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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.

 

International day against child slavery – 16 April

16 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: children slaves, economic policies, financial institutions, International Monetary Fund, labour exploitation, mafia, multinationals

It is not child work, it is child slavery.

In this new century, we can still witness one of the most shameful situations of our time: there are 400 million enslaved children between 4 and 14 years old around the world, 165 million are under 5. Wars, prostitution, labour exploitation, starvation, ill-treatment… are the normal day for millions of children.

Children’s exploitation continues increasing (it is multiplied in the impoverished South and it reappears in the enriched North) as a consequence of international trade, the technological monopoly, the passivity and cynicism of international organisms worldwide, economic policies imposed by international financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc.) and their complicity with governments who favour multinational companies.

The 16th of April of 1995, a Pakistani boy called Iqbal Mashi, Catholic militant of the Bonded Labour Liberation Front of Pakistan was murdered at the age of 12 by the mafia of carpets after receiving many threats for having closed companies in which all the workers were young slaves. His example spread internationally; he was awarded a prize in Stockholm and Boston and dedicated the money to open a school; he stated his intention to become a lawyer to continue fighting against child slavery.

In memory of Iqbal, a symbol of 400 million child slaves, we demand the 16th of April be set as the International Day against Child Slavery.

Source: Text & Image: Solidaridad.net    2nd image: TIME

Easter, Year A

15 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: believe, events, folded linen in the tomb, happenings, Jesus' miracles, Jesus' teaching, Jn.20:1-9, John and Peter, not understand, personal experience, rise from the dead

« The disciples had failed to understand… that he must rise from the dead. » (Jn.20:1-9)

They had been with him for three years.
They had heard him teach day in, day out.
They had seen him cure so many people, even bringing dead people back to life.
And yet… “They had failed to understand…”

Amazingly, what triggered their faith was… some linen!
Yes, linen folded lying where he had been laid in the tomb.

I find these two short mentions encouraging.
Encouraging because, somehow, they describe what is often our personal experience.
In spite of all that the Lord has already done for us, often we fail to understand…
We cannot make sense of some happenings in our lives, some events in the world.
We simply do not see why things ‘MUST’ take place as they do.
To us, it really does not make sense!

Then, suddenly, we come upon a small thing, insignificant, very ordinary – like folded linen – and surprisingly, some meaning appears that had remained hidden till then.
The tiny piece of the big jigsaw puzzle of life fits into the many awkward ‘holes’ all around!

Life – Death – Resurrection – yes, it is true: “He must rise from the dead. »

Source: Images: padredelisle.blogspot;  TurnbackToGod.com

Good Friday, Year A

14 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 'man of sorrows', death, for us, innocent, Is.52:13 – 53:12, Jesus on the cross, news bulletin, prestige, privileges, selfish tyrants, suffering, torture, trial, unjust political system

Looking at the cross, not just a wooden piece or a silver cross, but beholding Jesus crucified, so many thoughts and feelings can come to us.
Taking part in the celebration of Good Friday, we respond with prayers, songs, and gestures, trying to express something of what we experience.

Pondering over the words used by the prophet Isaiah and those of the gospel text, is somehow… overwhelming:
“Disfigured, despised, rejected, pierced through, crushed, burdened, struck.  »
« A man of sorrows,” is the way Isaiah summarizes his description (Is.52:13 – 53:12).
 
“Betrayed, arrested, denied, abandoned, arrested, put on trial, scourged, crowned with thorns and… crucified,”  is the multi-faceted picture the four accounts of the gospel present us with.

He was innocent, the victim of those in power, religious leaders as much as – if not more than – political rulers craving for the prestige and privileges that were theirs and fearing to lose them.

I pause and think of the news bulletin bombarding us with… similar pictures in some way…
The war victims subjected to nerve gas, the starving children, the helpless mothers mourning so many deaths, the men innocent by-standers tortured and beheaded…
The pictures follow one another, shocking, appalling, exposing our helplessness, if not… our indifference.

They, too, are innocent people suffering from an unjust political system whose power is that of selfish tyrants craving for domination.

 The question arises: What is the difference?

HE DID IT FOR US…

Source: Image: virtual-independence.blogspot.com

Holy Thursday, Year A

13 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: commémoration, freedom, libération, Lk.22:19, Memories, memory, peace, precious, Remember, Remembrance Day, shared, special events, think of me

Memory… Memories…
Personal… Shared… Cherished… Sometimes surprising… Precious…

Our memory is an important part of ourselves.
It can bring back to us forgotten experiences.
It can recapture the sights and sounds of long-past events.
It can place before our mind’s eye the faces of loved ones.

At times, some people will tell us: “Remember me tomorrow; I have an appointment with the doctor…”
Others will ask: “Think of me, remember I have a job interview next week…”
They may not openly request that we pray for them –
nowadays they will speak more in terms of ‘good vibes’, or ‘positive thoughts’.
What they want, in fact, is that we remain ‘connected’ with them!

Today, Jesus asks us for this: “Do this in memory of me = Remember me…” (Lk.22:19)

People create special days of ‘commemoration’ for special events.
The one that first comes to mind is November 11th called precisely: Remembrance Day.
On that day, we remember those who have given their lives for the freedom of their country
and peace in the world.

We could say that today is indeed: Remembrance Day par excellence –
we remember what God himself, yes, God-made-man, has done for us,
for our liberation, for our lasting peace.

Source: Image: www.lds.org

World Parkinson’s Disease Day – 11 April

11 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: disease, memory problems, motor functions, nervous system, public awareness

World Parkinson’s Disease Day marks the birthday of Dr. J Parkinson. On this day there are efforts made to increase the public awareness of this terrible disease.

Dr. Parkinson first described the disease in “An Essay on the Shaking Palsy”, he described a pattern of lessened muscular power, involuntary tremulous motion, even if these are supported. There is at tendency to bend the body forwards, and to involuntarily switch from a walking to a running pace, while the sense and intellect deteriorate.

One of the prominent symbols of Parkinson’s disease is the red tulip, and this was established at the 9th World Parkinson’s disease Day at the Luxembourg Conference. The story of the Red Tulip can be tied back to J.W.S. Van der Wereld, a Dutch Horticulturalist who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He had successfully generated a Red and White Tulip, and named it in honor of the man who named his medical condition. On the tail of this, the Tulip received the Award of Merit, granted by the Royal Horticultural Society in London, and then was granted the Royal General Bulb Growers, Trial Garden Award.

Many people do not understand what Parkinson’s is, or are unaware of how to identify it. In the interest of promoting awareness of this disease, a simplified description follows.

It is a disorder that results in the degeneration of the central nervous system, and directly impacts those that nerves that handle motor functions for the body as a whole. As the disease advances, it becomes apparent from the slowness of their body, and the increasing stiffness of their limbs that there is a developing problem. Their limbs will begin to shake uncontrollably as it gets further on, and eventually an entire scope of additional symptoms will develop as more and more motor functions are impacted. Sufferers are often tired, and memory problems become more apparent as time goes on.

Source: Text: DAYS of the YEAR Image: west-info.eu

World Health Day – 7 April 2017

7 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: cause of death, dépression, health, prévention, stigma, suicide, treatment, WHO

World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO, provides us with a unique opportunity to mobilize action around a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world.

The theme of 2017 World Health Day campaign is depression.

Depression affects people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all countries. It causes mental anguish and impacts on people’s ability to carry out even the simplest everyday tasks, with sometimes devastating consequences for relationships with family and friends and the ability to earn a living. At worst, depression can lead to suicide, now the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year olds.

Yet, depression can be prevented and treated. A better understanding of what depression is, and how it can be prevented and treated, will help reduce the stigma associated with the condition, and lead to more people seeking help.

Source: Texte: WHO  Image: Wikipedia: An 1892 lithograph of a woman diagnosed with depression

Palm Sunday, Year A

6 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: human glory, Jn.18:36, Jn.6:15, kingdom of God, Lk.19:39-40, Mt.14:22-23, Mt.21:1-11, Pharisees, Pilate, Roman domination, why?

It had happened perhaps two years before – a day people would remember – when the Man of Nazareth, the one they called Jesus, had fed a crowd, yes, a crowd of some 5000 people with only 5 loaves.
This sort of thing, people could not forget!

On that day, they wanted to make him king – they were convinced he was the one they had been waiting for, the one sent by God, for sure, to free them from the Roman domination (Jn.6:15).
A man who could perform such things, it was obvious that God was with him in a special way.
And, of course, the apostles would have been very happy with this outcome…
They would have responsible places in this new kingdom!

But Jesus had told them to get in their boat and cross to the other shore.
He had stayed behind to send back the crowd home and he, himself, had gone to the hills to pray (Mt.14:22-23).
They had not understood, nobody could understand, all the more so that he was often teaching about “the kingdom of God”.

He was saying that this kingdom was among them (Lk.17:21).
What did he mean then?…

And now, there he is, sitting on a donkey, surrounded by a crowd of people welcoming him as he enters Jerusalem (Mt.21:1-11).
They call him: “Son of David” – David, the greatest king of their history, so, in their minds, Jesus, his descendant, is also king!

This time, surprisingly, he does not refuse the acclaim of all those people.
Their putting down clothing on the road where he is to pass, their waving palms, their shouts of joy at his coming, –
he seems happy with this whole display in his honour.
He even sternly corrects the Pharisees who want him to make the people shut up:
“I tell you, if these keep silence the stones will cry out” (Lk.19:39-40).
 
As I look at the scene, I ask myself: ‘Why?… Why now?…’
Indeed: Why has Jesus suddenly accepted this ‘demonstration’, as if he had changed his mind!…
As if he were now ready to accept human glory and praises surging all around him.

The answer is: We do not know!
This is the simple truth, we are not aware of the reason for Jesus’ behaving in this way on that day.
Down through the centuries, the question has been asked nagging at people without receiving a satisfactory answer.

There have been speculations of all kinds, different hypotheses offered claiming that he chose to enter the city in triumph for this or that reason.
Theologians and exegetes have given some interpretations of his behaviour on that day.
But the plain truth is that nobody knows for sure!

I look at him and I ask myself… I ask… him…
When questioned by Pilate about it, he was to reply: “Mine is not a kingdom of this world” (Jn.18:36).
He had said: “The kingdom of God is among you,” sometimes translated as: “it is within you”…
Perhaps this is really where his kingdom is…

Perhaps… Maybe… Possibly…
This could be what today’s celebration is all about:
Welcoming the Lord into our lives, all the areas of our lives, all that we live and experience from day to day…

Source: Image: www.lds.org

International Day of Invisible Work – 5 April

5 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: carers, Children, drug trade, environment, family, mothers, parents, prostitution, volunteers

Day of Invisible Work: « Let’s make it visible! »

Things change. No more than 50-70 years ago, being a good mother meant to stay with your children at home, look after them, help your husband – the breadwinner – to live a peaceful life after a hard day’s work: ladies were supposed to be the « angels of the house », caring for the family.

Today if you say you are a housewife you certainly get as a comment: « Oh, so you don’t work! » And this is not only a sexist remark, good for ladies alone. Unpaid work is held in very low esteem in our society, at home and outside.

There is no sign of home caring work in GDP anywhere in Europe, although recently GDP includes prostitution and drug trade, and no sign either of the silent work of volunteers that take care of the poor, the ill, the refugees, those that help our children practice sports, or help sustaining the environment and the treasures of art in our countries. Still, if it is unpaid, if it is done just because you care, if it is invisible – it seems not to exist. And it can be ignored by the politics, by social security and administration.

In order to make the caring work of millions of people visible and appreciated, an initiative was started in Canada and then brought to Europe by FEFAF, the European Federation of Parents and Carers at Home, to celebrate the first Tuesday of April as the International Day of Invisible Work.

Source: Text: elfac   Image: bimcal.com

International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action – 4 April

4 avril 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: assistance, awareness, eradication, explosives, landmines, UN

The United Nations’ International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed on April 4 each year. This day aims to raise awareness about landmines and progress toward their eradication.

On 8 December 2005, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared that April 4 of each year would be officially proclaimed and observed as International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. It was first observed on April 4, 2006.

It called for continued efforts by states, with assistance from the UN and relevant organizations, to help establish and develop national mine-action capacities in countries where mines and explosive war remnants constitute a serious threat to the safety, health and lives of people, or hinders social and economic development at the national and local levels.
 
According to the Landmine Monitor Report 2005, 84 countries were affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance, which together kill or maim between 15,000 and 20,000 adults and children annually. The UN works together with countries to find and destroy these devices. It also helps to provide various mine-action services in many countries.

Source: Text: www.timeanddate.com   Images: UNMAS