This beautiful photo was taken last January by Eileen Kelleher, Ballingeary. There are many photographs taken of the oratory at Gougane Barra in West Cork. But very few have captured the rare sight of the lake frozen and then covered by a light dusting of snow. It makes for a very special photo. (Photo has been shared with permission)
Today September 25th is the feast of St. Finbarr and he is the Patron Saint of Cork. He lived in Gougane Barra in the heart of West Cork and it is a place of pilgrimage for people from near and far. Our photo today shows the famous St Finbarr’s Oratory at Gougane Barra. An oratory is a small chapel for prayer and quietness and is not normally a parish church.
I have just uploaded my new video below and it is called ‘Saying Goodbye To Our Swallows’
On This Day
On September 25th 1995 Virgin Records released David Bowie’s 20th studio album called ‘Outside’, with very few singing artists having achieved something similar.
On Septemer 25th 2008 The boom years of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ slided into recession right across the world.
Birthdays Today
Will Smith (Actor) is 56
Catherine Zeta Jones (Actress) is 55
Saint For Today
Today September 25th is the feast of Saint Finbarr the Patron Saint of Cork. (More below in Thought For The Week and I have shared a video also)
Significance Of Today
Today is World Dream Day. It does not matter where you come from, where you live, or how much money you have, one thing that we all have in common is dreams! We have to go and let our dreams become reality.
Interesting Quote for Today
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”~Eleanor Roosevelt
Did you know that most of your muscles become paralyzed during REM sleep to prevent you from acting out your dreams.
This is my latest video and it is called – ‘Saying Goodbye To Our Swallows’. If you would like to see a selection of my other videos on Youtube you can click this link here. https://www.youtube.com/@JamesMcSweeneyFr/videos
This was my video for last week called ‘What can we learn from the monks especially all about balance’
To mark Saint Finbarr and Gougane Barra, I share the following video today
Thought For The Week
Saint Finbarr is the Patron Saint of Cork. Gougane Barra at the heart of West Cork was the home of Saint Finbarr and is a place of pilgrimage today. His feast is celebrated every year on September 25th. Gougane Barra is a sacred place and a beautiful place to visit, to recharge, to rest and to energise spiritually.
When you come to Gougane Barra you may come feeling stressed or worried or tired but you will always leave Gougane Barra feeling so much better. Saint Finbarr lived at Gougane Barra over 1400 years ago. The world that Finbarr lived in was radically different to the one we live in now. The world back then was much less complicated, life was lived simply with fewer distractions. Finbarr believed strongly that God was the one who gave us hope and strength to get us through everything.
This was the message that he brought from Gougane Barra, to the people of Cork and beyond. His message is still so relevant today. It is lovely that the feast of Saint Finbarr occurs during the Season of Creation which always happens during September and the start of October. The Season of Creation encourages us to get out and about to appreciate the beauty of creation and to sense God’s presence in the beauty of nature. We can of course do it anywhere but a beautiful place to do it is of course Gougane Barra.
Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
