It’s that time of year with confirmations taking place in so many parishes. Well done to everyone making their confirmation and thanks to all who have helped them prepare so well. Our photo today was taken in Carrigaline Church yesterday.

Videos🎥

A moment of giving my hens a treat created a funny moment! They love their treats!
Mindful Quote😇: “Life lesson from hens: when something good appears, run toward it with enthusiasm.”
Mindful Prayer🙏: May I turn towards something with enthusiasm today Amen

 

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

This morning we all turned on water in our taps to boil the kettle, wash the dishes or go for a shower. We have such easy access to water and we take it for granted.

Each day across the world millions of people walk on average 6km to collect water for their home, many of them women and children.

We hear a lot these days of trying to get close to 10,000 steps as part of good exercise.

In many parts of the world, they walk close to 20,000 steps each day for survival and many of these steps are done collecting water.

And even though we have got so much water in recent months as rain, it is still such a precious gift.

We have the beautiful gospel of the woman collecting water at the well. It is the source of life for her and her family at home

But as the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well unfolds, the chat turns to living water. She thinks he is talking about the clean water in the well.

But Jesus is talking about something deeper.

There is a thirst within every human heart for love, acceptance, forgiveness, healing and peace.

We try to quench this thirst in many ways – success, possessions, shopping, rushing and racing, endless scrolling on our phones and yet the thirst often remains.

But Jesus says whoever drinks his water will never be thirsty again. He is the one who can satisfy our deepest inner longing. Our world is limited in what it can give us to us spiritually but with God there are no limits.

And that is why this chat between Jesus and the woman is so powerful and yet also so gentle and beautiful. It is placed here on our journey through Lent as a reminder, that spirituality is one of our most precious gifts to us.

The main message is that God also meets us where we are, at our own wells, in our own tiredness, in our own searching and in our own broken places. The fact that you are reading this means that you have come to the well also and because you know that there is also something more.

We all search of the something more. Sometimes we find it easy and other times we are unsure and uncertain. Jesus reminds us beautifully to keep searching, to keep coming to the well and every time we do we will always come away with something more than when we came.

Thought For The Week is updated each Monday