I took this photo recently when passing through the beautiful town of Bantry in West Cork. These houses always stand out in sunshine with their beautiful bright colours
On This Day
On February 26th 1839 the first Grand National steeplechase took place at, Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool: The jockey who won it was Jem Mason aboard the 5/1 favourite ‘Lottery’
On February 26th 2019 the UK reached its highest-ever winter temperature with 21.2°C (70.2F) recorded in Kew Gardens, London
Birthday’s Today
Taylor Dooley (Movie Actress) is 31
Michael Bolton (Singer) is 71
Significance of Today:
Today is the beginning of Jewish Book Week. Jewish people have had a long, ancient history of a culture that’s uniquely their own. However, while the usual holidays exist, such as the most famous Hannukka, for those on the outside of the community, unless you know someone who is Jewish, learning about what their lives are like can be difficult. Jewish Book Week is about finding out more about their traditions, beliefs and what makes the Jewish people special.
Saint For Today:
The Saint for February 26th is Isabelle of France
Interesting Quote for Today
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~ Michael Altshuler.
Did You Know
Did you know that in Japan, they believe spring begins once their national flower, the Cherry Blossom, starts to bloom.
Video for the Week🎥🎥
Thought For The Week
We had a Lenten Talk/Prayer Service in Carrigaline last Thursday evening and it was led by Fr. Philip Mulryne O.P who is currently working in St. Mary’s Priory here in Cork. I was very touched by Fr. Philip’s talk and his story is impressive to say the least.
I am a big sports fan myself and that includes football. Since I was a child, I have followed West Ham United and I sometimes say: “Now you know why I am bald!!”. But no matter what team you followed, Man Utd under Alex Ferguson, were a powerful team with massive momentum and simply won everything all around them.
In his talk Fr. Philip talked about his dream coming true of playing for Manchester United. Alex Ferguson was his boss. He was in the same dressing room as Roy Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Schmeichel, Neville and all those great players.
As Man Utd was so competitive because of such great players, Philip wanted more game time and so he signed for Norwich City, where he was a key player in helping them to promotion up to the Premiership. But while Philip had everything, he wasn’t happy deep down. He had so much money he could buy a car and change it in two weeks if he didn’t like it.
But he talked about this restlessness that just wouldn’t go away. At a key time in his life at the age of 29 he took a break from Norwich City, came back home to Belfast, found his faith and the restlessness melted away bit by bit.
He kept searching and nourishing his faith and he went on to become a Dominican priest. Philip’s story can touch ours too. Our lives are restless until we connect with God. Once we connect with the spiritual, in whatever way works for us, the restlessness begins to melt away. This is the invitation of Lent too, to turn to God, to be open to something spiritual and to be open to something positive and good.
Does the melting away of the restlessness happen in a day or two? Of course not. But over time it most certainly does. The journey of Lent is such a lovely time to be open to the spiritual and see what happens.
(Thought For The Week is updated each Monday)
