Friends, today we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which is always the day after the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The proximity of these feasts it a sign of the alliance of the hearts of Jesus and Mary in love and in doing the Father's will. Mary's immaculate heart is a symbol of her purity of heart and the singularity of her intention to do God's will and to carry out what he asked of her. 'Be it done on to me according to your Word'. She was loving attentive always to the heart of her Son and was his first disciple. As such she is ideally placed to teach us the way how to follow the Lord with her and to ask God for the purity of heart that she enjoyed by God's grace.
Today also marks the feast of the Irish martyrs. Between 1579 and 1654, 17 Irish men and women were martyred for their faith. Among them were a number of Wexford people - Matthew Lambert, Robert Meyler, Edward Cheevers and Patrick Kavanagh were killed for their faith on 5th July 1581. May we never forget the sacrifices of our ancestors in faith who preferred death rather than betray their innermost beliefs.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN: