Photo of the red squirrel is by Gregor Mima from Pixabay
The red squirrel is a protected species mainly because of the increase of the more proliferous grey squirrel. The red squirrel is one of our most iconic, much-loved mammals.
Red squirrels also play a vital role in regenerating our woodlands, burying nuts and seeds which grow into future trees that sustain a host of native woodland dwellers.
Sadly, these charismatic creatures are under threat from the invasive non-native grey squirrel. Competition from the more robust grey squirrel for food and shelter, and infection by the deadly squirrel pox virus, which greys transmit to reds, has been the main factor in the red squirrel’s decline.
On This Day
On October 25th Leicester City beat Southampton, 9-0 at St. Mary’s to record biggest ever win by an away side in an English top-flight league match in the history of the Football League
On October 25th 2021 Afghanistan became the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as nearly 23 million people faced acute hunger over winter according to the World Food Program
On October 25th 2022 New Zealand Parliament membership was a female majority for the first time
Birthdays Today
Katy Perry (Pop Singer) is 40
Nancy Cartwright (Voice of Bart Simpson) is 67
Significance of Today
Today October 25th is International Artist Day. Art has been an important part of the human experience for thousands of years. The first records of the world are not written in books, but are captured in paintings, sculptures, and music. We give thanks today for all our artists who contribute so much to our world each day.
And in Ireland there are lots of happy children and young people going to school today as the Halloween school break begins later. All schools will be closed next week
Quote For Today
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.” ~Leonardo da Vinci
Did You Know
Did you know that the Mona Lisa has her own mailbox in the Louvre museum because of all the love letters she receives
Saint For Today
Today October 24th is the feast of Saint Crispin‘s Day and is the feast day of the Christian saints Crispin and Crispinian, twins who were martyred
My Latest Video 🎥
This is my latest video and it is called ‘The Floods One Year Ago – Then and Now’ with a little spiritual thought towards the end of the video. A new video is posted here every Wednesday morning
The video below I had up last week and it is called – ‘Crows In Song – We Are United Together’. 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
Thought For The Week
There is a story about two men walking down a country lane and across some fields. One of them forgot to close one of the gates. After seeing some cows, he realized his mistake and walked back to close it. He said it reminded him about the words an old man shared with him many years before, “As you travel down life’s pathways, remember to close the gates behind you.”
Such advice is one we could also keep close. Life is never straight forward and there are many attractions, distractions, obstacles and challenges. We sometimes make mistakes, we could have made better choices and we sometimes regret not having done something completely different.
But we shouldn’t allow these to dominate or take over our lives. That is why it is so important to close the gate and simply move on. What gates in my life have I still left open? Can I close them, move on, knowing there is no need to reopen and go back.
Jesus in our Gospel stories closed many gates for people who were stuck in the past. By closing these gates he also invited them to move forward and to cherish each day as a fresh start and a new beginning.
We have just celebrated Mission Sunday. It is a celebration of so much good work done all over the world. It is a celebration of how the story of Jesus has been shared all over the world. How this story is shared has evolved over many years. Some gates are closing with the shortage of priests, sisters and dedicated missionaries. But definitely other new gates are opening and evolving. Mission Sunday is also a celebration of these new green shoots.
