"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation

150 world leaders attending!
O Holy Spirit, please bless the Paris climate change summit! 

142 (a): If everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life.

 “Every violation of solidarity and civic friendship harms the environment”.[116]

In this sense, social ecology is necessarily institutional, and gradually extends to the whole of society, from the primary social group, the family, to the wider local, national and international communities. 

Within each social stratum, and between them, institutions develop to regulate human relationships.

Anything which weakens those institutions has negative consequences, such as injustice, violence and loss of freedom.

Who is this old man whose courageous actions cause editors to have him rivaling the gathering of 150 world leaders in Paris?

What a moving, inspiring aricle!

Pope visits besieged mosque

Pope Francis has taken the biggest security risk of his papacy to visit a mosque under siege from armed Christian militias in Central African Republic

After removing his shoes on entering the mosque and bowing towards the holy Muslim city of Mecca, the pope told several hundred men inside that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters”.

Judges 15

When Samson found out his wife had been given to someone else
he took his revenge on the Philistines by setting fire to their crops.

The Philistines then attacked the land of Judah, trying to capture Samson.

To avoid war with the Philistines,
the men of Judah bound Samson with ropes and handed him over to the Philistines.

But as the Philistines approached him, Samson was filled with the spirit of the Lord and broke free from the ropes.

He saw a dead donkey's jawbone on the ground and used this to strike down many Philistines
before making his escape.

Samson was judge in Israel for 20 years.

Dear Lord,  you once gave strength to Samson. Please give me strength to face the battles of life.

Psalms 24-26

The Lord's is the earth and all its peoples. It is the Lord who is Creator of the universe.

May all hearts open their doors to the Lord. Let him enter, the king of glory.

Lord I hope in you all the day long. Forgive my sins and help me walk in your truth.

God my savior, teach me your way of truth
Recording

Acts 20.28-38

Paul continued "You elders are the leaders of the Church of God.
Be on your guard against bad leaders trying to mislead people

Remember my example. I never asked anyone for money or clothes. You know how my work as a tentmaker earned enough to support my companions and me

Remember Jesus' words There is more happiness in giving than in receiving"

When he finished speaking, he knelt down with them and prayed. Then they took him to the ship

Jesus, please help Gospel workers imitate Paul

Recording

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

 Luke 4.38-44

Jesus went to the home of Simon Peter. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. Jesus was asked to help her. He bent over her, rebuked the fever and it left her. She immediately got up and served her guests

After the Sabbath finished at sunset, everyone who had sick friends brought them to Jesus. Laying his hands on each of them, he healed them

The next morning Jesus got up early and went to a lonely place to pray.  People found him and asked him not to leave the area. But he replied "I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do"

Jesus,  heal my friend ... (name)... who is sick

Recording

For Australia and its alleged open spirit of debate, this is an unprecedented situation. It reveals an aggressive secularism dressed in the moral cause of anti-discrimination justice but with a long-run agenda that seeks to transform our values and, ultimately, drive religion into the shadows. The vanguard for this drive is the same-sex marriage campaign.

Sent by reader
 in Australia

 Jaguar jumps into river and comes up with a crocodile

176. To evangelize is to make the kingdom of God present in our world. Yet “any partial or fragmentary definition which attempts to render the reality of evangelization in all its richness, complexity and dynamism does so only at the risk of impoverishing it and even of distorting it”.

 I would now like to share my concerns about the social dimension of evangelization, precisely because if this dimension is not properly brought out, there is a constant risk of distorting the authentic and integral meaning of the mission of evangelization. 

My regular article in today's Ming Pao newspaper
with the topic: Don't buy air ticket from travel agency?
is on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK".
Free access to article with recording today from about noon to 8pm HK time. Text without recording

The offending air ticket   ..... and .... what was available on internet

To go with Pope's visit to mosque in Central African Republic:

An Iman, a bishop and a Rabbi used to get together each week in a coffee shop.
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. 
A real challenge would be to preach to a bear.

One thing led to another and they decided to do an experiment.
They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.

Seven days later, they're all together to discuss the experience.

The Iman, who has his arm in a sling, is on crutches, and has various bandages, goes first.
"Well," he says, "I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him I began to read to him from the Koran. 
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly faced toward Mecca, said
an emergency prayer, and he became as gentle a lamb. 

The bishop spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, with an arm and both legs in casts, and an IV drip. In his best fire and brimstone oratory he claimed, " WELL brothers, I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from the Bible! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quick DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb."

They both looked down at the rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. 
He was in a body cast and traction with IV's and monitors running in and out of him. He was in bad shape.

The Rabbi looks up and says, "Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best way to start."

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

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 1st of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Congo

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Boko Haram 

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)

"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation

150 world leaders attending!
O Holy Spirit, please bless Paris climate change summit starting today! 

141. Economic growth, for its part, tends to produce predictable reactions and a certain standardization with the aim of simplifying procedures and reducing costs. This suggests the need for an “economic ecology” capable of appealing to a broader vision of reality. 

The protection of the environment is in fact “an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it”.[114]

 We urgently need a humanism capable of bringing together the different fields of knowledge, including economics, in the service of a more integral and integrating vision.

Today, the analysis of environmental problems cannot be separated from the analysis of human, family, work-related and urban contexts, nor from how individuals relate to themselves, which leads in turn to how they relate to others and to the environment. There is an interrelation between ecosystems and between the various spheres of social interaction, demonstrating yet again that “the whole is greater than the part”.[115]

Pope in CAR - BBC + video

Pope: I come as pilgrim of peace

Pope in camp for the displaced 

Pope visits Uganda poor and sick
 I appeal to all parishes and communities in Uganda – and the rest of Africa – not to forget the poor.  The Gospel commands us to go out to the peripheries of society, and to find Christ in the suffering and those in need.  Our parishes must not close their doors, or their ears, to the cry of the poor.

c.f. readings for feast of Saint Andrew

Isaiah 51-52

Pay attention to me, you peoples.
Listen to me, you nations.

The islands put their hope in the Lord. They put their trust in his strength.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace and salvation, and tells Zion "Your God is king!"

Break into shouts of joy, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord is redeeming his people.

All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
My recording of this reading

Psalm  117  

O Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Acclaim him, all you peoples!

Strong is his love for us.
He is faithful for ever.

May all the nations love and praise you, Lord

Recording

John 6.1-15 (a)

Near the Sea of Galilee, a large crowd followed Jesus, attracted by the way he healed so many sick people

Jesus climbed a hillside and sat there with his disciples.  Seeing the huge crowd, Jesus said to one of his disciples  "How can we feed so many people?"

The disciple Andrew said "There's a young boy here with 5 loaves and 2 fish. But what good is that for such a huge crowd?"

Recording

John 6.1-15 (b)

Jesus said "Make the people sit down". The crowd of about 20,000 sat down on the grass

Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all the people. He did the same with the fish. Everyone ate as much as they wanted to

The people, seeing this miracle, said "He really is God's great prophet".  Jesus, aware that they wanted to make him king, slipped away and went up the hill by himself

Jesus, please bless my prayers and actions to help others,
just as you blessed the loaves and fish

Recording

Answering the Call
Have you ever dropped your "nets" to follow Jesus?

Why Lan Kwai Fong has seen a surge in African drug dealers
 - SCMP goes undercover with the Hong Kong police

Shenzhen driver jailed for six years after HK account he set up laundered HK$2.5b 
- a simple man who was tricked ...I got to know him well over the past two years

175. The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer. It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith.

 Evangelization demands familiarity with God’s word, which calls for dioceses, parishes and Catholic associations to provide for a serious, ongoing study of the Bible, while encouraging its prayerful individual and communal reading.

 We do not blindly seek God, or wait for him to speak to us first, for “God has already spoken, and there is nothing further that we need to know, which has not been revealed to us”. Let us receive the sublime treasure of the revealed word.

Check "the Jesus smile" that comes to Pope's face as he sees children - in video at top right of today's menu.
And notice in same video: Pope not afraid to go walkabout in a war-torn country!

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

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 30th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Haiti

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify ISIS 

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)

"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation
   

139. When we speak of the “environment”, what we really mean is a relationship existing between nature and the society which lives in it.

Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it. 

Recognizing the reasons why a given area is polluted requires a study of the workings of society, its economy, its behaviour patterns, and the ways it grasps reality. 

Given the scale of change, it is no longer possible to find a specific, discrete answer for each part of the problem. It is essential to seek comprehensive solutions which consider the interactions within natural systems themselves and with social systems.

We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.

Global Catholic Climate Movement - I have signed the petition

Dialogue between religions essential, says Pope on first day of African tour

Pope calls for ethnic and religious peace during Kenya visit – video

Pope Francis tells Kenya's state house that world faces environmental crisis – video

Pope's Mass in Kenya - Stand firm in faith

Judges 12-13

Jephthah was judge in Israel for 6 years. For the following 25 years,
Ibzan (7 years), Elon (10 years)  and Abdon (8 years) were judges.

After these judges, the Israelites again were unfaithful to the Lord
and so they were oppressed by the Philistines for 40 years.

It was then that the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife
and said to her:

"You are barren and have had no child. But you will soon conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for he shall be dedicated to the Lord from his mother's womb. It is he who will rescue Israel from the Philistines".

The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew and the Lord blessed him.

Dear Lord, please bless all barren women
My recording of this reading

Psalm  23

The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path. He is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil. My cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Thank you, Lord, for being my good shepherd
Recording 

Acts 20.17-21

Paul's journey took him to Meletus where he met the elders of the church from Ephesus. He said to them

"You know what my way of life has been from the first day I arrived among you. I have served the Lord in all humility, facing all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews

I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you. I have preached to you and instructed you, both in public and in your homes, urging everyone to believe in our Lord Jesus"

Jesus, please help me be a bit more like Saint Paul

Recording  

Luke 4.23-30

People in the prayer hall rejected Jesus. "Who does he think he is?" they asked. "He's just the son of Joseph"

Jesus replied "No prophet is ever accepted in his own country"

The angry people then took Jesus by force to the edge of the hill on which  Nazareth  was built. They planned to throw him down the cliff.
But Jesus escaped from them and went away

Jesus, please forgive people who reject you. Please help them accept you

Recording  

Jakarta jails three Hongkongers in drug case

173. Genuine spiritual accompaniment always begins and flourishes in the context of service to the mission of evangelization. 

Paul’s relationship with Timothy and Titus provides an example of this accompaniment and formation which takes place in the midst of apostolic activity. Entrusting them with the mission of remaining in each city to “put in order what remains to be done”, Paul also gives them rules for their personal lives and their pastoral activity. 

This is clearly distinct from every kind of intrusive accompaniment or isolated self-realization. Missionary disciples accompany missionary disciples.

10 years ago today

2005-11-27 Sunday night meal with migrant worker families at Mazenod Centre

Asked while flying to Kenya in his Alitalia jetliner if he was concerned about security risks, the Pope quipped: “I’m more afraid of the mosquitoes.” - in this report

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 27th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Tibet

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 27th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Uganda
(...a happy coincidence...Pope in Uganda today!)

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, on this Muslim day of prayer, please bless all Muslims!

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)

"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation

138. Ecology studies the relationship between living organisms and the environment in which they develop. 

This necessarily entails reflection and debate about the conditions required for the life and survival of society, and the honesty needed to question certain models of development, production and consumption.

It cannot be emphasized enough how everything is interconnected. Time and space are not independent of one another, and not even atoms or subatomic particles can be considered in isolation. Just as the different aspects of the planet – physical, chemical and biological – are interrelated, so too living species are part of a network which we will never fully explore and understand. A good part of our genetic code is shared by many living beings. It follows that the fragmentation of knowledge and the isolation of bits of information can actually become a form of ignorance, unless they are integrated into a broader vision of reality.

After many years of working with asylum seekers and inmates from poor countries, I've prepared a little booklet called "Good News for the Poor". 

Booklet is about to go to printer. If any readers would like to suggest  changes to the text, please email me: jdwomi@gmail.com 

Full text of booklet is here:

Front cover, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, back cover

Comments welcome here

Judges 10-11

The Israelites yet again served false gods, and once more they were oppressed, this time by the Ammonites.

The Israelites appealed to Jephthah to help them. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. His brothers had driven him from home and would not give him a share of their father's inheritance. Jephthah went into exile and became a famous soldier.

Jephthah agreed to help the Israelites after they agreed to make him their future leader.

Jephthah tried to reason with the Ammonite king, but the king refused to negotiate a peace agreement.

The spirit of the Lord then came on Jephthah and he led the Israelites to victory over the Ammonites.

Dear Lord, may your spirit give courage to all leaders

My recording of this reading

Psalm 22 (a)
(This psalm prophesizes Jesus' death. Recommended for people with big sicknesses)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I call to you for help, but day and night you give no reply.

I am a worm and not a man.
Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.

They taunt  me: "He trusted in the Lord, why doesn't the Lord help him?"

Like water I am poured out, my bones no longer connected. My throat is parched, my tongue sticks to my jaws.

Many evil people attack me. They make holes in my hands and my feet. They await my death.

They divide my clothing among them, they throw a dice for my robe.

Recording 

Psalm 22 (b)

Yet I know Lord, that  you are good and holy. I know how you heard the cries of our ancestors and you helped them.

It was you who took me from the womb and entrusted me to my mother's breast.

To you I was committed from my birth, from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Lord, I trust in you even now. I trust you will not scorn my prayer.

Even now I praise you as my Creator. May all the nations know and worship you.

Lord, please help people who are in big trouble right now, especially people whose lives are in danger

Recording 

Luke 4.14-22

Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee. He taught in local prayer halls. His reputation spread

He came to his home town of Nazareth and went to the prayer hall on the Sabbath day as he usually did

He stood up and read these words from the prophet Isaiah: "The spirit of the Lord has been given to me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free"

Jesus then sat down and said to the people in the prayer hall "These words from Isaiah are being fulfilled today even as you listen"

Jesus, please help me be more open to the power of your Spirit.
O Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life

Recording 

Recommended
 by a reader

9/11: Why did Building 7 collapse? - YouTube

Robert Mickens

172. One who accompanies others has to realize that each person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries which no one can fully know from without. The Gospel tells us to correct others and to help them to grow on the basis of a recognition of the objective evil of their actions, but without making judgments about their responsibility and culpability. 

Someone good at such accompaniment does not give in to frustrations or fears. He or she invites others to let themselves be healed, to take up their mat, embrace the cross, leave all behind and go forth ever anew to proclaim the Gospel.

 Our personal experience of being accompanied and assisted, and of openness to those who accompany us, will teach us to be patient and compassionate with others, and to find the right way to gain their trust, their openness and their readiness to grow.

10 years ago today

2005-11-26 Sat night meal with migrant worker families at Marco Polo + thank you CAS for cookies!

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 26th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Xinjiang

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 26th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mozambique

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Al-Qaeda

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)

"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation

137. Since everything is closely interrelated, and today’s problems call for a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis, I suggest that we now consider some elements of an integral ecology, one which clearly respects its human and social dimensions.

Pope Francis' Integral Ecology

There's a new term being bandied about, and it's high time we paid heed: integral ecology.  Whenever the same notion arises synchronously in a number of different contexts -- in this case the Catholic Church, the Occupy movement, the climate movement, and the new-economy movement -- it's an idea whose time has arrived.

POPE TO AFRICA TODAY

Articles in Kenya media
(scroll down)

Kenya awaits Pope Francis

Francis' Africa trip a visit to those 'most suffering,' push for peace

JESUS, PLEASE GIVE POPE FRANCIS A SAFE TRIP TO AFRICA!

Judges 9

Gideon had seventy sons by his wives and concubines. One of his sons was Abimelech, son of a concubine.

Abimelech became king after murdering all but one of his 70 half-brothers. The half-brother who escaped was Jotham.

Abimelech ruled over Israel for 3 years. Then God sent a spirit of discord between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem.

The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech. Abimelech started attacking and destroying their towns.

Abimelech besieged the town of  Thebez. The people of the town took refuge in a tower.

When Abimelech tried to set fire to the tower, a woman in the tower threw down a large rock
which crushed Abimelech's head.

Abimelech got his armor-bearer to kill him with a sword, so that no one could say he was killed by a woman.

Dear Lord, please stop evil people from hurting other people

Psalms 20-21 

May the Lord protect and help you, may he give you your heart's desire and fulfil every one of your plans.

Some trust in chariots or horses,
but we trust in the Lord.

Lord, may our plans and hopes be acceptable to you. Please bless  our plans

Recording

Today's Gospel:

Acts 20.7-12

In the city of Troas Paul and his group joined the local believers for the Breaking of Bread one Saturday night

Paul's sermon went on till the middle of the night. As Paul went on and on, a young man who was sitting on the window-sill, went to sleep and fell to the ground three floors below

He was dead when they picked him up. Paul went down to the boy and prayed over him. The boy came back to life.

Paul kept on talking till dawn. That same day he left Troas

Jesus, is it ok if I pray that someone who has died
will come back to life?

Recording

Luke 4.1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. For 40 days he ate nothing, and was tempted by the Devil

The Devil said "If you are the Son of God, turn a stone into bread".
Jesus replied "Scripture says we do not live on bread alone"

The Devil took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world. "Worship me and they will all be yours" he said.
Jesus replied "Scripture says we must worship only God"

Then the Devil took him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and said "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down and let the angels protect you"

Jesus replied "Scripture says we must not put the Lord our God to the test". The Devil then left him

Jesus,  protect  us from the Devil and all evil

Recording

Chris McDonnell (Wed UK blogger) 

What happens next?

When violence becomes the language that replaces talking, then we have failed

This is disgraceful. I feel so sorry for Cardinal John Tong. He doesn't deserve this .... and in a Catholic institution. What are we supposed to do? Encourage people to follow the gay life style?

Students hold graduation ceremony protest against HK Cardinal’s LGBT stance   (see the comment I posted)

Jesus, please give Cardinal John Tong courage to keep on standing up for family values 
- to save HK from going down this path: Drug abuse raising HIV risk for gay men

China’s official amnesia over the legacy of Hu Yaobang, the man whose death inspired the Tiananmen protests

Hong Kong cricketer Li Kai-ming becomes first Chinese player in Australia's Big Bash League Twenty20 tournament

171. Today more than ever we need men and women who, on the basis of their experience of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit, so that they can protect the sheep from wolves who would scatter the flock.

 We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders. 

Only through such respectful and compassionate listening can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal: the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what he has sown in our lives.

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, Wednesday,  please bless the people of East Asia

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:
On this 25th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Ningxia

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 25th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Comoros

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Al-Shabaab 

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)

"Same-sex marriage" file

Islam File    The New Translation

136. On the other hand, it is troubling that, when some ecological movements defend the integrity of the environment, rightly demanding that certain limits be imposed on scientific research, they sometimes fail to apply those same principles to human life. 

There is a tendency to justify transgressing all boundaries when experimentation is carried out on living human embryos. 

We forget that the inalienable worth of a human being transcends his or her degree of development.

In the same way, when technology disregards the great ethical principles, it ends up considering any practice whatsoever as licit. As we have seen in this chapter, a technology severed from ethics will not easily be able to limit its own power.   

Gideon 8

After Gideon defeated all the enemies of the Israelites, the Israelites asked him to be their ruler.

He replied: "It is not I who shall rule over you, nor my son; The Lord must be your ruler".

After Gideon's death, the people of Israel again began to worship the local idols.  They no longer remembered the Lord who had so often rescued them.

The people were also ungrateful to Gideon's family despite all the good deeds that family had done for Israel.

Dear Lord, please don't let me ever become an ungrateful person 

Psalm 19 
(sun + law = "sun-in-law" psalm)

The heavens proclaim the glory of God, the starry skies are the work of his hands.

The stars can't speak, but they are  God's handwriting. The sun is God's love shining on  the whole world.

The universe is a masterpiece, and so is God's law which shines in our hearts.

The precepts of the Lord enlighten our lives each day. The law of the Lord gives joy and wisdom to our hearts.

The decrees of the Lord are to be desired more than gold, they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

But  often we are unaware of  our errors. Lord, please protect us from making mistakes.

Lord, may the words of my mouth
and the thoughts of my heart  be pleasing to you

Recording

Acts 19.23 -20.1

In Ephesus there was a silversmith who employed many craftsmen making shrines of the local idol, Diana. The silversmith called a meeting of the city's silversmiths and said to them "Not just here in Ephesus, but in many parts of the region, this man Paul has converted many people with his argument that gods made by hand are not gods at all. This is a threat to our trade"

A mob was formed and dragged two of Paul's companions to a local theatre. The town clerk eventually calmed the mob and dismissed them

By now Paul had decided to leave Ephesus. He went to Greece and spent three months there

Jesus, please help people give up the worship of idols made by human hands

Recording

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

 Luke 3.15-22

John the Baptist said to the people "I baptize you with water, but someone more powerful than I will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. I am not fit to undo the strap of the powerful one's sandals"

Jesus then came and was baptized by John. While Jesus was praying after his baptism, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit came down on him in the shape of a dove.

And a voice came from heaven "You are my Son, the Beloved. My favor rests on you"

Jesus, Beloved Son, please baptize me with your Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life

Recording

Elderly people bussed to polling stations during Hong Kong's District Council elections

Coaches and cars out in force to ferry elderly voters to polling stations as speculation runs rampant that the pro-Beijing camp arranged free rides for elderly residents of homes for the aged and rural villages while telling them who to back in the district council elections.

“It is a pity that Francis does not have a Muslim counterpart who could partner him on his missions of peace and reconciliation among religions”

Pope Francis sends video message to Kenya, Uganda
(No mention of Central African Republic ...trip in doubt?)

170. Although it sounds obvious, spiritual accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God, in whom we attain true freedom.

 Some people think they are free if they can avoid God; they fail to see that they remain existentially orphaned, helpless, homeless. They cease being pilgrims and become drifters, flitting around themselves and never getting anywhere.

To accompany them would be counterproductive if it became a sort of therapy supporting their self-absorption and ceased to be a pilgrimage with Christ to the Father

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 24th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Inner Mongolia

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 24th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Zambia

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Boko Haram 

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)