This is the beautiful greenway between Carrigaline and Crosshaven. It is regularly used by both walkers and cyclists. I took this photo yesterday with some beautiful autumn colours making their presence felt.
Quote For Today😇 “Thankfulness is the cornerstone of happiness. Without gratitude there is no love. And unless gratitude is expressed, there is no joy.” ~Fr. Tom Clancy
Mindful Prayer🙏: Loving God, thank you for all the beautiful blessings in my life. I am grateful for every loving moment. Your gentle presence is always to be found in these moments. Amen
Video 🎥
This one is called ‘Always drawn to God’s light’
All our swallows have now left Ireland. This one is called – ‘Saying Goodbye To Our Swallows’. If you would like to see a selection of my other videos on Youtube you can click this link here. https://www.youtube.com/@JamesMcSweeneyFr/videos
Thought For The Week
For the past two years we have been praying at Mass on a Sunday for peace in Gaza. Today we celebrate the end of the war and the possibility of lasting peace. It is not just good news, it is wonderful news. I was watching clips on the news over the past few days of lines and lines of Palestinian people making their way north home. All of them were going in the one direction – to home
And this is the part that is both moving and upsetting – they are returning to ruins, to rubble and returning to nothing. And yet they are delighted and thrilled the war is over. They may have nothing but they can go somewhere safe again. Outwardly they are broken and exhausted but inside there is hope. And my sense is they are deeply grateful for this glimmer of hope and new beginnings.
We often hear about the importance of gratitude today, I see gratitude journals in bookshops, you can buy books all about gratitude and the importance of saying thanks. Only one in ten came back to say thanks in the Gospel story where Jesus heals ten lepers. Is 1 in ten an accurate statistic? Is 10% a reflection of society today who are grateful and the rest not so? It’s true that the world we live in today is so busy – that it’s possible to not have time to be grateful.
I came across a lovely saying during the week written by Fr. Tom Clancy:
“Thankfulness is the cornerstone of happiness. Without gratitude there is no love. And unless gratitude is expressed, there is no joy.” Those beautiful words remind us on the importance and the power of a word of thanks. Today and throughout the coming week, I also encourage you to say thanks to someone special in your life or someone who is your cornerstone.
Thought For The Week is updated each Monday