image-i-nations trésor

34th Sunday of Year C – 2019 : Feast of Christ the King

Some writer with a sense of humour gave today’s gospel a striking title:
“The good thief who stole… heaven!”

It is interesting to note that, on today’s feast – the celebration of Christ the King –
we are given this gospel text to reflect upon (Lk.23:35-43). 
It presents us with the picture of a king… crucified!
Not an inspiring sight in any way…

The leaders of the Jews sneer him.
The soldiers mock him.
One of the thieves taunts him.
And his followers are at a loss to make sense of what is happening.

Yet, it is to him, known as ‘the man of Nazareth’ that the thief – identified by tradition as Dismas –
addresses his prayer.
More of a desperate cry, this very short petition is all that was needed.
This man had recognized so much more than a king!

“Remember me…”
A cry of faith, words uttered in desperation or… the expression of amazing hope…
It remains valid and so very meaningful to this day:
“Remember me…”

This prayer could be ours, whatever our situation… no matter our desperation…

Note another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/34e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2019-fete-du-christ-roi/

 

Source: Image: cccmurphysboro.wordpress.com

5th Sunday of Lent, Year C – 2019

This gospel scene of the woman caught committing adultery is presented in a manner at once vivid and truly inspiring (Jn.8:1-11).
There is even (for those who would not know the story) a touch of… suspense!

About this text, spiritual writers and Bible exegetes have published many articles and commentaries.
Yet, there is one aspect I have never seen referred to…
You could say it is ‘a matter of… attitude’!

While the scribes and Pharisees accuse the woman, Jesus has bent down and is writing in the sand.
To reply to the accusers who are now questioning him, Jesus gets up, looking straight at them.
His reply catches them unawares, or rather all too aware of their own past conduct!

But having spoken to them, Jesus stoops down again.
He had placed himself at the level of the accusers, now he returns to the level of the woman –
a woman surely very ashamed and probably trembling with the fear that her life may be coming to an end.

God coming down to our level… is this not essentially the meaning of what theologians call ‘Incarnation’ –
God becoming one of us “in all things but sin”, we are told (He.4:15).
Yes, God has come down to our level and… he remains there – with us and for us.
 
This woman would possibly not have been able to put this reality into words,
but she had made the experience of it and would never forget it!
Yet, it seems that many of us… forget it, or is it that… we cannot believe it?!
 
Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/5e-dimanche-du-careme-annee-c-2019/
And, in a video, Jeannie Calavrias presents the meeting of Jesus with the adulterous woman at: https://image-i-nations.com/the-woman-caught-in-adultery/

Source: Image: bilderbe

 

7th Sunday of Easter, Year B

At long last, springtime has come and, with it, nature is taking on its colourful attire in the form of all kinds of flowers.
Flowers of different kinds and shapes, of diverse colours and fragrances, for our enjoyment.

One of them has a name which always strikes me because… it has a message.
It is called: Forget-Me-Not !
Scientists surely have a more sophisticated name for it in Latin, but I prefer its popular title and… request: FORGET-ME-NOT!

The picture of it came to me as I read the Psalm of this Sunday (7th Sunday of Easter, Year B – Ps.103).
Verse 2 says: “Forget not all his (the Lord’s) blessings.”
It is not a prophet or any of Israel’s wise people who say this to the Psalmist but he speaks to himself!
He says: “My soul…” – in other words, he calls on his deepest self, not to forget.

Not to forget,
to remember,
to recall,
to be aware of all that the Lord has done for him.

But this supposes that… a person has first noticed the Lord’s action in his life.
He/she has been attentive and sensitive to the intervention of God on his behalf.
Then, later on, he/ she will be able to bring back to memory the gifts received and the blessings enjoyed.

I know of a woman who, at the beginning of each year, takes a colourful flower container which she especially likes.
No, she does not place flowers into it but, every day, she puts at least one small piece of paper on which she has listed something good and positive that has happened during the day.
It can be a small gesture of appreciation from someone, a chance meeting with someone else, the smile of a child, a good deed from a neighbour –
just about anything that has touched her in a positive way –
she writes it down and she places the small piece of paper in the jar.

Then, on those days when she feels sad or discouraged, when everything seems to go wrong, or when she simply lacks the energy to go on doing her best, she takes out one of the small pieces of paper from the flower container…
‘It works like magic’, she says!
The positive aspect of the memory – and the thanksgiving she has attached to it – bring back a feeling of joy, of renewed strength.

On this Sunday, I ask: ‘Why not do the same for the Lord’s blessings?’
They may come ‘clothed’, as it were, under the appearance of all the good things that happen to us and…
we may have failed to notice so many of them.

A colouful flower container… and the resolution NOT TO FORGET are all that is needed!…

Note: Another reflection is available in French in a different theme at: https://image-i-nations.com/7e-dimanche-de-paques-annee-b/

Source: Images: pixabay.com  PxHere  

5th Sunday of Year B

It is practically every day that we are told:
“Don’t forget – don’t forget to go there, to buy this, to call so-and-so.”
Or, more positively expressed: REMEMBER – remember to do this, to collect that, to pay the bills, etc.

Yes, people around us repeatedly call our attention to the things they want us to remember.
They want to make sure that certain things will be taken care of without fail!

Strangely enough, we have somehow transferred this attitude… to God!
Yes, as if HE could forget!
Well, could he not?…
All through history, this human attitude of calling on God to REMEMBER has been part of our… spiritual DNA!

We see it in Job whom we meet in today’s 1st reading (5th Sunday of Year B – Jb.7:1-4,6-7).
He tells God in no uncertain terms:
“REMEMBER that my life is but a breath
and that my eyes will never again see joy.”

Of course, Job is having more than his share of troubles and pain.
His suffering is continual and he is hard-pressed to keep on hoping.
His fellow-human beings have proved unable to help him or comfort him.
So, he turns to God as he is desperately in need of strength and consolation.

Many of us can easily sympathize with him for we know what he is going through.
Our own problems and suffering may be of a different kind.
Of different shades and intensity, yes, but just as real and trying.
And we, too, desperately need God’s help.

But will he remember US?
Can he remember ME?…
We need a personalized divine intervention, nothing less!

One day, with much conviction, a professor of theology was saying:
“If you remember anything at all in theology, remember that God loves you.”

After all… WE may be the ones who need to REMEMBER!

Source: Images: Clipart Library   loudcanvas.com   Deacons Wife

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

 

 

 

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage – 27 October

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is a commemoration of the adoption, in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images.

The World Day provides an occasion to raise general awareness of the need to take urgent measures and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents.  » Discover, remember and share  » is the theme of this year’s celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (27 October).

Source: Text: UNESCO   Image: www.datadiary.com

World Alzheimer’s day – 27 September

Alzheimer’s disease is the cleverest thief, because she not only steals from you, but she steals the very thing you need to remember what’s been stolen.”
~Jarod Kintz

Millions of families struggle with challenges due to Alzheimer’s disease. The world lights up purple on World Alzheimer’s day, a day dedicated towards raising awareness about Alzheimer’s and dementia. Every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia/Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer Disease International (ADI). So because of this, organizations around the world come together on this day to support finding a cure for this sorrowful disease.

Source: Text: DAYSoftheYEAR Image: UN               

Holy Thursday, Year A

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

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, C

Last-Supper-croppedOur memory is a wonderful ‘instrument’ indeed. It is amazing what it can do. It has the power of bringing back to our minds things long past. It suddenly awakens memories of events of long ago, happenings great and small, pleasant encounters, even the faces of people who have since disappeared from our lives.

Yes, ‘memories’ and souvenirs are part of our ‘emotional baggage’ and they still influence in different ways our thoughts and attitudes. Of course, an important part of our lives is the place that our loved ones hold, what they are for us. Some of the relationships we have with our relatives, friends, and colleagues, are precious to us and we store in… our memory the souvenirs of the experiences shared with them.

This is what Jesus was referring to when, on the eve of his death, during the Last Supper he had with his friends he told them: “Do this in memory of me” – words that Paul repeats to the Corinthians in the 2nd reading (1 Cor.11:23-26).

Jesus asks us to remember him:

– Remember this gift of himself in the Eucharist.
Remember who he is and what he wants to be for us.
Remember what he has done for us, and what he is ready to do for us in the future.
Remember what he taught us, what he asks us to do and to be.
Remember what he has promised us,  what is waiting for us.

Indeed, there is much to remember and… to keep in mind. Every Eucharistic celebration, and especially that of today’s feast, helps us to do so.

Source: Image: saltandlighttv.org

Don’t forget

dont forget

How often do we not speak these words? To make sure that we are indeed recalling certain things, remembering some events and . . . NOT forgetting people – those near to us, and those not so near. And what about… God?Shema Israel

He wants to be remembered, of course. Long ago, he gave his people, the people of Israel a special commandment telling them to use a practical means to remember him. This text – the most important one of the daily Jewish prayer – is called: « Shema Israel. Listen, Israel. » The Jews were to sew a special kind of fringe to the hem of their clothing as a visual reminder of their Covenant with God. « You shall look upon them (the threads of this fringe) and REMEMBER all the commandments of the Lord and fulfill them. » Numbers 15:37-41

memory of me

And we, Christians, are the followers of Him who, on the eve of his death, told us:

« DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME. »

Are we forgetful?… Do we remember?