"Any slight mistake would lead to
punishment or expulsion of the person visiting or inmate
being taken to punishment cell for months.
There was mistreatment of
prisoners, poor teaching, poor clothing, poor legal
representation and poor health.
Fellow
inmates and staff would torture the prisoners to death.
So the Franciscan Missionary Sisters felt the call to
reach out to the suffering and rejected people in
prison" - see story at right: Uganda
|
Islam File
The
New Translation
"Same-sex
marriage" file
|
222.
Christian spirituality proposes an alternative understanding of
the quality of life, and encourages a prophetic and
contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of
the obsession with consumption.
We
need to take up an ancient lesson, found in different religious
traditions and also in the Bible. It is the conviction that
“less is more”. A constant flood of new consumer goods can
baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and
each moment. To be serenely present to each reality, however
small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of
understanding and personal fulfilment.
Christian
spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the
capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that
simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small
things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords
us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to
succumb to sadness for what we lack. This implies avoiding the
dynamic of dominion and the mere accumulation of pleasures. |
When I was in Uganda last
month, I met Sr Margaret Awar, Franciscan, who works in a number
of Ugandan prisons. See her photo, below, and also her report: Franciscan
prison ministry in Uganda
Sr
Margaret is asking help to build a chapel in one particular
prison for people serving life sentences. She needs US$10,000.
If any kind readers would like to help this very special
project, please email me: jdwomi@gmail.com
Uganda
prisons - Facebook
|
|
|
The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
|
Readings
are from Simple
Bible
(which has Chinese translation available) |
c.f.
Readings for "Lent 3"
Exodus
3
The Israelites begged God to free them
from slavery in
Egypt.
God heard their cry and called Moses
to be their leader.
God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and said to him
"I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I have heard the prayers of my people in
Egypt.
I now send you to Pharaoh to win the freedom of my people."
Moses asked what was God's name.
God replied 'I Am who I Am.
Tell the people "I Am has sent me to you".'
Dear
God, God of life, God of Abraham, we praise you Lord.
My recording of
this reading 
|
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
|
1Corinthians 1.18 - 2.9
The language of the Cross doesn't make sense
for some people. But for us it is God's power to save
While the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks
require philosophy, here we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews
an obstacle they cannot get over, to the pagans madness
During my stay with you, I relied not on
philosophy or my own efforts, but only on the power of the Spirit
The wisdom we teach is about things no eye has
seen, and no ear has heard, things beyond human understanding - all that
God has prepared for those who love him
Jesus, crucified Lord, please increase my
faith in you
Recording
|
Daniel
Daring:
Repent
or perish
There
are 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds
in one year. That much time the vinedresser asked from
the owner for the fig tree planted in the vineyard
Chinese
text
|
|
John
2.13-22
Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus went up
to Jerusalem. In the Temple he saw people selling cattle and sheep and
pigeons, with money changers sitting at their counting tables
Jesus made a whip out of some cord, then drove
the sellers out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well. He scattered the
money changers' coins, knocked their tables over, and said to the pigeon
sellers "Take all of this out of here and stop turning my Father's house
into a market"
Some religious leaders asked him "What
sign can you show us to justify what you have done?"
Jesus answered "Destroy this sanctuary,
and in three days I will raise it up". The leaders replied
"It has taken 46 years to build this sanctuary"
But Jesus was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when he
rose from the dead, his disciples remembered his words
Jesus, please don't let churches and prayer
centers become centers of commerce
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, Sunday,
please bless the people of Africa
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
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 28th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Losotho
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) |
Tell
me..what do you think about my
Grandson!”
