I took this photo last week the Dominican Ecology Centre, Wicklow (Irl)
What a beautiful bowl of organic apples! As the old saying goes an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Nature provides in abundance when the conditions are right. Back in April these apples began as beautiful blossoms and then with time they slowly evolved into these apples. We live in an instant world where we expect everything just now. Nature moves much more slowly but with beautiful end results.
On This Day
On October 1st 1888 National Geographic magazine is published for the first time
On October 1st 1908 Henry Ford introduced the Model T car, priced at $825
On October 1st 2022 A stampede at an Indonesian soccer stadium killed 131 people in the city of Malang
Birthdays Today for October 1st
Keith Duffy (Singer and Actor) is 50
Theresa May (Former British Prime Minister) is 68
Significance Of Today
Today is International Day of Older People. Each year on 1st October, people across the world mark United Nations International Day of Older People to raise awareness of opportunities and challenges faced by ageing populations, and to mobilize the wider community to address difficulties faced by older people.
Today is also International Music Day. Music inspires, encourages and brings people together. Studies even show that music is good for our health and the brain, providing positive physical, mental and emotional responses when people simply listen to music as well as when they play or sing it.
Today is also World Vegetarian Day and International Coffee Day
Interesting Quote for Today
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Did you know that Finland consumes the most coffee in the world. Where Brazil may grow the most, Finland drinks the most coffee! On average they drink 12kg per person, per year which works out to an impressive 1,680 cups on average each a year.
Saint For Today
Saint for today October 1st is Saint Therese. More in the Thought For Week below
My Latest Video 🎥
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’
Thought For The Week
We begin the new month of October today Tuesday and it has a blend of some beautiful feast days, each one as special as the next. Today October 1st is the feast of St Therese and she is one of the most popular saints of our time. Her huge appeal is not that she did extraordinary things but that she did the little things extraordinary well. She found that she was closest to God when she was doing the simplest and most mundane tasks. The spectacular and sensational always attract interest and sometimes hype. Celebrities are always in the spotlight. But this was never a part of her life.
We may have many things planned for today and this weekend. The chances are that much of it is nothing extraordinary. It will not make headlines and most of it we have done so many times before. But the feast of St Therese reminds us that this is where life is meant to be. This is where life really matters. It is comforting to know that in the simple and ordinary events of our lives, we can be quite close to God. This is something we so often take for granted. Getting close to God is not reserved for the elite or the chosen few. It is always within our reach.
Tomorrow Wednesday (Oct 2nd) we will have the feast day of our guardian angel. From an early age we have been taught that we have a guardian angel. But before we were even taught we just knew. We sensed that there was someone special watching over us. This is not just a childhood fantasy, it is something real and something that gives us great comfort as we journey through life. Like many things we take our Guardian Angel for granted. A fitting prayer might be: “O Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen”
Finally on Friday (Oct 4th) we have the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. He is one of those rare saints who has managed to capture the attention and admiration of the entire world. His life has inspired people of all ages and the appeal of this saint cuts across national boundaries and religious differences. He is most famous for his respect towards God, his simple life and his tender love and attention to all creation. Francis had little time for excess, waste and greed. The life of Francis still challenges all of us today. The invitation is to sort through our lives and discard the unnecessary and useless. There is great freedom in doing with less and using it to our advantage. St Francis did it so well and has inspired so many more to do the same.
Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
