2u.ie – making your day extra special
I took this photo last evening in Carrigaline Church, Co.Cork. The photo is of Charlie Wilkins a renowned gardener in Cork who gave our weekly Lenten talk. Charlie talked about the importance of gardening in his life and how it has brought a beautiful balance into his life. He talked about how gardening is good for our mental health, our physical health and our spiritual health. His garden has brought him much joy in his 87 years.
As we move into the beautiful season of spring and soon after summer, we are invited to appreciate the beauty of our garden and to allow your garden to mind you, to ground you, to balance you, to encourage you, to heal you and to connect you with God’s gentle presence in the beauty of nature all around us.
Quote For Today
“No single sort of garden suits everyone. Shut your eyes and dream of the garden you’d most love then open your eyes and start planting.” ~Jackie French
Did you know
Your garden is a blank canvas for you to decorate however you like. Whether you design it to be functional by growing your own fruit and vegetables, beautiful by planting flowers, or a place for you to entertain your friends, it will offer you the ideal opportunity to get away from the stresses of life.
My latest videos🎥
A Daily Prayer – short but sweet!
This is a recent video below and it is called ‘A Spring Prayer in Lent’.
With Lent having begun – this video underneath that I put together last year still has a very relevant message
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
Spiritual Thought For The Week
Last week we had Martina Lehane Sheehan talking to us in Carrigaline, about the importance of slowing down, of finding quiet time in a world that spins with busyness. The words ‘I’m busy’ are almost seen as normal, almost with a status. Martina reminded us how our bodies are not made for constant busyness. They just can’t keep up no matter what our age. She talked about the monks and for centuries and centuries they have lived what they call ‘The Statio’. The Statio is where they pause between activities. It can be a moment of thanks, a moment of silence, a moment of prayer but the statio means the monks never get sucked into busyness.
Our scripture readings touches in on it too. When we put our trust in God, we are like the tree growing beside a stream. Even when the summer drought comes its roots have access to water and the tree flourishes. But you can’t flourish when you are busy, in fact the opposite happens you become stagnant, because your energy levels cannot match your busyness. Your body needs rest too. We need to find the balance.
The beautiful line from Psalm 23 becomes our inspiration: ‘Near restful waters God leads me to revive my dropping spirit’
