I took this photo yesterday at Drishane, Millstreet, Co.Cork in the garden of Liam Flynn. These snowdrops are a wonderful sign of hope and that spring is just around the corner. I read recently how snowdrops are a lot tougher than they appear, their delicate leaves have hardened tips which allow them to push up through semi-frozen ground. The cells of the plant also contain antifreeze proteins which protects them from hard frosts and freezing conditions.

Interesting Quote for Today

“Everyone looks for the first snowdrop as proof that our part of the earth is once more turning towards the sun” ~Carole Carlton

Significance Of Today

This is a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Christians across denominations come together in love and faith, setting aside differences to serve others and spread joy.

Did You Know:

  1. Snowdrops were named after earrings not drops of snow.
  2. There are more than 2,500 varieties of snowdrop.
  3. They are symbolic of spring and purity

Video for the Week🎥 

This is my latest video and it is called ‘A Simple Grace Before Meals Prayer’. A new video will be posted here on Thursday morning

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!

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

As we move towards the end of January and then hopefully we move gently into spring, I share this video called  ‘Let God’s love melt you’

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