Lourdes, June 20, 2025

Our Limerick diocesan pilgrimage this year is taking place during the Jubilee Year with hope as its theme. I’ve noticed recently that any time I preach on the topic of hope, people come up to me and say, “yes, we need so much to hear about hope; we need hope”. As well as having their own personal reasons for saying this, we know that the looming dominance of Artificial intelligence, the rapid rise of biotechnologies, the dark side of social media and then, so many wars – one being too many - and all the fractious words and threats, make people afraid. Our world is crying out for hope, hope especially for peace on our troubled planet. As we hear about the horrors of war in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran, our hearts are heavy with a sense of helplessness. We in Ireland know only too well the cost of a breakdown in peace, the terrible legacy of war and conflict – generations of mutual hatred and resentment, instability and fragility.

Our new Pope, Leo XIV, has made the pursuit of peace a priority. Recently, he expressed the hope that every diocese would promote pathways of education in non-violence and offer projects that transform fear of the other into an opportunity for encounter. He prayed that each of our communities might become a “house of peace”, characterised by dialogue and justice and where forgiveness is cherished.

Peace is not pie in the sky. Peace doesn’t just happen. Peace is a project that we need to pursue humbly day by day. Peace is always a work in progress because there are so many forces and impulses, inside us and around us, only too ready to ambush the peace we we’re trying to construct. We always need to learn anew the art of peacebuilding. We need to practice building houses of peace.

I’d like to take up this idea of building houses of peace. There is much justified talk in Ireland about the urgent need to build houses and many of them. But, as well as the physical buildings, it is important to remind ourselves we need to spiritually build houses of peace and many of them. While we can feel helpless when faced with the unconscionable tragedies erupting in our world’s geo-political landscape, we need to remember that we need to commit ourselves again and again to building houses of peace in our family life and in our workplace, in our neighbourhood and in the wider society.

These days, in this pilgrimage to Lourdes in our Jubilee Year of Hope, are a chance for us to make a special effort to go about building a house of peace among us. The building blocks we can use are the day-by-day small and big deeds of love. They involve patience and listening, kindness and practical help, truth and compassion. By being the first to love, and loving without distinction, seeing Jesus in everyone, we do our part to lay a stone that is essential to building the Limerick Diocesan pilgrimage house of peace. Let’s believe too that because of the worldwide Mystical Body of Christ that what we build here of peace can also impact well beyond the confines of this Marian shrine.

As we go about building this house, let’s remember there is someone among us who is an expert in building peace and that is Our Lady, the woman who bears the title “Queen of Peace”. At Cana, she got Jesus to turn the water into wine. She is the woman who knows how to speed things up and help us gain the wine of peace. In Lourdes we get a chance to re-live something of the experience St. Bernadette described. She said: “Our Lady spoke to me as one person speaking to another”. In these days, let Our Lady speak to us, as one person speaking to another. Imagine what she would say to you at this time in your life – whether you are a young person full of the opportunities of life ahead of you, or a person carrying a burden, or a person more advanced in years knowing only too well the shortness of life.

Mary’s words would echo Jesus’ words: “peace, do not be afraid”; “I am with you”, “do whatever he tells you”; “forget yourself; think of others”; “say your ‘yes’ to God”; “have courage”; “don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today”; “take me into your life as your spiritual mother”; “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall we called children of God”.

We can’t be peacemakers on our own resources. It is vital to pray for peace. It is a gift. Let us ask Our Lady who works so closely with the Holy Spirit to build us up as people of prayer, builders together in these days of our pilgrimage of the house of peace in which we can dwell together.

One final suggestion:  why not here at the Grotto consecrate your life to God in a new way, declaring your willingness to be his instrument of peace in our world. Our Lady will help you in this because she knows our world is desperately crying out for peace. She knows the world needs the unique contribution of each one of us.