Today, my dear people, we are gathered here at the National Shrine of Mary in Knock from all over Ireland and beyond. My own Diocese of Cloyne is here on its annual Pilgrimage. We come here to pray, to be healed of our hurts and pains, to confess our sins and to give glory to God through the intercession of Her who was chosen to be the Mother of His Son. Mary welcomes us at her shrine and always points the way to Her Son. "Do whatever He tells you" (Jn. 2:5). She is always true to her vocation, her calling: "I am the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk. 1:38). She is the humble servant of the Lord in service to His people. She wants each one of us today to come closer to her Son Jesus and to learn from Him. Just as she was chosen to serve, so also Her Son was chosen by the Father: "Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased" (Mt.12:18). Each one of us, through our calling in Baptism, is called into service of God's kingdom. It is with these sentiments that we must come to the Shrine of Mary today. All of us are servants, called to serve.

Perhaps you did not ever consider yourself as a servant. In our culture of today we think of the one called to serve as one inferior but "in sacred history the servant is the one called by God to carry out a particular action of salvation and redemption". This is what the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has written in his message for today on the occasion of the 40th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The theme of His message this year is "Vocation to Service", and where better to pray for a generous response to God's call to service than here with Mary at her Shrine in Knock. Here with Mary we come close to Jesus and He has said: "where I am, there shall my servant be also" (Jn. 12:26). Jesus invites us to pray here today with Mary His mother so that we all may discover how exactly He wants us to serve one another. The Holy Father puts it this way: "Jesus, Servant and Lord, is the one who calls. He calls us to be like him, because only in service do human beings discover their own dignity and the dignity of others. He calls us to serve as he has served".

In our world of today, when we continue to demand service from others, it is good to take time out to consider genuinely how we ourselves are giving service. The Holy Father states: "When interpersonal relationships are inspired to reciprocal service, a new world is created and, in it, an authentic vocational culture is developed". Our coming to Mary's shrine today is our opportunity to assess our own personal commitment to service. As we pray today for generous hearts to respond to God's call to service in the Priesthood and the Religious life we must also pray that God will change the climate in which we live so that the call of Christ may not be silenced or suffocated by a culture which is negative. We must truly believe in the value of the Priesthood and the Religious life and that Christ continues to call. By our lives of Christian service we give voice to Jesus in our modern world. If the young do not meet true servants of the Lord, how on earth are they going to hear the voice of Jesus? If the young do not see the face of Christ in the attitudes and actions of those claiming to be disciples of the Lord, how can they ever encounter the person of Jesus? It is only in contemplating the Face of Christ, it is only in encountering the One who came "not to be served but to serve" (Mt. 20:28) that we can become open to the call to service.

My dear people, follow Mary today, look at the "servant Jesus" through her eyes and know that He continues to call. In this year dedicated to the Rosary we are asked to contemplate the Face of Christ through the recitation of this most beautiful prayer using the twenty mysteries which the Holy Father has given us. It is only when we come face to face with Jesus that we will hear His voice and the Holy Father says in his message today especially to the young: "The call of the Lord Jesus still resounds today: 'If anyone serves me, he must follow me' (Jn. 12:26). Do not be afraid to accept this call. You will surely encounter difficulties and sacrifices, but you will be happy to serve, you will be witnesses of that joy that the world cannot give. You will be living flames of an infinite and eternal love".

Mary invites us today to encounter her Son, Jesus, to do as he tells us. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows you and you know Him. Allow this reciprocal knowledge to strike fire in your hearts because the world today has need of Christians who are on fire with His love. He is capable of setting you on fire with enthusiasm for His kingdom if only you allow Him. Allow Mary, the humble virgin chosen to be the handmaid of the Lord, to touch your hearts today in such a way that you will always seek the Face of Her Son. The Holy Father gives us today in His message for Vocations a special prayer for the young to Mary: He prays: "Let the young people of the Third Millennium look to you, young daughter of Israel, who have known the agitation of a young heart when faced with the plan of the Eternal God. Make them able to accept the invitation of your Son to give their lives wholly for the glory of God. Make them understand that to serve God satisfies the heart, and that only in the service of God and of his Kingdom do we realise ourselves in accordance with the divine plan, and life becomes a hymn of glory to the Most Holy Trinity. Amen".