Photo was taken yesterday in the River Lee, near Iniscarra, Co.Cork (Irl)

Aidan McSweeney from Col√°iste Choilm, Ballincollig, checks the wildlife in a local river as part of a 6th year Geography field trip yesterday morning.

Thought on Thursday – September – 08/09/2011

‘Mary is the lily in God’s garden.’ ~Saint Bridget of Sweden

The birthday of Mary (Sep 8th) is celebrated today. We don’t know for certain when she was born but a tradition says she was born in Jerusalem, the daughter of Joachim and Ann. Other early sources say Mary was born in Nazareth. There is even an ancient record that points to Sepphoris, a town a few miles from Nazareth, as her birthplace. Wherever she was born, Mary’s life was at best challenging. The climate was dry and no one knew from one year to the next if enough rain would fall or if invading locusts or field mice would spoil the crops. Facing uncertainty only made the people of Galilee more hard working and close knit. Struggling for a living deepened their religious spirit and an awareness of God in their lives.

For some reason Sep 8th is the day that marks her birthday. Every birthday is worthy of celebration and even more so when it comes to Mary. As the mother of God she is hugely popular. We look forward to our own birthday and that of family and friends. No one grows tired of saying Happy Birthday. Every birthday is our way of saying, “You are special, there’s only one of you, we are happy that you exist.” Today is our way of saying to Mary that we are happy that she has an important part to play in our lives. We invite her nurturing presence and compassionate love into all we do each day. Today is also a reminder to acknowledge those who are special to us and that we don’t just do it every year on their birthday but every day till their birthday!