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The Alphabet of Lent – Letter D

20 février 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Christian, compassion, disciples, happy, image of God, listen and follow Christ, love, Luke 10:1-24

D for DISCIPLES

The expression: ‘The DISCIPLES of Jesus’ is familiar to us.
Apart from the twelve apostles whose names we know, the gospel speaks also of seventy-two disciples (Luke 10:1-24).

We imagine them listening to Jesus and following him on the roads where he walks.
Our imagination does not lead us astray: to listen to Jesus and to follow him, this is the true meaning of being a disciple.  

However, there is another aspect that is required to be an authentic disciple of Christ.
Having listened to his message and walking in his steps, we then need to live according to his teaching.

But then, something wonderful takes place.
The gospel writer, Luke, speaks about it in these terms:

“He turned to his disciples and said privately, 
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 
For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Luke 10:1-24).

To be a Christian, is it not to be a disciple of Christ? Of course, it is!
Could we say that our experience following the Master allows us to see what Jesus speaks about?

Have we recognized in him the image of God made flesh?
Have we received the words that he addresses to each one of us?
Have we experienced the love and compassion that he has for us personally?

If so, then we are indeed happy!!

 

Source: Image: The Wandering Shepherd

 

 

 

15th Sunday of Year C – 2022

8 juillet 2022
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Colossians 1:15-20, God invisible, image of God, Jesus-Christ image of God, John 15:15, John 15:9, Luke 19:42, Luke 8:46, Mark 6:34, Matthew 15:32, Matthew 7:7, Matthew 8:7

There are people who regret not to have been among those who walked the paths of Palestine when Jesus himself was doing so – they would have seen him with their own eyes!
More people still lament the fact that God is… invisible – if only they could get a glimpse of him, they say they would be satisfied!

The first words of the 2nd reading of this Sunday have a message for all of them, for all of us indeed (Colossians 1:15-20).
Writing to the Colossians, the apostle Paul tells them:

“Christ is the image of the invisible God”.

Christ – Jesus of Nazareth, yes, but this same Jesus risen and alive eternally, Christ the Lord.
This means that whatever we see in him is also present in God himself.

His attention to those around him: “Someone touched me…” (Luke 8:46).
His concern for those following him: “They have been with me for three days and they have nothing to eat…” (Matthew 15:32).
His compassion for those in need: “He felt compassion for them, they were like sheep without a shepherd…” (Mark 6:34).
His closeness to us: “I do not call you servants, I call you friends…” (John 15:15).
His readiness to help: “I will go and heal him…” Matthew 8:7).
His reassurance in answer to our needs: “Ask and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7)
His sorrow for our lack of understanding: “If you had only understood on this day the message of peace…” (Luke19:42).
His love: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you…” (John 15:9).
 
THIS is God –
the nearness of God, the concern of God, his compassion, his readiness to come to our help, his regret that we do not understand his ways, his love…
If looking for an ‘image’ of God… this is it, so clearly ‘visible’!
 
Note: another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/15e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2022/

 

 

Source: Image: The Good News Herald – WordPress.com

5th Sunday of Year C – 2022

4 février 2022
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Apostle Peter, compassion, fear of God, image of God, Isaiah 6:1-8, Luke 15:11-32, Luke 5:1-11, prophet Isaiah, return, sins


The mention of the word GOD can bring different images to our minds, images and feelings.
Sad to say, often the first feeling that arises within us is… fear.
It has been so through the history of humanity – people have been afraid of the God they worshipped.

The 1st reading of this Sunday (Isaiah 6:1-8) shows the prophet Isaiah reacting in fear to the vision he is given:

 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips…
and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

In the gospel (Luke 5:1-11), we see Peter, the apostle, who “fell at Jesus’ knees and said:
“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

How long, indeed how long, does it take us to move from this picture of a fear-inspiring God,
to the picture of God that Jesus himself gave us – that of a God of tenderness and compassion.

In the parable of the Prodigal son – which is in fact that of the Prodigal God – (Luke 15:11-32) 
Jesus shows us, he literally shows us, what kind of a God his Father, and OUR Father, is:

  • a God who is NOT put off by our sins, no matter how shameful, but always ready to forgive us,
  • a God who is anxiously waiting for our return,
  • a God who bends to lift us up,
  • a God with no thought of punishment (as we so easily picture him) but only of showering on us his blessings of all kinds.

This is how God revealed himself in Jesus – nobody else would have dared to… ‘invent’ such a god…
Jesus became his incarnation, his very presence among us.

If this is not our image of God, then…
we need to abandon all other images of him and accept this ‘vision’ of him that is the true one.
 

Note: Another reflection on a different theme is available in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/5e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2022/

 

Source: Images: istockphoto.com    bible.com    Worship House Media

Feast of All Saints, Year A – 2020

30 octobre 2020
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 1 Jn.3:1-3, création, God's Spirit, hply, 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-a-2020/

 

Source: Images: The New Daily

24th Sunday of Year B

14 septembre 2018
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: belief, choice, faithfulness, God, image of God, insight, Is.50:7.9, Ps.116:1-8

When the word ‘GOD’ is pronounced, several images can come to the minds of different people.
Each person has, in some way, his or her own God.
Of course, everyone claims it is the ‘true’ God, yet he is perceived in many ways.

Is it a question of choosing the kind of God one believes in?
Does it come to selecting a favourite image of God and clinging to it?
Or is it not rather being touched by him in a personal way and being faithful to this revelation?

The first reading and the Psalm of this Sunday (24th Sunday of Year B) give us an insight into who God is,
what he wants to be for us personally.

“The Lord comes to my help.”   (Is.50:7,9)
“The Lord listens to my prayer,
he bends down to listen to me.
Our God is tenderhearted;
he saved me when I was brought to my knees.
The Lord has treated me kindly.
He has rescued me from death, my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.” (Ps.116:1-8)
 
The prophet Isaiah and the author of this Psalm have passed on this revelation to us
for our own inspiration, today, and tomorrow, and… all the tomorrows to come!
 
Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/24e-dimanche-de-lannee-b/

Source: Images: 123RF.com   crossandcrowntx.com

 

 

25th Sunday of Year A

22 septembre 2017
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Asking, assistance, blessings, expectations, friend, giving, help, hope, image of God, Mt.20 :1-16, neighbour, relative, The Father

EXPECTATIONS – we all have them and plenty of them, do we not ?
And they fill our lives with more than a touch of hope and anticipation!

Expectations of…
– recovery after sickness,
– success in a coming exam
– a promotion at work,
– the partner we dream of to start a new life!

When we are in need, some expectation may arise of receiving help from a relative, a friend, or a neighbour.
Just recall for a moment the last time you went to someone with a request for his or her assistance.
You may have been hoping for help, or… fearing that help would not be forthcoming.
But did you expect that you would be given much more than what you asked for?

Among us, people, this is not usually the case.
But, with God, it is!
In fact, this is a characteristic of God : He gives more than we would ask for.
He is a generous God who delights in showering on us his gifts and blessings.

This is what today’s gospel text (25th Sunday of Year A – Mt.20 :1-16) is meant to remind us of.
In the parable that Jesus tells the people around him, he gives us a wonderful and true picture of what his Father – and our Father – is :

  • a bounteous God,
  • a God who enjoys giving lavishly,
  • a God who does not know how to measure what he wants to bless us with.

I wonder how many people treasure this image of God…
Perhaps many of us think that we have to ask, and beg, and repeat our requests for help, never too sure that we will be heard.

This Sunday may be the ideal moment to correct our image of God !

Source: Image: Youtube

8th Sunday of the Year, A

23 février 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: awe, beloved child, hope, image of God, Is.49:14-15, mother, never forget, trust

We can paint pictures – with paintbrushes and colours.
A stroke here, a line there, a brushing here, an addition there and… we get an image, a representation of something, of someone.

But we can also paint… with words: the description of a scene, the evocation of an event, the allusion to a reality and… we also get an image.
An image that suggests, that recalls, that recaptures what is in the mind.

We do it for all kinds of things, and situations, and people.
We do it also for… GOD!

Many artists have attempted to give pictures of the Almighty in his glory surrounded by angels and saints.
They have created, literally, images of God as their imagination suggested.
We may feel inspired, or not, by their work, but their aim was to present us with something of God’s personality, if we can speak in those terms.

Spiritual writers have attempted the same: give us a ‘portrait’ of God as they saw him.
They have been trying to provide us with a picture of God that could inspire us.
The glimpse of God which their writings were giving was meant to awake within us sentiments of awe, of trust, of hope.

Perhaps one of the most tenderly descriptive images of God is that which Isaiah give us in the first reading of this 8th Sunday, Year A (Is.49:14-15).

“Does a woman forget her baby at the breast,
or fail to cherish the son of her womb?
Yet, even if these forget,
I will never forget you.”

God caring, God remembering the needs of a beloved child, God unable to forget his precious one.

If only we, too, could… never forget!

Soource: Images: Suzanna Ktherine, finaeartamerica.com; Pinterest; A Catholic Citizen in America