Fr La’s weekly ‘Pause and Ponder’ from along the Pilgrim Path at Lough Derg. This week’s reflection is called ‘Latching on to Lichens’.

Latching on to Lichens

The snow left several days ago.

How come it still survives on one particular group of trees?

A closer look reveals the deception and solves the puzzle:

Lichen, not snow, whitens these branches.

O blessed curiosity that leads me in wonder

to latch on to the mystery of lichens!

When I go to Google I am bamboozled

by this new-to-me miracle in God’s diverse creation.

And I learn that by their presence

lichens let us know that an atmosphere is pollution-free.

Back in pilgrimage again along the Path

I see them now everywhere,

in their profligate diversity.

The Prodigal Father has done it again!

Fr La Flynn

18 January 2021