Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that the Second World War ended on the 15^th of August 1945, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The event was greeted by a wide range of emotions. Not everyone shared the rejoicing in victory. There was relief that the war had ended; but there was renewed sadness for those who would never return home.

Millions of people had been displaced, had died of hunger or were cruelly exterminated. Entire countries were devastated. Entire nations were exhausted, physically, emotionally and financially. The war had ended but at a terrible price in human life and natural resources.

The final act of this universal tragedy was enacted on the 6^th and 9^th of August 1945. The Japanese city of Hiroshima was the target for the first atomic bomb.

One hundred and forty thousand people died as a result of that air-raid. Three days later, in Nagasaki, a further eighty thousand were killed by a second atom bomb.

The atomic bomb brought about peace – peace of a kind! It was not a peace based on mutual respect and affection, but on mutual fear. Nations, including ours, invested vast sums of money on nuclear arms. The so-called ‘arms race’ had begun. Nevertheless, there were other visions, movements for peace and reconciliation among the nations. Symbolic of this other vision is the statue whose fiftieth anniversary we are celebrating.

Fifty years ago Bishop Grant, who had been an army chaplain and a prisoner of war, dedicated this statue that was the inspiration of Canon John Morrison. It is appropriate that it should be a statue of Our Blessed Lady.

During the First World War, Pope Benedict XV added the invocation “Queen of Peace” to the Litany of Our Lady that we recite after the Rosary. He tried to mediate between the opposing nations but his offer was rejected. He proposed a Christmas truce in 1914 and produced a Peace Plan in August 1917. In the reign of another Pope Benedict we gather to pray for peace and reconciliation among the nations of the world through the intercession of Our Blessed Lady

Mary’s right to the title of ‘Queen of Peace’ springs from her role as the Mother of Christ. In our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah, King Ahaz was faced with the threat of invasion by two neighbouring kings. God sends a word of comfort and reassurance to him. “Pay attention, keep calm, have no fear”.

When he asks for a sign, the reply is, “The maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel”. In his Gospel, Matthew explains the meaning of this name –“God is with us”.

Though all his trials and sufferings, his disappointments and his failures, St Paul never lost heart. He could write to the Romans and assure them that, “Nothing can come between us and the love of God. With God on our side, who can be against us?”

What makes Paul so certain? In that passage from his Letter to the Galatians that we have heard, he professes his faith in the Incarnation. The same Spirit that had formed the Infant Jesus in the womb of Mary had also been poured out on the Apostles and on Paul.

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, those who believe in Christ become, children of God, Temples of the Holy Spirit, Co-heirs with Christ and the right to dwell for ever with God their Father. They also become heralds of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

That Good News began with the apparition of the Angel Gabriel to the young woman in Galilee, Mary of Nazareth. His message was not easy to understand. It seemed to run counter to human experience and human understanding.

Mary questioned the messenger and the message; but she was seeking clarification, further explanation. Her response was a considered response and reflected her faith, her prudence and her openness to the word and the power of God. She was convinced by the words of the Angel, “Nothing is impossible with God”.

From time to time we are tempted to despair. We look around the world and see all the problems of hunger, injustice, exploitation and war. At home we are confronted by the breakdown of family life, the problems of drugs and alcohol, poverty and unemployment and we feel helpless.

It is at times like this we need to draw near to Christ through the intercession of His Mother Mary and make our own the message of Gabriel: “Nothing is impossible to God”.

As we gather around this statue of Our Blessed Lady, Queen of Peace we pray for those who gave their lives in two world wars and in wars since then. We pray also for peace in our hearts, for peace in our homes and in our communities. Let us pray the words of St. Francis “Make me a channel of your peace” and may we be ambassadors of Our Lady Queen of Peace. Amen