v2catholic

Matthew 25: 31-40

Jesus said to his disciples: When I come in glory at the end of the world, all peoples of all times will be gathered in front of me.

I will separate them, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. I will place the sheep on my right, the goats on my left.

I will say to those on my right "Come and enter my kingdom. For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you made me welcome. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me".

Then those good people on my right will say "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
naked and clothe you, sick or in prison, and visit you?"

I will answer "Each time you helped and cared for a poor person, you helped and cared for me".

Matthew 25: 41-46

Then I will say to those on my left "Go away from me and join Satan and his angels in hell.

For I was hungry, and you never gave me food. I was thirsty, and you never gave me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you never made me welcome, naked, and you never clothed me, sick and in prison, and you never visited me".

Those on my left will then ask
"Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?"

I will answer "Each time you refused to help and care for a poor person, you refused to help and care for me".

Those on the left will then go to eternal punishment. Those on the right will go to eternal life.

Jesus, please help me do more for poor people. Make me understand that when I help a poor person, I help you

Getting to the Crux of why Catholicism matters

R.I.P. HK Press Freedom

Newspaper drops weekly column c.f. Leaks Confirm Attacks on HK Press

Questions From a Ewe
Marriage and the bishops - touché !
You see if my friend, in becoming a bishop now has a "new" wife in this new diocese, that means he abandoned his "old" wife, his previous diocese. And I would bet my entire retirement savings that if the hotline from the Vatican rang asking him to be bishop over yet another diocese, he'd do it. I think that's called seeking a "trophy wife." Yep, yep...that's what it's called allright.

John Allen

Catholics, keep away, lest you hear what you ought not

Inside an Afghan women's prison - in pictures
(wish all prisons were like this!)

Israel Appropriates West Bank Land for Settlement Use
Biggest Land Appropriation in 30 Years

U.S. Urges Israel To Reverse Planned West Bank Land Appropriation

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Pages 194-198: The final pages of A Call to Action - two encouraging stories and 23 "actions":

God bless Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center! - website: www.cartercenter.org

Click to enlarge

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

265. Jesus’ whole life, his way of dealing with the poor, his actions, his integrity, his simple daily acts of generosity, and finally his complete self-giving, is precious and reveals the mystery of his divine life.

Whenever we encounter this anew, we become convinced that it is exactly what others need, even though they may not recognize it: “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you”

Sometimes we lose our enthusiasm for mission because we forget that the Gospel responds to our deepest needs, since we were created for what the Gospel offers us: friendship with Jesus and love of our brothers and sisters.

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

What can we ordinary people do about groups (ISIS, Islam, Beijing ...) that want to take away our freedom?

1. Stay informed. Keep up to date about the situation ...and help others do the same

2. Pray for the leaders of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab ... pray for Beijing leaders , for President Putin etc ...that the Lord will change their hearts ....as has happened throughout history

3. Pray for world leaders to have the wisdom to respond peacefully but effectively to those who want to take away our freedom

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Text and recording:
My weekly article in today's Ming Pao newspaper.
Topic: Mid-Autumn Festival
(on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK")

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Tuesday, please bless the people of South Asia

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 2nd of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Fujian

Monday

September 1

National Day of
Libya, Slovakia & Uzbekistan

Today in Rome:
Pope's football Match for Peace

Democratic camp angry
at NPCSC decision

On this day, September 1, ten years ago
there took place in Russia a terrifying hostage tragedy
involving 156 children going to school
on the first day after the Summer holidays

Please watch Radical Islam's Vision for America
and try to help many others to see it as soon as possible.
ISIS is a wake-up call that tragedies like September 1, 2004 are part of a plan: how to conquer not just America, but the whole world

5 min video: Fr Kapaun
- an inspiring story of courage
from the Korean War

Beijing to Hong Kong: Drop Dead
Hong Kong has as much chance for universal suffrage as Tibet

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Tobit 5-6:

Tobit told Tobias to find a trustworthy man to go with him to Media. Tobias found Raphael, but Tobias did not know Raphael was an angel.

On the first night of their journey, Tobias and Raphael caught a
large fish. Raphael told Tobias to keep the gall, liver and heart of the fish.

Raphael explained that the gall would cure the blindness of his father Tobit, and that the liver and heart would drive away the demon
Asmodeus which had killed Sarah's bridegrooms.

Dear God, thank you for the help we receive from your angels

Recording of this reading
for English students

Psalm 4:

At the end of this day I praise you, Lord, for all your love and help.

O people of the world, how long will you close your hearts to God?
How long you will keep on chasing false goals?

Lord, you have put into my heart a joy that cannot be obtained by big meals and plenty of wine.

I will lie day in peace and sleep comes at once, for you, Lord, make me dwell in safety and peace

Lord, please keep my heart open to you and to others, open to good values

Acts 12:

About this time, King Herod began persecuting the church. He beheaded the apostle James, brother of John. He arrested Peter during Passover time. He put Peter in prison and planned to have him killed after Passover

Each day Peter was in prison, the believers stormed heaven praying for him. On the night before he was to be put on trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with chains, with more soldiers at the prison entrance

Suddenly Peter's cell was filled with light, and an angel told him to get up. The chains fell from his hands. The angel led Peter out of the prison, without the guards knowing what was happening

Peter then left for another place. Herod was unable to find him

Jesus, please help Christians who are in prison for their faith

Matthew 24:

Jesus spoke to his disciples about the future: "On account of my name you will be hated, tortured and killed. But the Good News of the kingdom will spread to every nation before the end of the world.

At the end of the world, the sun and moon will stop shining. Stars will fall from the sky.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all peoples will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and glory.

He will send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather good people from all parts of the earth.

Therefore you should live a good life, and you will have nothing to fear on your last day."

Jesus, please help me be a good person

Disappearances and the struggle for truth and justice in Sri Lanka

Darlene Starrs (Blogger from Canada)
Who Knew I’d Be Broken-hearted!

Alas, it is 2014, and my elation, has fizzled. Oh yes, there is the presence of hope and joy with Pope Francis, but, with the polarization of the Church into pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II spirituality and theology, it is so very sad and frustrating

Chris McDonnell
(UK Blogger)

Chris's article Death of a Poet - about Seamus Heaney - has been posted here at Pray Tell

Interactive Bible Quiz - 2 Maccabees
Based on the actual words of the Bible.
How many times can you get 3/3 ?!

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Pages 192, 193, 194: A lovely story from India,
showing what a difference one brave woman can make:

For start of the new academic year in the Northern Hemisphere today:

Come Holy Spirit! Please bless all students and teachers/staff

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

264. The best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart.

If we approach it in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us.

But if this is to come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to realize ever anew that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life.

(Than this treasure) There is nothing more precious which we can give to others.

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

Recently I skimmed through The Hebrew Bible today - An Introduction to Critical Issues, and one theme that struck me was "the power struggle between the centre and the fringes ....as has happened historically in China: the centre (2014 read Beijing) trying to keep/assert its authority over the provinces (to which power has often gone at times, especially when the central government was weak/corrupt)

And as has happened in the Catholic Church: the historical power struggle between the papacy and nations/groups. John Paul II and Benedict XVI did their best to take back shared responsibility offered by Vatican II

The above book shows how this issue has been around a long time: many parts of the Bible were written by people (usually Jerusalem priests) "in the centre" trying to keep control of Judaism - even to the extent of writing parts of the Bible in a way that supports their vision of worship (e.g. "close down everywhere else ...all worship has to take place only in Jerusalem"!)

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Monday, please bless the people of Europe & Russia

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 1st of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Anhui

Sunday August 31

National Day:
Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia

Pope calls priest serving at Iraqi refugee camp

How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply be in his presence!

- Pope Francis:
The Joy of the Gospel
No. 164, below
and c.f. today's Gospel

Tonight in HK!
7,000 police for 1,000 democracy protesters

Cardinal Zen: Don't be afraid of Beijing's threats to Hong Kong's freedom

Click pic
to enlarge

Chinese video

Beijing Gets Ugly in HK

HK Under the Heel

Pope receives parish priest from Gaza

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Readings for "Sunday 22"

Jeremiah 20:

One of the Temple priests had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks for a day near the Temple.

Again Jeremiah prayed to God:
"You have seduced me, Lord.
You have told me to proclaim a harsh message for the people.

This has made me a laughing- stock. Being your messenger has caused me insult all the day long.

At one stage I even thought of not speaking your message any more.
But then I felt a fire burning in my heart.

I could not stop thinking of you.
I just had to speak your message."

Lord, please give me more courage to speak your message to my family, friends and people I meet

Recording of this reading
for English students

Psalm 62:

O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life, in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet, my mouth shall praise you with joy.

For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

Lord, my soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.

Stock

Romans 12:

I beg you, trust in God's mercy, and worship him in a spiritual way, not just in an external way

Offer your whole life to him as a holy sacrifice

Do not blindly follow the fashions of the world. Instead, let your behavior change, fashioned by your enlightened mind

This is the way to discover the will of God, the way to know what God wants us to do

Jesus, help me give more time to things that are important, less time to things not so important

Reflection by Daniel Daring:

Take up the Cross
We love to inﬂuence people in their decision-making. We do it in a form of advice or opposition. We mean well. We want to help. We want to see others ‘happy and successful’ in this life. We have in mind “human things”.

Archive of previous reflections

Matthew 16:

Jesus now began explaining to his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise from the dead.

He also said "If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself,
take up your own cross, and follow me.

Selfishness will ruin your life.
Self-sacrificing will bless your life.

What use is it to have everything in this world yet miss out on Heaven?"

Jesus, please help me find my life by losing it in service of others

The Pacific islands are drowning, we need the world’s help

Swaziland king's Facebook exposure of party lifestyle could lose him friends
Swazi Leaks uses social networks to show contrasting lifestyles of monarchy and impoverished citizens

What a difference between Swaziland king and the 'world's poorest president'

Hong Kong paper claims banks pulled ads after pressure from Beijing
(Not just the banks ....many companies that do business with China also have stopped advertising in Apple Daily)

Inside Putinworld, where few risk speaking truth to power

The Guardian view on new Russian incursions into Ukraine

The Consequences of Redefining Marriage
Who said this?
"We know the statistics: that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of schools, and twenty times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioural problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves, and the foundations of our community are weaker because of it"

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Pages 190, 191, 192: Disturbing info re the use of raping women in war zones
(..at least 250,000 were raped during the 100 days of genocide in Rwanda in 1994)

Paws for Prayer!

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

264: Standing before Jesus with open hearts, letting him look at us, we see that gaze of love which Nathaniel glimpsed on the day when Jesus said to him: “I saw you under the fig tree” (Jn 1:48 ).

How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence!

How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life!

What then happens is that “we speak of what we have seen and heard” (1 Jn 1:3).

Jamii Forums has deleted my last few posts ....maybe because some letters from Tanzanian inmates in HK prisons criticise Tanzanian's president???

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

Yesterday afternoon I made a rare trip to HK airport - to met a refugee worker from Australia who is in HK for a week to look at the refugee situation here. We went to Central, and spent almost two hours meeting with a group of asylum seekers, some of whom have been in HK for more than 10 years ....in Limbo.
(more about this during the coming days)

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Sunday, please bless the people of Africa

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 31st of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Tianjin

International Day of the Victims
of Enforced Disappearances

Saturday

August 30

Islamic State requires Saudi Arabia
to rethink its support for extremism

Chinese military vehicles spotted in Hong Kong
Pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said she believed the movement of the armored carriers was a deliberate attempt to frighten activists ahead of the democracy protests. "It's a show of military might to scare off Hong Kong people who are about to stage some large-scale civil disobedience activity. The timing is very suspicious"

HK Graftbusters Raid Influential China Critic
The raid Thursday morning on properties of media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying by the Independent Commission Against Corruption represents a new and disturbing development in the growing standoff between democracy advocates and the Establishment

Free here on YouTube
- a disturbing documentary
about Islam:

The Third Jihad - Radical Islam's Vision for America (and the world)

c.f.

A ceasefire in Gaza
Long may it hold. Israelis and Palestinians breathe a sigh of relief. But the respite may not last

With Gaza War, Movement to Boycott Israel Gains

East Jerusalem Boils
Even as Gaza War Ends
Hundreds Arrested in Crackdown on Nightly Protests

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Tobit 4:

Tobit said to his son Tobias: "When I die give me an honorable burial. Always honor your mother. When she dies, bury her at my side.

Be faithful to the Lord all your days. Always be willing to help poor people.

Give your bread to those who are hungry, and your clothes to those who are naked.

Ask advice of every wise person.
Bless the Lord God in everything. Beg him to guide your ways, and bring your paths and purposes to a successful conclusion.

Avoid all loose conduct. Do to no one what you would not want done to you.

Choose a wife from our tribe, from our kin in Media. Go to Media, to my friend Gabael. Many years ago I left 10 talents of silver with him.
This money is yours."

Dear God, please guide me and help me to do what is right

Recording of this reading
for English students

Psalm 3:

When people make fun of me for believing in you, Lord, I deeply remember how you are my help and my shield.

Even when the whole world seems against me, I can go to bed and sleep easy, knowing that you protect me.

O Lord, please rescue me from people who plot against me.
Lord our savior, please bless everyone who needs help

Jesus, when I am made fun of, please help me pray for the people ridiculing me

Acts 11:

Some believers went to Antioch in Syria where they preached the Good News of the Lord Jesus to non-Jewish people. Many non-Jewish people became believers

Barnabas, a good man filled with the Holy Spirit, was sent to Antioch in Syria to encourage the new believers to remain faithful to the Lord

Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch. They stayed in Antioch one year, instructing a large number of people

It was at Antioch that the believers were first called "Christians"

Jesus, please help me be a good Christian

Matthew 23:

Jesus told the people to respect their religious leaders, but he condemned the religious leaders
for not practising what they preached, for doing things just to attract attention, for craving front seats and places of honor, and for being concerned only with externals

Jesus called the religious leaders
"hypocrites", "blind guides",
"tombs that look good on the outside but are full of dead bones".

Jesus, please help religious leaders be good people

Personal encounter with the saving love of Jesus

Recommended: check these readings early morning, think about them during the day, check them again at night. This habit gives us extra energy, courage, motivation, peace and compassion for each day

Today is the anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1945.
In Chinese the day is called "Again Light" (after several years of "darkness"). Now, in 2014, "darkness" is again threatening Hong Kong - see disturbing articles above on today's menu

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Pages 189, 190: Encouraging and humorous story from Morocco about women's rights, with final line:
"Other Islamic kingdoms, and all Western nations, should implement these reforms"

At Lai Chi Kok detention centre yesterday, one of the local Chinese inmates said to me in Chinese that he is a Catholic. Then he switched to broken English and said "my holy lamb is Simon". My aging brain took several minutes for the penny to fall: "My Christian name is Simon"!

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

264: The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him.

What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known?

If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that he will once more touch our hearts. We need to implore his grace daily, asking him to open our cold hearts and shake up our lukewarm and superficial existence.

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

Over the past five years as a prison chaplain at Lai Chi Kok detention centre, a special joy I've experienced a few times each year has been when I've been able to help bail out an inmate. Not many joys are greater than helping someone get out of prison!
Yesterday was another such case. An Indian inmate, an asylum seeker, arrested not long ago, no friends able/willing to help him, due to stay in prison until a court date towards end of October, needing only HK$200 to be free. He's now free DG!
In fact, believe it or not, just after I typed "DG" the phone went. It was him, saying thank you ...using the phone of a local former inmate who does jobs for me, like taking bail money to a court, getting release paper, taking release paper to detention centre, giving released inmate a few dollars for transport/meal

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Saturday, please bless the people of Central & North America

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 30th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shanghai

International Day
against Nuclear Tests

Friday August 29

Gaza (Ice? Remains?)
Bucket challenge!

Free here on YouTube:
Islam - What the West Needs to Know

An examination of Islam and its violence towards non-Muslims

The more one studies the life of Muhammad, the more one has a sickening feeling that IS is just a re-run of Muhammad's life,
and that M was a psychopath

Excellent article from Guardian:
Islamic State: Arab leaders reluctant to heed US call for 'allies against Isis'

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan know dangers of Isis, but tribal ties and fears of boosting Syria's Assad are prompting caution

"Isis is a Sunni Arab problem. Neither Kurds nor Shia can end them. Sunni Arabs inside and outside Iraq should cooperate to do so."

YouTube:

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Feast of
The Beheading of John the Baptist

Jeremiah 1.17:

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying: ‘Brace yourself for action. Stand up and tell them all I command you.

‘I, for my part, will strengthen you to confront this land: its kings, its princes, its priests and its people.

They will fight against you, but shall not overcome you, for I am with you – it is the Lord who speaks.’

Lord, please give special courage to people who speak your message in hostile places

Recording of this reading
for English students

Psalm 70:

In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, free me: pay heed to me and save me.

Be a rock where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to save me; for you are my rock, my stronghold. Free me from the hand of the wicked.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope, my trust, O Lord, since my youth. On you I have leaned from my birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my help.

Lord, may the memory of your help to us in the past, give us strength to face the future

Jesus, both you and your cousin John the Baptist were cruelly murdered. Please help our troubled world to do things that will reduce the number of murders .....like more control of gun sales, less terrorism-breeding injustice

Mark 6:

Not long after Jesus began traveling and teaching, King Herod arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison.

This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias, his brother's wife.

During a birthday party for Herod, the daughter of Herodias danced.

Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted.

Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish. Herod then had John beheaded.

Ebola takes toll on business across Africa

Philippines needs to start fighting poverty
Few countries fail so badly to tackle disparity

Imelda Marcos and the seduction of time
As the world marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance on August 30, new generations of Filipinos find it hard to grasp what it meant to express dissent when Ferdinand Marcos was president. Some assert that, compared to the current standard of governance and politics, life must have been better under Marcos. Such perceptions are validated when trusted institutions invite Imelda Marcos as guest of honour.

Church workers say hunger in Africa spreading due to Ebola

Indian youth lack moral fibre to change their nation
No wonder there is a stagnant feel to Indian society. The weight of centuries of custom feels oppressive. What good is youth if it loves the status quo instead of finding fault with it? `

Desmond Tutu Urges Dutch Pension Fund To Divest From Israel Banks

Recommended
by a reader

Baker Faces Prison for Refusing to Bake Same-Sex Wedding Cake

Why are we silencing women (and lay) preachers?

New bishop of Rochester, N.Y., is ending a 40-year custom of lay ministers preaching at Mass.
But what does canon law actually say?

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Pages 186, 187 and 188: What can be done about prostitution? The approaches of Holland and Sweden:

Not a true story:

HK's MTR (Metro) city stations platforms have screen doors (an excellent idea .... to prevent suicides).
Man was caught in screen door as he tried to enter train... so he started calling out, yelling out for help.
Just then the usual recorded notice was broadcast over the station's sound system:
"Please stand back from the scream doors"

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

263. We do well to keep in mind the early Christians and our many brothers and sisters throughout history who were filled with joy, unflagging courage and zeal in proclaiming the Gospel.

Some people nowadays console themselves by saying that things are not as easy as they used to be, yet we know that the Roman empire was not conducive to the Gospel message, the struggle for justice, or the defence of human dignity.

Every period of history is marked by the presence of human weakness, self-absorption, complacency and selfishness, to say nothing of the concupiscence which preys upon us all. These things are ever present under one guise or another; they are due to our human limits rather than particular situations. Let us not say, then, that things are harder today; they are simply different.

But let us learn also from the saints who have gone before us, who confronted the difficulties of their own day. So I propose that we pause to rediscover some of the reasons which can help us to imitate them today.

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

Uruguay's compassionate deal to take Syrian refugees makes me think that maybe Pope Francis phoned the U. president to ask for help, and to give an example?

c.f. Pope's warm welcome for 'world's poorest president'

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Friday, please bless the people of South America

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 29th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Chongqing

HK Democracy File - essential reading

HK Asylum Seekers File

Thursday

August 28

Augustine's negative influence on
theology and spirituality

Feast of Saint Augustine

Quotes from The Confessions
of Saint Augustine

Augustine the no. 1 influence on
Pope Benedict XVI

Sowing dragon's teeth in Iraq
Many of us are caught between our desire to see the barbarous actions of the Islamic State halted and our justifiable lack of trust in military intervention and in its proponents

US mistakes IS for an existential threat
A wiser American would let the regional interests find their own ways of cooperation to combat IS

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Readings for Feast of St Augustine

1 John 4:

Let us love one another since love comes from God, and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another.

God is love, and people who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

God, please help me love you and love others

Recording of this reading
for English students

Psalm 118:

How shall the young remain sinless? By obeying your word.

I have sought you with all my heart; let me not stray from your commands.

Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes.

Lord, teach me your statutes as you taught Augustine.

Matthew 23: (c.f. Message Bible)

Jesus said to his disciples, "Don't let people put you on a pedestal like the religion scholars and Pharisees.

All of you are students, with me as your Teacher. Don't try to take my place.

All of you are children of my Father in Heaven. Don't try to take his place by controlling other people's lives

Your job is not to control others, but to serve others"

Jesus, don't let me ever get between you and others

Recording

From
The Confessions of Augustine

“You have made us for yourself,
O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”

“Too late came I to love you,
O Beauty both so ancient and so new! Too late came I to love you, and behold you were with me all the time . . .”

“Free curiosity has greater power to stimulate learning than rigorous coercion"

Uruguayan resettlement scheme offers Syrian refugees a lifeline

- this comes as no surprise when we remember items from menu of August 25:
Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, quality of living, and equally first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of the middle class, prosperity and security. On a per capita basis, Uruguay contributes more troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions than any other country.
and c.f. Pope's warm welcome for 'world's poorest president'

Hold Israel Accountable

I have signed this Code Pink petition

Robert Mugabe visits China as critics condemn 'desperate' bid for investment

Zimbabwe's leader in political love-in with Xi Jinping after reports accuse him of selling out his country

The church's moral failure

The work of the Royal Commission into child abuse is demonstrating time and again that "moral failures" are much more than just the acts of individuals

From A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence and Power
by former US president Jimmy Carter:

Page 183: The issue of abortion is the major impediment to American approval of The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (which has been ratified by all nations except Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga and the US) and similar international agreements that protect women's rights.
....There is a consensus within our Christian churches ....that a developing fetus should be protected whenever possible. ..

This is a difficult issue for me. In many ways every abortion is an unplanned tragedy, brought about by a combination of human errors, and my Christian faith convinces me that a prospective parent should not make this decision unless the life of the mother is threatened or the pregnancy is caused by rape or incest. I accepted my obligation as president to enforce the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that authorized some abortions, but I attempted to minimize their number through sex education, making contraceptives more available, special economic assistance for women and infant children, and the promotion of foster parenthood.

Is this a serious report? Or a hoax?

China developing submarine to reach San Francisco in 100 minutes

Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel Full text Summary

262. The Church urgently needs the deep breath of prayer, and to my great joy groups devoted to prayer and intercession, the prayerful reading of God’s word and the perpetual adoration of the Eucharist are growing at every level of ecclesial life.

Even so, “we must reject the temptation to offer a privatized and individualistic spirituality which ill accords with the demands of charity, to say nothing of the implications of the incarnation”.

There is always the risk that some moments of prayer can become an excuse for not offering one’s life in mission; a privatized lifestyle can lead Christians to take refuge in some false forms of spirituality.

Ecstasy tablets worth £120m seized in Burma

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from Tanzanian inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters from South American inmates in Hong Kong prisons

This website's Hong Kong file
(encouraging local drug addicts to come off drugs)

John W mini-Blog:

Really good NCR editorial about Iraq on yesterday's menu mentioned some of the things we can do to help the persecuted people of Iraq .....but did not mention we might pray for them. As on a number of other prominent websites, including The Tablet, suggesting people pray seems to be "politically incorrect".

Not so Pope Francis: he's calling on us all the time to storm Heaven on behalf of the people being persecuted in Iraq.
Our prayers can influence the hearts of IS leaders. We can send prayer rockets into those hearts to soften them.

Jesus, please change those IS hearts, as you changed Saul's heart when he was persecuting Christians.

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America

Jesus, today, Thursday, please bless the people of S.E. Asia & Pacific

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:

On this 28th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Beijing

HK Democracy File - essential reading

HK Asylum Seekers File

Wednesday August 27

National Day of Moldova
(the poorest country in Europe)

Islam - "Sunni" and "Shia"
(c.f. Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant!)

The two main denominations of Islam are the Sunni and the Shia

Sunnis believe the true political successor of Muhammad was Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favoured wife, 'A'ishah .

Shia believe that the true political as well as religious successor was 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah

The overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world, between 87–90%, are Sunni

40 Holocaust Survivors Condemn Israel for Gaza War
“As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine”

Gaza ceasefire: Israel and Palestinians agree to halt weeks of fighting
Thank you God!

A most important article:
NCR Editorial:
Path of destruction in Iraq began in 1991

Our quick and repeated resort to war and the brutal use of sanctions yielded a bitter harvest. What we created was a condition infinitely worse than the disease we were attempting to treat.

Isis accused of ethnic cleansing after Shia prison massacre
670 prisoners killed in Mosul

The Book Blog

Four readings
with recordings

Sirach 26:

Happy the husband of a really good wife; A good wife is the joy of her husband, he will live out his years in peace.

Like the sun rising over the mountains of the Lord, is the beauty of a good wife in a well-kept house.

Recording of this reading
for English students

Readings for Feast of Saint Monica
who spent a large part of her life praying for her wayward son Augustine

Monica and Augustine

Luke 7: (Augustine was "spiritually" dead, and came back to life)

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Recording

A large number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier, and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Recording

Everyone was filled with awe, and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of Jesus spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside