Galway Bay fm newsroom - The Ireland of today is one in which culture Christianity has disappeared - but genuine faith persists in different forms.
That’s according to Archbishhop of Tuam Michael Neary, who this morning delivered his Reek Sunday homily at the summit of Croagh Patrick.
Opening this morning's homily, Archbishop Neary offered that people don't stop wanting god because they stop believing in him.
He said this enduring hunger marks the modern western world - which questions, suspects, argues, is dismayed, disappointed and disbelieving - yet keeps searching.
He said there is deep anxiety in our 'fearful' society about a wide range of concerns, such as family life, drug and alcohol abuse and voices from the online world and social media.
Archbishop Neary offered that while culture-christianity has disappeared in modern Ireland - there are numerous other factors that bind us together and many of us are still traveling in the same direction.
He pointed to the fact that many people make the annual journey to Croagh Patrick for reasons other than religious pilgrimage - but said anyone searching for peace was most certainty welcome.
He said the annual event is a place for those trying to make sense of life, to find answers to the questions we all face, and to find relief for suffering of mind, body or soul.
Archbishop Neary says while our world is governed by money, power and possessions - there are signs of a genuine spiritual hunger which acknowledges that people cannot be defined by such metrics.
He said followers of Christ have been entrusted with a mission to positively enable and encourage people to be open to a sense of wonder and therefore open to God.
