This close up of the bird reminds me of the importance of taking a moment, no matter how busy your day may be, to reflect, to pause, to give thanks, to pray, to be grateful, to hope and to just be
Quote For Today
‘When everything is moving and shifting, the only way to counteract chaos is stillness. When things feel extraordinary, strive for ordinary. When the surface is wavy, dive deeper for quieter waters.’ ~Kristin Armstrong
Video for the Week🎥
This is my new video and it is called ‘A Simple Grace Before Meals Prayer’
This video below I had up last week and it is called ‘Some of the Spiritual Blocks in our lives’. A walk along by the River Aubane created the inspiration!
With all the recent snow in different parts of Ireland including Millstreet, Co.Cork this video seems a good recommendation🙏
If you would like to see a selection of my other videos on YouTube you are welcome to have a look at some of them here: https://www.youtube.com/@JamesMcSweeneyFr/videos
Spiritual Thought For The Week
There are 1,440 minutes in any given day. Between 400 to 500 are given over to sleep. That still leaves a sizable 1000 minutes to use positively and creatively. Many of these will be used for essential jobs and tasks that need to get done. Some will be used for relaxation and leisure purposes. But in the busy world we live in today there is a huge need for quiet time or to make space so that we can nourish inner quietness.
So how can we use a few minutes from the initial bundle and use them for quiet time, silence and prayer? The benefits of taking some few minutes for essential quiet time each day are many and substantial. It is quality time and allows us to recharge our inner selves. Prayer may or may not be on your agenda but the benefits of quiet time each day are many. Extensive research has shown that it reduces stress levels, reduces blood pressure and it calms our body into a quietness that brings many benefits.
Such are the pressures on our time, that it could be said the benefits will only be short lived. But they are infinitely better than doing nothing. We owe it to ourselves to mind and care for you. The pace of life is relentless. It won’t slow down for you. You must slow down so that you can mind you. So if there are 1,440 minutes in a day, surely the minutes we set aside for quiet time are possibly the most important of all.
The following short prayer may be a good starting point for some time out.
Loving God, as we journey through this month of January, it is a time of new beginnings and looking forward. Help me to be open to new ways and new methods of expressing my faith and what really matters to me. Help me to know that there is no one right way or better way and that my way is as good as any. I ask you to continue to be my inspiration, my strength, my hope and my light each day. Amen
The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
