The last two nights have seen beautiful pictures of the Northern Lights especially counties in the north of Ireland. The photo up today was taken by Sara O’Neill looking out from the Antrim coastline at Causeway.
The Northern Lights we see in the night sky are in actual fact caused by activity on the surface of the sun.Solar storms on our star’s surface give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles. These particles can travel millions of miles, and some may eventually collide with the Earth. Most of these particles are deflected away, but some become captured in the Earth’s magnetic field, accelerating down towards the north and south poles into the atmosphere. This is why aurora activity is concentrated at the magnetic poles. But it is their amazing colours that make them so moving and beautiful.
On This Day
On February 28th 1983 The final episode of the hugely popular TV series MASH aired and was watched by an estimated 106 million viewers.
On February 28th 2013 Pope Benedict became the first Pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
On February 28th 2022 A 65 kilometre (40 miles) Russian military convoy approaches the capital city of Kyiv in Ukraine
Birthday’s Today🎂
Barry McGuigan (Former Boxing Champion) is 62
Sarah Bolger (Actress) is 32
Rob Heffernan (Irish Olympic Walking Champion) is 45
Saint For Today
Saint Hilary who was a pope
Significance Of Today
Today is International Rare Disease Day. It is always held on the last day of February to raise awareness about diseases that most people will not know of, as well as to improve access to treatment.
Interesting Quote for Today
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~Joseph Campbell
Did You Know😇
Did you know that the lowest part of the Northern Lights are typically around 80 miles (130km) above the Earth’s surface. However, the top of a display may extend several thousand miles/kilometers above the Earth.
Video For Today 🎥
This video I have called ‘It is good to be back’. I will have a new video here on Thursday👍
Thought For The Week
Lent comes providentially to awaken us, to shake us from our lethargy.” ~Pope Francis
I’m from a farming background and I am always grateful for this, as it has helped to ground me and connect me to nature each day. Today farming has become very modern but in my parent’s time they would have memories of milking the cows by hand. In every dairy parlour there was a three-legged stool to sit down on and make the job easy. It was easy to move around, and it served its purpose well.
But a feature of a three-legged stool is that once you remove one leg it just falls over. It cannot stay upright. The three-legged stool can stand for many things, but it especially stands for looking after our mind, body and spirit.
We are much better now at looking after our mind and mental health. We are excellent at looking after our bodies, eating the right food and getting exercise in. And looking after our spirit is also so important but it is often neglected. If it’s not looked after it is like removing a leg from a three-legged stool. It just falls over.
Many of the problems in our world today are due to not looking after our spirit. Our modern world thinks a three-legged stool can stand on two legs. As we know it can’t. The journey of Lent is such a wise and beautiful journey. It gives us plenty of time to nourish and look after our spirit and our spirituality.
Yes, sometimes this journey is not easy. Jesus reminds us about carrying our cross. Life is not easy sometimes. But our spirituality gives us strength and resilience to cope. It also gives us peace, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope.
As you journey through Lent, know it is not a race. Take your time. Often it’s the small things done well that are best of all. I hope your Lenten journey goes well for each of you. And know that you are doing the journey not on your own.
We are doing it together.
The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
