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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.

 

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter U

14 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: denominations, groups of Christians, John 11:41-42, John 17:21, Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 11:25-26, prayer of Jesus, Unity

U for Unity

We pray, of course, we all have our favourite formulas to address God.
We present multiple requests to him, and we also thank him.
It is possible that we ask ourselves the question: When he was praying to his father, how did Jesus do this?

One day, his apostles having seen him pray, asked him to teach them to pray.
We know that he then taught them the prayer of the Our Father (Luke 11:1-4).
But we still think: he, himself, how did he pray?

Apart from his prayer during his agony in the Garden of Olives, and his petition on the cross, we know little of his personal prayer.

One day, marveling at the faith of simple people, he exclaimed:
“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned,
and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25-26).

On another occasion, before bringing Lazarus back to life, he addressed his Father, saying:
“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 
I knew that you always hear me,
but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, 
that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42).

These two texts are meaningful.
Yet, there is another one which I think of – it is the prayer Jesus pronounced on the eve of his death, a solemn moment indeed.
It was during the Jewish Passover meal and, at the end of the meal, Jesus said:

“That all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me, and I am in you. 
May they also be in us,
so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

This text makes clearly known to us the desire of Jesus for us, believers.
But more than 2,000 years after he prayed in this way, his desire is still… waiting to be realized…
The groups of those who call themselves disciples of Christ have been multiplied in an amazing manner…

The groups of Christians have become diversified according to their different beliefs…
Worse still, their way of treating each other is sometimes deplorable…
Of course, there are praiseworthy efforts to come really closer to one another but… there is still a long way to go.

Travelling, one day, in a foreign country, I found myself at a crossroads of four streets.
On the site of three of them, there was a church built for the Christians of different denominations.
Of course, all of them claimed that Christ was with them…

We need to learn how to pray as Jesus did, and pray with him, HIS prayer…

 

Source: Image: Scripture Images

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter T

13 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 2 Corinthians 6:2, God near, God's proximity, invitation to change, Luke 17:22, Mark 1:14-15, time, time of God's favor

 T for Time

Time – we speak about it in many ways:
“The time comes… Time passes… Time flies…
I don’t have time… If you had time… If there is time…”

Obviously, time is measured in different ways according to the beliefs of people.
So there are calendars called: Gregorian, Hebrew, Moslem, Hindu, Chinese, etc.

But why exactly do we strive to measure time?…
Could it be that we have some relationship with time?

Jesus has spoken about time, precisely at different moments of his existence.
One day, he has said to his apostles, in a rather mysterious manner:

“The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,
but you will not see it (Luke 17:22).

But, at the beginning of his preaching to people, Jesus went to Galilea and he spoke these words:

“The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15).

“The time that has come, it is God who is near – this is the “Good News of God”

In Jesus, God has made himself near – year after year, in this our time,
this is what we celebrate at Christmas!
God’s proximity, a piece of good news as none other!

It remains a permanent invitation to change our ways, our attitudes, our behaviour,
to adjust them to God’s own!
Has he not created us in his image?

The period of Lent represents what the apostle Paul speaks about:
“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

“The time that has come… the time of God’s favor…” It is here now!

 

Source: Images: DailyVerses.net    unsplash.com (Towfiqu Barbhuiya)  

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter S

12 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: body language, John 2:1-11, Lent, Mark 8:13, Matthew 21:12-13, meaning, message, signs

S for Signs

Signs are part of communication.
We wave our hand as we leave someone.
We shake our head to refuse something.
We wink to a word spoken in jest.
We open wide our eyes in surprise.
We frown to show disapproval.

All these signs are part of what we call body language.

But there are other signs –
those displayed in an attitude expressing a conviction, or a decision.
In anger, we suddenly leave a meeting with colleagues.
Or, we go out of a room banging the door.

Occasionally, Jesus used such signs in relation to people around.

To the Pharisees who asked him precisely for a sign coming from heaven, Jesus replied that they would not get such a sign; he left them there and got back into the boat (Mark 8:13).
Another very telling example is that showing Jesus chasing the traders in the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13).
 
There are other signs that we could describe as symbolic –
perhaps more difficult to interpret, they may have a deep meaning.

The gospel of John proposes a typical scene which opens up an unexpected perspective.
It is that of the Wedding of Cana (John 2:1-11).
The narrative is well known where we see Jesus who, on the request of his mother, will change water into wine for the feast.
The gospel writer uses precisely this word: “This was the first of the signs given by Jesus”.

Of course, it was a miracle, and the other gospel writers will use this word rather than the one used by John: a ‘sign’.

This sign announces what Jesus will be for us: the presence of God among us to come to our aid.
God sharing our daily life – as it is taking place in a wedding celebration – to reveal his presence to us.

And all the signs that he gives us from day to day…
Do we know how to recognize them, and discover their message?…

The period of Lent is a good time to get used to doing this…

 

Note: In the following video (in French), Nadia Labrecque continues to reflect on this sur scene of the Wedding of Cana : https://youtu.be/j1zn0Tp3B58?si=eHy6N9VdMokPmYz5

 

Source: Image: unsplash.com (Jorge Bermudez)       The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

World Day Against Cyber Censorship – 12 March

12 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Amnesty International, Censorship, enemies, freedom, mouse, observation, online information, Reporters Without Borders, Under Watch

 

World Day Against Cyber Censorship is an online event held each year on March 12 to draw attention to the ways that governments around the world are deterring and censoring free speech online. The day was first observed on 12 March 2008 at the request of Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International. A letter written by Jean-François Julliard, Secretary-General of Reporters Without Borders, and Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International, was sent to the Chief Executive Officers of Google, Yahoo!, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation to request observation of the day. The annual event is symbolized by a logo created by Reporters Without Borders consisting of a computer mouse breaking free from a chain.

Enemies of the Internet list

In conjunction with World Day Against Cyber Censorship, Reporters Without Borders updates its Enemies of the Internet and Countries Under Surveillance lists.

In 2006, Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), a Paris-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, started publishing a list of « Enemies of the Internet ». The organization classifies a country as an enemy of the internet because « all of these countries mark themselves out not just for their capacity to censor news and information online but also for their almost systematic repression of Internet users. » In 2007 a second list of countries « Under Surveillance » (originally « Under Watch ») was added.

 

Source: Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Day_Against_Cyber_Censorship    Image: Wikimedia Commons

The Alphabet of Life – Letter R

11 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: "back to his senses", Father, journey, Luke 15:11-32, Prodigal son, return

R for Return

Returning… THE return
The return that the period of Lent proposes to us.
It is one of the important themes of this special season.

An inspiring text of Luke’s gospel describes the journey to which we are invited.
The parable is well known to us – it is the one entitled: The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).

The familiar story points out that, having squandered all his heritage, the young man finds himself without any resources.
He regrets bitterly all that he used to enjoy in his Father’s house.
It is then that the turnaround takes place!
The text says clearly: “He came to his senses”. Or, “He returned to himself”.

“He came to his senses, he said,
‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare,
and here I am starving to death! 
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 
I am no longer worthy to be called your son;
make me like one of your hired servants’.”

Having returned to himself, he decides to return to his father.
The welcome that awaits him goes far beyond what he could have anticipated – a feast, yes,
but more still the renewed relationship with his father in the manner of the Father whom Jesus evokes.

“While he was still a long way off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him;
he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him”.

It is precisely this Father – the Father of Jesus – who awaits OUR return.
The return from… our self-complacency,… our obstinacy… our hypocrisy…

We have first to return to ourselves…
Then, step by step, to set out on the road which will bring us back ‘home’ – to HIM.

Source: Image: Free Bible Images

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B – 2024

9 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: believe, boast, Ephesians 2:4-10, gift, grâce, idea of God, Margery Kemp, mystic, salvation, take credit

When telling something important to someone, we are inclined to repeat it.
We want to make sure that the message has been heard, understood and… received.
The person may exclaim: “You told me already…”
To which we tend to reply: “Yes, but I wanted to be certain that you have grasped what I mean”.

This situation came to my mind as I read the 2nd reading of today’s celebration (Ephesians 2:4-10).
Paul, writing to the first Christians of Ephesus tells them:

“It is by grace you have been saved”.

A few lines below in the text, we find exactly the same words:
“It is by grace you have been saved”.

In one translation, Paul goes on telling the Ephesians that they should not take the credit for this.
While another version says:

“This is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 
not by works, so that no one can boast”. 

Paul adds that we have not been saved by anything of our own.
No good works can obtain God’s salvation.
At the very beginning of the reading, we are told:

“God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy”.

This should change the idea of God that some of us may have received in the past, and still hold on to.
That of a God who is severe, exacting, and never satisfied with what we do for him.
As if we were the slaves of a demanding taskmaster.

God loves us with a generous and merciful love.
He delights in showering his gifts on us.
What he expects from us is to delight as much in receiving his gifts.

The story is told of a vision that Margery Kemp had one day.
She was an English mystic of the 14th century to which God reportedly said:

“Margery, do you know what pleases me most of you?
Not your prayers,
your fasting,
or your sacrifices,
but rather that you believe I love you”. 

Would it be possible that… the same is said of us?…

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/4e-dimanche-du-careme-annee-b-2024/

 

Source: Image: Scripture Images

World Kidney Day – 14 March 2024 *

9 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: blood pressure, community leaders, equity for all, heart disease, kidney disease, kidney failure, life-threatening, obesity, patients

* Celebrated on March 9 in many French-speaking areas

It is the topic that’s too BIG to ignore. On Thursday 14 March 2024, join us in highlighting just how big an issue kidney disease is. It’s not a disease that affects only a handful of people: it’s the 10th biggest killer worldwide. Your neighbour could have it. Your parent. Your work colleague. Your child. This year, we need to you to shout it from the rooftops.

We want all our followers to share the message that kidney failure is life-threatening, and that kidney transplants and dialysis aren’t cures but temporary treatments to keep loved ones with us for longer.

World Kidney Day is an annual campaign to help raise awareness of kidneys and show the suffering caused when they don’t work properly. It also aims to educate people on what kidneys do and how to improve your kidney health. How kidney disease affects people like you.

Source: Text: https://www.worldkidneyday.co.uk/    Image: https://www.worldkidneyday.org

About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37 million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don’t know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.

About KIDNEY EQUITY FOR ALL™
Historically, access to kidney health has remained inequitable, with persistent disparities disproportionately affecting underserved populations and impacting the entire kidney patient journey. To address these disparities, NKF is urging industry and community leaders to join them on their KIDNEY EQUITY FOR ALL™ mission by allocating resources to improve healthcare access and outcomes in communities of color. This is a tangible opportunity for businesses to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles into their operations. For more information on KIDNEY EQUITY FOR ALL™, visit www.kidneyequityforall.org.

Source: Text & Image: https://www.kidney.org/news/national-kidney-foundation 

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter Q

8 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: become aware, challenge, Genesis 3:9, interrogation, know, learn, Luke 14:5-6, Mark 8:18, Mark 9:33-34, Matthew 16:15, questions, understand

Q for Questions

 Questions – they are part of our life in many forms.
From our childhood, we learn to use them in all kinds of situations:
Where? When? How? Who? What? Why?

We want to know, to learn, to understand.
We ask questions from people around us and they do the same themselves.

But have you ever thought of the questions that… God addresses us?…
The first chapters of the Bible present us man being asked questions by God:
“God called to the man: ‘Where are you’?” (Genesis 3:9) – an existential question if ever there was one…

In the gospel, we see Jesus using this form of communication to arise the attention and sometimes provoke people around him.

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit,
will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”
And they could not answer Him regarding these things” (Luke 14:5-6)

 “When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest” (Mark 9:33-34).

On an other occasion, Jesus challenges his apostles by asking them a question about himself:
“What about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15).

These questions represent:
a challenge,
a call to become aware,
an interrogation inviting to a relation…

Then, one day, to those who shared life with him from day to day, Jesus asked a series of questions
that called them to see themselves as they were:

“Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” (Mark 8:18).

You possibly see this as shock therapy!
Jesus probably saw that his apostles needed this…
Could it be that we, too, sometimes need this?…

And God’s method of searching with questions may bring us back to ourselves… and to him!

 

Source : Image: unsplash.com (Matt Walsh)

International Women’s Day – 8 March 2024

8 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: change-makers, financing, Gender equality, green economy, human rights, poverty, progress, Women

Invest in women: Accelerate progress

Achieving gender equality and women’s well-being in all aspects of life is more crucial than ever if we want to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet. However, we are facing a key challenge: the alarming $360 billion annual deficit in gender-equality measures by 2030.

Join us on March 8, 2024, for International Women’s Day under the theme ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, and take a stand with us using the hashtag #InvestInWomen.

Here are five key areas needing joint action:

  • Investing in women, a human rights issue: Time is running out. Gender equality is the greatest human rights challenge, benefiting everyone.
  • Ending poverty: Due to the COVID pandemic and conflicts, 75 million more people have fallen into severe poverty since 2020. Immediate action is crucial to prevent over 342 million women and girls living in poverty by 2030.
  • Implementing gender-responsive financing: Conflicts and rising prices may lead 75% of countries to cut public spending by 2025, negatively impacting women and their essential services.
  • Shifting to a green economy and care society: The current economic system disproportionately affects women. Advocates propose a shift to a green economy and care society to amplify women’s voices.
  • Supporting feminist change-makers: Despite leading efforts, feminist organizations receive only 0.13% of official development assistance.

This International Women’s Day, let’s unite to transform challenges into opportunities and shape a better future for all!

Did you know?

  • In 1984, Australia introduced the world’s first Women’s Budget Statement, paving the way for many others to follow suit.
  • There is an alarming lack of financing with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit in spending on gender-equality measures.
  • Just 5% of government aid is focused on tackling violence against women and girls, and less than 0.2% is directed to its prevention.

 

Source: Text: https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day   Image: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter P

7 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: attitude, Being with God, Matthew 6:7-8, Matthew 6:9-13, not performance, Pray as you can, prayer, rules, succeed

P for Pray

To pray – we want to…
We get down to is… we try… but we do not feel up to it..

Precisely, perhaps we should not try to be ‘up to it’.
Because to pray is not to present a performance, or to realize a feat.
We must not attempt to… follow the rules and succeed.

It is true that bookshops and libraries often have many rows of books on this topic.
There are also, of course, many learned spiritual authors and gurus of all kinds who speak at length about this.
We often ask ourselves what to choose and which of them to follow.

It is surprising that Jesus, yes, Jesus himself, has taught us only one prayer.
To his apostles who were asking him how to pray, he simply said (Matthew 6:9-13):

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father’…”

This prayer is well known to us, too much so perhaps… we believe that we should move on to something else!
And yet, everything is there!

One day, a read some guideline on the subject: ‘How to pray’ and, to my surprise, the author was saying:
 » attitude, Pray as you can, Pray as you can”!
Surprising and so encouraging!

But praying, is it not this: simply ‘Being with God’?
And being with God as we feel like at any given moment – without fuss, or complication!
Allowing what is deepest within us to surge spontaneously and allowing it to rise towards him.

Not believing that one must be at a precise spot,
taking on a specific attitude,
using prescribed words,
for a definite period of time.

Praying as we can… Praying as we are…
And leaving everything else to him!…

In fact, he has told us clearly (Matthew 6:7-8):
 
“When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans,
for they think they will be heard because of their many words… 
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”.

To this, nothing needs to be added…

 

Source: Images: unsplash.com (Ben White, Diana Simumpande)