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.

 

21st Sunday of Year B – 2024

23 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: commitment, Joshua 24:1-2.15-18, list of things, memory, thanking God, what God has done

Making lists – we are quite used to this exercise!
The rhythm of our daily lives is so fast that we feel we cannot always rely only on our memory.
To make sure that we do not forget anything – anything important and even less important – we make lists!
Lists of… things to do, items to buy, phone calls to make, people to meet, tasks to carry out, etc.

Have you ever thought of making a list about… what God has done for you?
This question may cause much surprise to some people reading these lines, but…
This could be a very interesting activity and one that leads to some enriching discovery!

In the 1st reading of today’s celebration, we see the people of Israel doing exactly that (Joshua 24:1-2,15-18).
Prompted by Joshua to say if they want to commit themselves to serving the Lord God,
they reply with precisely this: a list of what God has done for them over the years.

“It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt,
from that land of slavery,
and performed those great signs before our eyes.
He protected us on our entire journey
and among all the nations through which we traveled.
And the Lord drove out before us all the nations”.

The people have become aware that the freedom they now enjoy has been given to them by God.
The security that is theirs, they have received from God, a gift from his loving care.
So, they commit themselves to serving him, and being faithful to what he asks from them.

“We will serve the Lord; for he is our God”.

At this point, I pause and… I start looking back…
Looking at all that I, and those dear to me, enjoy in terms of good health, success, security…

      – the protection from accidents,
      – the recovery from sickness for myself and those near to me,
      – the unexpected return of a fugitive child,
      – the helpful encounters with some people,
      – the escape from a dangerous situation,
      – the successful resolution of a conflict with a colleague,
      – the positive results of a college exam,
      – the happy conclusion of a business deal, etc.

The personal list of each one can go on… and it may get longer from day to day…

Then, should not our commitment also grow in thanksgiving to the Lord and faithfulness to him?…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/21e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: unsplash.com (Torbjorn Helgesen; Jakub Zerdzicki)

20th Sunday of Year B – 2024

16 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
1 commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: awareness, blindness, Ephesians 5:15-20, forgetfulness, give thanks to God, God's blessings, half-empty half-full glass, positive outlook

We are all familiar with the concept of the glass half full/half empty and the meaning attached to it.
This example is often used to describe the character of people –
those with a positive outlook and those with a more negative one!
We all know someone whose attitude is one of constant cheerful assessment of life situations.
While another one will constantly find fault with whatever happens…

This mental picture came to my mind as I read the last verse of the 2nd reading of today’s celebration (Ephesians 5:15-20).
Writing to the first Christians of Ephesus, the apostle Paul tells them:

“Always and everywhere give thanks to God”.

Reading, or hearing these words, some may think: ‘Well I don’t always have some reason to give thanks to God…’
A long litany of misfortunes, or unfulfilled desires, presents itself to the mind of the person thinking.
The person’s focus is on what is missing, what he wishes for and is lacking… the half-empty glass!

What is sad is that, often, such a reaction is one of blindness, or forgetfulness.
The memory of happy situations, joyful events, successful ventures, all this has been wiped out.
God’s many gifts are as if… they had never been received – they have passed unnoticed!
The recurring blessings of God, his daily assistance, his on-going protection, all this is perhaps… taken for granted…

We need to develop an attitude of awareness of all the good things that come our way, and be grateful to God.
We need to direct our sight, and our memory, to the positive, enjoyable, encouraging, aspects of life, and be refreshed by them.
After all, a glass that is half-full is NOT empty!

We will then be spontaneously led to be grateful to God “always and everywhere”.

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/20e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: unsplash.com (Joseph Greve)         https://www.scripture-images.com/desktop-wallpaper/kjv/ephesians-5-20

International Youth Day – 12 August 2024

12 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: artificial intelligence, collaboration, digital pathways, innovation, mobile devices, sustainable development, technology, Youth

2024 Theme: From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development

Digitalization is transforming our world, offering unprecedented opportunities to accelerate sustainable development. Digital technologies such as mobile devices, services, and artificial intelligence are instrumental in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data generated from digital interactions supports evidence-based decision-making. With profound impact across economic, social and environmental dimensions, digital technologies and data contribute to at least 70 per cent of the 169 SDG targets while potentially reducing the cost of achieving these goals by up to USD 55 trillion.

Young people are leading the charge in digital adoption and innovation, with three-quarters of those aged 15 to 24 using the internet in 2022, a rate higher than other age groups. However, disparities persist, particularly in low-income countries and among young women, who often have less access to the internet and digital skills compared to their male counterparts. While there is an urgent need to enhance digital inclusion, youth are largely recognized as “digital natives,” using technology to drive change and create solutions. As the 2030 deadline for the SDGs approaches, the role of young people in digital innovation is essential for addressing global issues.

By celebrating the digital contributions of youth, we can inspire further innovation and collaboration towards achieving sustainable development. 

Did you know?

  • Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030.
  • Survey shows that 67% of people believe in a better future, with 15 to 17 year-olds being the most optimistic about this.
  • The majority of people agree that the age balance in politics is wrong. More than two thirds (69%) of people across all age groups agree that more opportunities for younger people to have a say in policy development/change would make political systems better.
  • Globally, only 2.6% of parliamentarians are under 30 years old, and less than 1% of these young MPs are women.

 

Source: Text: https://www.un.org/en/observances/youth-day   Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/youth-day

19th Sunday of Year B – 2024

9 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: believe, conditional, eternal life, future, John 6:41-51, now, past, présent, real

Early in life, we have been taught how to decline verbs – quite an exercise for the young kids that we were!
I HAVE, YOU HAVE, THEY WOULD HAVE, WE WILL HAVE…
Past, present future, conditional, and each mode had, of course, its ‘mood’!
As we grew up, we discovered how these touched our lives in more ways than one!

The PAST recalled what happened with its joys remembered, or regrets…
The FUTURE often awakened expectation and hope, or perhaps anxiety…
The CONDITIONAL could express wishes, or possibilities but with conditions attached…
The PRESENT, well, that was the immediate, what was there, the real!…

This musing came to me as I read the gospel text of this celebration (John 6:41-51).
The Jews are complaining because Jesus is saying that he came down from heaven.
They pretend that they know him since they are aware of who his mother and relatives are.
Jesus counters their complaining by telling them clearly:

“I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life”.
Did you notice: Jesus did not say ‘will have eternal life’ but he affirms: “has eternal life”.

A life of proximity with God, of intimacy with the Father, with Jesus and the Spirit.
A deep relationship with the God who created us in his image and wants to share his life with us NOW and for ever.

It is not something to come in the future, it is not about what could happen: it is HERE and NOW.
It is not a conditional perspective, or rather… it does involve a condition –
otherwise it would not be worthy of us!
It is offered not imposed on us.
The condition is that… we believe in it: “Everybody who believes”, says Jesus.

The Jews complained, argued, objected…
We may be tempted to question… to doubt… to turn away…

Yet, a gift is offered – the gift of a life of unending happiness – it is offered NOW to “Everybody who believes”.

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/19e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: pexels.com (Catherina Holmes); scriptureimages.com

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – 9 August 2024

9 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: biodiversity, cultures, lands, languages, population, poverty, protectors, rights, territories, voluntary isolation

Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact

Around 200 groups of Indigenous Peoples currently live in voluntary isolation and initial contact. They reside in remote forests rich in natural resources in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Venezuela. They choose to live detached from the rest of the world and their mobility pattern allows them to engage in gathering and hunting, thereby preserving their cultures and languages. These peoples have a strict dependency on their ecological environment. Any changes to their natural habitat can harm both the survival of individual members and the group as a whole.

Despite their right to autonomy as enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact face unique challenges often overlooked by the surrounding world. Developments for agriculture, mining, tourism and natural resources in their territories is resulting in the deforestation of swathes of Indigenous Peoples’ forests, disrupting their way of life and destroying the natural environment that they have protected for generations.

For Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact, one of the most serious threats from external contact is the exposure to diseases. Due to their isolation, they do not have the immunological defenses to relatively common diseases. As such, forced contact with the outside world can lead to devastating consequences, and can destroy whole societies.

This International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2024 is focusing on ‘Protecting the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact’. Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact are the best protectors of the forest. Where their collective rights to lands and territories are protected, the forests thrive, alongside their societies. And not only is their survival crucial to the protection of our planet, but it is crucial to the protection of cultural and linguistic diversity. In today’s hyper-connected world, the existence of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact is a testament to the rich and complex tapestry of humanity, and it is a huge loss to our world if they cease to exist.

Did you know?

  • Indigenous Peoples make up less than 6% of the global population, but they represent at least 15% of the extremely poor.
  • Indigenous Peoples’ territories encompass 28% of the surface of the globe and contain 11% of the world’s forests. They are guardians of most of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
  • Indigenous Peoples’ food systems have high levels of self-sufficiency, ranging from 50% to 80% in food and resource generation.

 

Source: Text & Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/indigenous-day

18th Sunday of Year B – 2024

2 août 2024
Nicole Gregoire
2 Comments
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: disappointment, eternal life, instant gratification, John 6:24-35, not enough, short-lived, what not to do

There are people who read the gospel to know how they should live, and what they should do.
I wonder if there are some who also search for what they should not do!

In today’s gospel text, this is exactly what Jesus tells those listening to his teaching (John 6:24-35).
He says clearly:
“Do not work for food that cannot last”.

Food, yes, but we can extend the meaning of Jesus’ words to whatever is important to us, even essential as food is.

Nowadays, the prevailing mentality is that of quick returns!
The search of many people is for immediate gratification.
Satisfaction should be here and now.
One’s desires must be satisfied without delay.

But some of us may have made the experience that such gratification and satisfaction are often short-lived.
The enjoyment they provide does not last.
The immediate pleasure experienced lasted a very short time,
like the “food that cannot last” of which Jesus was speaking about.

What remains is disappointment, a feeling of ‘not enough’ –
not good enough, not long enough, not satisfying enough…

Jesus tells his listeners to look for what “endures to eternal life”.
His message is addressed to us as well in these our days.

What « endures to eternal life », that could be…
     – a sudden inspiration…
     – a gentle nudging to help someone…
     – a discrete encouragement to more generosity…
     – a more intense listening to God… 
     – a deeper desire to do the best I can…

The Spirit can suggest what leads indeed to… « eternal life »…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/18e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

Source: Image: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons – 30 July 2024

30 juillet 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: care for survivors, Children, collaboration, crime, governments, new forms of slavery, raise awareness, sexual exploitation, tech companies

Human trafficking is a horrific crime that targets the most vulnerable in our societies.

On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we focus on the most vulnerable among us – children.

Children account for one-third of trafficking victims, suffering unspeakable abuse – whether they are forced into labour, sold off as brides, recruited as soldiers, or coerced into criminal activities. Rising inequalities and globalization have fuelled complex trafficking networks that challenge traditional legal frameworks, creating new forms of slavery.  Online platforms further expose children to sexual exploitation and gender-based violence and allow traffickers to exploit victims across borders.

The physical and psychological scars of these crimes persist long into adulthood, robbing them of their innocence, futures and fundamental rights.
We must strengthen protection responses – including child-sensitive justice mechanisms, raise awareness, support unaccompanied children on the move, provide care for survivors, and tackle the root causes of exploitation by helping vulnerable families.

I call upon governments, civil society, and the private sector, including tech companies, to intensify their efforts and collaboration so that no child is victimized and no trafficker goes unpunished.

On this day, let us renew our commitment for a future where every child is safe and free.

 

Source: Text: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2024-07-30/secretary-generals-message
Image: https://unric.org/en/unbt-world-day-against-trafficking-in-persons-2024/

World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly – 28 July 2024

28 juillet 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 'build something different', fraternity, love, new path, opportunity, Psalm 71:9, Saints Joachim and Anne, young and old

The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly this year will be July 28, 2024. The Pope challenges us: On this Fourth World Day devoted to them, let us show our tender love for the grandparents and the elderly members of our families.

Source: Text: Google

The fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will be celebrated this year on Sunday, 28 July 2024. Pope Francis inaugurated this World Day to be celebrated by the universal Church each July, either on or near the liturgical Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus, to help “treasure the spiritual and human wealth that has been handed down from generation to generation.”

In his Message for the fourth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis shares this year’s theme for the Day: “Do not cast me off in my old age” (Psalm 71:9). He invites the Catholic faithful to reflect on the loneliness of the elderly, encouraging us to “take a new path” and to spend time with them, “acknowledging their unique role in the family, in society and in the Church…”

Let us welcome this opportunity to ‘build something different’, reaching out to each other, both young and old, to strengthen our bonds of love and fraternity, so that no one may ever feel ‘cast off’, lonely, or discarded.

Source: Text & Image: https://www.cccb.ca/faith-moral-issues/family-and-life/grandparents-and-the-elderly/

17th Sunday of Year B – 2024

26 juillet 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 'holy tricks', astuteness of God, bread, human logic, John 6:1-15, loving tricks, Providence of God, Saint Catherine of Siena, testing

The gospel texts teach us in all kinds of ways.
As we meet Jesus there, we can discover much about God and… much about ourselves.

In today’s celebration, the text of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is given to our reflection (John 6:1-15).

I am tempted to give it the title: “The human logic and the astuteness of God”!
Some of you reading this may smile, others are puzzled.

 

What prompts me to think in these terms are the two verses saying something rather intriguing:

“Looking up at the crowds approaching, Jesus said to Philip,
‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat”.
He only said this to test Philip;
he himself knew exactly what he was going to do”.

Philip replies with the human logic that knows the practical impossibility of buying food for such crowds in a deserted area –
how can Jesus even think of it!
John, the gospel writer, who might have overheard the conversation gives his own interpretation:
Jesus is testing Philip.

Why? What was Jesus’ purpose in testing Philip?
What did he want his apostle to understand?
We can only surmise that Jesus wanted to teach him something.
We may suppose that seeing what Jesus eventually did – multiply the loaves and fishes – Philip realized a bit more who Jesus was.
But this is a guess, an approximation of the truth, perhaps.

Catherine of Siena was a 14th century Dominican who became a saint and was eventually recognized as a doctor of the Church.
We are told that “her spirituality was one of radical trust in the providence of God”. *
In her writings, she speaks of “the holy tricks” of the Providence of God!

She goes on to explain that, somehow, God uses such loving ‘tactics’ to draw us to himself.
Clever and astute, the way someone who loves would act!

This is where this gospel text brought me… to meeting a loving astute God whose love goes far beyond our human logic!

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/17e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

* Mary Ann Fatula, o.p., Review for Religious, Jan.-Feb. 1985
Source: Images: Ebenezer Baptist Church            https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/           https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/april-29-saint-catherine-of-siena

World Youth Day – 26 July 2024

26 juillet 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, enthusiasm, expérience, faith, the poor, universality, young people

World Youth Day is a global gathering where young people deepen their faith, experience the universality of the Catholic Church, and commit their lives to Christ alongside hundreds of thousands of like-minded peers.

The Archbishop of Seoul, S. Korea invites you to WYD Seoul 2027! See you at WYD Seoul 2027

Today marks the beginning of the Year of Frassati! To prepare for the 100th anniversary of the day Blessed Pier Giorgio entered into eternal life on the 4th of July 1925, the Archbishop of Turin, Italy is inviting all young people to discover the life of “The Man of the 8 Beatitudes,” as Holy Mother Church prepared for the Canonization during the Jubilee of 2025.

« 2025 will mark the centenary of the death of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young man who was born and lived in the city of Turin, venerated by the Church for the great enthusiasm of his Christian faith and for the contagious example of his charity, especially towards those poor. » Msgr. Roberto Repole   (Dario Mobini)

Source: Text: https://worldyouthday.com/   Image: Wikipedia