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World Human Spirit Day – 17 February

17 février 2023
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: awareness, human spirit, insight, judgment, méditation, philosopher, pressure, reasoning, understanding

World Human Spirit Day is observed annually on February 17 as a day to encourage mindfulness through meditation; to get us to form the habit of constant reflection as a way to feel content in our pressure-filled society. According to Daniel Helminiak, it’s “a respected philosopher in the space of spirituality, the spirit is the mental function of awareness, insight, understanding, judgment, and other reasoning.” In Christianity, it is emphasized that the human spirit is the real person; the essential part of our existence.

HISTORY OF WORLD HUMAN SPIRIT DAY

World Human Spirit Day was started in 2003 by Michael Levy to serve as the day to promote a human spirit that lives a creative, peaceful, and loving life. The holiday is based on the belief that the human spirit represents a place of peace and tranquility that’s needed as an escape from our pressure-filled society. It aims to encourage mindfulness through meditation to get us to form the habit of constant reflection as a way to feel content in our society.

Throughout the modern era, the question of what the human spirit truly is and how it helps us escape our sometimes unfavorable world has been a question philosophers have tried to answer. The holiday is meant to serve as a recognition of the fact that what we know about our world is limited and superficial. It is a day everyone is encouraged to reflect on their achievements in the world as humans and stay content by contemplating the endless possibilities of even greater achievement as spirits.

The day seeks to help strengthen the connection to our spiritual self as a way to stay grounded even amid societal pressure. World Human Spirit Day is a day to search for contentment from within and to embrace the fact that we do not have all the answers. A day to give some higher power thanks for what we have and are yet to have. And, it is typically observed to promote the value of mental peace and satisfaction in our lives.

 

Source: Text: https://nationaltoday.com/world-human-spirit-day    Image: Unsplash

2nd Sunday of Year A – 2020

17 janvier 2020
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: eyes, insight, Jn.1:29-34, look, recognize, see, sight, vision

To SEE – To LOOK – To RECOGNIZE.

This is the invitation addressed to us in today’s gospel text (Jn.1:29-34).
In only 5 verses, the words ‘look’ and ‘see’ are used 4 times – the message is rather obvious!

Seeing… our eyes are constantly busy with this activity.
Countless things pass before our eyes every minute of the day, unless we close our eyes, of course.
But do we really see them?
If asked about the colour of the car that just passed, or the name of the building in large letters before us,
we may be taken aback and ask ourselves…
We just did not see this.

Looking is more than simply seeing, it asks for attention. 
We need to focus, to concentrate and ‘take in’ the vision of what our eyes perceive.
The photo we look at is perhaps not clear, the landscape before us may be misty:
perhaps we need to look more closely, to adjust to what we see so as to… recognize the picture.

To recognize is even more demanding, it requires a deeper perception still.
This is perhaps the difference between ‘sight’ and ‘insight’…

In today’s gospel scene, John the Baptist invites his disciples to do precisely this:
to recognize Jesus, recognize him for who he truly is.

And this invitation is addressed to us as well . . . 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/2e-dimanche-de-lannee-a-2020/

 

Source: Images: unsplash.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Sunday of Advent, Year A – 2019

29 novembre 2019
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: advice, expect, God's presence, insight, inspiration, Lord's coming, Mt.24:37-44, the end

Many people resent being told what to do!
And… we know that the giving of advice is not always welcome.
Of course, much depends on who gives the advice!

During the period of Advent starting today, the Scripture readings often remind us about living with careful attention.
We are told to be mindful of how we live and be ready for the Lord’s coming.

Today’s gospel (Mt.24:37-44) is one of them.
“So you also must be ready,
because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

We believe that such texts refer to the coming of the Lord at the end of time.
But what about in the meantime? The time between now and… the end?
It is to be expected that, before the end of time, there will be the end of our time – the moment of our death.
We may life to think that… this is not just yet but… we do not know.

But the best way to prepare for ‘the end’, would it not be to welcome the Lord’s coming every day?
Because he does come every day… often unnoticed, unrecognized, unattended to… but come, he does!
His presence is usually silent, discreet, yet real and personal.
It can make itself experienced in:

  • The words of a book opening up new perspectives…
  • A sudden inspiration to help someone in need…
  • Words of encouragement received from a colleague…
  • Some unexpected gift from a neighbour…
  • The feeling of peace at the sight of a beautiful landscape…
  • A flash of insight into who HE is…
  • An impulse to start on a new way of living the gospel…
  • Or, simply the unmistaken realisation that he is indeed present here and now.

Yes, he does come indeed!

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/1er-dimanche-de-lavent-annee-a-2019/

 

Source: Image: Bible Verses

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

 

 

4th Sunday of Lent, Year A

23 mars 2017
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: advice, afraid, attitude, drive away, escape, incompetent, information, insight, Jesus, Jn.9:1-41, man born-blind, memory, Pharisees, pray, reaction, remark, see, truth, waarning

Strange things happen among us, people.
Something good can be done for someone and the person who benefits from the good deed is penalized for it!
 
It should not surprise us – this is what happened already in the time of Jesus.
We see it in today’s gospel on this 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A (Jn.9:1-41).

Jesus has cured a man who had been born blind and the religious leaders give this fortunate man – (or, unfortunate?) –
a hard time indeed.
Questions upon questions to him, to his parents, back to him again – evidently trying to find Jesus somehow guilty.
Unable to have the man say anything that would enable them to reach such a verdict, “They drove him away…”

They cannot SEE the good.
They cannot accept the evidence.
They push aside what is plain and clear.
They cannot face the truth.
They blind themselves in the most obvious way.

Why? Why such an attitude? What this kind of reaction?
But the next question is… Can this not be found in… us?
 
We may ‘drive away’ a memory… too painful to face.
We may ‘drive away’ a remark… unpleasant to acknowledge.
We may ‘drive away’ a warning… that would call for a decision.
We may ‘drive away’ a piece of advice… that would ask for a change of attitude.
We may ‘drive away’ some information… that invites me to do something.
So, we do as if the truth were not the truth!

We may fell afraid, ashamed, incompetent, powerful, not equal to a situation.
So, we hide, we pretend, we escape.
We literally ‘drive away’ what is plain to SEE but which threatens us.

LENT may be precisely that: the time to make special efforts to SEE.
And to pray for, yes, vision AND insight!

See also:  http://image-i-nations.com/the-man-born-blind/
Source: Image: request.org.uk