Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

217. “The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast”.[152]  For this reason, the ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion.

 It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment.  Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent.

 So what they all need is an “ecological conversion”, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them.

 Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience.
   

Letter from a Kenyan inmate in a Hong Kong Prison - about the danger of being tricked into bringing drugs to HK

May letters like these help to slow down the flow of Kenyan drug mules to HK - as they did the flow of Tanzanian drug mules.

2 Kings 19

King Hezekiah asked the prophet Isaiah for advice. Isaiah said to the king:

"The Lord says 'Do not be afraid of the King of Assyria. He shall not enter Jerusalem. I will protect this city and save it.'"

That same night the angel of the Lord struck the Assyrian camp
with a type of plague which killed thousands of men.

The Assyrians then went back to their own land and did not attack Jerusalem.

Dear God, please protect ....... (the city where I am living now)

Psalms 109-110

O God whom I praise, do not be silent, for people are bombarding me with  words of hate.

They speak to me with lying tongues and attack me without cause.

They repay me evil for good.
While I pray for them, they show me hatred.

I have become an object of scorn.
Help me, Lord my God.

Lord, when people are unkind to me, please give me the grace to pray for them

Recording 

1 Corinthians 12.4-10

The Holy Spirit gives us many different gifts

Some people have the gift of wise preaching. Some people have the gift of an extra strong faith. Some people have the gift of healing sick people.

Some people have other gifts like the power of miracles, prophecy, recognizing spirits, and the ability to speak in tongues

Holy Spirit, please increase your influence in my life. Please give me the gift of (..name...)

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 19.28-40

When Jesus came near to Jerusalem, he sent two disciples to a nearby village to get a donkey colt which no one had ever ridden

Jesus sat on the colt and began the descent from the Mount of Olives down the hill to Jerusalem

The disciples  spread their clothes on the road, and joyfully praised God for all the miracles they had seen. They cried out "Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Some religious leaders told Jesus to stop the disciples from calling out. Jesus replied "If these keep silence, the stones will cry out"

Jesus, you who came in the name of the Lord, we praise and love you

Recording 

237:  To Christians, this principle ("the whole is greater than the part") also evokes the totality or integrity of the Gospel which the Church passes down to us and sends us forth to proclaim. 

Its fullness and richness embrace scholars and workers, businessmen and artists, in a word, everyone. The genius of each people receives in its own way the entire Gospel and embodies it in expressions of prayer, fraternity, justice, struggle and celebration.

10 years ago today

“Hi! My name is Gertrude,” said the lady next to him on the plane.  ”It’s so nice to meet you! I’m flying to New York for my grandson’s third birthday. I’m so excited! I remember when he was just a little thumbkin and now he’s already three!  It’s really hard to believe. He’s the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen! You know what?  Hold on, I think I might have a picture on me.  Let me take a look in my purse, yes, here it is, just look at him, isn’t he adorable. Do you see his dimple on his left cheek? Simply adorable! I could stare at his picture all day.

Oh my, and you should hear him on the phone!  He is just the cutest, he says to me in the cutest voice “Hi Grandma!” It just gets me all teary eyed.”

After what seemed like two hours for the poor man sitting next to her, Gertrude seemed to realize that perhaps she was talking a bit too much. “You know, I feel terrible! Here I am just talking and talking without letting you get in a word edgewise!

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 23rd of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guangxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 23rd of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Djibouti

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)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

216. The rich heritage of Christian spirituality, the fruit of twenty centuries of personal and communal experience, has a precious contribution to make to the renewal of humanity.

 Here, I would like to offer Christians a few suggestions for an ecological spirituality grounded in the convictions of our faith, since the teachings of the Gospel have direct consequences for our way of thinking, feeling and living. More than in ideas or concepts as such, I am interested in how such a spirituality can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world.

 A commitment this lofty cannot be sustained by doctrine alone, without a spirituality capable of inspiring us, without an “interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity”.[151] 

Admittedly, Christians have not always appropriated and developed the spiritual treasures bestowed by God upon the Church, where the life of the spirit is not dissociated from the body or from nature or from worldly realities, but lived in and with them, in communion with all that surrounds us.

Another one from South Africa:
Woman arrested at HK airport for drug trafficking

And one in Kenya:
Nigerian arrested at Nairobi airport, emits 83 pellets of cocaine valued at more than Sh5 million

Why Hong Kong?
Revealed - how Hong Kong became the crystal meth corridor linking mainland China’s producers to the lucrative Australian market

2 Kings 14-18

After the death of Elisha, kings continued to come to power
and be assassinated in Judah and Israel.

It was then that the king of Assyria invaded Israel and Judah.

Hezekiah, king of Judah, a good man, prayed to God for help.

Dear God, please save us in time of trial
My recording of this reading

Psalm 108

My heart is ready, O God. I will sing, sing your praise. Awake, lyre and harp. I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples, praise you among the nations, for your love reaches to the heavens and your truth to the skies.

O Lord, come and deliver us today. Help us with your right hand.

Give us help in difficult situations. With your help we shall be brave.

Lord, we need your help every day

Recording 

1 Corinthians 11.20-26

Concerning the Lord's Supper, this is what I received from the Lord and then taught you:

On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, broke it and said "This is my body which will be broken for you"

After supper he took a cup and said "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Each time you drink this cup, drink it in memory of me"

Until the Lord comes, therefore, each time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you re-enact the death of the Lord

Jesus, help me understand how bread and wine become your body and blood when Christians celebrate the Eucharist

Recording 

Luke 19.1-9

In Jericho there was a wealthy man named Zacchaeus, a senior tax collector. He wanted to see what kind of person Jesus was

But because of his short stature he couldn't see over the crowd.
So he climbed a tree

Jesus saw him up the tree and said "Zacchaeus, come down, because I will stay at your house today"

Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed Jesus warmly. People complained "He's gone to stay at the house of an outcast"

Zacchaeus replied "Sir, I am going to give half of my property to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I'll pay them back fourfold"

Jesus said to him "Today salvation has come to this house"

Jesus, please help more people to want to know and love you

Recording 

Mong Kok rioters may be playing right into the hands of their nemesis, Beijing
Here we have the beginnings of an orchestrated campaign to paint Hong Kong as a dangerous, potential break-away region of the People’s Republic of China.

235:  The whole is greater than the part, but it is also greater than the sum of its parts.

 There is no need, then, to be overly obsessed with limited and particular questions. We constantly have to broaden our horizons and see the greater good which will benefit us all.

 But this has to be done without evasion or uprooting. We need to sink our roots deeper into the fertile soil and history of our native place, which is a gift of God. We can work on a small scale, in our own neighbourhood, but with a larger perspective.

 Nor do people who wholeheartedly enter into the life of a community need to lose their individualism or hide their identity; instead, they receive new impulses to personal growth. The global need not stifle, nor the particular prove barren.

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 22nd of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Zhejiang

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 22nd of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Rwanda

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)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file   

213. Ecological education can take place in a variety of settings: at school, in families, in the media, in catechesis and elsewhere. Good education plants seeds when we are young, and these continue to bear fruit throughout life. 

Here, though, I would stress the great importance of the family, which is “the place in which life – the gift of God – can be properly welcomed and protected against the many attacks to which it is exposed, and can develop in accordance with what constitutes authentic human growth.

 In the face of the so-called culture of death, the family is the heart of the culture of life”.[149]

 In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and care for all creatures. 

In the family we receive an integral education, which enables us to grow harmoniously in personal maturity. In the family we learn to ask without demanding, to say “thank you” as an expression of genuine gratitude for what we have been given, to control our aggressivity and greed, and to ask forgiveness when we have caused harm.

These simple gestures of heartfelt courtesy help to create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings.

Pope urges Mexican prisoners to look to the future The Pope told about 700 inmates gathered in the prison chapel that they cannot undo the past. But he said they must believe that things can change, and that they have the possibility of writing a new story and moving forward

Pope - 'prisoners can become prophets in society'

Pope - ‘no border can stop us from being one family’

John Allen: As pope winds up Mexico trip, thoughts on the big picture

Pope is now back in Rome. Thank you God for giving him a safe trip to Mexico!

2 Kings 6

The king of Aram was at war with Israel. But each time he planned an attack, Elisha warned the king of Israel and the attack was foiled.

The king of Aram therefore sent soldiers to capture Elisha. Elisha prayed to God for help and the soldiers were temporarily
blinded.

While they were blinded, Elisha led them to the king of Israel. The king of Israel asked Elisha "Shall I kill them?"

Elisha told him not to kill them but to feed them and let them go.

After this there was peace for a time between Aram and Israel.

Dear God, please bless our enemies, and help us be kind to them

My recording of this reading 

Psalm 106

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His great love is without end.

They are happy who do what is right, who at all times remember what is just.

When our ancestors came out of Egypt, they forgot the greatness of God's love.

Each time they strayed, God forgave them. But still they continued to forget God who was their saviour, God who had done such great things for them in Egypt.

O Lord, our God, please don't let us forget your love

Recording  

1 Corinthians 10.16-11.1

The cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ. The bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ

Avoid anything to do with idol worship.  It doesn't make sense to share in the table of the Lord and in the table of demons

Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all,
do it for the glory of God

Never do anything offensive to anyone. Try to be helpful to everyone at all times, not anxious for your own advantage, but for the advantage of others, so that they may be saved

Take me for your model, as I take Christ

Jesus, please help me imitate you in my daily life

Recording   

Luke 18.35-43

As Jesus entered Jericho, there was a blind beggar sitting by the road. People in the crowd told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by

So he called out "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me". Some people told him to be quiet, but he just shouted all the louder "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me"

Jesus stopped and asked him "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied "Sir, let me see again"

Jesus said to him "Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you".
Instantly his sight returned, and he followed Jesus, praising God

Jesus, please heal my blind friend ......(name)...

Recording  

Anniversary today of a Chinese Billy Graham who helped thousands of addicts break with drugs: Pastor Hsi. I have read and highly recommend  Pastor Hsi, a struggle for Chinese Christianity

233: Realities are greater than ideas. This principle has to do with incarnation of the word and its being put into practice: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is from God”. 

The principle of reality, of a word already made flesh and constantly striving to take flesh anew, is essential to evangelization. It helps us to see that the Church’s history is a history of salvation, to be mindful of those saints who inculturated the Gospel in the life of our peoples and to reap the fruits of the Church’s rich bimillennial tradition, without pretending to come up with a system of thought detached from this treasury, as if we wanted to reinvent the Gospel. 

At the same time, this principle impels us to put the word into practice, to perform works of justice and charity which make that word fruitful.

 Not to put the word into practice, not to make it reality, is to build on sand, to remain in the realm of pure ideas and to end up in a lifeless and unfruitful self-centredness and gnosticism.

10 years ago today

2006-02-19 Noodles at Assisi, new baby Area C, evening meal for migrant workers at Mazenod

(and ....43 years ago today - DG!)

Yesterday on the ferry from Central to Hei Ling Chau (where I visited some 300 men in the drug treatment centre), an announcement about the ferry stopping briefly at Peng Chau before continuing to Hei Ling Chau was repeated five times ....each time in 3 languages (Cantonese, English and Mandarin). So I said to two of the ferry staff "surely no need for five times", to which they replied "necessary, because some people asleep" to which I thought "only person asleep is guy who has left the recording on permanent replay!"

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 19th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shanxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 19th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Sudan

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)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

212. We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. 

They benefit society, often unbeknown to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread. 

Furthermore, such actions can restore our sense of self-esteem; they can enable us to live more fully and to feel that life on earth is worthwhile.

Pope to young people in hotspot of drug related violence in Mexico

"You have asked me for a word of hope, he continued, and the one I have to give to you, is Jesus Christ. When it seems that the world is crashing down around you embrace His Cross, draw close to Him and please never let go of his hand."  And then the Pope and the young people burst into song and prayer

2 Kings 5

Naaman was an army commander for the king of Aram. Naaman enjoyed success and favor, but he was a leper.

He heard about Elisha and the king sent him to Elisha with  gifts of gold, silver and garments to request healing.

When Naaman reached Elisha's house, Elisha sent him a message: "Bathe 7 times in the Jordan River."

At first Naaman was angry at this message, having expected Elisha to see and heal him personally.

But then he humbly bathed 7 times in the Jordan and his flesh became clean once more.

Elisha declined Naaman's gifts.
But after Naaman left Elisha, Elisha's servant Gehazi caught up with Naaman and deceitfully obtained some silver.

Elisha confronted Gehazi about this and Gehazi became a leper.

Dear God, please heal everyone who has leprosy
My recording of this reading

Psalm 105

Give thanks to the Lord, make known his deeds among all the peoples.

O sing to him, sing his praise. Tell all his wonderful works.

Be proud of his holy name. Let hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

Consider the Lord and his strength. Constantly seek his face.

Never forget how the Lord has helped us in the past, how he has protected Israel from its beginning till now.

Dear God, please help me understand how you have been loving and protecting me since the beginning of my life

Recording

1 Corinthians 9.12-27

I put up with anything, rather than obstruct the Good News of Christ in any way

I make myself all things to all people, in order to save some

All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win the gold medal of eternal life

That is how I run, intent on winning. Therefore I try to stay in top condition, avoiding sloppy living

Jesus, may I run a good race till my last day

Recording

Catholics who actually read the Bible – one woman's online ministry

Luke 18.31-34

Once again Jesus explained to the 12 apostles what would happen to him:

"Now we are going to Jerusalem. Everything written about me by the prophets will happen:  I will be handed over to the pagans. I will be mocked and spat on. I will be scourged and put to death. On the third day I will rise from the dead"

But the apostles had no idea what his words meant

Jesus, especially each Friday, please help me to remember you on the Cross

Recording

Newly-hatched turtles, starry nights and astonishing landscapes:
Adventurer captures stunning images during year-long, 25,000-mile trek around Australia

232:  Ideas – conceptual elaborations – are at the service of communication, understanding, and practice 

Ideas disconnected from realities give rise to ineffectual forms of idealism and nominalism, capable at most of classifying and defining, but certainly not calling to action.

What calls us to action are realities illuminated by reason. Formal nominalism has to give way to harmonious objectivity. Otherwise, the truth is manipulated, cosmetics take the place of real care for our bodies.

 We have politicians – and even religious leaders – who wonder why people do not understand and follow them, since their proposals are so clear and logical. Perhaps it is because they are stuck in the realm of pure ideas and end up reducing politics or faith to rhetoric. Others have left simplicity behind and have imported a rationality foreign to most people.

True statement for all females (... kindergarten...primary/secondary ...young/old adults ....elderly...even prison inmates...): when one goes to the toilet, others also must go!
Also true: most large airlines are flown by a captain, a vice-captain and a first-officer.
? ? ?: some airlines are now flown by an all-female crew

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 18th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shandong

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 18th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ivory Coast

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)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

211 (b): There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is wonderful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle.

 Education in environmental responsibility can encourage ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us, such as avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices. 

All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.

Reports of all Pope's speeches and activities in Mexico - here !

Mexico Day 4 - Pope in Michoacán against 'messengers of death' - speaking out against the drug trade

Pope Francis Slams Mexico's Rich And Corrupt Elite

2 Kings 4

A poor  widow whose husband had been a prophet asked Elisha for help when a creditor demanded her two sons as slaves.

All she had was a small pot of oil, not enough to pay her debts.

Elisha told her to get many jars,
and start pouring oil from the pot into the jars.

As she and her sons did this, the oil did not run out. Elisha told her to sell the oil to pay off her debts.

At another time Elisha  brought back to life a dead child.

He also once brought about a miraculous multiplication of bread.

Dear God,  you once worked miracles by the prayers of Elisha.
Please let  miracles be done in our day.

Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, my soul! Lord God, how great you are. You make the clouds your chariot.
You walk on the wings of the wind.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys. They give drink to all the animals of the field.

You make grass grow for the cattle and plants to provide food for people. You give us wine to cheer our hearts and oil to make our faces shine.

You made the moon to mark the months. The sun knows the time for its setting.   Recording

How many are your works, O Lord. In wisdom you have made them all.

The earth is full of your riches and the sea is swarming with life. All things, great and small, look to you for food. You open your hand, they have their fill.

You send forth your spirit, and life is created. You renew the face of the earth.

I will sing to the Lord all my life.
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.

Bless the Lord, my soul!

 Recording

1 Corinthians 6.18-20

We should respect our bodies as a gift from the Lord. Our bodies are not meant for fornication

Avoid sexual activity that avoids commitment

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Let people know that your body is not something to be profaned

Jesus, please help me avoid sex outside marriage

Recording 

Luke 18.18-23

A young man from a prominent family asked Jesus "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus replied "You know the commandments: you must not commit adultery, you must not kill, you must not steal, you must honor your father and mother"

The man answered "I have kept all these commandments all my life"

Jesus then said "There is still one higher goal: sell all  you own,
give the money to the poor, then come follow me"

But when the man heard this he was very sad, because he was very rich

Jesus, please help me follow you the way you want me to follow you

Recording  

Chris McDonnell (Wed UK blogger) 
Broken Bridges

I recently received this comment in an e-mail from a White Father I know who is visiting Tanzania . ‘During the offertory here, people bring all kinds of gifts apart from cash: often food, soap and household goods of different kinds.   For example, this morning the offerings included two bags of cement, half a dozen mugs and a bottle of Harpic.’  Well, that’s certainly different from an English Parish Church on a Sunday morning, for sure.  

Janani Luwum Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, murdered on this day in 1977. His statue is among the Twentieth Century Martyrs on the front of Westminster Abbey in London.

And: today is election day in Uganda! May St Janani's intercession help Uganda get better leaders!
Can opposition candidates end Museveni's 30-year-rule?

On this day in 1826,  Pope Leo XII approved the apostolic group founded by Eugene de Mazenod ten years earlier in France.  The group then became an international congregation: the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.).
Eugene put Pope Francis' words into practice: he served the marginalised!

Robert Mickens

231: There also exists a constant tension between ideas and realities. Realities simply are, whereas ideas are worked out. There has to be continuous dialogue between the two, lest ideas become detached from realities.

It is dangerous to dwell in the realm of words alone, of images and rhetoric. So a third principle comes into play: realities are greater than ideas. 

This calls for rejecting the various means of masking reality: angelic forms of purity, dictatorships of relativism, empty rhetoric, objectives more ideal than real, brands of ahistorical fundamentalism, ethical systems bereft of kindness, intellectual discourse bereft of wisdom.

10 years ago today

Saunas, bars and cable TV: luxury world discovered inside Mexican riot prison

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 17th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shaanxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 17th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Malawi

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)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

211 (a): Yet this education, aimed at creating an “ecological citizenship”, is at times limited to providing information, and fails to instil good habits.

The existence of laws and regulations is insufficient in the long run to curb bad conduct, even when effective means of enforcement are present.

If the laws are to bring about significant, long-lasting effects, the majority of the members of society must be adequately motivated to accept them, and personally transformed to respond. 

Only by cultivating sound virtues will people be able to make a selfless ecological commitment. 

A person who could afford to spend and consume more but regularly uses less heating and wears warmer clothes, shows the kind of convictions and attitudes which help to protect the environment.

Cuba - From antagonist to a global diplomatic player  "If it carries on like this, Cuba will become the capital of unity" said Pope Francis

Pope Francis urges Mexico to vanquish drugs scourge

Pope Francis warns Mexico City crowd against 'dialogue with the devil'

Reports of all Pope's speeches and activities in Mexico - here !

2 Kings 2-3

The Lord revealed to Elisha and other prophets that Elijah would be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Elisha said to Elijah "Let me inherit a double share of your spirit."

Then a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

The spirit of Elijah then came to rest on Elisha and he began to do miracles by the power of the Lord.

Holy Spirit of God, please increase your influence in my life

Psalm 103

My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
All my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills. It is he who fills your life with good things, renewing your youth like an eagle's life.

The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy. As the heavens are high above the earth, so strong is his love for those who love him.

As far as the East is from the West, so far does he remove our sins. As a father has compassion on his children, the Lord has pity on all who love and honor him.

Give thanks to the Lord, all his angels, who heed the voice of his word. Give thanks to the Lord, everyone and everything. My soul, give thanks to the Lord!

Thank you, Lord, for your love and compassion

Recording 

1 Corinthians 5.8-11

Get rid of all evil and wickedness from your life. Replace them with sincerity and truth

People who do wrong will not inherit the kingdom of God: people of immoral lives, idolaters, adulterers, catamites, sodomites, thieves, usurers, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers

Some of you were like that once, but now you have been washed clean and sanctified by Jesus Christ and his Spirit

Jesus, help me avoid doing bad things. Help me do more good things

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 18.15-17

People brought little children to Jesus, for him to bless them. The disciples told the people to go away and not bother Jesus

But Jesus called the children to him and said "Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs

I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it"

Jesus, please give all children the chance to know and love you

Recording 

Ice worth AUD$1 billion seized - HK/China arrests
Law enforcement agencies have seized $1 billion of ice in the largest drug bust of liquid methamphetamine in Australia's history. Three Hong Kong nationals and one Chinese national have been charged

Woman from Dubai flight arrested at HK airport for trafficking

I've heard a lot about underground churches in China, but this is my first time to hear about underground banks:
China vows action against underground banks

Vigil for baby Asha at the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital 
Over the last few days hundreds of people across Brisbane joined the vigil outside Lady Cilento Children's Hospital. They're standing in support of 1-year-old baby Asha and her brave doctors, who are refusing to release her into abusive immigration detention. This marks the first time a state government institution has offered sanctuary, and with support from the Premier and health minister.

Ivory trafficking in Africa controlled by a powerful few
(notice mention of Mombasa)

230:  The message of peace is not about a negotiated settlement but rather the conviction that the unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity. 

It overcomes every conflict by creating a new and promising synthesis.

 Diversity is a beautiful thing when it can constantly enter into a process of reconciliation and seal a sort of cultural covenant resulting in a “reconciled diversity”.

 As the bishops of the Congo have put it: “Our ethnic diversity is our wealth… It is only in unity, through conversion of hearts and reconciliation, that we will be able to help our country to develop on all levels”

My regular article in today's Ming Pao newspaper
with the topic: Violence not the way to solve HK's problems
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 

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 16th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Qinghai

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 16th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Afghanistan

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)