Photo was taken at the weekend in Bantry, Co.Cork (Irl)

Trees are bursting with promise and life at the moment. This sycamore bud tells its own story

Thought on Wednesday – March – 29/03/2017

‘Regardless of what you believe in churches are extraordinary places of peace. Take a pew and absorb the atmosphere of absolute peace and calm that permeates them.’ ~Paul Wison

Last Thursday St. Columba’s church in Derry had two funeral Masses, that of Martin McGuinness and Ryan McBride. A week earlier in St Patrick’s church, Glencullen, Co.Dublin we had the funeral Mass of Capt Dara Fitzpatrick. This week all over the world, churches will be used for funerals, weddings, christenings and for Sunday Mass. We often take these places of worship for granted and yet we know that for many people these churches are great anchors. They help us during good days but particularly during difficult and challenging days too.

Everyone has their own favourite church. It might be your own local one, the one you got married in or the one you were baptised. It might be a big huge cathedral or a small country chapel in the heart of the country. The sites of these churches, particularly the older ones, were picked because they were known locally as being ‘special’ or the energy and feel was sacred. It was known locally as a ‘sacred site’.

Every church has its own character, its own feel and energy and is always a place of peace. It is little wonder that you find people drawn to churches each day. It is not always to a formal liturgy that is the priority. Sometimes people are happy just to walk in and sit in silence. Some light a candle but for nearly everyone it is to absorb the peace and calm that one so often finds in a church. It is the best prayer of them all and it doesn’t always have to be about words. It is good too to appreciate your local church and to know that it is a vital anchor in our local community.