I took this photo in my garden at Carrigaline, Co.Cork after a hard nights frost. Already the first rays of the morning sunshine were having an impact, with a very gentle thaw already beginning to happen on the leaf. It reminds me of situations in life, no matter how cold or difficult – there is always the possibility of a thaw followed by hope and a new beginnings.

Interesting Quote For Today

‘Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.’ ~Ann Landers

Did You Know

Did you know that when two lovers gaze into each others eyes their heart rates synchronize.

Video for the Week🎥 

This is my new video called ‘Celebrating Saint Gobnait’.  I recently visited her place of pilgrimage in Ballyvourney and I also got to see the musical ‘Gobnait’ which is currently taking place in Ballingeary. This video is a blend of both.

Tomorrow February 14th is Valentine’s Day and an important question is: Who was Saint Valentine?

Tomorrow is F

This was my video last week called ‘Celebrate Your Light’

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

This video I made recently and it is called ‘Finding quiet time even for a few minutes’.

Spiritual Thought For The Week

“We are stronger, gentler, more resilient and more beautiful than any of us imagine.” – Mark Nepo

There was a line this week, during one of the weekday readings that stood out for me. It was from the letter to the Hebrews and it read: ‘Jesus is the same today, as he was yesterday and as he will be forever.’ His message of love, peace, kindness, light, hope, healing and so much more is as relevant today as it always has been. It will never grow old or get outdated.

Even though there may be lots of sad and bad news that makes the headlines every day, we are not to get discouraged. We keep our heads up, we stay strong and spiritually it is our belief that Jesus is with us every day but especially today.

Jesus brings many blessings to people, they are never forced and always ours if we want them.  Tuesday (Feb 11th) was World Day of the Sick and is the feast of our Lady of Lourdes. Everybody needs some healing. The world we live in today can sometimes be harsh with no soft landings. Through healing Jesus always made sure there was a soft landing for everyone. Healing always goes where it needs to go.

The invitation is to pause and pray for healing. Pray for healing that you need right now. Ask your loving God, or Jesus or Archangel Raphael who is dedicated to healing, or to a Higher Power or to whoever fits your story. Whichever way we pray or whatever words we use are unique to us. But pray for healing, gentle healing, loving healing and especially the healing you need right now. It always knows where to go.

The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday