On 27 April, which marked the fourth Saturday of Easter, the Archdiocese of Dublin embarked on its annual diocesan pilgrimage to Knock. Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin, celebrated Mass for the pilgrims and, in his homily, said, “In our Gospel today, Philip expresses a request that is often in the hearts of people of faith, or people on their way to faith: ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied’ (John 14:8). We might not be able to say it with Philip’s clarity or with the passion of the psalmist – ‘It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face,’ (Psalm 26[27]: 8-9), or with the pleading of Moses who begged the Lord to ‘show [him His] glory’ (Exod 33:18) what they express, however, is stirring in many hearts – maybe in our own. To go on pilgrimage is go on a search, even if we don’t always know what we’re looking for.
“Philip has been following Jesus since the beginning of his ministry (John 1:46). One can spend a lot of time with Jesus, as did Philip, and still ask the question: ‘Let us see the Father.’ In a way, Philip has yet to realise that in Jesus, God is revealing himself profoundly. In Jesus, God is showing us how He is. Jesus is ‘the image of the invisible God.” (Col 1:15). This is the heart of our Christian faith, its pivot, the point on which it turns: in Jesus we come to know God in a new way. As Saint Paul told the Corinthians, “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Cor 4:6).
This is very important for us here in Knock. Our pilgrimage to Knock is a pilgrimage to a place of apparition. What happened in Knock was a vision; there were no words. The fifteen witnesses saw; they saw that hidden light which is shining in our hearts, to use the inspired words of Saint Paul.”
To read Archbishop Farrell’s full homily click here.
ENDS
