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Texts of Most Reverend Roger Ébacher, Archbishop
08 mars 2011 We are called upon during the Development and Peace Share Lent campaign to draw closer in thought, in prayer and in actions to our brothers and sisters in developing countries. How is the Share Lent campaign more than a simple special collection on the fifth Sunday of Lent? In fact, we are invited to partake in a conversion approach that goes well beyond a simple donation. 21 décembre 2010 Do I really want to celebrate Christmas? I have the feeling of arriving too late! The party is over! By mid-November, the stores were pasted with Santa Claus. For weeks, the popular tunes of this time resonate. The Christmas baskets are distributed. Office parties are now only memories. ... .. So what place does the "good Lord" have there?
30 mars 2010 I know of a babbling stream near the undergrowth. In winter as well as in summer, it offers its water free of charge to the flowers that grow there, to the birds and other animals that come to drink. I am also drawn by that stream. It sings of the generosity of the earth, it refreshes and relaxes me. It allows me to recover my strength, and I leave it with this feeling of wanting to give in return what I have received and what I am.
16 février 2010 In his encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate, published last June, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that to feed the hungry is an ethical imperative for the universal Church, as she responds to the teachings of her Founder, the Lord Jesus, concerning solidarity and the sharing of goods” This duty of solidarity goes way beyond the shipping of food to those whose survival is threatened by starvation. “The problem of food insecurity needs to be addressed within a long-term perspective, eliminating the structural causes that give rise to it and promoting the agricultural development of poorer countries” (Benedict XVI, ibid). 22 décembre 2009 Only a few days left before the end of the first decade of the new millennium! As we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Son of God in our flesh and in our history, it is relevant that we remind ourselves of a few guidelines given to us by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter marking the beginning of this millenium: Novo millenio ineunte (January 6, 2001). He invites the Church to start afresh from Christ, to implement the injunction given to Peter, to "put out into the deep", while remembering his promise: “I am with you always”. 15 décembre 2009 Christmas seems to have become a time of major spending and indebtedness. What is left of the original meaning of this celebration? Wishes, for sure, gifts, family visits and even some renewed generosity towards the economically disadvantaged. This is all very nice, very human and very touching when it is heartfelt and not seen as a chore. 07 avril 2009 I am reaching the age when bishops must retire. It will soon be 50 years that I am a priest. I have served as bishop for the last 30 years, including 20 of those years in the Outaouais. This year, as Easter draws near, many contrasting images come to mind and the question rises within me: what does this particular time in our liturgy evoke, year after year, in my own life? 18 mars 2008 For two thousand years, millions of people of all nations, races, peoples, languages and religions go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine). There, Jesus lived doing good, recognized as a good person, tender and merciful. The stories of healing and liberation from those evils that ruin the hearts, souls and bodies prove his fight against evil which harms humans from generation to generation. Every human being concerned about the destiny of his fellow human brothers and sisters lacking life, love, trust, peace, is able to recognize in Jesus an outstanding man and a model of humanity. 01 février 2008 This year, Development and Peace’s Share-Lent campaign has as its theme “I believe – I give”. In summary, the Catholic Church’s international solidarity organization invites us to support it because we “believe”. But what is it, exactly, that we believe, that makes this campaign relevant? To this question, I will offer a response… or rather three. Because my personal decision to support Development and Peace stems from three “I believe”. 04 décembre 2007 I have read this document published on November 30, 2007. I found it very rich in its teaching and spirituality content, in spite of a few more technical passages.. Particularly I enjoyed how it is rooted in its biblical foundation, with numerous references and refreshing interpretations of certain biblical passages. I also found very enlightening the witness to which the Pope refers in many instances in this text.
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