Valentines Day: Lieutenant Kevin Fitzgerald gives his partner Emma Day a kiss after he was awarded his Wings at a ceremony at Casement Aerodrome.

~Photo: Mark Condren

Thought on Sunday – February – 14/02/2016

Thought For Today by Jane Mellett called ‘Trust the wilderness’

The temptations are not just an embarrassing episode in the life of Jesus but are an integral part of his mission. Jesus is tempted to eat when he is not supposed to eat, to take the easy route of power through exploitation, when that is not His way. Ultimately, God is in control here; this wilderness is ‘Spirit’ led. And so it is for us. When it comes down to it, each of the temptations are about the same thing, our ability to trust in God. This should not direct us towards complacency but to listening.



We listen to God’s Word and this year’s Tr’caire campaign is urging us to listen to what God is saying through the Book of Creation; to trust in those signals and signs. Listening to the story of Teresina this year, we hear of an effect of climate change that is often overlooked: a family forced apart because of dry land. This past year we have seen large movements of refugees around the world. We know that the next generation of refugees will be climate refugees. It does not have to be this way. As we enter the ‘wilderness’ of Lent, let us spend time with the temptations in the Gospel today and hear the call to ‘trust’. Trust what God is trying to tell us through the Book of Creation. It is in the wasteland that we find the signs of God%u2019s renewal.

‘I urgently appeal for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all’.

Pope Francis, Laudato Si%u2019, 1, 14.