Photo was taken at Monkstown, Co.Cork (Irl)
A heron watches the world go by from its perch at Monkstown
On This Day
On December 18th 1903 The Wright brothers make the first sustained motorised aircraft flight at 10:35 AM, piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina US
On December 18th 1986 Mrs Davina Thompson makes medical history by having the first heart, lung & liver transplant at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England
Birthdays Today
Pope Francis (Current Pope) is 86
Mick Dowling (Irish Boxing Legend) is 76
Stephen Cluxton (Dublin Goalkeeper, with 8 All Ireland medals) is 41
Saint For Today
Today Dec 17th is Saint Lazarus
Significance Of Today
December 17th is Wright Brothers Day. One important day that changed the world was the day when a man was able to fly through the air in the style of a bird! Not only was this unprecedented, but it set the stage for a whole host of other ideas and inventions that have contributed to the advancement of technology as well as the adventure into space. The airplane has certainly made the globe a much smaller, more accessible place for humans. And right at the beginning of it all were two brothers from the US state of Ohio, Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Interesting Quote For Today
“Collect moments not things” ~Author Unknown
Did You Know
Did you know that at any given time, there are 9,700 planes and 1.2 million people in the sky somewhere!
Thought For The Week
“The taste of true joy is a joy that touches our innermost being. It is heartfelt joy, the joy which leads us forth and gives us courage.” ~Pope Francis
Last Sunday we celebrated ‘Joyful Sunday’ and the third candle of the Advent wreath was lit. The third candle is pink and it is meant to stand out. In many churches at the weekend there was an emphasis put on celebrating good news.
On this day no apologies are made for highlighting our good news stories. It is crucial and important that we do. We have a natural tendency to lean towards negative and sad stories. 2022 has been a challenging year. Just when we were leaving the negativity of Covid behind us, along came the war in Ukraine, soaring energy prices and a big increase in the prices of everything we buy. Many families are feeling the financial pressure of Christmas and lots of bills to pay. So it seems that good news is scarce around us.
But this should never stop us from putting the spotlight on good news. We all need to hear good news, we need to nurture good news and importantly we need to celebrate good news. We need to bring the balance back in. That is why ‘Joyful Sunday’ is one of those days that is so important. There are good news stories all around us but they often get squashed and pushed to one side. These good news stories do not have to make the headlines. It is often the small and insignificant good news stories that really are the best of all.
Christmas can be many different things to people including lots of spiritual significance. Christmas can rightly be called a ‘Celebration of Good News’ but especially a celebration of your good news. The message of ‘Joyful Sunday’ is that you are special and always worth celebrating. If we cannot do that, then there is no point having Christmas. Christmas celebrates you and celebrates the something special you bring to each day.
The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
