 |
Pope's
peace doves attacked by crow and seagull
Francis remembers 3 year old toddler
murdered by the mafia:
“He’s
in heaven with Jesus” now
|
Vatican II & Renewal
(1)
16
Documents of Vatican II
A
Call to Action
Assn Catholic Priests Ireland
Bp Pat Power
Bp Geoff Robinson
Bruce Duncan
Catalyst for Renewal
Catholica
Catholics for Ministry
Catholics for Renewal
STANDUP4VATICAN2
The Swag
VII - Voice of the Church
We Are Church
Excellent
articles on Mission
Hugh McMahon SSC
|
|
 |
Stop
the boats asylum seeker policy "morally corrupt and indefensivble"
- former Navy officer
Between the Devil
and the Deep Blue Sea Award-winning 52 min
documentary looking at the circumstances and decisions that lead someone
to become a "boat person"
|
|
 |
Today is the anniversary of Ferdinand Verbiest SJ
who died on this day in 1688 in Beijing. Did
he design the world's first car?! |
|
 |
Heavily involved in helping refugees and asylum seekers:
Mercy Community
Services |
|
 |
Why
you won't find a new missal edition from Kevin Mayhew Publishers |
|
|
|
55. One cause of
this situation is found in our relationship with money, since we calmly
accept its dominion over ourselves and our
societies.
The current financial crisis can make us overlook the
fact that it originated in a profound human crisis: the
denial of the primacy of the human person!
We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient
golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in
the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy
lacking a truly human purpose.
The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the
economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real
concern for human beings; man is reduced to one
of his needs alone: consumption.
|
|
 |
Three partly-deaf old guys are out walking.
First one says, 'Windy, isn't it?'
Second one says, 'No, it's Thursday!'
Third one says, 'So am I. Let's go get a beer.' |
|
 |
 |
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into
bringing drugs to HK)
- with links to all letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping
South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in HK prisons
|
 |
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
 |
Vatican II
Reflection - 341
A bishop should stay at home
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
My
weekly article for today's HK Ming Pao newspaper
(On
MP website)
Today's
topic: The Year of the Horse! |
|
|
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America Sat:
Central & North America
Please join me in
praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please bless the people of South
Asia
On this 28th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Beijing
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month
|
|
Religion
shouldn’t make people miserable |
This website's kind
bloggers
(past and present)
with archives of articles:
Bakhita
Hazel
C
Daniel
Daring
Inigo Joachim
Brian
Lewis
Judith
Lynch
Martin
Mallon
Chris
McDonnell
Bill
Mulcahy
Des
O'Donnell
Darlene
Starrs
TASMAD
David Timbs
Peter
Wilkinson
Harry
Winter
John
Wotherspoon
Weekly
Archive
of main page menus
Previous
archives
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
John
W:
Previous Daily Blogs |
|
 |
Severn
Cullis-Suzuki remembered for her 1992
video The
Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes |
|
|
Another Chinese Mandela -
maybe a future leader?
Activist
jailed after campaigning for officials to disclose assets
"Chinese authorities have once again opted for the
rule of fear over the rule of law" |
|
 |
55th
anniversary of John XXIII's announcement of an Ecumenical Council
Pope
has started to purge a bureaucracy plagued by intrigue and inertia |
|
 |
Japan
media CEO downplays "comfort women" |
|
 |
Interactive
Bible Quiz - Two Timothy
Based on the actual words of the Bible.
How
many times can you get 3/3 ?!
|
|
|
|
54.
In this context, some people continue to
defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic
growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in
bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.
This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the
facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those
wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the
prevailing economic system. Meanwhile, the
excluded are still waiting.
To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to
sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a
globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without
being aware of it, we end up being incapable
of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping
for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though
all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.
The culture of
prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers
us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted
for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.
|
|
|
|
Last year in Hong Kong I learnt a joke about
Australia
.
On the Metro (MTR) I met a very friendly couple from the Mainland.
As soon as I said “I’m from
Australia
” they made two comments:
1.
Australia
is a very beautiful country.
2. Australians call out “Aussie, Aussie” to support their sports
teams.
Then the penny fell. “Aussie” sounds like Cantonese for
“excrement” (粪便).
No wonder Chinese people laugh when they hear Australians at a sports
event calling out “Aussie”, “Aussie” !
|
Food
for thought
on Australia Day
holiday |
|
|
|
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being
tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- with links to all letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping South Americans
from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from South American inmates in HK prisons
|
|
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
 |
Vatican II
Reflection - 340
A "catholic" Curia??
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
As I enter my last week or R&R in
Australia, I find myself wondering (as in previous years): how
can this beautiful, friendly, richly-blessed country be encouraged to
do more for the poor of our world?
|
|
|
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia
Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Please join
me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please bless the people of Europe
& North Asia
On this 27th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Tibet
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month |
David Timbs
(Melbourne) |
A
new Trad growth industry: IOPFKWIK
Some
very interesting things have been happening within the dynamics of various
Traditionalist-Conservative Catholic groups, especially in the ways they
are responding to Pope Francis, his words, writings and gestures |
Pope
Francis:
Thank
you Holy Spirit
Inspiring photos:
Newness,
harmony, mission
Engagements
of Pope Francis
Many
thanks for checking
this website each day
|
|
 |
Qatar World Cup- 185 Nepalese died in 2013 – official records |
|
| Superb! |
What
a Wonderful World with David Attenborough |
|
 |
Church
entering "new era" under Francis - top
papal adviser
François Hollande affair allegations overshadow meeting with Pope Francis
|
|
God at Eventide
(Jan 26) |
Remember that Healing, Divine Healing, is not so much a question of praying on your part, and of granting on Mine, as of living with Me, thinking of Me, sharing My Life. That contact
makes you whole. Go forward gladly, go forward unafraid |
|
|
 |
China's investments in the US are growing. Should we be
concerned? |
|
|
|
53.
Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in
order to safeguard the value of human life, today we
also have to say “thou shalt not” to an
economy of exclusion and inequality.
Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a
news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news
when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion.
Can we continue to stand by when
food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality.
Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of
the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence,
masses of people find themselves excluded and
marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any
means of escape.
Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to
be used and then discarded. We have created a
“throw away” culture which is now spreading.
It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but
something new. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a
part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer
society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are
no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not
the “exploited” but the outcast, the “leftovers”. |
|
|
Click to enlarge:
|
 |
Tissue
animals |
|
|
|
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into
bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping South Americans from
being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from South American inmates in HK prisons |
|
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
|
Vatican II
Reflection - 339
May Pope
Francis give most responsibilities to National Bishops'
Conferences...so that the Curia can fade away
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
Well done Li Nga in
winning the Australian Open last night!
You are a great example of courage and perseverance:
success after two failures
Over the past few years you have won the hearts of
Australian fans
|
|
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America Sat:
Central & North America
Please join me in
praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday,
please bless the people of Africa
On this 26th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Xinjiang
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month
|
|
Brace
yourself for China's creative destruction |
Liturgy
- New Translation
1998
ICEL Sacramentary
Misguided Missal
The new translation
Ghastly process/result
Ron
Schmit:
1962
Mass a condemnation of Vatican II
PrayTell
------------------------------------------
Spirituality
Sacred
Space
Daily prayer online.
Available in 19 languages
Jackie
Evancho - To
Believe
Pray-as-you-go.org
Daily prayer with
beautiful music
Whole
text of 1966 Jerusalem Bible
Previous Smiles
file |
|
Recommended
by
readers |
The
Lord's Prayer - performed
by Andrea Bocelli in honor of those who died in the train derailment
in Santiago, Spain last year. Accompanied by full orchestra &
choir
Stunning
1500 year old church mosaics unearthed in Israel
|
|
| Pope
Francis |
Pope
to media: "For God's sake, slow down!" |
|
 |
The 85 richest people in the
world - men still in the driving seat |
|
 |
Secular clergy numbers fall by a sixth in two years in England Wales, forcing bishops to close or merge parishes |
|
 |
Live nun
talking - Sr Helen Prejean on death penalty progress
A turning point was Pope John Paul II’s visit to St Louis in 1999.
In a dramatic moment, the pope, onstage turned to Missouri governor
Mel Carnahan and pleaded for the life of convicted killer Darrell
Mease. ‘Have mercy on Mr. Mease,’ he
said. Governor Carnahan changed Mease’s
sentence to life imprisonment
|
|
|
Revising
the new Missal
The most offensive aspect of the affair is the high-handed way in
which the translation was imposed on us and the most disappointing
aspect is the failure of our bishops to protect us from such behaviour |
|
 |
South Sudan ceasefire deal signed
- DG!
- let's keep praying for peace
in SS |
|
|
Caroline
Chisholm website - good
one at time of Australia Day |
|
|
|
 |
52.
In our time humanity is experiencing
a turning-point in its history, as we can see from the advances
being made in so many fields. We can only praise
the steps being taken to improve people’s welfare in areas such as
health care, education and communications.
At the same time we have to
remember that the majority of our contemporaries are barely living
from day to day, with dire consequences. A number of diseases
are spreading. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and
desperation, even in the so-called rich countries. The joy of living
frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the
rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live
and, often, to live with precious little dignity.
This epochal change has been set in motion by the
enormous qualitative, quantitative, rapid and cumulative advances
occurring in the sciences and in technology, and by their instant
application in different areas of nature and of life. We
are in an age of knowledge and information, which has led to new and
often anonymous kinds of power.
|
|
|
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being
tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping
South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from S. American inmates in HK prisons
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sent by a reader - click
to enlarge
(from Dec-Jan snowstorm time in
North America)
|
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
|
Vatican II
Reflection - 338
A
bishop is a service station attendant!
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
On this day in 1816 was born
the group that became the Oblates
of Mary Immaculate
2016 will be our 200th anniversary |
|
|
Sun: Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia
Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Please join
me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
On this 25th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Ningxia
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month |
 |
Pope's
travel plans for 2014 (apart
from Holy Land May 24-26) |
Liturgy
- New Translation
1998
ICEL Sacramentary
Misguided Missal
The new translation
Ghastly process/result
Ron
Schmit:
1962
Mass a condemnation of Vatican II
PrayTell
------------------------------------------
Spirituality
Sacred
Space
Daily prayer online.
Available in 19 languages
Jackie
Evancho - To
Believe
Pray-as-you-go.org
Daily prayer with
beautiful music
Whole
text of 1966 Jerusalem Bible
Previous Smiles
file |
|
 |
I
witnessed Ohio's execution of Dennis McGuire. What I saw was inhumane |
|
|
Chinese oil giants make use of offshore shell companies in Caribbean |
|
|
|
47
African heads of state to meet with President Obama in Washington Aug
5-6 (Good
news ...Come Holy Spirit!) |
|
 |
European
donors 'profiting from aid budgets' with high-interest loans |
|
| Recommended
by reader |
Judge
gives green light to Legion inheritance lawsuit |
|
|
|
|
51.
It is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and complete
analysis of contemporary reality, but I do exhort (everyone) to an
“ever watchful scrutiny of the signs of the times”. This is in
fact a grave responsibility, since certain
present realities, unless effectively dealt with, are capable of
setting off processes of dehumanization which would then be hard to
reverse.
We need to distinguish clearly
what might be a fruit of the kingdom from what runs counter to God’s
plan. This involves not only recognizing and discerning
spirits, but also – and this is decisive – choosing movements of
the spirit of good and rejecting those of the spirit of evil.
I take for granted the different analyses
which other documents of the universal magisterium have offered, as
well as those proposed by the regional and national conferences of
bishops. In this Exhortation I claim only to consider briefly, and
from a pastoral perspective, certain factors
which can restrain or weaken the impulse of missionary renewal in the
Church, either because they threaten the life and dignity of
God’s people or because they affect those who are directly involved
in the Church’s institutions and in her work of evangelization.
|
|
|
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being
tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping
South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from S. American inmates in HK prisons
|
|
|
|
|
Lovely heavy rain yesterday
in Brisbane ...much needed...most welcome.
Suggesting rain smile:
Q: What sort of lighting did Noah have on
the Ark?
A: Flood lighting |
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
|
Vatican II
Reflection - 337
Care for bishops in prison and for bishops treated unjustly
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
These
days I'm enjoying the kind hospitality of Fr Lewy and Fr Mark at Iona
College in Brisbane.
I'm a visitor. A temporary dweller.
Makes me think: in this world we are visitors...temporary
dwellers.....given a beautiful world to enjoy and take care of while
we are here
|
|
|
Sun: Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia
Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Please join
me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
On this 24th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the
prisoners of Inner
Mongolia
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month |
| Robert
Tibbo
(Edward Snowden's HK-Canadian lawyer):
|
HK government could be sued over
abuse of Indonesian maid:
Time
report
SCMP
report
Robert's background:
Snowden's
Canadian lawyer and Robert
Tibbo reveals he worked closely with Snowden
and Give
us more time, says barrister and
Behind
Snowden's Hong Kong exit: fear and persuasion
|
This
site's full statistics
for December 2013
To publish an
article on this site please contact Fr John Wotherspoon omi:
jdwomi@gmail.com
If you find a broken link in this website,
please contact: jdwomi@gmail.com
Why
I collect rubbish for Pope
Taking
a stand
Navigation
Aids
Standing
up to bullies
"Reform
of reform" agenda
Too
Western/European
Abortion
- a true story
"Same-sex
marriage": two elephants
in the men's room
Near
Death Experiences
Globalisation
of Indifference
Tale
of Two Brains
John's other sites:
www.doctorjesus.org
www.riccicenter.com
www.simplebible.info
www.china8.org
www.jesustower.com
www.oneminuteenglish.com
China
Library
- essential reading for anyone interested in China's Christian
history
|
|
|
Richest
85 boast same wealth as half the world
The political response to the global
financial crisis - including the actions of central banks and the
austerity measures introduced by national governments - has made the rich
fabulously richer
Addicted
to comfort
In the US Congress this year, for the first
time a majority of members are millionaires
|
|
|
|
Celebrating
diversity on Australia Day
Next week begins with Australia Day and ends with the Chinese New Year |
|
| Recommended
by readers |
How
Pope Francis is reshaping the Vatican
Benedict
did not practice what he preached re sex abuse crisis
|
|
 |
|
China's
princelings storing riches in Caribbean offshore havens
Vatican
prelate accused of money laundering
|
|
|
The
war on asylum seekers |
|
|
Sending
young men to prison won't make you safer
(My experience: prisons make
most prisoners worse, not better)
The
festering injustice that is Guantanamo Bay
|
|
 |
Once a month I'd like to send a special email
message to regular readers of this website.
If you'd like to receive this message, please email me: jdwomi@gmail.com |
|
|
|
50. Before taking up
some basic questions related to the work of evangelization, it may be
helpful to mention briefly the context in which we all have to live and
work.
Today, we frequently hear of a “diagnostic overload”
((read: "naval gazing")) which is
not always accompanied by improved and actually applicable methods of
treatment.
Nor would we be well served by a purely sociological
analysis which would aim to embrace all of reality by employing an
allegedly neutral and clinical method.
What I would like to propose is something much more in
the line of an evangelical discernment. It is
the approach of a missionary disciple, an approach “nourished by the
light and strength of the Holy Spirit”.
|
|
|
Aunt Lavinia had been feeling sick for the
past couple of weeks so we called the doctor. As it turned out, the
community paramedic came out to the house to see her. When he was done, he
asked for a glass of water, so we steered him out to the well. The medic
was leaning over a little too far, and fell into the well.I pulled him out
and told him to treat the sick, and leave the well alone. |
|
|
|
Tanzania:
Drug traffickers at sea a new challenge
This website's Tanzania
File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into
bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from
Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons
South
America file
(stopping
S. Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters
from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons |
|
|
| Francis
wishes to release Vatican II's bold vision from captivity |
|
Vatican II
Reflection - 336
A different sort of bishop
|
|
John W
mini-Blog |
Happy 13th Birthday today www.china8.org
- these days in safe mode, but all photos etc from Zhaoqing, China
2001-2008 still available for viewing |
|
|
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific Frid:
South America Sat:
Central & North America
Please join me in
praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Thursday,
please bless the people of South
East Asia
On this 23rd
of the month, Jesus
please bless the prisoners of Guangxi.
Please join me in praying for
prisoners in one part of China each day of the month
|
