We come to these healing waters confident in the hope of Jesus Christ to save us and heal us, in whatever way he wishes. Last year we celebrated the miracle of John Traynor, so miracles to happen and we know that it is true, this is the miracle of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Youth Pilgrimage in 1976 led by Archbishop Derek Worlock and the first young people. Dear young people. today so prominent in your yellow shirts, I thank you for giving time and energy to travel with us all to this holy place. I remember my first visit when I was 20 as a helper on a Jumbulance. I found it very confusing, the shops, the shrines, the prayers, the busyness – so might you find it confusing, but many years later here I am again as your Archbishop. You will grow into it if you allow yourselves to be carried along by the spirit of prayer and generous service.

Today we celebrate the Mass of the Annunciation. The theme of Lourdes this year focuses on this great event when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and greeted her in the words, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee’. These words changed history.

The angel Gabriel comes to Mary and says ‘Hail’, a word which from the Greek means, ‘Rejoice’ or ‘Be Glad’. Mary – rejoice, be glad – you been chosen for a special calling by God. Again and again in the scriptures, we hear the call of God, to prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah, to John the Baptist and later to the apostles. The Holy Spirit continues to call each one of us to a definite and special service – this week listen to his calling.

Let us reflect on the word annunciation:

Annunciation is a word which describes an announcement and a life-changing moment:

- Annunciation – for example, the proposal of marriage, a romantic moment, maybe the man on his knee, a ring, a promise, love ringing out, an announcement, a ‘yes’ and life is changed;

- Annunciation – a call to priesthood or religious life and a growing conviction to follow Jesus in this way, ‘a Yes, I must try this’ and life is changed;

- Annunciation – the knock of the policeman on a door announcing a tragedy, life is changed;

- Annunciation to Our Lady – the angel Gabriel tells her that God has chosen her to be the Mother of God’s Word, his Son. Gabriel promises that God is always present with us, God-with-us Emmanual – the word we heard in the first reading when the prophet Isaiah promises a future king, and a future Saviour.

- Annunciation of Our Lady to St Bernadette, the meeting with Our Lady, the promise of this shrine and its healing water, the invitation to come to the water, to come in procession.

An annunciation is a call to trust in God, to have confidence (literally to live with faith) in God’s promises.

The angel then says, ‘full of grace’. The angel reveals Mary’s true name in the heart of God, she is filled with grace, she is the one who fulfils the history of the Old Testament.

Grace is a perfect gift from God. Our Lady is graced from the first instant of her existence. Our Lady will tell St Bernadette, “I am the Immaculate Conception’ meaning she is full of grace and preserved from sin. ‘Full of grace’ is Mary’s name in the eyes of God. We too receive God’s grace as we try to do God’s Will. We are not perfectly graced like Our Lady but we can grow in grace day by day through prayer, the sacraments, our love and service of others.

The angel Gabriel says, ‘The Lord is with you’ – a promise, the Lord is not only with her but will be within her intimately after the conception in her womb. Our Blessed Lady is called the Ark of the Covenant. Just as in the Old Testament, the Ark was carried on the shoulders of the people of Israel and contained the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, so Mary becomes the new Ark or dwelling place of the Christ-Child who grows in her womb. Just as the cloud of glory covered the ark of the covenant, so now the Holy Spirit overshadows and covers Mary. She becomes God’s dwelling place on earth.

We rejoice because Mary says ‘Yes’, ‘be it done to me’. She says, ‘Behold I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.’

The Yes – to marriage, to a calling to priesthood or religious life, the yes of Mary, the yes of St Bernadette. Each says yes.

God’s annunciation to each one of us: today how will you say ‘Yes’ to God’s invitation?

Archbishop John Sherrington