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"Same-sex marriage" file
Islam File
The
New Translation
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100.
The New Testament
does not only tell us of the earthly Jesus and his tangible and
loving relationship with the world. It also shows him risen and
glorious, present throughout creation by his universal Lordship:
“For
in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through
him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col 1:19-20).
This
leads us to direct our gaze to the end of time, when the Son
will deliver all things to the Father, so that “God may be
everything to every one” (1 Cor 15:28).
Thus,
the creatures of this world no longer appear to us under merely
natural guise because the risen One is mysteriously holding them
to himself and directing them towards fullness as their
end.
The
very flowers of the field and the birds which his human eyes
contemplated and admired are now imbued with his radiant
presence.
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c.f.
Today's Gospel, below
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Yesterday,
like most Saturdays, was spent answering - make that processing
- mail and email to do with prison inmates: messages from
inmates (in posted letters) to be scanned and emailed to
families; email from families to be printed and posted to
inmates.
Reason
for this labor of love is that airmail to/from some parts of the
world (e.g. Tanzania) can take up to two months.
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The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
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Readings
are from Simple
Bible
(which has Chinese translation available) |
c.f.
Readings for "Sunday 28"
Wisdom
6-7
Listen, rulers of the nations,
govern with
justice,
for you will be judged by the Lord.
Rulers, if you want to govern successfully,
seek Wisdom and she will guide your decisions.
A wise ruler is a blessing for his people.
The more wise people there are, the better our world will be.
When I, Solomon, became a ruler,
I prayed for Wisdom.
I prayed, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
In Wisdom's company, all good things came to me.
Lord, please give me the gift
of Wisdom
My recording of
this reading
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Psalm
90
O Lord you have been our refuge
from one generation to the next.
Before the earth or the world
existed,
you are God, without beginning or end.
For you, a thousand years are
like yesterday, come and gone so quickly.
We humans have a short life,
our life is over like a sigh. Our span is 70 years,
or 80 for those who are strong.
Make us know the shortness of our
life,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
In the morning, fill us with your
love.
Give success to the work of our hands.
Lord,
help us realize the shortness of our life, that we may live our lives more wisely
Recording
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Hebrews
4.12-16
The word of God is something alive and active.
It goes deep into our hearts
In Jesus we have the supreme high priest who
is now in the highest heaven. He knows how weak we are. He himself was
tempted in every way, but did not sin
Let us be confident in
approaching his throne
of grace.
He will give us grace when we are in need of help
Jesus, our high priest, help me when I'm weak
Recording
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Daniel
Daring:
Priceless
Wisdom
“Being a Christian is not
the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the
encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a
new horizon and a decisive direction”
Chinese
text
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Mark
10.17-27
A young man asked Jesus
"Master, what do I have to do to get to Heaven?"
Jesus replied "Keep the commandments:
do not kill; do not commit adultery; honor your father and mother;
care for others as much as you care about yourself".
The young man said "I have kept all these
commandments.
What else do I need to do?"
Jesus said "If you want to do something
really special with your life, go and sell all your possessions, give the
money to the poor,
then come and follow me as one of my disciples".
When the young man heard these words he went
away sad,
because he was very rich.
Jesus then said to his disciples
"It is hard for a rich person to get to Heaven".
Jesus, please don't let riches
endanger my eternal life
Recording
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George
Monbiot: Surgical Strike
“The strike may have resulted in collateral damage to a
nearby medical facility.” This is how an anonymous Nato
spokesperson described Saturday’s
disaster in Afghanistan. Let’s translate it into English.
“We bombed a hospital, killing 22 people.” But people,
hospital and bomb, let alone we: all such words are banned from
Nato’s lexicon. Its press officers are trained to speak no
recognisable human language.
By invading Iraq in 2003, destroying its government and
infrastructure, dismantling the army and detaining thousands of
former soldiers, the US, with Britain’s help, created Isis.
Through bombing, it arguably helps to sustain the movement. |
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138.
The
homily cannot be a form of entertainment like those presented by
the media, yet it does need to give life and meaning to the
celebration. It is a distinctive genre, since it is preaching
situated within the framework of a liturgical celebration; hence
it should be brief and avoid taking on the
semblance of a speech or a lecture.
A
preacher may be able to hold the attention of his listeners for
a whole hour, but in this case his words become more important
than the celebration of faith. If the
homily goes on too long, it will affect two characteristic
elements of the liturgical celebration: its balance and its
rhythm.
When
preaching takes place within the context of the liturgy, it is
part of the offering made to the Father and a mediation of the
grace which Christ pours out during the celebration. This
context demands that preaching should
guide the assembly, and the preacher, to a life-changing
communion with Christ in the Eucharist. This
means that the words of the preacher must be measured, so that
the Lord, more than his minister, will be the centre of
attention.
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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 11th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hunan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 11th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Eritrea
And
praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the
week:
Jesus,
please bless
all Muslims in my own
country |
New
letter (in Swahili) from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison
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) |
Man
takes dying dog to vet. Vet unable to save dog. Dog dies.
