I took this photo last Wednesday. It is one of the walkways through the woods at Curabinny, near Carrigaline, Co.Cork. The trees are a sea of green colour at the moment and a lovely reminder that summer is arriving with a great energy.
On This Day
On May 12th 2002 former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States to do so.
On May 12th 2008 we had the Wenchuan earthquake, measuring 7.8 in magnitude occured in Sichuan, China, killing over 87,000, injuring 374,643 and leaving homeless between 4.8 million and 11 million people
Birthday’s Today🎂
Rishi Sunak, (UK Prime Minister) is 43
Gabriel Byrne (Actor) is 72
Significance Of Today
Today is International Nurses Day. Nurses play a hugely important role in all of our medical institutions, being responsible for the welfare, safety and recovery of patients. Nurses have an enormous amount of knowledge and many diverse skills that they spend years perfecting and developing. They work in tough environments where extreme stress is just a part of the job. They were incredibly brave during the Covid pandemic. Nurses help bring new life into the world, care tirelessly for the sick and injured and also help people with end of life care.
Interesting Quote for Today
‘Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’ ~Mary Anne Radmacher
Saint For Today
Saint for Today is Epiphanius (310-403) He is famous for being in the middle of theological controversies in the 4th century. He was involved with debates over the date of Easter and the relationship between the three persons of the Trinity.
Did You Know😇
Did you know that pigs cannot look upwards. Their necks physically cannot bend to look up. This is because the body of the pig is designed mainly to prioritize finding food.
Thought For The Week
‘It doesn’t matter how you pray – with your head bowed in silence, or crying out in grief, or dancing. Churches are good for prayer, but so are garages and cars and mountains and showers and dance floors. Years ago I wrote an essay that began: Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.’ ~Anne Lamott
There is a growing awareness today how beneficial prayer can be in our spiritual lives. We sometimes think that prayer is long, complex and boring. We certainly feel it’s beyond our reach. But in many ways it is within our reach and especially when we apply prayer to those everyday events that happen in our daily lives. We can find God present in what we do right now, be it out for a walk, reading a book, working in the garden, getting in some exercise or watching the beauty of nature. The list can never be exhausted. God is indeed present everywhere. As we grow in our awareness of this, prayer actually becomes more natural and hopefully more meaningful.
Mindfulness is a word we hear a lot about today. It puts the focus on the present moment. It is becoming aware of what we are doing while we are doing it. It puts emphasis on appreciating the gift of the present moment. When we are mindful, finding God in the present moment becomes so much easier.
The spiritual writer Aileen O’Donoghue wrote the following and it gives us food for thought: In my spiritual life, I try to seek simplicity. When I recognise that I’ve lost simplicity in prayer, I turn to a meditation that many spiritual teachers recommend. In rhythm with my breathing, I start with, “Be still and know that I am God”. Then I drop words off at the end to “Be still and know that I am.” I slowly let go more to “Be still and know” and finally the words I whisper are “Be still”. One can then add the last words back on again until you arrive at where you started, “Be still and know that I am God”. One can do it once, twice or a few times. If you get stuck in prayer why not give it a try.
The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
