hello

Greetings to each and everyone of you.


This section for English-speaking viewers –
and all those enjoying the culture –

has developed over the months and is now offering materials of all kinds:

texts, images, poems, videos, etc.

It will continue to provide you with rich contents week after week.

 

Don’t forget

dont forget

How often do we not speak these words? To make sure that we are indeed recalling certain things, remembering some events and . . . NOT forgetting people – those near to us, and those not so near. And what about… God?Shema Israel

He wants to be remembered, of course. Long ago, he gave his people, the people of Israel a special commandment telling them to use a practical means to remember him. This text – the most important one of the daily Jewish prayer – is called: « Shema Israel. Listen, Israel. » The Jews were to sew a special kind of fringe to the hem of their clothing as a visual reminder of their Covenant with God. « You shall look upon them (the threads of this fringe) and REMEMBER all the commandments of the Lord and fulfill them. » Numbers 15:37-41

memory of me

And we, Christians, are the followers of Him who, on the eve of his death, told us:

« DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME. »

Are we forgetful?… Do we remember?

 

Memories

man thinking rememberingWe celebrated Remembrance Day yesterday. November is really the month of memories when souvenirs come back to us, one by one, or many of them all at once.

Poets and writers meditate on this theme and share their thoughts with us.

looking remembering

Most things are forgotten over time. Even the war itself, the life and death struggle people went through is now like something from the distant past.
We’re so caught up in our everyday lives that events from the past are no longer in orbit around our minds.
There are just too many things we have to think about every day, too many new things we have to learn.
But still, no matter how much time passes, no matter what takes place in the interim, there are some things we can never assign to oblivion, memories we can never rub away.
They remain with us forever, like a touchstone. »  Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Diwali

diwali againThis year from November 11th to the 15th, our Hindu friends, neighbours and colleagues are celebrating the feast of DIWALI, « the festival of lights ». The festival spiritually signifies the victory of good over evil.

Ahead of the feast, people clean and decorate their homes and offices. They light up lamps and candles inside and outside their homes and they take part in family prayers to LAKSHMI, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. A family feast follows with exchange of gifts.   (Source Wikipedia)

« In Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery… They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation, or a flight to God with love and trust. » 

(Vatican ll document on The Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, no.2)

 

Remembrance Day – November 11

red poppyEvery year, November 11 sees us ‘remembering’ – remembering the end of this tragedy of a terrible carnage: killing, maiming, destroying.  Wearing the red poppy as a symbol of all those who gave their lives, we remember and we say: « NEVER AGAIN! »

white poppy

And yet . . .
Who would say that PEACE has prevailed in all corners of our world? The daily news broadcast displays every day much violence, fighting, killing, unimaginable suffering of so many innocent people.

As a symbol of our yearning for a world where, at last, people will have learned to live together in peace, many have started wearing a white poppy. May PEACE prevail indeed!

 

International Day of Radiology – 8 November

radiology

« We chose November 8th, the day that Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered the existence of x-ray in 1895, as a day of action and awareness.
We hope to alert the world to the stunning medical, scientific and even artistic possibilities of medical imaging, the essential role of the radiologist as a part of the healthcare team in countless medical scenarios, and the high educational and professional standards required of all staff working in medical imaging. »

Source: Internet, CAR

On this day, we keep in our prayers all those undergoing radiotherapy and the professionals involved in caring for them.

November… those who left us

images-6

November… We remember those who have left us, the loved ones departed to… the other shore…

« What is dying? I am standing on the sea shore. A ship sails and spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her till at last she fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says, ‘She is gone’.
Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all; she is just as large in her masts, hull and spars as she was when I saw her and just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination. The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her.
And just at that moment when someone at my side says, ‘She is gone’, there are others who are watching her coming, and other voices take up a glad shout, ‘There she comes’, and that is Dying. »       Anonymous

Clouds… moving

plane in clouds

A few days ago, the BBC newsletter online had an interesting article about a woman who had become a flight attendant. Ever since she was a young girl this is what she had wanted to be. Asked by her mother what thing in nature she would be if she could, without hesitation she replied: « A cloud because they are always moving and never stay the same. »

Keeping on moving, changing, becoming… ever more what we are meant to be.

Time change

fall back

LOST TIME

On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time
But it is never lost, my lord.
Thou has taken every moment of my life in thine own hands
Hidden in the heart of things thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts,
buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.
I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed
and imagined all work had ceased.
In the morning I woke up
and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.

Rabindranath Tagore