Letter in Swahili from a Tanzanian inmate in a HK prison for drug trafficking.

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file 

244. In the meantime, we come together to take charge of this home which has been entrusted to us, knowing that all the good which exists here will be taken up into the heavenly feast.

 In union with all creatures, we journey through this land seeking God, for “if the world has a beginning and if it has been created, we must enquire who gave it this beginning, and who was its Creator”.[172]

 Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.   

Letter in English from a South African inmate in a HK prison, charged with drug trafficking. I hope letters like these letters will help stem the flow of South Africans bringing drugs to Hong Kong.

Psalm 71

In you, O Lord, I take refuge. Please hear me and help me.

Be a rock where I can take refuge.
Rescue me from people who want to hurt me.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope. In you I have trusted since I was young.

From my mother's womb you have been my help. My hope has always been in you.

Now that I am old, please do not forget me. Now that my strength fails, do not abandon me.

To you I will sing with the harp.
All day long my tongue will tell of your goodness to me.

Jesus, please help me understand how these words refer to you

Recording  

Acclamation

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

John 13.21-30

Jesus became visibly upset and said to his disciples at the meal
"One of you is going to betray me. It is the one to whom I give a piece of bread  that I have dipped in the dish"

He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas Iscariot. Immediately, Satan entered Judas

Jesus said to Judas "What you are going to do, do quickly". Judas left the meal. Night had fallen

Jesus, please don't let me ever be disloyal to you

Recording   

'Living in hell' - Mentally ill people in Indonesia chained and confined

262  Spirit-filled evangelizers are evangelizers who pray and work.

 Mystical notions without a solid social and missionary outreach are of no help to evangelization, nor are dissertations or social or pastoral practices which lack a spirituality which can change hearts.

 These unilateral and incomplete proposals only reach a few groups and prove incapable of radiating beyond them because they curtail the Gospel. 

What is needed is the ability to cultivate an interior space which can give a Christian meaning to commitment and activity. 

Without prolonged moments of adoration, of prayerful encounter with the word, of sincere conversation with the Lord, our work easily becomes meaningless; we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervour dies out.

Mr. and Mrs. Greenberg go out to see My Fair Lady on stage. This is the most sold out show of the year, and scalpers are retiring on this one.
 Somehow, they've lucked into front row seats. But they notice that in the row behind them, there's an empty seat. When intermission comes and no one has sat in that seat, Mrs. Greenberg turns to the woman sitting next to it and asks, "Pardon me, but this is such a sold out show, and in such demand. We were wondering why that seat is empty."
 The woman says, "That's my late husband's seat."
 Mrs. Greenberg is horrified and apologizes for being so insensitive.
But a few minutes later, she turns around again.
 "Without meaning to be rude or anything, this is an incredibly hard show to get into. Surely you must have a friend or a relative who would have wanted to come and see the show?"
 The woman nods, but explains, "They're all at the funeral."

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 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 Boko Haram 

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

243. At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God (cf. 1 Cor 13:12), and be able to read with admiration and happiness the mystery of the universe, which with us will share in unending plenitude.

 Even now we are journeying towards the sabbath of eternity, the new Jerusalem, towards our common home in heaven.

 Jesus says: “I make all things new” (Rev 21:5). Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place.

"Only a fool says there is no God" 
 (Psalm 14)

Last Friday as I waited for the door of Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre's Religious Room to be unlocked before the weekly prayer service, I watched some feathered jail birds, sparrows, at work - flying in and out through the cage wire, surveying the best location for their nest. 

And I thought to myself how could anyone say that the Universe "just happened" and was not programmed by a unbelievably brilliant Mind? May the tiny birds of our planet remind us of our Creator!

c.f. readings for Monday of Holy Week.
These readings apply to Jesus 

Isaiah 42

Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights.

I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations.

He does not cry out or shout aloud. He does not extinguish the wavering flame.

I have called him to serve the cause of right, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison.

Jesus, Servant of the Father, you are the Saviour of the world

My recording of this reading 

Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my help, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, before whom shall I shrink? Though an army encamp against me, even then would I trust.

There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek. Hide not your face. I am sure I will see your goodness in the land of the living.

Hope in the Lord, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!

Jesus, may we pray this psalm in time of trial, just as you did

Recording  

Acclamation

Recording   

John 12.1-8

Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, for a dinner at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha

Mary put expensive ointment on Jesus' feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair

Judas Iscariot, the disciple who was going to betray Jesus, said "Why wasn't this ointment sold and the money given to the poor?"

He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal from it

Jesus replied "Leave her alone. She is anticipating and honoring my burial. Besides, the poor will always be with you. But I will soon be gone"

Jesus, may we "anoint your feet" by serving the poor

Recording   

   Darlene Starrs (Blogger from Canada)

Worth re-reading on first anniversary of Lee Kwan Yew:
Self-reliance is possible. Tanzania can learn from Singapore
Lee Kwan Yew will be remembered as the man who transformed the tiny Asian country into one of the wealthiest and least corrupt nations

"Let’s face it: It is not lack of knowledge that drags us down but lack of commitment. It is our greed that holds us back when we should be flying high. As things stand, it is a case of everyone is for themselves and no one for us all. This is more so for those who hold privileged positions in government, public and private institutions and even in non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations. Had the Singaporean leader been greedy, his country would not have achieved the level of development it enjoys today. Singapore has been independent for just about the same time as Tanzania, so how come they are developed and we are not?"

Defiant young Hong Kongers are bound to resist Beijing’s meddling and demand independence

261. Whenever we say that something is “spirited”, it usually refers to some interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity.

 Spirit-filled evangelization is not the same as a set of tasks dutifully carried out despite one’s own personal inclinations and wishes.

 How I long to find the right words to stir up enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction! 

Yet I realize that no words of encouragement will be enough unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts.

 A spirit-filled evangelization is one guided by the Holy Spirit, for he is the soul of the Church called to proclaim the Gospel. Before offering some spiritual motivations and suggestions, I once more invoke the Holy Spirit. I implore him to come and renew the Church, to stir and impel her to go forth boldly to evangelize all peoples.

10 years ago today

Last Friday night when I visited an African inmate in a local hospital, I saw that she had been shaved bald (for medical purposes in her fight against Stage 4 cancer). But the air conditioning in her cell was very cold ...so she faced the risk of a head cold ....and needed a beanie to protect her head. When I left her, I visited Christine (see top of today's menu) who at that stage was in an open ward of the same hospital (before returning to her nursing home). Just then visiting Christine was a local Chinese woman ...who had kindly brought Christine a present - a beanie. But Christine already had a head covering (hat) so Christine and the kind local lady agreed the beanie could be given to Dorothy. Providence faster than Amazon!

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 21st of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Yunnan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 21st of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Benin

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

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file   

240. The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the world, created according to the divine model, is a web of relationships.

 Creatures tend towards God, and in turn it is proper to every living being to tend towards other things, so that throughout the universe we can find any number of constant and secretly interwoven relationships.[171]

 This leads us not only to marvel at the manifold connections existing among creatures, but also to discover a key to our own fulfilment. The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures.

 In this way, they make their own that trinitarian dynamism which God imprinted in them when they were created. Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity

Letter in English from a South African inmate in prison in HK. I hope letters like these will slow down the flow of SA drug mules to HK:

Tobit 12

When Tobit's banquet was finished, Tobit wanted to thank Raphael for all his help.

Only then did Raphael tell Tobit and Tobias that he was an angel sent by God to help them.

"I am Raphael, one of the 7 angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.

Never tire of giving God thanks.
And never tire of helping the poor."

Raphael farewelled them, rose in the air, and left them. They praised and thanked God for all he had done for them.

Dear God, thank you for all your love, all your blessings

My recording of this reading 

Let's finish the book of Tobit today
- because special readings tomorrow for Feast of St Joseph, then Holy Week

Tobit 13

Tobit praised and thanked God in these words:

"Blessed be God who lives for ever, declare his praise in every nation.

He is our Creator, our God, our Father. Praise him for all his kindness to us.

My soul rejoices in the King of heaven. Let his praise be sung in Jerusalem and in all nations."

Dear God, may you be known and loved by all the peoples of the world, since all people are your children

Recording  

Tobit 14

Tobit was 62 when he went blind.
He died when he was 112.

After he was cured of blindness,
he continued his custom of helping the poor.

Before he died he said to Tobias:
"Take your family and move to Media, since Nineveh will soon see war and strife. Serve God sincerely, always be willing to help poor people."

After Tobit and Anna died, Tobias moved to Media and lived with Raguel his father in law.

Dear God, please help me imitate Tobit in his kindness to poor people

Recording

John 10.23-38

When Jesus was walking in the Temple, some religious leaders said to him "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly"

Jesus replied "I have told you, but you do not believe me. The miracles I do in my Father's name also witness to who I am. The Father and I are one"

The leaders picked up stones to stone Jesus and said "We will  stone you for blasphemy. You are only a man and you claim to be God"

Jesus replied "If I am not doing my Father's work, then do not believe me. But if am doing my Father's work,  you must know that the Father and I are one. He is in me and I am in him"

Jesus, please help more people believe that you are the Son of God

Recording  

There's still a lot of goodness in this old world:
Hongkongers donate HK$1.6m in 8 hours for family of franchisee killed in 7-Eleven stabbing

Drought and rising temperatures 'leaves 36m people across Africa facing hunger'

Palm Sunday reflection

Pope Emeritus Benedicit XVI

258. Starting from certain social issues of great importance for the future of humanity, I have tried to make explicit once again the inescapable social dimension of the Gospel message and to encourage all Christians to demonstrate it by their words, attitudes and deeds

10 years ago today

2006-03-18,19 Meals with migrant worker families- Marco Polo (+ Hamish & Matt), Assisi,
Mazenod  (my Sunday midday "dinner" used to be a bowl of instant noodles ...and a sausage)

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 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, on this Muslim day of prayer, please bless all Muslims!

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

239. For Christians, believing in one God who is trinitarian communion suggests that the Trinity has left its mark on all creation. Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature “testifies that God is three”.

 The reflection of the Trinity was there to be recognized in nature “when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become darkened”.[170]

 The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure, so real that it could be readily contemplated if only the human gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to read reality in a Trinitarian key.

Chris McDonnell   (Wed UK blogger)

Hans Kung, recognition of a prophet

In the last interview given by Cardinal Martini, and published posthumously, the Cardinal spoke of the Church being 200 years behind the times. Why can’t we listen to prophets whilst they are still alive?

Tobit 11

When Tobias returned home, his parents  were full of joy.

Tobias followed Raphael's instructions and applied the fish gall to his blind father's eyes.

Tobias then peeled away a filmy skin from the eyes and his father Tobit was able to see again.

Tobit and Tobias  joyfully praised God.

Tobit welcomed Sarah and held a banquet for all his friends.

Dear God, please give sight to the blind people I know, just as you gave back sight to Tobit long ago

My recording of this reading

Psalm 135

Praise the name of the Lord,
praise him, servants of the Lord.

Praise the Lord for he is good.
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.

I know the Lord is great. He does whatever he wills in heaven, on earth, in the seas.

Pagan idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

They have mouths but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they cannot see.

Sons of Israel, do not trust in useless idols. Sons of Aaron, trust only in our Creator and Lord.

Dear Lord, please help people who worship idols to know and love you 
Recording

Galatians 4.4-6

When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, and to enable us to be adopted as children of God, brothers and sisters of his Son

The proof that we are children is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries "Abba, Father"

Jesus, help me understand how I have been adopted, how you are my Brother

Recording

Luke 8.42, 46, 56 -58

Jesus said to the people "If God were your father, you would love me, since I have come from God and I speak the truth. You avoid the truth, because your father is the father of lies, the Devil

Abraham rejoiced at the thought of my coming. He saw it in the future and was glad"

The people said "You are not yet 50 years old. How could you have seen Abraham?" Jesus replied "I tell you, before Abraham ever was, I Am"

The people then picked up stones to throw at Jesus for claiming to be God. But Jesus safely left the Temple

Jesus, you who existed as God the Son from all eternity, please increase my love for the truth, and help me avoid lies

Recording

Room in photo in this report - I was there last Monday night .... staff under terrible strain:
‘At critical point’- Nurses urge Chief Executive to address strain on public hospitals

c.f. menu of March 10: ‘Ridiculous’ waiting times as wards at every public hospital exceed capacity.  Yesterday at the Catholic Centre in Central, I bumped into old friend Leo Goodstadt whose powerful book Poverty in the Midst of Affluence has these words: "... it will take till 2021 to restore the number of hospital beds to what they were at beginning of the century" (because of poor government policy)

I watched this over the past few days
- Lennox is good!  
- Dawkins is deluded!

Lennox Vs. Dawkins Debate - Has Science Buried God?

257.  As believers, we also feel close to those who do not consider themselves part of any religious tradition, yet sincerely seek the truth, goodness and beauty which we believe have their highest expression and source in God.

 We consider them as precious allies in the commitment to defending human dignity, in building peaceful coexistence between peoples and in protecting creation. 

A special place of encounter is offered by new Areopagi such as the Court of the Gentiles, where “believers and non-believers are able to engage in dialogue about fundamental issues of ethics, art and science, and about the search for transcendence”. This too is a path to peace in our troubled world.

Yesterday on a train to Sheung Shui for the annual certificate graduation ceremony at Lo Wu prison, I tried, after some reading, to close my eyes for a few minutes of rest ...but could not sleep ....because a man two seats from me was .....snoring ...and loudly!

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 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-Qaeda

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

238. The Father is the ultimate source of everything, the loving and self-communicating foundation of all that exists. 

The Son, his reflection, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary.

 The Spirit, infinite bond of love, is intimately present at the very heart of the universe, inspiring and bringing new pathways.

 The world was created by the three Persons acting as a single divine principle, but each one of them performed this common work in accordance with his own personal property. Consequently, “when we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity”.[169]

Yesterday:  Visit to Ricci Centre by Superior General of the Mercedarian Order  Fr Pablo Ordone, his assistant Fr John, & their HK guide Fr Alberto Rossa CMF

----------------------------------

Letter in English from a Thai inmate in a HK prison. I hope letters like this will slow down the flow of drug mules from Thailand (most of them victims of traffickers) coming to HK

Tobit 9-10

Tobias arranged that Raphael go to Gabael to collect the silver left by Tobit many years before.

Gabael returned with Raphael to Raguel's house and joined the wedding feast.

Realising that his parents would be worried about him, Tobias left for home as soon as the wedding feast was over.

Raguel gave Tobias and Sarah half his possessions and prayed that he would see their children some day.

A happy and grateful Tobias thanked God for all the blessings of his journey to Media

Dear God, thank you for all the blessings of my life

Psalm 134

O come, bless the Lord, all you who serve the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

Lift up your hands to heaven and bless the Lord through the night.

May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made both heaven and earth.

Lord, please  protect my family tonight and every night

Recording 

Galatians 3.26-28

Through faith in Christ Jesus, you are children of God.

When you were baptized, you entered into a special relationship of friendship with Christ

This relationship cancels out old labels like Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. These old labels have been replaced by a new one hanging around your heart: Made in Christ

Jesus, help me better understand our relationship 

Recording 

John 8.12, 31,32

Jesus said to the people "I am the light of the world. Those who follow me will not walk in the dark. They will have the light of life

If you take my words to heart, you will be my disciples. You will learn the truth, and the truth will set you free"

Jesus, give light to my life. Increase my love for your teaching. Help me learn more about truth

Recording 

 'We will teach your kids the new norms' - A warning from Canada
"The gay rights movement is shifting norms in Canada. And with that comes a message to those who won't evolve: your outdated morals are no longer acceptable, and we will teach your kids the new norms."

What Locker Rooms Should Boys Who Identify as Girls Be Allowed to Use? South Dakota's Answer Respects All

256. When considering the effect of religion on public life, one must distinguish the different ways in which it is practiced. Intellectuals and serious journalists frequently descend to crude and superficial generalizations in speaking of the shortcomings of religion, and often prove incapable of realizing that not all believers – or religious leaders – are the same.  Some politicians take advantage of this confusion to justify acts of discrimination.

 At other times, contempt is shown for writings which reflect religious convictions, overlooking the fact that religious classics can prove meaningful in every age; they have an enduring power to open new horizons, to stimulate thought, to expand the mind and the heart. 

This contempt is due to the myopia of a certain rationalism. Is it reasonable and enlightened to dismiss certain writings simply because they arose in a context of religious belief? These writings include principles which are profoundly humanistic and, albeit tinged with religious symbols and teachings, they have a certain value for reason.

10 years ago today

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 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 Al-Shabaab 

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Yesterday afternoon I needed to take Christine (former inmate, suffering from Stage 4 cancer) to a local hospital because of complications in her drainage system ( ..bag..).  I had to admire the hospital staff as they worked with so much dedication and patience to serve a huge number of patients. Many articles about this lately in HK press. I was at hospital from 4pm to nearly 10pm .... Christine admitted for at least a day or two of special treatment. 
So ...please excuse today's mini-menu. Too late to do much more by the time I got home and had a bite to eat.
And ...thank you for continued prayers for Christine (and another inmate also in hospital): 
Jesus, please tsunami them with your healing love!

Tobit 8

Before Tobias went to bed with Sarah, he remembered what Raphael had said. Tobias put some of the fish's heart and liver
on burning incense. The smell of the fish made Asmodeus flee.

Tobias with Sarah then prayed to the Lord: "You are blessed O God of our fathers. Let the heavens and all creatures bless you, you who created Adam and Eve.

I now take Sarah as my wife not for any lustful reason, but out of true love.

Please have pity on us and bring us to old age together."

Then they went to bed.

Meanwhile Raguel, who feared Tobias would die, prepared a secret grave. But when Raguel sent a maid to the room of Tobias and Sarah the maid found they were alive and sleeping peacefully.

Then Raguel too praised God: 
"Thank you, my God, for making me happy. What I feared has not happened."

The next day Raguel prepared the customary 14 day wedding feast.

Dear God, thank you for the many times when we could say
"What I feared has not happened"

Psalm 133

How good and how pleasant it is
when people live in unity.

It is like precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard.

It is like the dew of Hermon
which falls on the heights of Zion.

For there the Lord gives his blessing, life for ever.

Dear Lord, please help all the peoples of the world to live as one family, in unity.

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

Galatians 2.16-20

What makes us God's friends is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ

I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now, not with my own life, but with the life of Christ who lives in me

The life I now live in this body, I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake

Jesus, help me understand how you live in me, and I live in you

Recording 

John 8.12, 31,32

Jesus said to the people "I am the light of the world. Those who follow me will not walk in the dark. They will have the light of life

If you take my words to heart, you will be my disciples. You will learn the truth, and the truth will set you free"

Jesus, give light to my life. Increase my love for your teaching. Help me learn more about truth

Recording 

The macabre truth of gun control in the US is that toddlers kill more people than terrorists do 
Last week, a Florida gun rights activist was shot in the back by her four-year-old son. How much longer will we keep participating in the collective lie that deadly weapons keep us safe?

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 15th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Liaoning

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 15th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Zimbabwe

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

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world.

 Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”.[168] In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity. 

We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity.

 Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else. The law of weekly rest forbade work on the seventh day, “so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed” (Ex 23:12).

 Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.

Tobias 7

When Tobias and Raphael reached Media, they went to the home of their relative Raguel, father of Sarah.

Tobias asked Raguel for Sarah to be his wife. Raguel told Tobias that 7 previous bridegrooms had died.

Tobias repeated his request, and Sarah became his wife. That night everyone prayed for the safety of the couple.

Dear God, please bless everyone being married this month

My recording of this reading

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.  Lord, hear my voice.

If you, O Lord, should  record our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

But with you is found forgiveness. For this we revere you.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for the daybreak.

With the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.

Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its  iniquity.

Lord, please forgive me for all the bad things I have done

Recording 

Galatians 2.11-14

Not long after this, when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him
to his face, since he was in the wrong

He had been accustomed to eating with non-Jews, but when some friends of James arrived - people who insisted that all believers should be circumcised - he kept away from the non-Jews

When I saw that Peter was not respecting the true meaning of the Good News, I said to him in front of everyone "You have no right to make non-Jews adopt Jewish customs"

Jesus, help me understand that it's sometimes ok to criticize top Christian leaders

Recording 

   Luke 23.50-56

Joseph from the town of Arimathaea was a member of the religious leaders' council. He was a good and just man, and had not agreed to the killing of Jesus

Late Friday afternoon, he went to Governor Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He took it down from the cross, wrapped it in a burial cloth, and put it in a rock tomb that had not yet been used

The women from Galilee who had come to Jerusalem with Jesus went with Joseph to the tomb. Then they left to prepare burial spices and ointments. They planned to put these on Jesus' body after the Saturday Sabbath day of rest

Jesus in the tomb, please give eternal life to all the dead

Recording 

The Wisdom of God Triumphs Again!
Todays Gospel Reading is about the woman caught in adultery. Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and the people assemble before him to be taught. While Jesus is there,  the Jewish elders come along and present the woman in question to Jesus. The elder's intention is to entrap Jesus so that they can bring a charge against him. They ask Jesus if the woman should be stoned as according to the law of Moses for her adultery. After some time passes, Jesus says to the elders, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." The woman is not condemned by them or Jesus.  I just love when the Wisdom of God Triumphs!

255.  The Synod Fathers spoke of the importance of respect for religious freedom, viewed as a fundamental human right.

 This includes “the freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one’s beliefs in public”.

 A healthy pluralism, one which genuinely respects differences and values them as such, does not entail privatizing religions in an attempt to reduce them to the quiet obscurity of the individual’s conscience or to relegate them to the enclosed precincts of churches, synagogues or mosques.

 This would represent, in effect, a new form of discrimination and authoritarianism. The respect due to the agnostic or non-believing minority should not be arbitrarily imposed in a way that silences the convictions of the believing majority or ignores the wealth of religious traditions. In the long run, this would feed resentment rather than tolerance and peace.

10 years ago today

A Jesuit, a Dominican, and a Trappist were marooned on a desert island.  They found a magic lamp, and after some discussion decided to rub it.  Lo and behold, a genie appeared and offered them three wishes.  They decided it was only fair that they could each have one wish. The Jesuit said he wanted to teach at the world's most famous university, and presto, he was gone! The Dominican wished to preach in the world's largest church, and presto, he was gone!  Then the Trappist said, "Wow, I already have my wish!"

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 14th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jilin

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 14th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ethiopia

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

Letters from (mainly African) inmates in Hong Kong prisons - and other drug trafficking items:   2016

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 HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)