Tomorrow, I will be heading to Lisbon in Portugal with 20 young people from the Diocese. We’ll be taking part in the World Youth Day that’ll see a million young people from all over the world come together. The World Youth Day is an event that happens every few years when with young people joining with the Pope for a festival of faith and is always amazing. Fr. Chris O’Donnell describes it like “All-Ireland Day every day” of the week together, such is the lively atmosphere, good fun, excitement…

The programme is made up of all  kinds of events – talks, exhibitions, music sessions, prayer sessions, dialogue encounters, catecheses (faith talks), all of this in the context of Catholic faith. The highlights of the week are the moments with Pope Francis – a “Way of the Cross” ceremony, an evening Vigil where the Pope dialogues with young people and then the final Mass. Pope Francis this time is also making a visit to Fatima during the week. The young people from Limerick Diocese are also going to make a visit to Fatima where they will remember all the folk at home.

Young people from Limerick have gone to all the World Youth Days over the years – Rome, Paris, Cologne, Madrid, Sydney, Krakow….  It’s always been a wonderful experience even if it can be challenging! A million young people together in one city is quite a phenomenon. Really they should be called “Worth Youth Week” because the whole event lasts a week. On the final evening, the young people all sleep outdoors overnight as they prepare for the Mass the following morning.

Being with so many young adults is always moving. They are in a period of life when they are making decisions for their future. They are many of them searching, searching for what ultimately will give meaning to their lives. The first Reading in today’s Mass tells us the story of young Solomon. It’s a story I like to tell confirmation children. He was young, about to take up major responsibilities. He is going to become a King. He has this dream in which God asks him – what would you like me to give you? Solomon asks for wisdom, a heart that knows how to discern between good and evil. He could have asked to be rich, to have a long life, to be better than all the others, but what he asked for was wisdom. And God granted him this and much more besides.

The Gospel takes up the story of searching and finding. The images are of a merchant searching for a pearl of great price and finding one or someone finding a treasure hidden in a field.

Notice the merchant is out there “looking” for fine pearls. He’s active. He’s not letting the grass grow under his feet. This is a reminder too that we are not to settle for a mediocre version of our faith and our commitment to life. The Holy Spirit always wants to give us the gift of joy and new life in the Gospel. But for the Spirit to come in, we have to go out searching, asking, looking.

On the other hand, we have the image of the farmer who “finds” the treasure. This time we’re dealing with a person who had eyes to see. He or she was keeping an eye out and spotted the treasure. We might go to bargain basement sales, but a good eye will spot the really valuable item or object. Likewise, Jesus wants us to keep our eyes open to find the treasures in our lives –valuable relationships, good deeds done, the contribution given by others to our society…

Of course, the greatest treasure and pearl is Jesus Christ himself. We need always to be searching to deepen our relationship with him, and watch out for how he is speaking to us through events, and through people and circumstances. We need to know how to recognise we have to let go of all that does not bring us joy, peace, truth in order to really let Jesus bring us the joy and peace and hope that the world itself cannot give us. That’s why Jesus speaks of selling everything to buy the pearl.

It's what we can pray for the young people at the World Youth Day this week. That it may be a time for them to discover in a new way the great pearl of faith in their lives. Meanwhile, here at home, we can too our part to go out and search, notice and let go of the superficial in order to let the wisdom of the Gospel be ours.