I picked this box of vegetables from my garden in Carrigaline yesterday. The leeks and turnips were still in the ground growing and the onions and potatoes were stored in a cool shed under cover from the summer of 2024. Growing vegetables in your garden gives you so many options. The space required is not as big as you think. There is nothing like the taste of your own vegetables. Even better again the vegetables that you grow yourself have 0 food miles with an almost 0 carbon footprint.
Quote For Today
“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Did you know
35% of an adult’s daily requirement of vitamin C can be found in a medium-sized potato. Potatoes do not have to be stored in a refrigerator, but they should be stored in a dry dark place. Potatoes are only 20% solids and 80% water. Finally most of the nutrients in a potato reside just below the skin layer.
My latest videos🎥
A Daily Prayer – short but sweet!
This is a recent video below and it is called ‘A Spring Prayer in Lent’.
With Lent having begun – this video underneath that I put together last year still has a very relevant message
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
Last week we had Martina Lehane Sheehan talking to us in Carrigaline, about the importance of slowing down, of finding quiet time in a world that spins with busyness. The words ‘I’m busy’ are almost seen as normal, almost with a status. Martina reminded us how our bodies are not made for constant busyness. They just can’t keep up no matter what our age. She talked about the monks and for centuries and centuries they have lived what they call ‘The Statio’. The Statio is where they pause between activities. It can be a moment of thanks, a moment of silence, a moment of prayer but the statio means the monks never get sucked into busyness.
Our scripture readings touches in on it too. When we put our trust in God, we are like the tree growing beside a stream. Even when the summer drought comes its roots have access to water and the tree flourishes. But you can’t flourish when you are busy, in fact the opposite happens you become stagnant, because your energy levels cannot match your busyness. Your body needs rest too. We need to find the balance.
The beautiful line from Psalm 23 becomes our inspiration: ‘Near restful waters God leads me to revive my dropping spirit’
