On December 20, 2013, The United Nations (UN) General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015).
This International Year has been the initiative of a large consortium of scientific bodies together with UNESCO, and will bring together many different stakeholders including scientific societies and unions, educational institutions, technology platforms, non-profit organizations and private sector partners.
In proclaiming an International Year focusing on the topic of light science and its applications, the United Nations has recognized the importance of raising global awareness about how light-based technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to global challenges in energy, education, agriculture and health.
"Go into all the world;" these were the last words which Jesus spoke to his followers and which he continues to address to us (Mk 16:15).
A whole world awaits us: men and women who have lost all hope, families in difficulty, abandoned children, young people without a future, the elderly,
the sick and abandoned, those who are rich in the world's goods but impoverished within, women and men looking for a purpose in life, thirsting for the divine..." (Pope Francis)
On the Feast Day of Marguerite in this new year 2015 may each of us and all of us together experience the gift of Mary's words to Marguerite: "Go, I will not forsake you!"
And may these missioning words give us courage and hope in the many worlds in which we live and minister.
January 11 is Trafficking Awareness Day. This week is Immigration Awareness Week. Would you be able to send an email to one of your Federal Representatives to ask for Immigration Reform that is compassionate and keeps families together as a way of deepening your awareness and theirs. Thank you.