Photo was taken yesterday at St Patrick’s Church, Millstreet, Co.Cork (Irl)

Shona Faye Creedon takes some well deserved time out after her christening yesterday!

Thought on Sunday – February – 23/02/2014

The following Thought is by Triona Doherty

‘Rise above it’; ‘Don’t lower yourself to their level’; ‘Turn the other cheek’. It sounds like good advice, but of course it is not always easy.

Major historical figures such as Gandhi show what can be achieved by taking a path of non-violence. If you’ve ever seen the film Gandhi starring Ben Kingsley, there is a harrowing scene where his followers, during a non-violent protest, offer themselves up one by one to be beaten, never retaliating. It is a fairly dramatic example of ‘turning the other cheek’, but eventually this peaceful resistance paid off. Gandhi described non-violence as ‘the greatest force at the disposal of mankind’.

Turning the other cheek is one thing, but do we have to go as far as actually loving our enemies? Jesus says we do. Moreover, we should pray for them. A familiar sounding piece of advice from Jesus, we can sometimes forget to check if it applies to us. When is the last time you actually prayed for someone who was giving you a hard time? It is one of the more difficult sayings of Jesus. But it is an ideal to strive for.

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
– Nelson Mandela