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God’s Spirit

Feast of All Saints – 1st November

31 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: création, God's Spirit, holy, image, image of God, restoration

We celebrate today the feast of all the saints – those well known and those perhaps not as familiar to us.
As we remember this particular saint, and that other, and others still,
we may stop thinking of them and start looking at our own lives.

And as we do, we may think that… we are not as holy as they are.
Not as patient, as humble, as prayerful, as faithful to God.
Not as generous, not as…
and our list gets longer mentioning all the qualities that we believe make a saint.

We may become dispirited and discouraged,
all the while forgetting the most important: what WE ARE.
The text of the 2nd reading says it clearly:

“Children of God! … that is what we are!
 
We have been created in God’s image – an image that cannot be erased or obliterated.
But… it can be damaged, the face of God in us can be… defaced,
yes, when we refuse to behave as his children.
But this is NOT the end of the story, God is always ready to restore his image in us.

There are people especially skillful in picture or image restoration.
A famous painting or a family picture may have been damaged but can be restored.

I personally believe that God’s Spirit present in us is a specialist in… image restoration!
The text of the 2nd reading goes on with these words:
 
What we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that… we shall be like him.”   (1 Jn.3:1-3)

We are, in fact, saints-in-the-making, nothing less!
 

 

Note: Another reflection on a different theme in French can be found at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-la-toussaint-annee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: The New Daily

26th Sunday of Year B – 2024

27 septembre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Categories, classes, God's generosity, God's gifts, God's Spirit, God's ways, grades, Isaiah 55:8, Number 11:25-29, ranks

God’s ways are… so often different from what we expect…
Different and puzzling… we are tempted to question them…
In fact… they question us!

The text of today’s 1st reading does precisely this (Number 11:25-29).
In the scene described, we see the Jewish leader, Moses, and we are told that, on him, God’s Spirit rests.
God then decides to share his Spirit also with 70 elders who start to prophesy.

Then, two more men who, even absent from the group, are also invested with God’s Spirit.
They, too, are given the gift of prophesy.

A young man wonders about this…
So does Joshua who has been Moses’ assistant from his youth.
How can this be?
Elders are usually recognized as wise people, but who are those two men, Eldad and Medad, who remained in the camp…?
How is it that they are also enjoying God’s special gift?

God does not limit his choice to people we think deserve his gifts.
Categories, grades, classes, ranks, parameters – these are all human inventions!
God does not restrict his blessings according to our concepts.
He does not conform himself to our judgements so limited and often prejudiced…

God is a God of abundant, immeasurable generosity who enjoys pouring his blessings on human beings.
And, let’s be honest: none of us deserves them!

Many years after Moses’ death, the prophets will tell the people of Israel about this God – their God.
Through one of them, Isaiah, God will say:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8).

We must constantly remind ourselves of this…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/26e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Image: https://www.scripture-images.com/bible-verse/web/numbers-11-26-web.php

Holy Trinity Sunday, Year B – 2024

24 mai 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: "Abba - Father", adoption, child of God, God's faitfhfulness, God's mercy, God's presence, God's Spirit, God's tenderness, Holy Trinity, Romans 8:14-17

It is interesting to observe children doing different things on their own.
It is even more fascinating to see them interacting with one another.

Recently, I passed by a boy and a girl chatting with much excitement.
The boy said loudly: “My father is stronger than yours”!
But my father is more clever than yours!”, replied the girl.

I kept walking thinking of… the readings of the celebration of this Sunday: Trinity Sunday.
The thought suddenly came to me: Do I have the same enthusiasm at the fact that I the child of… God!
How many Christians experience joy, comfort, security, when they become aware that God is truly their Father?

The Apostle Paul knew he had to remind the Christians of Rome of this extraordinary reality (Romans 8:14-17):

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;
rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.
And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

Is it that we do not realize that having been baptized we are indeed children of God?…
Could it be that we are so used to hearing sermons that speak about this that the words no longer touch us?…
Do we doubt that this is true, really true, for us personally – feeling unworthy, having been unfaithful to God, unaware of his presence and care?…

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can deprive us of our special condition of being God’s child.
Our dignity is not self-acquired, it is his gift to us – we are “adopted” by him and without condition!

God our Father showers over us his blessings of all kinds –
         – his tenderness shelters us,
         – his compassion comforts us,
         – his mercy forgives us,
         – his faithfulness accompanies us,
         – his unfailing presence gives us security.

The only thing we need to contribute is… our faith that it is so.
And… even that, he is ready to give us… if only we cry, “Abba, Father”.

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-la-sainte-trinite-annee-b-2024/

 

Source: Image: https://www.scripture-images.com/bible-verse/web/romans-8-16

Pentecost Sunday, Year B – 2024

18 mai 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Acts 2:1-11, dove, fire, Genesis 1:2, God's Spirit, Jesus baptism, John 3:8, John the Baptist, Matthew 3:16, présence, wind

How can we speak of the immaterial, yet very personal?
How can we approach the invisible, yet very close to us?
How can we relate to the divine, creative Spirit?

Human words and usual expressions are weak and poor to establish… a relation!
But symbols may come to our help facilitating the comprehension.
They can possibly assist us as we celebrate today’s Feast of Pentecost.
As we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit on human beings like us, we can look at the symbols used to describe God’s Spirit.

The 1st reading describes the appearance of the Spirit in “what seemed to be tongues of fire” (Acts 2:1-11).
The fire – warmth, light, purifying – exemplifies God’s action for us, in us.

As he started his work as God’s special messenger, Jesus went to be baptized by John the Baptist.
We are told that:
“He (John) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Jesus” (Matthew 3:16).

The dove – visible to the people present – stands for the invisible but real presence of God’s Spirit.

Already at the very beginning of the Bible, the narrative of the creation tells us:
“God’s spirit hovered over the water” (Genesis 1:2).
The text does not mention precisely the dove, but some spiritual writers have interpreted the scene as such.

The wind is also seen as a manifestation of God’s Spirit.
Before speaking of the tongues of fire, (referred to above) the text of Acts mentions:
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven”.

Jesus himself had spoken in this way to Nicodemus who had come to see him.
“The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

A presence surrounding us, inspiring us, guiding us…
Invisible but so very near and gentle…
Always and ever remaining with us, we who are “born of the Spirit”…

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French, at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-la-pentecote-annee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: Aleteia

The Alphabet of Lent – Letter E

21 février 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: children of the Father, compassionate, difficult things, enemies, forgive, God's Spirit, Matthew 5:43-45, motivation

E pour ENEMIES 

There are things which are not easy to do…
There are others that we find really hard to realize…
But there are still others that we find absolutely impossible to accomplish!…

The words of Jesus cannot be misinterpreted (Matthew 5:43-45).
They reach us, every one of us, personally:

“You have heard that it was said,
‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 
But I tell you, love your enemies,
and pray for those who persecute you.”

It seems to us that this is really… impossible.
Those who persecute us – to treat them the very opposite than the way they behave towards us!

Our whole being rebels against this, we do not even want to think about it.
Who can act in this way?

But Jesus adds:
“That you may be children of your Father in heaven.
 He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”.

This is the motivation that can help us: becoming the children of our Father in heaven…
He knows as well as we do – better than we do – that, left to ourselves, we cannot be like him.

If he asks this from us, we can, in our turn, ask him to enable us to do it!
Enable us to do it by giving us his own Spirit who will make us like him: compassionate and forgiving.

 

Note: In a video (in French), Diane Conte helps us to continue this reflection: https://youtu.be/JJQ6-D5w548?si=HQ0aN0xgDlsNIsy3

 

Source: Image: The Noontimes

 

4th Sunday of Advent, Year A – 2022-2023

16 décembre 2022
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: biblical matters, God's Spirit, Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-24, spiritual reflections, theology, woman of our race

“God needs help!”
If you saw this caption in a magazine about spiritual reflections, or biblical matters, you may smile and…
turn the page, saying this is not serious.
Yet, it is truly deep theology, authentic understanding of who God is indeed.

The gospel texts of Luke and Matthew bear witness to this very clearly.

When, in his wisdom, God decided to reach us in becoming one of us, he needed the help of a woman of our race.
He chose a young Jewish woman, Mary of Nazareth, and asked her to become the mother of his Son (Luke 1:26-38).

When God needed someone to stand visibly for his own Spirit giving life to the child in the womb of that young woman, 
he asked Joseph to take on this responsibility (Matthew 1:18-24).

Some people would say that being all-powerful, God should not need help.
But who are we to say what God should be doing?
His choices are beyond our understanding.

Beyond our understanding, yes, but they express God’s desire to share with us what he wants to do for us, human beings.
He wants our help to achieve what is best for us!

Is this not absolutely wonderful?
We sometimes elaborate subtle theories about God, we use abstract concepts to speak about him.
And we forget this: God has chosen us to collaborate with him for what is best for us!

As we are busy preparing for Christmas – the celebration, the gifts, the guestlist…
it may be good to remember that God may need us to make Christmas a happy occasion for some people who would not manage on their own to make it so…
 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/4e-dimanche-de-lavent-annee-a-2022-2023/

 

Source: Images: Pinterest    Born of Wonder

 

Feast of the Ascension, Year C – 2022

25 mai 2022
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: absence, Acts 1:1-11, appear, disappear, God's Spirit, Jesus' promise, Matthew 28:20, mystery, perceiving, présence, Seeing

Today’s feast is somehow mysterious…
In the 1st reading, we are told that, risen from the dead, Jesus has been appearing to his apostles a number of times (Acts 1:1-11).
A few verses later, we see him disappearing from their sight.

Appearing, disappearing – these two words bring to mind the two realities of presence and absence.
But, more still, they remind us of the two ways of understanding: through seeing and through perceiving.

Personally, I see this feast of the Ascension as an invitation to a new way of recognizing God among us.
It is no longer a presence that our eyes can see but a presence perceived by our hearts.

Our ‘vision’ of God no longer depends on our eyesight but on… our faith!
We no longer rely on what the eyes of our body can ascertain but on what God’s Spirit reveals to us in the depths of ourselves.

This reflection started with referring to this feast as ‘mysterious’.
All too often, people interpret a mystery as something we cannot understand.
This is a short-sighted explanation.
A mystery is rather something so great and so wonderful that we have never finished discovering it!

Exactly as God’s presence with us is!

God’s promise is clear: “Know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time” (Matthew 28:20).
No if… but… perhaps…
Purely and simply Jesus’ promise, God’s promise!

Note: And another reflection, on a different theme, is available in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-lascension-annee-c-2022/

 

Source: Image: Scripture Images

 

28th Sunday of Year B – 2021

9 octobre 2021
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: discernment, God's Spirit, intelligence, judgement, King Solomon, riches, wisdom, Wisdom 7:7-11

Daydreaming can bring someone to wish for all kinds of things –
The things that Royalty and wealthy people can have already:
power and privileges, gold, silver, and precious stones.
And sometimes, health and beauty are added to this rich mixture!
 
In today’s 1st reading (Wisdom 7:7-11), we meet the great King Solomon who enjoyed these and yet…
Yet, he said that, in his eyes, all these counted for nothing compared to… WISDOM.
An amazing statement…
I wonder how many people would endorse these words today?

In true wisdom, we can find learning, knowledge, sound judgement, insight, discernment.
To these qualities, the ancient Greeks, known for their wisdom, added prudence and self-control.

It is the attitude of someone who sees what is GOOD, judges what is RIGHT, follows what is JUST.
A wise person behaves in the way appropriate to someone created in the image of God – no less!

Of course, this is beyond what we can manage on our own – this is why Solomon says:
“I prayed… I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.”
 
We should not expect God’s ‘visitation’ to come in some unusual form or extraordinary apparition.
God’s Spirit of Wisdom can reach us in:

a conversation,
the chapter of a book,
a talk on the radio,
a television presentation,
a silent reflection,
and so many other shapes and occasions… 

Like the many small pieces of a jigsaw puzzle it then makes up our daily experience –
the experience of someone who has learnt to listen, to hear, and… to follow God’s inspiration from day to day…

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/28e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2021/

And a blog, in French, offers also a reflection on the theme of wisdom at: https://image-i-nations.com/sage-bien-sage/

 

Source: Images: commons.wikimedia.org    Dreamstime.com  

Feast of the Holy Trinity, Year B – 2021

28 mai 2021
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Christians, followers of Christ, God's children, God's Spirit, identity, Rom.8:14-17

There are things and situations which somehow leave us… uncertain.
We look at the different angles of a reality and we are perplexed…
We wonder whether we are right in our appraisal of a given situation.

Our identity could be one of them, who we really are.
Of course, we know who we are as human beings –
our personality, our qualities, our past experiences, our strengths and weaknesses,
our desires and hopes, our successes and failures, etc.

But what about our identity as… Christians?
Are we truly aware of what this means?
Are we conscious of what it entails, all the richness of this condition?
We recognize ourselves as followers of Christ, yes, members of the Church, yes.
And?…

Todays’ celebration, the feast of the Holy Trinity, tells us of the identity of… God.
But it also the reminds us of a wonderful aspect of our own identity as Christians.

Writing to the first Christians of Rome, the apostle Paul tells them (2nd reading: Rom.8:14-17):

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
 
Not only does our spirit tells us but God’s Spirit himself confirms this truth.
This text removes any doubt which we may have about who we are –
nothing less than God’s own children.

We have been “adopted” says Paul and he adds that we are:

“heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”
 
It is truly wonderful, it is absolutely astonishing!
Why do we not dare to believe in this God
and in the divinely transformed people that he has made us to be?!
 
Note: Another reflection on a different theme is available in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/fete-de-la-sainte-trinite-annee-b-2021/

 

Source: Image: pinterest.com