Photo was taken at Vernon, north of Paris, France

On a biting cold evening the sun casts lovely reflections across the River Seine.

Thought on Monday – February – 06/02/2012

‘When the spaces of my heart seem cold, dark, barren, empty, fallow, dormant, infertile or inactive it is a hard place to be. It’s a place that invites me, if I can, to wait for the thaw and the melting that leads to new life.’ ~Finola Cunnane

Much of Europe is currently in the grip of freezing weather conditions. Even Rome experienced snow over the weekend, prompting Pope Benedict to mention it in his address yesterday: “The snowfall is beautiful but let’s hope spring comes soon.” On a spiritual level, the icy weather conditions can also speak at a deeper level. The starting point of spirituality is recognising that we all have cold, dark, barren, empty and bleak places within. These places are within every person so we should not feel that we are on our own. The next step is always the most important one and that is to know that we don’t have to be stuck in these places. The invitation on a spiritual level is to allow God breathe new life, hope, energy and a sense of new beginnings into all these cold dark and dreary places. The Gospel stories are a constant reminder about the wonderful changes that can come about when we allow God into our lives. Does it mean that life will always be wonderful for ever more? It certainly doesn’t but we are always in a much better position to maximise every spring like moment that comes our way. It may be cold now but spring is just around the corner.