Blessing of Marker at Ballyburke Graveyard
Lord God, we gather at this sacred place: a church, a burial place; to pray, to remember, and to celebrate our heritage in the faith.
We pause to pray for all who are buried here – the babies who were with us for just some brief moments and then went home to become angels in heaven.
We pray for the victims of our terrible famine who are buried here. They died of hunger at a cruel time in our history. They died trying to live. Yet they are not forgotten. They have names, faces, and now they live in a place where there is no more suffering or hunger.
We remember the people who gathered here in these ruins to celebrate Mass like we do this evening. They are our forefathers in the faith. They knelt among these stones and hallowed walls to bring their troubles and achievements to the Lord and, He, in turn, nourished them with His word and sacrament.
We celebrate our heritage in the faith here – our ruined church on the path of Togher Padraig. We celebrate our patron saint, whose shadow, as he passed by here centuries ago, passed on a beautiful treasure to us – the gift of our Catholic faith.
This evening, we gather to celebrate our roots – our church, our children, our victims and our faith. Because of them all, we are richer in the faith, more blessed in our gifts, enriched in our history and profoundly more grateful for the gifts and blessings we have received because of them.
May the Lord bless us who gather here and all who lie here. May he let his face shine upon us, both living and dead. And may the Lord be gracious to us in good times and in bad as we celebrate our past, live in the present and hope for the future. We ask this through Our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen
- Fr. Michael Tracey
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