Our Lady of Guadalupe
February 9, 2020 in Longueuil
Suite à un pèlerinage récent au Mexique, un panel composé d'Éric-Marie Beaulieu, Marc Paré et Josée Trudelle, nous ont présenté de façon animée l’histoire de «l’Impératrice des Amériques». Ils nous ont partagé des réflexions inspirées de leur voyage. Leurs récits historiques nous ont plongés au coeur d’une histoire complexe où le peuple composé de conquérants et/ou conquis a eu cette célèbre apparition de la Vierge qui les a réunis en un seul peuple.
Une des apparitions de Marie les moins connues et pourtant majeure en Amérique. Dix millions de pèlerins sont venus honorer la «Guadalupana» autour du 12 décembre 1919 dernier pour la fête de ses apparitions. Que savons-nous d’elle? Pourquoi est-elle si importante hier et aujourd’hui? Quel est son message? C’est autour d’un repas aux saveurs d’Amérique latine que nous avons découvert la puissante intercession de Marie qui a imprimé son image, miracle permanent depuis 1531.
Cross on Mount Nebo, top of 817 meters, located in West Jordan.
Geopolitics of the Middle East
February 17, 2019 in Longueuil
The "Middle East" has always been known as a place of conflict whose causes are sometimes difficult to pinpoint. A brunch was held with Pascal Bedros, a Focolari member and an architect from Lebanon. He worked in several non-profit organizations in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.
In order to be imbued by different realities of this millenarium land, Pascal Bedros invited us to discover the Middle East countries through a visual and musical projection. The historical and geopolitical approach leaded us to a better understanding of the impact of Judaism, Christianity and the mixture of cultures that transformed this region, the cradle of civilization.
Right from the very beginning of the war in Syria, Pascal Bedros created and directed the Caritas Aleppo office. He set up projects to help Aleppo Christians as well as the local population. He managed the Focolari NGO projects and the association AMU (Association for a United World). Through this means, he set up a network of emergency assistance and development to the local population in different cities of Syria.
fasting
May 27, 2018 in Longueuil
A vitality brunch followed-up by a talk with Nelly Guay and Valérie Dionne, both nurse practitioners and also Martin Vaillancourt, spiritual care advisor and member of Chemin Neuf Community. They shared with us their personal experience and the ups and downs of fasting, each one from a different angle: physical, mental or spiritual.
Science increasingly understands more and more why fasting has been used throughout the centuries as a therapeutic means. In recent years, several studies, documentaries, researchers and doctors have brought the benefits of fasting to the fore. Fasting can reduce, among other things, inflammation and even cure some disorders of the metabolic system.
The proposed approach was scientific but also offered new perspectives. Through fasting, silence and prayer, one can get a greater in-depth knowledge of God in a search for meaning.
Sculptural representation of Jules Lasalle: Tribute to Marguerite Bourgeoys. It stands in Place Marguerite-Bourgeoys on Notre-Dame Street East in Montreal.
Marguerite Bourgeoys
March 18, 2018 in Longueuil
It is always refreshing to hear someone speak with passion and communicating enthusiasm.
Mr. Denys Chouinard is stimulating and arouses keen interest. Archivist, he is able to find novelties and inspiring details in Marguerite Bourgeoys. By crossing the sea, this woman's dash and daring jostles the rigid structures of her time.
Marguerite has the passion of teaching, she focuses on the whole person in all her or his dimensions, with few means, but with ingenuity. Her new global approach provides solid skills, knowledge and courage to continue on the journey through life despite of life's hardships. Our ancestors were that sort of people.
School dropouts? We bet that Marguerite Bourgeoys would have managed to stem it!
Denys Chouinard is an archivist. Retired from the City of Montreal, he worked as coordinator of the Archives Department of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame (CND). He played an important role to the promotion of archives as well as archival work in Quebec. For this purpose, he received the 2009 Jacques-Ducharme Award from the Association des archivistes du Québec.
Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
October 10, 2017 in Montreal
In a small and friendly glazed conference room of the Crew Collective & Café in Old Montreal, we had an appointment with Stéphan Martel, a PhD student in history at the University of Montréal and a historian at the Marguerite-Bourgeoys Museum. This lively brunch refreshed our mind on the image we have of Montreal co-founder Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. In order to respond to Brigitte Quintal's invitation from the Centre Le Pèlerin, Stéphan Martel went for the quest for the "real" character of Maisonneuve!
Stephan Martel revisited the archives related to Paul Chomedey's life, thus promoting a better understanding of the man he was, a man who, despite his historical importance, remains to this day almost unknown. Maisonneuve was commander of the first recruit of Ville-Marie, co-founder of the future city, then governor, but he never wrote Personal Memory, at least none got to us.
With a fresh and dynamic look, Stéphan Martel shared with us his recent passion for this extraordinary man who is so important to the history of Montreal.
On June 29, 2017, a conference day was held at Pointe-à-Callière Museum on the theme "Montreal Remembers… its Founder, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve". The event organized by the Centre Le Pèlerin as part of the series "Dream Montreal" brought together four speakers who presented complementary facets of the founder of Ville-Marie, whose name is everywhere but who, himself, remains very unknown to the general public. It was on this occasion that Stéphan Martel presented the fruit of his findings.
Meeting with an iconographer
April 8, 2017 in Longueuil
Conference led by Alexander Sobolev as part of the preparation for the pilgrimage to Russia.
The faith of the Orthodox is especially expressed in icons, but an icon is not only a work of art, it is a prayer. It is considered not so much a "picture" but a "presence", a "window into heaven". An icon is painted so that all the lines of perspective converge towards the one who looks at it, the icon comes towards us, towards the heart, it is the vanishing point.
Alexandre Sobolev shares his experience in Russia, explains the basics of icon making techniques and presents the different types of icons.
Alexander Sobolev was born in Russia where he learned the age-old art of iconography. He participated in the realization of the iconostasis of the Church of the Mother of God of Kazan in the Red Square in Moscow. He arrived in Quebec in November 2002 as an iconographer specialist and teaches iconography classes.
To listen to Alexandre Sobolev talk about it, watch the Angelus in Russia:
To learn more about the icons, click here
