First cemetery devotions in three years take place in Navan

Fr Declan Hurley's remarks and words of thanks after the St Mary’s Cemetery Devotions held over the weekend:

“Thank God we are able to make this pilgrimage once again! It is three years since we stood together on this sacred ground – sacred because it is consecrated ground, sacred because it holds the mortal remains of your loved ones who have died.

"Since we last gathered together on this first Sunday of July, many of you have made a lonely journey here to bury a loved one.

“Restrictions on numbers attending funerals meant that the wider community could not be present with you to carry you and support you in your moment of grief and loss.

“We pray that our gathering today will in some way bring healing to the painful memory of that lonely experience.

"When it was not possible for you to gather here for these annual devotions, the priests of the Parish made this pilgrimage for you, praying for your loved ones who lie here, and sprinkling the graves with holy water to recall the promise of eternal life given in Baptism to all who lie here. As you once again make this pilgrimage today, it is first and foremost for you a pilgrimage of remembrance as you remember your loved ones who lie here awaiting the resurrection. For many of you, this act of remembrance is painful because the absence of those you love is still a source of pain in your life. We pray with you today, asking the Lord to console you at this time.

"But our pilgrimage must also be a pilgrimage that we make in faith, hope and love:

Faith – because we believe that those who lie here are destined for eternal life, and that, in the words of Jesus in the Gospel at Mass today, “their names are written in heaven”.

Hope – because we share the hope that God will bring us together again in the joy of his Kingdom;

Love – because our love for those who have died has not been extinguished by their death.

"May our prayer here today strengthen and confirm all of us in that faith, hope and love.

"I wish to pay tribute to all of you who have tended to your plots during the year and for the special efforts you have made to have your plots looking so well today.

"It behoves all of us to work together to ensure that the cemetery remains a place of dignified beauty, a place that expresses our love and respect for all who lie here. The upkeep of the cemetery requires your generosity.

“Thank you for your support of today’s collection which helps to meet some of the maintenance costs during the year.

“We must remember that it is through generosity that we have this beautiful cemetery. So we remember today the generosity of Luke Smyth who donated the land for this cemetery in 1899. His grave is here at the centre of the cemetery, and we will now place a wreath on his grave as a sign of our gratitude, and of our prayer for the happy repose of his soul.

"On all our behalf, I wish to express our thanks to the caretakers of the cemetery – Declan Tracey, Aaron Dunphy, and Brian McKeown – for all their work in caring for the cemetery during the year and in the preparations for today."

Fr Hurley also paid tribute to Navan Gardaí for their assistance with traffic and security, the Order of Malta, the Coldrick family, Andrews Construction Ltd. and Gerry McMahon for allowing their fields to be used for car-parking, the volunteers who stewarded the parking and who assisted with the collection, Michael McGoldrick for the sound system, Farrelly’s Funeral Directors for the use of the canopy as well as the musicians and singers.”