It is that time of year and calves are arriving on many farms. It is a lovely sign of spring, new life and new beginnings. I took this particular picture on my brothers farm during the week in Millstreet, Co.Cork and the calf was having a lovely afternoon snooze!
On This Day
On February 3rd 2019 Pope Francis arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on the first ever papal visit to the Arabian peninsula
Birthday’s Today
Morgan Fairchild (Actress) is 73
Amal Clooney (Wife of George Clooney) is 45
Isla Fisher (Comedy Actress) is 47
Interesting Quote for Today
“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” ~A Mine
Saint For Today: Saint Blaise. He is remembered as the patron saint of sufferers from throat diseases. There is a strong tradition of throats getting blessed in churches today.
Significane of Today Feb 3rd is Feed Your Birds Day. This day is celebrated in early February, at a time when food can be scarce for birdlife. The seeds or peanuts in your feeder provide them with energy and strength, particularly if the weather is cold
Did You Know: No word in the dictionary rhymes with the word ‘Orange’
Thought For The Week
‘Happy the pure in heart, they shall see God. Happy the peacemakers, they shall be called sons and daughters of God.” Matthew 5:6
We all have seen a fireworks display at some stage. We marvel at its beauty, colour and energy. You can never predict the sequence of a fireworks display. It is a beautiful display of light and colour. We forget many things but we never forget a fireworks display.
The Beatitudes are a bit like a fireworks display. They stand out as something very different and are also colourful. The Beatitudes may be complex and hard to live out but they are also very beautiful. Jesus was revolutionary in his thinking. He thoroughly disliked the old story and wanted to embrace and welcome the new story where every person was loved, cherished and celebrated.
Jesus shared the Beatitudes as signposts to a better way of living, to a new way of doing things and most important to bring the best out in each of us. When Jesus shared the Beatitudes, people believed that if you were rich and powerful God was rewarding you and if you were poor, hungry and sick then God was punishing you.
Such thinking upset Jesus, it belonged to the old story. He was determined to change the way people thought about themselves and he wanted to bring in a new story that they could understand. The Beatitudes are the new story.
They have inspired people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. They have also inspired Pope Francis. He recently said: “A person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be and not building bridges is not a Christian.” There are lots of walls being built in the world we live in today and not enough bridges.
The Beatitudes encourage us to look at the new story. Walls block, divide and keep people apart but bridges connect, make life better and include more. Jesus is saying that if life is difficult for you right now, you are my priority, you are going to be first, you deserve the best of everything.
Jesus talks about the poor and the hungry. But so many of us are also spiritually poor. People’s spirits are low, they feel discouraged by the state of the country and the world. Their sense of hope and optimism is low. Again the Beatitudes speak to us here as well. They remind us to begin believing in ourselves again, to celebrate every bit of good news in your life no matter how small.
We are called to be people of the Beatitudes, to have the courage that Jesus did, to stand up for everything good and beautiful about you and to begin to believe in yourself again. The new story for Jesus was where every person was loved, cherished and celebrated. Let the new story begin in some way for you also.
The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
