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Islam File
The
New Translation
"Same-sex
marriage" file
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For
the menu of Good Friday, I was going to note that this year Good
Friday was on March 25, which in Christian tradition is the day
when Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb ("The
Annunciation").
I
remembered that the same thing happened a few years ago. And it
set me thinking - that's the sort of perfect timing one would
expect from Heaven .... and what extra suffering it would have
caused both Jesus and Mary.
But
then I remembered how volumes have been written about December
25 not being Jesus' real birthday ... "December 25 was a
pagan festival taken over by Christians" etc. Which
means March 25 would not have been his conception day.
And
then last night I read this: The
date of the first Good Friday which describes how Saint
Augustine and other early Church writers regarded March 25 as
the real date of Jesus conception and death!
"This
is also an indication that the date of the celebration of the
birth of Jesus on 25 December was not taken from the Roman
celebration of “Sol Invictus” but from the earlier Christian
tradition of the date of the death of Jesus"
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The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
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Comments/reflections
welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible |
Judith
7
Holofernes laid siege against the Israelite
mountain town of Bethulia.
Holofernes seized control of Bethulia's water supply springs,
thinking that thirst would force the Israelites to surrender.
For 34 days the siege continued, until the
people of Bethulia were weak from thirst.
The people of Bethulia prayed hard to God for
help.
The leaders of Bethulia planned to hold out for 5 more days
before surrendering.
A feeling of hopelessness hung over the town.
God, help of the helpless,
please help people who are in big trouble
My
recording of this reading 
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Psalms
140-143
Lord, save me from
people who do evil,
you who do justice for the needy.
I have no way out of
this situation.
And no one wants to help me.
Lord, I beg you tonight
to make haste and give me an answer,
for my spirit fails within me.
In the morning let me know your love
for I put my trust in you.
Recording
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Galatians
5.19-26
When
self-indulgence is at work, the results are obvious: sexual
irresponsibility, sorcery, feuds and wrangling, jealousy and
drunkenness
What
the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, truthfulness, gentleness and self-control
You
cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all
self-indulgent desires
Let
us be directed by the Spirit. We must stop being conceited,
provocative and envious
Holy
Spirit, increase your influence in my life
Recording
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John
21.1-14
Jesus also appeared to the disciples at the
Sea of Galilee, when Peter, John and 5 other disciples were fishing. They
had spent all night in their boat, but had caught nothing
In the morning, Jesus stood on the shore,
though the disciples did not recognize him. He called out "Lower your
net on the right side of the boat"
Immediately the net filled with fish. John
realized that the man on the shore was Jesus. John said to Peter "It
is the Lord", and they returned to the shore, which was only about
100 meters away. The net had 153 big fish, but did not break
Jesus had prepared some bread. He also had
some fish cooking on a charcoal fire. He said "Come and have
breakfast"
Jesus, Risen Lord, without you, no fish. With
you, 153 fish. Please help me be more aware of your presence in my life
Recording
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This
letter is so important, I'm going to read it again, one item a
day, hoping I can understand it better and put it into practice
a bit more. Please join me in the re-reading
4.
In 1971, eight years after Pacem
in Terris, Blessed
Pope Paul VI referred to the ecological concern as “a
tragic consequence” of unchecked human activity: “Due to an
ill-considered exploitation of nature, humanity runs the risk of
destroying it and becoming in turn a victim of this
degradation”.[2]
He
spoke in similar terms to the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations about the potential for an “ecological
catastrophe under the effective explosion of industrial
civilization”, and stressed “the urgent need for a radical
change in the conduct of humanity”, inasmuch as “the most
extraordinary scientific advances, the most amazing technical
abilities, the most astonishing economic growth, unless they are
accompanied by authentic social and moral progress, will
definitively turn against man”.[3]
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Please
join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the
week:
Sun:
Africa
Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia Wed:
East Asia
Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific
Frid:
South America
Sat:
Central & North America
Jesus,
today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
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,
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) |
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