Pentecost Sunday
Jubilee of Hope
St. Gobnait's Well, Baile Bhuirne
8 June 2025
A Chairde,
This is truly a hope filled place. This place has been such for generations of our forebears who have come in pilgrimage here to find spiritual inspiration, consolation and wisdom through the intercession of St. Gobnait. We in the 21st century continue to come to this well to quench the thirst of longing that prevails in our lives today despite the social and technological progress of our society. The hungers of the human heart remain persistent. “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from God.”
We gather on Pentecost Sunday, a festival to mark the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise to send us an advocate to be with us and remind us of all he has said and done in our midst. So, our prayer on this Pentecost Day is as ever,
“Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us/them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created
And you shall renew the face of the earth.”
Is iontach an rud é brontannas an Spioraid Naomh ag Domhnach Cincíse; sa tslí go n-instear dúinn go raibh mórán daoine ann ó ciníocha cultúrtha éagsúla agus gur thuig siad go léir nádúir an bhrontannais ina dteangacha féin. A slí féin acu chun teacht ar thuiscint ar an ócáid. Is fíric súntasach í sin dúinn in Éirinn na linne seo. Agus sinn ag teacht le chéile anseo i nGaeltacht Mhúscraí, ní mór dúinn bheith aireach agus buíoch de na traidisiúin atá beo gan briseadh i gcreideamh pobal and cheantair, agus á chaomhnú acu. Tá fírinne ag baint leis an oidhreacht beo, spioraidáilte anseo, a bhfuil phréamhaithe go doimhin tríd na glúinte ag tabhairt adhradh agus omós do Naomh Gobnait. Adhradh a léirítear i slí ar leith sa Ghaeilge agus sa cheol. Tá an oidhreacht creideamhach ata á chleachtadh anseo ina thaiscumar inspioráideach d’Éireann na linne seo. Is creatlach cultúrtha í seo ina bhfuil an creideamh agus an cultúr snaidhmaithe lena chéile sa tslí is nach féidir iad a scarúint.
Tá breis is cúig bliana fichid imithe ó léirigh an sagart agus socheolaí, Liam Ó Riain, sár-thuiscint ina thuairim gur bhraith athnuachain na hEaglaise in Éirinn ar theacht arís ar na préamhacha doimhin dár gcultúr Gaelach agus dár bhféiniúleacht. Is cuí dúinn mar sin, lenár linn, an áit ársa, beannaithe seo, spreagtha ag Gobnait Naofa, a cheapadh mar láthair oilithreachta do Dheoise Chluain Úmha ar ócáid lubhaile an dóchais.
The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is remarkable because we’re told that though there were people of many cultures each understood the nature of the gift in their own language – their own way if understanding and capturing their experience. That’s a significant fact for us in Ireland today. Gathering as we do in Gaeltacht Muscraí, we cannot but be conscious of the unbroken tradition that thankfully has been maintained in these faith communities. There is here an authenticity of a living spiritual heritage that has deep roots in the veneration of St. Gobnait, that through the ages found expression in a unique manner and pattern of the Irish language and music. This heritage of faith and practice serves as a reservoir of inspiration for contemporary Ireland. It is a cultural fabric in which faith and culture are so deeply interwoven as to be inseparable.
It is more than 25 years ago since the late priest sociologist Liam Ryan made the prescient observation that the renewal of the Irish Church would come by way of a recovery of the deep roots of our Gaelic culture and identity. It is fitting for us therefore in our time to designate this ancient sacred space inspired by St. Gobnait as an official pilgrimage location for the Diocese of Cloyne to mark the Jubilee of Hope.
Every jubilee marks a measure of thanksgiving for the blessing of years past; but it’s also a new beginning, a lifting of our eyes to horizons that faces us. The invitation of the late beloved Pope Francis to celebrate this Jubilee 2025 as a Jubilee of Hope reflected his profound sense of humanities need for hope at this moment of our history.
The threats of war, conflict and climate are real and immediate for so many parts of the world. But more than that global threat is the loss of hope and joy for so many across the generations. Many feel down hearted about life. That’s why our coming to this sacred place of pilgrimage is pure gift for renewing our hearts and spirit in us and among us.
Our Christian hope has deep roots in the assurance of Gods promise in Jesus of his abiding with us all days. In him we draw life from cherishing and nurturing all that is noble, true and of beauty in life.
Let us not be afraid to share our faith in this popular devotion to St. Gobnait. Our prayer in this place goes beyond our individual needs – it is carried forward by the faith and prayer of those who’ve gone before is in life and faith, on whose shoulders we can rest secure.
“Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love”
St. Gobnait, pray for us
St. Colman, pray for us.
All the saints of God, pray for us.
Amen
