes to save all people of all ages and all nations.  His House of Prayer is a House of Prayer for all the peoples.  

St Paul laments the fact that his own people rejected Christ but he is hopeful that they too will enjoy God’s mercy eventually.

In the Gospel we hear the story of the wonderful Canaanite woman.  She was not Jewish – not one of the Chosen People – yet Jesus said to her:  ‘Woman you have great faith’ and he healed her daughter. And so, we ask the Lord to increase our faith.

I welcome, in a special way, a group of 109 pilgrims – mostly young people – from the diocese of Brooklyn, Queens, New York.  They are on their way to World Youth Day in Madrid Spain.

They have come to Ireland and Armagh in recognition of the fact that there are many roots of their own faith which stretch back through some of their ancestors to Ireland – people rich in faith.  My friends it is a great joy to see you here.  You are most welcome.  Thank you for coming.

To prepare ourselves to celebrate this Mass worthily, let us call to mind our sins and ask God’s pardon for them.

I am thankful for the invitation to come here today.  I congratulate you and your Club on this, your latest fine achievement.  I have very pleasant memories of enjoying the excellent social amenities here some years ago.  I am pleased to recall your victory in the Championship last year and I am delighted that you have reached this stage in a new chapter of the Club’s development with the provision of these facilities.

I want to pay tribute to and thank those members of the Club who, by their generous voluntary involvement, do so much for the good of the community. It is always a joy too to come here and celebrate Mass with you in your beautiful Church of St Colmcille.  

There is always an atmosphere created by people who are paying attention to what they hear and mean what they say.  That is a sign of a community that is mature and responsible.  

I met a junior Grange supporter in the Cathedral earlier in his green and white shirt.  When I asked what exactly is going on here today he told me that new training facilities are being provided and opened today.  

Of course training is a very important part of everyone’s preparation for life whether it is training to live in society and avoid anti-social behaviour; whether it is training for employment and work so as to make one’s contribution; whether it is training for family and marriage responsibilities; All of this is training – preparation for life on this earth.

Nowadays training is also part of recreation – a huge part – so much so that some would say that it is no longer sport but really is a type of warfare in which people compete against each other and battle it out to prove their superiority.  

All of this is for life in this world but as Christians – as rational human beings – we do not believe that life in this world – on this earth – is all there is to it.  We happen to believe that we are different from the brute beast and that there is something of us and about us that will survive life here on earth.  The question is how?  In what state and while we don’t believe it will all depend on us, we do believe we have a part of play.  So preparation – training for that – is also important.

I never cease to be amazed at the sacrifices people are prepared to make for the glory that will last a year or a decade – while at the same time they will be quite careless about training in such qualities as virtue.

Of course there is quite a overlap.  Every great team respects its opponents and the qualities and talents of its own teammates.  The virtue of respect for people, for life and for the give of life, is important.

There is respect for obedience from the supremo – trainers – and Managers – people depend on them for selection but surely there has to be a place for obedience to the community of the Supreme Being – the Creator on whom we depend.

I hope these new facilities will make a big contribution to the life of Grange Football Club.  I hope they will enhance the self-worth of every player.  I hope that people will respect the Sabbath – that the Lord’s Day was not introduced by a spoil-sport God – but by people who were attentive to the Commandments.  Remember keep holy the Sabbath Day.  

I interpret your invitation to me to come here as an invitation to come and bless these facilities. Of course when we bless something we praise God the source of all that is good and we beg the protection of the God who sustains us at every moment of our existence.  For our prayers to be genuine and attentive I think that there is implied on all of us a decision to do all in our power to fulfil the Will of God.

Nine years ago World Youth Day was held in Toronto, Canada.  Speaking to the young people present, Pope John Paul II said something that caught my imagination of the world.  He said:

You are called to be the Sentinels of Tomorrow – playing your part in the renewal of the world – in the light of God’s plan – Sentinels of Tomorrow.

A Sentinel is another word for a Sentry – the one who stands guard at the gate, to be on the alert and to protect and to observe.  

So this evening I am very pleased to welcome here to this Mass those 132 Sentinels of Tomorrow of this diocese as, nine years later, you set out for another World Youth Day – this time in Madrid, Spain.

You are on your way to World Youth Day that has, as its theme, those words taken from St. Paul:  

You must be rooted in Christ and built on Christ and held firm by the faith you have been taught.
So you must be vigilant sentinels – alert to identify and avoid, like the plague, all that would harm your family.  but alert and attentive and ready to welcome all that will make you true disciples and Missionaries of Christ.  

I hope that as a result of this pilgrimage, the faith of each one of you will be greatly strengthened.  You will meet multitudes of other young people whose lives, like your lives, are already rooted on Christ.  You will meet there so many people who will regard it as something quite cool to be people of faith.  You are at that stage in life when you are in the process of discovering who you really are and, in the process, I hope you will discover the part Jesus Christ plays in your identity.  

You are on your pilgrim way from Ireland to Spain.  You are not the first Irish men and women to go on pilgrimage to Spain.  Down through the centuries there have been close links between Spain and Ireland.  There have been many pilgrims from Ireland to Spain.  One of the most famous pilgrim places is Santiago de Compostela.  It is a shrine in Northern Spain dedicated to St James.  Last year more than 250,000 people walked over 100 miles to make the pilgrimage to Compostela.  

Down through the centuries Irish people have made this difficult pilgrimage. Perhaps you have heard of St. James’ Gate in Dublin – site of the Arthur Guinness Brewery.  In the middle ages, St James’ Gate was the Western Entrance to the City of Dublin and so called because it was the point of departure for the pilgrims on their way to Compostela.  

At various stages on the pilgrimage to Santiago, pilgrims have their pilgrimage passport stamped.  We all need our passports to enter Spain but it is no longer stamped.  But my hope is that your lives will be stamped with joy as a result of your going to Barcelona and Madrid.  The joy of knowing, in a deeper and more powerful way, the love that God has for you – a love that was revealed in the life and death of Jesus Christ.  

Thanks to your mothers and fathers, your brothers and sisters, your teachers and priests, you go to Spain as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Please God you will come home, not only as disciples but as missionaries as well.  Missionaries sent out and sent back to play your part in the renewal of your particular patch of the world in the light of Jesus Christ.

I hope you all have a great experience and I am absolutely sure that you will live such an experience like the good Sentinels that you are – awake and alert and on the ball at all times.

I believe you represent an enormous talent and resource for the future of the body of Christ.  Remember, at all times, God is present within you.  Your body is indeed the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

So, go forth Sentinels of Tomorrow.  The Lord has appointed you as prophets – not to the nations – but to your own families and to your own friends.  When you come back I hope you will not be afraid to speak of what you have seen and heard – that you will not be afraid to give priority to Mass and to keeping the Lord’s day holy – that you will not be afraid to confront those who would scoff or ridicule your religion which you, and your family, hold dear.

You are going to Spain – famous for holidays and football.  You are going to Barcelona, home of the European Champions and to Madrid home of the World Champions – Messi is one of the greatest footballers but Spain is home to another team of champions – a team of Christian saints. 

INTRODUCTION

I welcome you all as we gather to send our young pilgrims on their pilgrim way.  We promise to accompany them with our prayers and look forward to their return.

The Journey of Life has often been compared to a pilgrimage.  Every pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place for some religious purpose.  Muslims go to Mecca; Jews go to Jerusalem. Christianity is the only one of the three great monotheistic religions that does not command pilgrimage as a sacred duty.  But Christians do go on pilgrimage – whether to Knock or Croagh Patrick, to Lourdes or Lough Derg; to Rome or Fatima.  Jesus himself went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem every year.

Pilgrimage has also meant the inner journey, the journey to the depths of our heart, to know oneself and to the sanctuary of one’s soul to meet God there in mystical union.  Today pilgrimages are much easier than they were in the Middle Ages when people had to leave home for months and travel on foot or mule-back through dangerous territory.  So it is important to keep alive the penitential aspect of every pilgrimage.

To leave home means little if it does not involve the intention of leaving behind our sins and pushing on to know God better.  So times of silent prayers will be part of this pilgrimage.
Pope Benedict will be there – he has included the pilgrim shell on his Papal Coat of Arms.  Despite his 80 years, he went all the way to Sydney, Australia.   I look forward to hearing him explain the theme of the Pilgrimage –Rooted in Christ and Built on Christ.    This could well be a defining moment in the lives of many of our young pilgrims – the moment when they see, in a new way, what it means to be routed in Christ and to build their lives on Christ.

I am very pleased to know of the existence of this group dedicated to prayer for healing.  I thank you for your prayers for all those who need healing, which is all of us.  For we all need the gentle love of Christ to come and touch us and heal our hearts and bathe our wounds and bandage us and give us peace and consolation in our times of pain and sorrow and desolation.  I thank God for your leaders who give generously of their time to make sure that these meetings take place and take place regularly and take place effectively.

I usually go to Knock and Lourdes a couple of times a year.  One of the outstanding features of such a pilgrimage is the Anointing of The Sick and the Blessing of the Blessed Sacrament.  One thing that always strikes me most powerfully is the reverence and faith of the people as they pray earnestly to the Lord, to come to them and to help them and to heal them.  I have a friend who prays a lot and studies the scriptures a lot.  He never ceases to lament the fact that the Church seems to have forgotten that it has the power to heal.  He reasons and argues it this way:  When He was here Jesus went around helping and healing.  As He was about to leave He told His disciples to carry on His work and to go and make disciples of all nations.  We believe that He was commissioning them to carry on His work.  In fact the church believes that it is now the Body of Christ, in the world, to continue His work and also to bring people to Christ that they may be helped and healed.  Of course there was only one thing that Jesus asked of those who came to Him to be helped and healed.  He always asked did they believe?  Did they believe that He could in fact carry out this healing?  So, then we begin by asking the Lord to increase our faith, out faith in Him and His power.  To increase our faith in His Church as His body, chosen and commissioned by Him to carry out His work, including His work of healing the sick.

Today is the Feast of Saint Benedict.  Benedict was a Monk.  In fact he was the founder of the monasteries in this part of the world.  This area around Drogheda is and was famous for its monasteries.  Just think of Monasterboice and Mellifont – Collon where people have gone to spend their lives dedicated to praising God.  The Monks, especially the followers of Saint Benedict, are famous for their healthy style of living.  They strike a great balance between work and prayer, rest and recreation.  Their motto is Work and Pray.  The monastery is usually out in the countryside where you enjoy the beauty of nature, sample the fresh air and take some exercise.  All of which the experts tell us help to make us healthy.

So we decided to keep the Readings of the Feast of Saint Benedict for this Mass because I feel there are many ideas which could help us.  The first one that struck me was the Response the Responsorial Psalm, “Taste and see that the Lord is good”.  It is an invitation to think about our own lives and our own experience.  If we do so for some time and in a serious way we are bound to think about the fact of life itself and where does it come from?  What is life for? Our life on earth will end, that is for sure, but there are followers of Christ who rose from the dead.  We believe that death is not the end and if we think a little about Christ we will see why He came into this world.

The words “taste and see that the Lord is good” come from one of the Psalms.  The Psalms were the Great Prayer Book of the Jewish people.  They were the prayers used by the Holy Family Jesus, May and Joseph.  When the Jews reflected on their experience of God, they found that they had so much to thank God for – the gift of life and love.  They usually thanked God for His goodness in creating them in the first place – God did not need them.  He could do without them.  They thanked God for His mercy.  God, they found, to be slow to anger, rich in mercy and ready to forgive those who asked His pardon.  The last thing they praised and thanked God for was His faithfulness.  They found that while they might be, and often were, unfaithful God was always faithful.  It was great consolation.

As followers of Jesus Christ we have all that to be thankful for, and much more besides.  So, I invite you also to taste and see that God is good.  We have Jesus to thank God for.  For God so loved the world that He sent His son Jesus to reveal His love for us, by dying on the cross.  

Jesus departed this life and ascended to the Right Hand of the Father, where he pleads for us.  He then sent the Holy Spirit to remind us of all that he – Jesus – had said and done.  But the Jewish prayer was also full of petition and imploring God’s mercy and help.  We continue that tonight as we beg for healing for ourselves and for those we love.

My eye caught another phrase in the First Reading which is, “My Son if you take my words to heart you will discover the knowledge of God”.  Note it talks of taking the words of God into the heart, not just to head.  The heart is the place of decision.  Only if the words of God reach down into our hearts will they be effective in changing lives and healing our hearts.

The First Reading continues “If you take my words to heart, if you set store by my commandments, then you will understand what virtue is, justice, and fair dealing, all of them are ways that lead to happiness”.  All of the rest – listening to the words, respecting the commandment virtue, justice and fair dealing.  All of these are roads that lead to happiness.

By His bruises we are healed.  I love that phrase from the Prophet Isaiah.  We hear it on Good Friday, when the prophecy was fulfilled, when Jesus was not only bruised and broken but actually nailed to the Cross, where He died for love of us.  He did all of that out of love.  It is His love which gave the bruises he suffered, their power to heal us and take away our sins and our guilt.  But His love did more than that, it gave Him the power, not only to be attentive to the needs of those around, but even to forgive those who put Him to death.  “Father forgive those for they know not what that do”.  But remember His answer to the good thief who asked to be remembered and Jesus responded “This day you will be with me in paradise”.  We must have the same sort of confidence as that God – the confidence that believes that the same Christ is present in the Eucharist who went about healing.  The same Christ is active in the Sacrament of the Anointing of The Sick.  Every time we receive a Sacrament we meet Christ and we say “Remember me”.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This is indeed a day of great rejoicing as we come together to celebrate this Mass of Thanksgiving and rededicate, to the glory of God, your beautifully renovated and reordered Church of St Patrick.  

I warmly congratulate you Fr Donnelly, your congregation and kind supporters who have ensured that the physical attributes of St Patrick’s Church are made secure for many years.  I thank and congratulate the Parish Finance Committee and the Building Committee who have provided generous assistance and advice for this renovation project.  I also congratulate Karl Pedersen, the architect, for his professional work and most interesting piece on the renovation in the booklet.  I most gladly rejoice with, and congratulate, the people who made it all happen.  They are listed on page 19 of the booklet.  The engineers, surveyors, clerk of works and of course the contractors, and sub-contractors, the people who had to take the plans, the designs and specification and made it all happen.  As an acclaimed architect once said to me: ‘Those are the people I take off my hat to.’  

In the Booklet we read:  ‘At St Patrick’s Church, Ballinderry we are very conscious of the work of all those who went before us in establishing a sacred building for divine worship at this site’.  It is important that we all be conscious of the valiant efforts of the people who worked to realise this creation.

This Church was first built in the now distant 1843.  Prior to that we know that people on the Derry side went to Carnagh Chapel on Spring Road and those on the Tyrone side to the wee altar by Duffy’s Corner, where, according to the records of Ballinderry Historical Association, they prayed in the glade under the canopy of Heaven.  The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 offered new possibilities and the people of Ballinderry were, as always, quick off the mark.  Fr MacOscar offered to buy this site from the Salters Company of London.  But he did not have to do so.  The Company offered him one Irish acre as a free grant to the parish.  It is testimony to good relations, and presumably to the high opinions, of the Company of their employees from this parish.

The work of promoting the construction fell to Fr Quinn.  The O’Neill’s of Ballinderry, known as the Masons, began the work and Michael McWilliams & Co completed it.  

Recently the Eucharistic Congress Bell came to this area.  It is of interest that in 1897 a decision was taken, when Fr McCooey was the Parish Priest, to procure the services of a bell.  The bell weighs half a ton.  Some money was raised in America – a certain Mr Toner sent a cheque for £22.  The benefactors, obviously natives of the parish, said that they gladly contributed so that the bell would ring out melodiously to echo over the waters of sweet Lough Neagh.  There are echoes there surely of the yearnings in the heart of every exile for their native share.
Things appear to have rested, more or less thus until 1964.  Then Fr Patrick Fox embarked on a major work of restoration.  The most notable feature was the installation of the beautiful stained glass window depicting seven, the perfect number, Irish saints and scenes from the Bible.  Then in 1994-95 the roof was replaced – an important piece of work – during the tenure of Fr Terry Kelly.

That takes us to today and the beginning of another chapter of this illustrious church.  The results are to be seen by all and need no commentary from me.  There is abundant commentary in the Booklet and I urge you all to read it.

As Karl Pedersen writes –‘old churches are steeped in history’.  This one is steeped in your history, the history of your families and your community, the history of baptisms and births, marriages and deaths and much more.  It is a proud history – a history of the value and appreciation of faith.  But church buildings are not primarily about bricks and mortar but about the people who come to pray and worship in them.

Now what are the challenges?

I think that today’s Gospel is particularly well chosen. When I come here I am often reminded of the Sea of Galilee, which features so prominently in the life of Jesus.

The challenge now is to ensure that this, St Patrick’s Church, will continue to provide meaning to the lives of the people who worship here.  The challenge is to ensure that it will continue to give hope to people.  That will definitely help if we all remember the following:

When the Holy Spirit came, the Infant Church decided that there were four things that would play a part in ensuring they could continue the work of Christ.  They must be faithful to the teaching of the Apostles.  That teaching was naturally all about Jesus and his compassionate love, his healing power.  You people, and your ancestors, had gathered here for almost 200 years to listen to that teaching, as the Scriptures are read and explained from here and to go out and put into practice in life.

Every Christian community is called to be faithful to prayer.  It is a response to the love of God for us – a love made visible in Jesus Christ and made known through the teaching of the Apostles.

Here you gather to pray often:  In times of joy and sorrow you come to ask help.  In times of danger and of jubilation, you come to give thanks.  The Christian community is committed to caring for the community and I know that there is a strong community spirit here.  Your winning of the All-Ireland Club Title is just one illustration of that community spirit.  I know that there are many more.  I am quite sure that what happens within these four walls also plays its part.  Long may it continue to do so.

Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he had finished speaking he said to Simon:  “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”.  

The fact that Peter, and the others, had been fishing all night in vain, plus the fact that Simon was the fisherman and Jesus, the carpenter’s son, must have tempted Simon to answer something like this:  ‘Master, with all due respect, I am the fisherman and know about these things and we were out all during the night and caught nothing’.  But no, that is not Peter’s way.  He has far too much trust in the Master to even hesitate, for one moment, before obeying.  So, Peter puts his trust absolutely in the word of Jesus and that trust is rewarded.

For over one hundred and sixty-eight years our people have gathered in this Church on the lovely Lough shore.  They have come to this place to savour, again and again, the great promises of God that He would be with us to the end of time.

Your ancestors gathered to hear again the great challenge:  to put our trust and to put out into the deep.  In other words, not to be afraid to give time to prayer and to experience there the everlasting, unchanging love of God at work in our own lives and in the lives of others.  Here may you realise that you are in the presence of God.  May you see more clearly that God is here, but also within you, in the beautiful creation that surrounds you and in those around you.

The fourth request, made to the early Church, was that they should be faithful to the Breaking of Bread – in other words – to the Mass.  

I have great memories of celebrating Mass here, where you gathered in great numbers – young and old – to, as in the words of the Second Reading – ‘Sing the praises of God’.  God is a God who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.  

This evening we recall that we have all been called out of the darkness of ignorance of Jesus Christ to knowing Him and loving Him.  It is not a reference to Derry’s recent good form in qualifying for the Ulster Final, after a period in the shade.  Many good wishes go with them and especially the Ballinderry players involved in that final.

St Peter tells us to set ourselves close to Jesus Christ.  St. Paul puts it another way – Put on the mind of Christ.  Have the outlook of Christ – make the values which Christ lived – truth and justice and love – make those values your values.

Today, as down through the ages, Jesus invites us to recognise what He has done for us.  That he loved us to the end – to the extent of dying on the Cross to save us from everlasting death.  He has left us the Mass to remind us of His love for us.  What a treasure that the Eucharist is and what a privilege to belong to a people who appreciate that treasure.  

There is a lovely piece in the Eucharistic Prayer of this Mass which sums up many of our hopes and the hopes of this Parish this evening.  

Father accept the prayers of those who dedicate this Church to you.
May it be a place where your Gospel of peace is proclaimed –
and your holy mysteries celebrated.
Guided by your word and secure in your peace,
May your Chosen People, now journeying through life,
Arrive safely at their eternal home.
There may all your children, now scattered abroad, be settled at last in your City of Peace.

Let me quote the excellent Booklet one more time.  The fact that such enormous effort has been made by your Parish Priest and so many others, bears testimony to the relevance of the Church to the present and to our future.

This space has communicated with so many people over the years.  This restoration work will ensure that the conversation continues.  Long may that conversation continue.  If it does, you will see that God will not be outdone in generosity – that is for sure.  God wants this conversation certainly to continue so that you may come to know that each and every one of you is precious to God – so precious that God has written your name on the palm of His hand.

As he departed for Madrid to attend World Youth Day today, Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, recalled the hope he experienced at previous World Youth Days and expressed a hope that pilgrims, following in the footsteps of their ancestors who left on pilgrimages to Spain, would bring hope and help to their compatriots in difficult times.

Cardinal Brady said: “As I leave for Madrid, Spain for the World Youth Day Pilgrimage, I think of other pilgrims and other times.  St James’ Gate, Dublin is named after the point of departure, for centuries, of pilgrims to the Shrine of St James in Compostela in Northern Spain.  I think of many other pilgrims who left in by-gone days to be educated in Spain, when they could not do so at home.   They came back to give hope and help to their compatriots in difficult times.  Hopefully today’s young pilgrims will do likewise.

“I recall vividly the moment three years ago the cheers and shouts of gladness, when Pope Benedict announced in Sydney that the next World Youth Day would be Madrid in 2011. The experience of meeting millions of young people at previous World Youth Days in Sydney, Paris and Rome has given me immense hope as I face the challenges of a world where religion is so marginalised and ridiculed and caricatured.

“I hope Madrid will do likewise.  I know it will and that is why I am looking forward to going.  This time I imagine Pope Benedict will once again challenge his listeners in Madrid with a message that has pervaded all of his theology – the message of joy.  In Cologne in August 2005 Pope Benedict told the young people, “The encounter with Jesus Christ will allow you to experience in your hearts the joy of his living and life-giving presence and enable you to bear witness to it before others.”

“At a World Youth Day that has as its theme, ‘Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith’ (cf. Col 2:7), the Pope’s message is not likely to be any different.

“The living and life-giving presence of Jesus is not confined to Madrid!”

World Youth Day – a true celebration
Father Brian White, chairperson of the Armagh Diocesan Youth Commission and a curate in Blackrock, Co Louth is travelling to Madrid as part of the Armagh Diocesan pilgrimage.  Before leaving for Madrid he said that the pilgrimage is crucial to both the young people who will undergo this life-changing experience and the suffering wounded Church in Ireland that awaits them at home.

Father Brian said: “The 2011 World Youth day message “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7) carries a very strong and personal message for the young people of the Church in Ireland.  At a time when the Church in Ireland is under constant scrutiny and attack, thousands of young people have emerged from darkness to stand up and be counted, joining with millions of others worldwide to celebrate their faith.

“On their pilgrim journey they are celebrating the joy of receiving the good news call of living their lives in Jesus Christ.  The pilgrimage is crucial to both the young people who will undergo this life-changing experience and the suffering wounded Church in Ireland that awaits them at home.

“These young people will have the opportunity to come to know in a deeper way the Joy of their faith and witness how this Joy is shared with millions worldwide.  It is this Good News message with which they will return home, that will be a source of hope and healing for the future of our Church. It is no secret that the Church in Ireland seeks renewal. These young people are the renewal, they are the future of the Church and through pilgrimage with the two million strong travelling to Madrid they will receive the renewal of Christ that many search for, and return home with a message of hope firm in the faith.

“Gilbert Rice from Armagh is one such person. Gilbert attended the last World Youth Day in Sydney and is going back this year as a leader.  Reflecting on what World Youth Day meant in his life, Gilbert said: ‘It was at World Youth Day that I found and took ownership of my faith as a young adult.  My life hasn’t been the same since that experience.  To celebrate being a Catholic with a million other young people who gathered with great joy and happiness, gave me confidence to allow my faith to be a big part of who I am as a person.’

A sense of anticipation
“After a Mass of sending the week before their departure a strong sense of excitement and anticipation rapidly surged amongst the young pilgrims of the Archdiocese of Armagh. For almost a year the 131 young people who are travelling to Madrid as part of the Armagh Diocesan pilgrimage have been preparing both spiritually and in a more practical manner to join with millions from around the globe, with the help of their families, schools and parishes.  Through regular meetings and retreats together the seeds of new friendships across the diocese have been sown and what were once many small cluster groups has now blossomed into a powerfully energetic diocesan group representing the Archdiocese with an enthusiastic and joyful voice.  From those who have travelled to World Youth Day before the other first-time pilgrims have heard of life changing stories and the celebration of faith in a way they have never before experienced.

“At this time in Ireland the words ‘celebration’ and ‘faith’ so rarely appear together.  The young pilgrims are eagerly awaiting the chance to experience their faith with a strong sense of elation. They talk excitedly of the many other new experiences awaiting them, the cultural exchange with our brothers and sisters in Barcelona, the Mass at the ancient Montserrat monastery, meeting nations from every corner of the world and allowing new friendships to grow over the ten-day period.  For many it is a strong sense of hope for which they are searching.  This hope can be found in Blessed John Paul II’s address to the young people of Ireland in 1979, ‘I believe in the youth of Ireland… you will be the living force of your country you will decide what Ireland will be… tomorrow, Ireland will depend on you.’

“This message still resounds in the heart of our youth and it is the nourishment of this message which the young people long for the most.”