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Hong
Kong cardinals differ over Vatican, China talks
China and the Holy See resumed
long-stalled negotiations in June 2014 and are now
preparing to sit down for further talks in which they
are expected to seek a resolution to a major rift over
who should appoint bishops.
"The
second round of talks is expected to take place in the
next few months"
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"Same-sex marriage" file
Islam File
The
New Translation
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69.
Together with our
obligation to use the earth’s goods responsibly, we are called
to recognize that other living beings have a value of their own
in God’s eyes: “by their mere existence they bless him and
give him glory”,[41]
and indeed, “the Lord rejoices in all his works” (Ps 104:31).
By
virtue of our unique dignity and our gift of intelligence, we
are called to respect creation and its inherent laws, for “the
Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Prov 3:19).
In
our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures
are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if
they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish.
The German bishops have taught that, where other creatures are
concerned, “we can speak of the priority of being over
that of being useful”.[42]
The
Catechism clearly and forcefully criticizes a distorted
anthropocentrism: “Each creature possesses its own particular
goodness and perfection… Each of the various creatures, willed
in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s
infinite wisdom and goodness. We must therefore respect
the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any
disordered use of things”.[43]
"Chasing
Ice" captures largest glacier calving ever filmed |
Three
hearing-impaired jokes, to go with today's Gospel:
(As
I was about to use Google for a hearing-impaired image to go
with these jokes, I just noticed the photo of Cardinal Zen,
opposite! Oops!)
01
Three 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..'
02
An elderly gentleman had serious hearing
problems for a number of years.
He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted
for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear
100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor
and the doctor said, 'Your hearing is perfect.. Your family must
be really pleased that you can hear again.' The gentleman
replied, 'Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit
around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will
three times!'
03 - see  ,
below |
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The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
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Readings
are from Simple
Bible
(which has Chinese translation availabe) |
c.f.
Readings for "Sunday 23"
Isaiah
33-35
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees,
and say to all faint hearts
"Courage! Do not be afraid. The Lord is coming to save you."
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy.
Exiles will return to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces.
Joy and gladness will go with them.
Sorrow and lament will be ended.
Lord, please heal the friends I
know who are blind, deaf, dumb....
My recording of
this reading
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Psalm
146
My soul, give
praise to the Lord.
I will praise the Lord all my days.
Put no trust in
princes,
in mortal men in whom there is no help. Take their breath, they
return to clay,
and their plans that day come to nothing.
They are happy who are
helped by Jacob's God,
whose hope is in the Lord our God, who alone made heaven
and earth,
the seas and all they contain.
It is he who gives
bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.
It is the Lord who
gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down.
It is the Lord who
protects the stranger,
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who
loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for
ever,
Zion's God, from age to age.
Lord, please increase my trust
and faith in you
Recording
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James
2.1-13
Don't try to combine faith in Jesus Christ,
our glorified Lord, with the making of distinctions between classes of
people
Suppose two men come into your prayer meeting,
one beautifully dressed and with a gold ring; the other poor and in shabby
clothes
If you welcome the rich man, and look down on
the poor man, you are making a big mistake
It was those who are poor according to the
world that God chose to be rich in faith
So, never make distinctions between classes of
people.
Everyone is your neighbor. Love your neighbor as yourself
There will be judgment without mercy for
people who have not been merciful. But merciful people need have no fear
of judgment
Jesus, help me treat everyone equally and
fairly. No favorites
Recording
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Mark
7.31-37
Jesus
traveled through the area south of the Sea of Galilee.
A
deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him.
Jesus
took the man aside in private, away from the crowd.
He put his fingers into the man's ears and put spittle on his tongue.
Then he prayed and said "Be opened".
The
man's ears were opened and his speech became normal.
The
people said "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and
the dumb speak".
Jesus,
heal (..name..) who is "deaf and dumb"
Recording
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112.
The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No
human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit
so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself
and makes us one with him.
He
sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children,
transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our
lives. The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as the sacrament of
the salvation offered by God.
Through
her evangelizing activity, she cooperates as an instrument of
that divine grace which works unceasingly and inscrutably.
Benedict XVI put it nicely at the beginning of the Synod’s
reflections: “It is important always to know that the first
word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and
only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, only
(by) begging for this divine initiative, shall we too be able to
become – with him and in him – evangelizers”.
This
principle of the primacy of grace must be a beacon which
constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.
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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 6th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hainan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 6th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Liberia
And
praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the
week:
Jesus,
please bless
all Muslims in my own
country |
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 HK
Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping
South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK) |
