Fr La’s weekly ‘Pause and Ponder’ from along the Pilgrim Path at Lough Derg. This week’s reflection, ‘After the Rain’
The evening was not promising but I headed for the car.
The Path above Lough Derg would do me good.
I had not bargained quite for what would come.
From the west, over Seedavog Mountain, the rain came in:
big single drops at first, then steady, heavy, cold and mixed with hail.
Hood up, head down, I forged along,
my trousers wet below the jacket hem.
The run-off from the mountain filled the little streams,
rushing brown and noisy to the lough.
But as I left the pines the rain had passed
and Station Island caught the evening sun.
Heads down, like me, the sorrel had survived,
a butterfly on a briar warmed its wings
and the way ahead was lit with golden light.
By the time I reached the car my knees were dry.
Fr La Flynn, Prior
24 May 2021