Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines

Hello Norm!
Alexandra just received the medal you sent. She was so thrilled! Thank you so much for your kindness. Her Saint report on Blessed Kateri was a poster board presentation and quite large, so I am sorry that I do not have something to send to you, but she made her presentation dressed in a Indian costume and was very proud of the saint she had chosen. She felt her choice was very original and interesting. Your sending of the necklace means so much to Alexandra. Again we thank you sincerely and may the good Lord bless you!
Your friends in Christ,
Yvette and Alexandra

I am so happy that I was able to fulfill my promise to my cousin for this young girl. Thank you Yvette and Alexandra for sharing this with me and with our readers.

Also, this month, I would like to share with you a note from Sister Réjane Veilleux, R.J.M., a sister of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, in Sillery, Québec. I met her, and many of her sisters, several years ago when I visited the tomb of my cousin Blessed Dina Bélanger at the "Collège" of Sillery. She has been sending me a series of "Dina is thinking of you", which I have been placing on my website, on the page dedicated to Blessed Dina. I've also shared these with you our readers. Here is what Sister Réjane wrote to me recently:

I see that you are collaborating well with Dina. And thanks to you website, you answer our Lord's invitation:
"Go to the entire world and bring the Good News..."

I would like to extend a Happy Mother's Day to all our readers who are celebrating this feast day on May 13th!

Rédaction

Il y a quelques mois, j'ai reçu un courriel d'Yvette, d'Illonois. Elle avait lu my promesse à ma cousine la bienheureuse Katéri Tekakwitha: "propager la connaissance et la dévotion à Katéri pendant le reste de vie" parce que Katéri a répondu à ma prière d'aide en plaçant une plume à mes pieds devant sa statue au sanctuaire à Fonda, NY. Cette mère m'a demandé d'envoyer une médale comme je porte chaque jour à sa fille Alexandra à l'occasion de sa Première Communion le 5 mai 2007. Alexandra avait fait sa recherche comme préparation de la bienheureuse Katéri Tekakwitha. J'ai reçu ce courriel d'Yvette and Alexandra: (traduction est la mienne)

Bonjour Norm!
Alexandra vient de recevoir la médale que tu lui as envoyée. Elle était si heureuse! Merci bien de ta bonté. Sa présentation de la bienheureuse Katéri était une grande affiche; je n'ai pas pu te l'envoyer. Elle a présenté en costume indien; elle était si fière de la sainte qu'elle avait choisie. Pour elle, son choix était original et bien intéressant. Le collier que tu lui as envoyé a beaucoup de valeur pour Alexandra. De nouveau, nous vous remercions sincèrement and que le Bon Dieu te bénit.
Amis en Christ
Yvette et Alexandra

Je suis content que je puisse accomplir ma promesse à ma petite cousine. Merci bien, Yvette et Alexandra enfin d'avoir partagé cet évènement avec moi et avec nos lecteurs.

Aussi, je voudrais partager avec vous de beaux mots de la soeur Réjane Veilleux, R.J.M, Religieuse de Jésus-Marie, à Sillery, au Québec. Je l'ai rencontrée, et plusieurs de ses soeurs, il y a quelques années au moment où j'ai visité le tombeau de ma cousine la bienheureuse Dina Bélanger au "Collège" de Sillery. Elle m'a envoyé une série "Dina pense à vous, que je mets sur mon site, à la page dédiée à la bienheureuse Dina. Aussi, je les partage avec vous, nos lecteurs. Voici ce que soeur Réjane m'a récemment envoyé:

Je vois que vous collaborez bien avec Dina. Et grâce à votre site, vous répondez à l'invitation du Seigneur :
«Allez par le monde entier porter la Bonne Nouvelle...»

Je veux souhaiter "Bonne Fête des Mères" à toutes nos lecteurs qui célèbrent cette fête dimanche le 13 mai!

Mama was somewhat of a packrat. Luckily for us, she saved many things that give us a glimpse of what life was like many decades ago. Among those items is a little red packet of tintypes, some dating back to the 1860s. Long-gone family members, as well as some folks that are totally unknown to me, are frozen in time, presenting a record of what people were wearing...

Four very old retired Navy geezers came into the Army-Navy Club pro shop in Arlington, Virginia after playing 18 holes of golf...

Several readers wrote to me regarding my article on the "all male clergy" and my belief that "women" should have equal rights in the Catholic Hierarchy..."

To commemorate her 69th birthday on October 1, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP...

Vows of celibacy weren't always required; for 1,700 years, priests often got married...

If you are like I am you need a score card to keep track of everyone running for President in the 2008 election. The Republicans now have eleven candidates to offer America and the Democrats another eight candidates to add to the ever lengthening list! What is important to you in the next president? Is the political party he or she belongs to an issue? Is their gender an issue? Is their race? Is experience important to you? Where a person comes from, is that important to you? Is the age of the president an issue for you? Is the religion important to you?...

I am a big fan of St. Francis and his life has shaped and inspired much of the choices I have made in my life. When Norm asked me for a May article, I knew what I had to write! St. Francis, St. Dismas and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha are very important to me and my ideas about life. Due largely to their influence I have been thinking about the pet food drama being played out in America and Canada. The bread which feeds human beings and so important to us Catholics is at the foundation of the drama, tainted wheat gluten, is the poison killing these animals...

IF THIS RIFLE COULD TALK
AS I WALKED ALONG A BEACH IN NORMANDY IN SIXTY ONE
I SPIED PART OF A RIFLE RUSTING IN THE SUN
HONEYCOMBED BY SALT WATER THROUGH THE YEARS
WAS IT STAINED BY A SOLDIER'S BLOOD AND HIS TEARS? ...

Maine's Franco-American Hall of Fame inducted Norman Beaupre of Biddeford at ceremonies held at the State House in Augusta during last week's La Semaine de la Francophonie, or "The Week of the Francophone."...

Fell upon this name today in a book entitled ''Best Little Stories from the Wild West'' by C. Brian Kelly ISBN 1-58182-263 Library of Congress Cataloging. And browser that I am, fell also upon the story of a Jacques Fournaise, who was called ''Pino'' and who was born on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Québec around 1747. Not being able to capture much history on the fur trappers/traders mostly because they were, the vast majority, illiterate and even if they were not, I'm sure they did not have the time nor the space to jot down notes and carry around a diary. Those were priests jobs.

Though you received a welcome message when you subscribed to the list, I want to send a more personal message to thank you for subscribing to this new ACADIAN-FRENCH-CANADIAN Rootsweb list and to invite you to participate. It is wonderful to see that some have already begun posting.

I have been a genealogist and historian of French Canada for almost thirty years, and I have many, many hours of reading census and other microfilms. I did all of my readings of Canadian censuses for my family --1851, 1861, 1881, 1891, and 1901-- from microfilms long before the Computer Age offered more convenient access to the records or to indexes to the records, except for some of the 1901 and all of the 1911 Canada censuses. The 1911 census did not become available until recently. Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to search the 1901 and 1911 censuses for Canada on a public library account version of Ancestry.com. I had been considering buying a personal subscription, so I wanted to familiarize myself with the data that Ancestry offers.

When exploring the history of a culture or civilization, the question of where the people originally came from eventually arises. Usually the answer is conjecture, a list of possibilities without the means of proof. The origin of Canadian society, Quebec specifically, is one of the very few exceptions...

I grew up with practical parents who had been frightened by the Great Depression in the 1930's. A mother, God love her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a Name for it... A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones...

Dina pense à vous 61:
Amie, ami de Dina,
Un cœur nouveau ?
Un cœur qui s'ouvre à l'amour, disposé à se laisser envahir par l'Esprit d'amour.
Dina se penche vers chacune-chacun de nous pour nous inviter à libérer nos cœurs encombrés: ...

Dina is thinking of you 61:
Dear friends of Dina,
A new heart ?
A heart that's opening to love and ready to be invaded by the Spirit of Love.
Dina leans over each one to invite us to free our over-crowding hearts: ...

Dina piensa en ti 61:
Amiga, amigo de Dina,
¿Un corazón nuevo?
Un corazón que se abre al amor, dispuestos a dejarse invadir por el Espíritu de amor.
Dina se inclina hacia cada uno de nosotros/as para invitarnos a liberar nuestros corazones entorpecidos: ...

She also sent us "Litany of Blessed Dina Bélanger" in French, English and Spanish"

Litanies de la bienheureuse Dina Bélanger
Litany of Blessed Dina Bélanger
Letanias de la Bienaventurada Dina Belanger.