The Most Holy Trinity Solemnity
4th June 2023
Basilica of Pope St. Pius X
Lourdes
Bishop William Crean
Diocese of Cloyne
Ireland
My friends,
We are blessed to be here in Lourdes on pilgrimage. It means we are immersed in the wonderous mystery of God’s presence to the world. When we gather here in prayer we are, at once, witnesses to one another and to the world of the God who is beyond the capacity of our minds yet revealed in his loving sharing of our humanity. This place exudes faith in his presence. It has been a precious gift to many who have come here in need of hope and go from here with deep gratitude for the graces that have been poured into their life.
Like the Incarnation itself it has come to us by way of Mary, mother of Jesus the Lord, our mother and mother of the Church. Bernadette was called to be her servant and messenger. It is all so ordinary in human terms as to be utterly disarming to the clever and all knowing.
But should we be surprised? Do the words of the prophet not still echo and re-echo across the centuries
“For my way are not your ways
Your thoughts not my thoughts
as the heavens are higher than the earth
so are my ways higher than your ways” Isaiah 55:8-9
My friends, the phenomenon of our faith remains inscrutable to the world of AI (Artificial Intelligence) simply because while the pattern of the human mind may be replicated, the rhythms of our hearts are uniquely ours and continually through our experience of love, received and shared gift us with the blessing of salvation.
So, while the ways of God are often hidden from our understanding, we, nevertheless, come to know and experience the ways of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God as Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier of our lives.
Our pilgrimage to Lourdes is an extension of the expression of our faith through the normal pattern of our days. However, our presence in Lourdes at this time is different because of the personal, local and global experience of Covid. We may be mourning the loss of a loved one, you may be recovering from contracting the virus, long Covid is a reality for many.
As ever we come to this well of spiritual renewal to be refreshed and reinvigorated in faith and in hope. Through the intercession of Mary, our mother in faith and St. Bernadette we lay our lives before God in a spirit of humility, trusting that in ways beyond our comprehension we are healed and find refreshment of spirit.
As people at prayer, we are deeply mindful of the turmoil of war in Ukraine and its impact on the entire global order. A great evil pervades among us in this conflict. We pray for the people on whom so much suffering and trauma has been inflicted and continue to be displaced and threatened. We pray for a renewed imagination and vigour in the search for resolution.
The coincidence of our pilgrimage with the celebration of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity affords us a new opportunity to re-focus our lives on its central grace of the Lord’s abiding presence to us, to the Church and the world.
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him may not
be lost but may have eternal life” Jn. 3:16
Lourdes, in the ways of Divine Providence, is an instrument in that drama of salvation.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us
St. Bernadette, pray for us.
