Fr La’s weekly ‘Pause and Ponder’ from along the Pilgrim Path at Lough Derg.

Old Roots, New Shoots

Now that winter has stripped back the foliage

bare branches offer their own insights.

I see how new growth has sprouted up

from the stump of a felled tree.

Along the trunk of another tree

tossed over in some by-gone storm

vigorous new shoots emerge.

Old roots can put up new life.

Centuries ago, Isaiah noted that this can happen,

and he offered this image of hope to a dispirited people.

The line of David would find new life:

‘A shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse.’

May we be blessed with new hope in this winter time.

Fr La Flynn