Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

How Beijing’s breach of One Country Two Systems’ gave birth to the Hong Kong independence movement
   

I oppose same-sex marriage (and I'm not a bigot)

Today I'm once again due to be in the High Court. I wish a movie could be made about an African drug mule being sentenced in the High Court of HK ...would do a lot to stopping people in Africa being tricked into drug trafficking to HK.

Isaiah 61

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up broken hearts, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison, to comfort people who mourn, to replace their sadness with praise.

I exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God, for as the earth makes plants to grow, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so the Lord will make integrity and praise spring up in the sight of the nations.

Lord, please give comfort and courage to people who are sad

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 

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

1 Peter 4.13-19

If you have a share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because this means you will have an extra share of happiness in the life to come

It is a blessing for you when they insult you for being a Christian.
It means you have the Spirit of God resting on you

People who experience suffering for God's sake, must trust themselves to the grace of the Creator, and keep on doing good

Jesus, give strength to persecuted Christians

Recording 

 Matthew 19.13-15

Some people brought their little children to Jesus.

They hoped Jesus would  put his hands on the children and bless them.

Jesus' disciples told the people to go away and not bother Jesus.

But Jesus said "Don't prevent the little children from coming to me".

Then he put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus, please help all children to know you from their earliest days.
Please don't let parents prevent children from coming to you.

Recording 

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family      Full English text

144: Recording

As true man, Jesus showed his emotions.

He was hurt by the rejection of Jerusalem (cf. Mt 23:27) and this moved him to tears (cf. Lk 19:41).

He was also deeply moved by the sufferings of others (cf. Mk 6:34).

He felt deeply their grief (cf. Jn 11:33), and he wept at the death of a friend (cf. Jn 11:35). 

These examples of his sensitivity showed how much his human heart was open to others.

138: Recording

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.

119: Recording 

In all the baptized, from first to last, the sanctifying power of the Spirit is at work, impelling us to evangelization.

 The people of God is holy thanks to this anointing, which makes it infallible in credendo. This means that it does not err in faith, even though it may not find words to explain that faith. The Spirit guides it in truth and leads it to salvation.

 As part of his mysterious love for humanity, God furnishes the totality of the faithful with an instinct of faith – sensus fidei – which helps them to discern what is truly of God. 

The presence of the Spirit gives Christians a certain connaturality with divine realities, and a wisdom which enables them to grasp those realities intuitively, even when they lack the wherewithal to give them precise expression

What Pope Francis is saying in 119, above, is that Christians have a nose for God's truth!

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 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 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)

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

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

To reflect on yesterday's Gospel ("when you have a special celebration, invite the poor") I Googled "The miracle of the rubbish dump" and enjoyed these two moving videos:  

Story of Christmas 1972

Fr Thomas  

Hard copy of last Saturday's Oriental Daily report about this website's anti-drug campaign:

 

South American cocaine gangs increasingly target Asia-Pacific as US and European markets become saturated

Isaiah 59-60

Arise, shine out, for your light has come. The glory of the Lord is rising on you, though the rest of the world is still in darkness.

The nations come to your light
and kings to your dawning brightness.

People from other lands are coming to you, bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord.

No more will the sun give you daylight, nor moonlight shine on you,

for the Lord himself will be your everlasting light. Then your days of mourning will be ended.

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world. Please give more light to my life.

My recording of this reading

Psalm 19 
(sun + law = the "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 

1 Peter 4.3-5

You spent enough time in the past living a careless life, behaving indecently, drinking all the time, having wild parties

Now that you don't do these things anymore, people can't understand why you've changed, and they tell lies about you

They will have to answer for this to him who will judge everyone at the end of their lives

Jesus, rescue young people from wild party life

Recording 

Today's Gospel:

Today: Feast of beheading of John the Baptist

Mark 6.17-29

Not long after Jesus began traveling and teaching, King Herod arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison.

This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias,  his brother's wife.

During a birthday party for Herod, the daughter of Herodias danced.

Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted.

Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish. Herod then had John beheaded.

Jesus, please give the world good leaders, and protect people from bad leaders like Herod 

Recording 

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family     Full English text

143: Recording

Desires, feelings, emotions, what the ancients called “the passions”, all have an important place in married life.

They are awakened whenever “another” becomes present and part of a person’s life. 

It is characteristic of all living beings to reach out to other things, and this tendency always has basic affective signs: pleasure or pain, joy or sadness, tenderness or fear.

They ground the most elementary psychological activity.

Human beings live on this earth, and all that they do and seek is fraught with passion.

137: Recording

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.

‘Ice’ main factor for 1 in 4 patients in Tai Po hospital having severe mental health conditions

118: Recording

The Bishops of Oceania asked that the Church “develop an understanding and a presentation of the truth of Christ working from the traditions and cultures of the region” and invited “all missionaries to work in harmony with indigenous Christians so as to ensure that the faith and the life of the Church be expressed in legitimate forms appropriate for each culture”.

 We cannot demand that peoples of every continent, in expressing their Christian faith, imitate modes of expression which European nations developed at a particular moment of their history, because the faith cannot be constricted to the limits of understanding and expression of any one culture.

It is an indisputable fact that no single culture can exhaust the mystery of our redemption in Christ

I was in Mobasa in January of this year ....its widespread poverty and unemployment make it an ideal recruiting ground for extremist groups:

Kenya’s seaside looks peaceful, but a murderous war is being waged

Prisoner released for the day to help team win grand final

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 29th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Chongqing

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 29th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mauritania

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)

I spent yesterday morning at the High Court in support of an African inmate being sentenced for drug trafficking ....1.72 kg of cocaine.

After "cuts" (including 6 months for supporting my anti-drug campaign) the inmate received a sentence of 11 years and 2 months.

         I came away sad, resolving to keep up the campaign to try to stop people from drug trafficking to Hong Kong

Polish athlete sells medal to help cancer victim 

10 Reasons Why Transgenderism Is the Family's Worst Enemy

The stress involved with living a lifestyle that violates nature is apparent.... 41% of those who identify as transgender in America have attempted to commit suicide.  

Isaiah 57-58

Tell my people their faults, tell the House of Jacob its sins.

Tell them that their fasting is a sham. Fasting and injustice cannot go together.

This is the sort of fast that pleases the Lord: breaking unjust fetters,
sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering and clothing the homeless poor.

Do this and you will find healing and peace. Do this and the Lord will give strength to your bones.

Lord, please help me do more to help poor people

My recording of this reading

Psalms 17-18

Lord,  when trouble breaks out on every side, please protect and help me.

For you are my strength, my rock, my fortress, my savior.

I love you, Lord who save me because you love me.

Lord, you are my lamp who lightens my life.

I will praise you among the nations.

Recording  

1 Peter 3.8-11

Be agreeable and sympathetic. Love everyone. Have compassion and be self-effacing

Never pay back one wrong with another, or an angry word with another one. Instead, pay back with a blessing

Anyone who wants to have a happy life must banish malice from his tongue; he must avoid evil, do good and seek peace

Jesus, when people are  unkind to me, help me to pray in my heart "Lord, please bless them"

Recording

Matthew 19.1-9

One day some religious leaders put Jesus to the test by asking him
"Is it against the Law of Moses for a man to divorce his wife?"

Jesus replied "God created male and female, for the two to become united as one body.  What God has united, no one should separate."

The leaders then asked "But why did Moses allow divorce?"

Jesus replied "Moses allowed divorce because people were so hard of heart.  But divorce was not God's plan.

So I say to you, anyone who walks out on their partner and marries someone else, is guilty of adultery".

Jesus, please help married people stay together

Recording  

China has all but ended the charade of a peaceful rise

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family      Full English text

141: Recording

Finally, let us acknowledge that for a worthwhile dialogue we have to have something to say. 

This can only be the fruit of an interior richness nourished by reading, personal reflection, prayer and openness to the world around us.

Otherwise, conversations become boring and trivial. 

When neither of the spouses works at this, and has little real contact with other people, family life becomes stifling and dialogue impoverished.
 

135: Recording

Certainly, these issues require constant attention and a concern for their ethical implications. A broad, responsible scientific and social debate needs to take place, one capable of considering all the available information and of calling things by their name.

It sometimes happens that complete information is not put on the table; a selection is made on the basis of particular interests, be they politico-economic or ideological. This makes it difficult to reach a balanced and prudent judgement on different questions, one which takes into account all the pertinent variables. 

Discussions are needed in which all those directly or indirectly affected (farmers, consumers, civil authorities, scientists, seed producers, people living near fumigated fields, and others) can make known their problems and concerns, and have access to adequate and reliable information in order to make decisions for the common good, present and future.

This is a complex environmental issue; it calls for a comprehensive approach which would require, at the very least, greater efforts to finance various lines of independent, interdisciplinary research capable of shedding new light on the problem.

117a: Recording

When properly understood, cultural diversity is not a threat to Church unity. 

The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, transforms our hearts and enables us to enter into the perfect communion of the blessed Trinity, where all things find their unity. He builds up the communion and harmony of the people of God. The same Spirit is that harmony, just as he is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. It is he who brings forth a rich variety of gifts, while at the same time creating a unity which is never uniformity but a multifaceted and inviting harmony. Evangelization joyfully acknowledges these varied treasures which the Holy Spirit pours out upon the Church.

 We would not do justice to the logic of the Incarnation if we thought of Christianity as monocultural and monotonous.

A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwest town he planned to visit on his vacation.
He wrote: I would very much like to bring my dog with me.
He is well-groomed and very well behaved.
Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"

An immediate reply came from the hotel owner, who wrote:

SIR: "I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes, silverware or pictures off the walls.
I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly.
And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill.
Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel.
And, if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too."

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

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)

How much more stupid can the HK authorities become?! This really is putting oil on the fire:

Police can provide assistance to schools if students promote Hong Kong independence

Italy earthquake spotlights lax construction laws

Italian officialdom reflects the values of society, in particular Italians’ generalised contempt for rules of any kind, and the prevalence of lazy officials and apathetic, or even corrupt, politicians.

10 village women in Kenya are this month being groomed for trafficking drugs to HK. 

I have written these two stories to  try to stop the people responsible for the trafficking: 

The story of Sharon

The story of Esther

Article put in P.I.M.E. magazine by kind visitor of two Sundays ago:

Con padre John nei bassifondi di Hong Kong - Mondo e Missione Missionario degli Oblati di Maria Immacolata, espulso dalla Cina continentale, padre Wotherspoon da un piccolo a    

Isaiah 56

Foreigners who love and serve the Lord - these I will bring to my holy mountain, says the Lord.

I will make them joyful in my house of prayer, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.

Lord, please help all peoples of the world know that you are their loving Creator

My recording of this reading

Psalm 16

Please protect me, Lord, I take refuge in you. You are the only source of all true happiness.

I bless you, Lord, who guide and lead me. Even at night you direct my heart.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad. My body shall rest in safety now and always.

You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand, happiness for ever.

Thank you, Lord, for the little joys you give us each day .... and the big joy you've prepared for us in Heaven.

Recording  

1 Peter 3.1-7

Wives, honor and respect your husbands. If some husbands  are not yet believers, they may find themselves won over to the Lord, without a word spoken, by the goodness of their wives

Wives, do not dress up for show: special hair style, gold bracelets, expensive clothes - all outside stuff

What matters is what's inside: a sweet and gentle disposition - that's what God likes

Husbands, be kind and thoughtful to your wives, respecting them as equals

Jesus, help husbands and wives imitate your love

Recording

Matthew 18.21-35

Peter asked Jesus "How many times must I forgive someone?
7 times?"  Jesus answered "Not 7, but 77 times.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a king who cancelled the huge debt of one of his servants.

But that same servant refused to cancel the tiny debt of one of his fellow servants.

So the king said to the servant:
'When you appealed to me, I had pity on you and cancelled your big debt.  But you refused to have pity on your fellow servant who asked you for mercy. Therefore you must now go to prison until your big debt is paid.'

If you refuse to forgive other people, you are making yourself ineligible for God's forgiveness."

Jesus, please help me to forgive other people, just as you forgive me .... many times each day

Recording  

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family      Full English text

140: Recording

Show affection and concern for the other person.

 Love surmounts even the worst barriers. 

When we love someone, or when we feel loved by them, we can better understand what they are trying to communicate.

 Fearing the other person as a kind of “rival” is a sign of weakness and needs to be overcome. 

It is very important to base one’s position on solid choices, beliefs or values, and not on the need to win an argument or to be proved right.

134: Recording

Although no conclusive proof exists that GM cereals may be harmful to human beings, and in some regions their use has brought about economic growth which has helped to resolve problems, there remain a number of significant difficulties which should not be underestimated.

In many places, following the introduction of these crops, productive land is concentrated in the hands of a few owners due to “the progressive disappearance of small producers, who, as a consequence of the loss of the exploited lands, are obliged to withdraw from direct production”.[113] The most vulnerable of these become temporary labourers, and many rural workers end up moving to poverty-stricken urban areas. 

The expansion of these crops has the effect of destroying the complex network of ecosystems, diminishing the diversity of production and affecting regional economies, now and in the future.

In various countries, we see an expansion of oligopolies for the production of cereals and other products needed for their cultivation. This dependency would be aggravated were the production of infertile seeds to be considered; the effect would be to force farmers to purchase them from larger producers.

116:  

In the first two Christian millennia, countless peoples have received the grace of faith, brought it to flower in their daily lives and handed it on in the language of their own culture.

 Whenever a community receives the message of salvation, the Holy Spirit enriches its culture with the transforming power of the Gospel.

 The history of the Church shows that Christianity does not have simply one cultural expression, but rather, “remaining completely true to itself, with unswerving fidelity to the proclamation of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church, it will also reflect the different faces of the cultures and peoples in which it is received and takes root”.   Recording

 In the diversity of peoples who experience the gift of God, each in accordance with its own culture, the Church expresses her genuine catholicity and shows forth the “beauty of her varied face”.

In the Christian customs of an evangelized people, the Holy Spirit adorns the Church, showing her new aspects of revelation and giving her a new face.

 Through inculturation, the Church “introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community”, for “every culture offers positive values and forms which can enrich the way the Gospel is preached, understood and lived”.

 In this way, the Church takes up the values of different cultures and becomes sponsa ornata monilibus suis, “the bride bedecked with her jewels” (cf. Is 61:10)”.  Recording

When I went for a hair cut yesterday ...to my regular Pakistan barber ...another Pakistani in the shop recognized me from prison visits .... and asked me to write a support letter for him (he's out on bail) ... which I did on the spot ...as a result of which he insisted on paying for my haircut...... hope this was not accepting a bribe in the line of duty?!

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 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 Togo

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)

Isaiah 54-55

Though the mountains may fall and the hills turn to dust, the love of the Lord will never cease.

O come to the water, all you are thirsty, though you have no money, come.

Why spend your money on what is useless, your wages on what fails to satisfy?

Seek the Lord while he is to be found. Call to him while he is near.

Lord,  please help us give more time to things that are important
.... and less time to things that are not so important.

My recording of this reading

Psalms 14-15

So many people live and act as if God doesn't exist.

Some foolish people even say there is no God.

So many people have left the way of justice and truth.

So many people follow the way of falsehood.

Lord, help us to live as we should.

Help us not to slander, help us not to wrong others.

Lord, help us to stand firm in the way of goodness

Recording

1 Peter 2.19-25

If you are treated unfairly, put up with it for the sake of God

Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow. He had done nothing wrong. He was insulted and tortured, but did not retaliate

He bore our sins in his own body on the Cross, so that we might die to sin and live for holiness

Through his wounds you have been healed. You were like straying sheep, but now have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls

Jesus, please help me put up with difficulties for your sake

Recording

Matthew 18.1-10

One day Jesus heard his disciples arguing about which one of them was the most important.

Jesus got a little child to sit in front of them, and said "If you want to be great in God's eyes, become child-like. In fact, unless you become child-like, you won't get to heaven.

And make sure you never cause harm to children like this one.
Remember, the protecting angels of children are in the presence of my Father in heaven."

Jesus, please help me to be more child-like, and please don't let me ever cause harm to children

Recording

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family      Full English text

139: Recording

Keep an open mind. Don’t get bogged down in your own limited ideas and opinions, but be prepared to change or expand them.

The combination of two different ways of thinking can lead to a synthesis that enriches both.

The unity that we seek is not uniformity, but a “unity in diversity”, or “reconciled diversity”.

Fraternal communion is enriched by respect and appreciation for differences within an overall perspective that advances the common good. 

We need to free ourselves from feeling that we all have to be alike.

A certain astuteness is also needed to prevent the appearance of “static” that can interfere with the process of dialogue.

For example, if hard feelings start to emerge, they should be dealt with sensitively, lest they interrupt the dynamic of dialogue.

The ability to say what one is thinking without offending the other person is important. 

Words should be carefully chosen so as not to offend, especially when discussing difficult issues.

Making a point should never involve venting anger and inflicting hurt. 

A patronizing tone only serves to hurt, ridicule, accuse and offend others.

Many disagreements between couples are not about important things. Mostly they are about trivial matters. What alters the mood, however, is the way things are said or the attitude with which they are said.

133: Recording 

It is difficult to make a general judgement about genetic modification (GM), whether vegetable or animal, medical or agricultural, since these vary greatly among themselves and call for specific considerations.

The risks involved are not always due to the techniques used, but rather to their improper or excessive application. Genetic mutations, in fact, have often been, and continue to be, caused by nature itself. 

Nor are mutations caused by human intervention a modern phenomenon. The domestication of animals, the crossbreeding of species and other older and universally accepted practices can be mentioned as examples.

We need but recall that scientific developments in GM cereals began with the observation of natural bacteria which spontaneously modified plant genomes. 

In nature, however, this process is slow and cannot be compared to the fast pace induced by contemporary technological advances, even when the latter build upon several centuries of scientific progress.

115: Recording

The People of God is incarnate in the peoples of the earth, each of which has its own culture. 

The concept of culture is valuable for grasping the various expressions of the Christian life present in God’s people. It has to do with the lifestyle of a given society, the specific way in which its members relate to one another, to other creatures and to God.

 Understood in this way, culture embraces the totality of a people’s life. Each people in the course of its history develops its culture with legitimate autonomy. This is due to the fact that the human person, “by nature stands completely in need of life in society” and always exists in reference to society, finding there a concrete way of relating to reality. The human person is always situated in a culture: “nature and culture are intimately linked”

 Grace supposes culture, and God’s gift becomes flesh in the culture of those who receive it.

Not a true story: a man got caught in the rapidly closing doors of HK's MTR (metro)....so he started yelling and calling out....just as the usual announcement was made over the station's public address system: "please stand back from the scream (...screen..) doors" !

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 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-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)

I spent another long day in prison yesterday - this time at Tai Lam Women's Centre ...making more discoveries of groups of women who were "set up" to carry drugs to Hong Kong .... in nearly every case ....sadly....by Nigerians in different part of the world

Chinese community petition against Safe Schools lodged in NSW

A beautiful story - I read it right through:

Anthony Albanese's long-held family secret

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

The River  What is the pull that water, especially running water, has over us?

And a lovely poem: Come again

Isaiah 52-53 (a)

See, my servant will prosper, he shall be lifted up and exalted.

As the crowds were appalled on seeing him - so disfigured did he look - so will the crowds be astonished at him, for they will see something that has never happened before.

Without beauty, without majesty,  we saw him. He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. He was despised and we took no account of him.

And yet ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried.

Isaiah 52-53 (b)

He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins.

On him lies a punishment that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep,
and the Lord burdened him with our sins.

Harshly dealt with, he bore it humbly, never opening his mouth.

He let himself be taken for a sinner, and all the time he was suffering and praying for sinners.

Jesus, these words refer to you.
Thank you for all you suffered to redeem the world.

1 Peter 2.11-15

Keep yourselves free from selfish passions that attack the soul.

Behave honorably among non-Christians, even if they treat you badly

For the sake of the Lord, accept the authority of every social institution. God wants you to be good citizens

Jesus, bless government officials in our country. Give them good health, courage and wisdom

Recording 

for Feast of St Bartholomew:

John 1.35-51

John the Baptist told his disciples Andrew and John that Jesus was the Chosen One of God.  Andrew and John then followed Jesus

Andrew took his brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter, and Peter followed Jesus

Jesus met  Philip and said to him "Follow me".  Philip called one more man, Nathanael (Bartholomew) and said to him "we have found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth"

Jesus, please help me introduce more people to know and love you

Recording 

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family     Full English text

138: Recording

Develop the habit of giving real importance to the other person. 

This means appreciating them and recognizing their right to exist, to think as they do and to be happy. 

Never down-play what they say or think, even if you need to express your own point of view.

 Everyone has something to contribute, because they have their life experiences, they look at things from a different standpoint and they have their own concerns, abilities and insights. 

We ought to be able to acknowledge the other person’s truth, the value of his or her deepest concerns, and what it is that they are trying to communicate, however aggressively.

 We have to put ourselves in their shoes and try to peer into their hearts, to perceive their deepest concerns and to take them as a point of departure for further dialogue.

For George Soros, Ireland abortion fight may be first step against Catholic countries

132: Recording 

This, then, is the correct framework for any reflection concerning human intervention on plants and animals, which at present includes genetic manipulation by biotechnology for the sake of exploiting the potential present in material reality. 

The respect owed by faith to reason calls for close attention to what the biological sciences, through research uninfluenced by economic interests, can teach us about biological structures, their possibilities and their mutations. 

Any legitimate intervention will act on nature only in order “to favour its development in its own line, that of creation, as intended by God”.[112]

African migrants in Australia report worst discrimination, diversity study reveals

114: Recording

Being Church means being God’s people, in accordance with the great plan of his fatherly love.

 This means that we are to be God’s leaven in the midst of humanity.

 It means proclaiming and bringing God’s salvation into our world, which often goes astray and needs to be encouraged, given hope and strengthened on the way.

 The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.

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 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 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)

My article in today's Ming Pao newspaper with the topic: 
Hong Kong independence?
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

Eight years on from Beijing 2008, an Olympic summer of love has turned sour in Hong Kong
   

        Yesterday I spent eight hours - from 10.15a.m. to 6.15p.m - at Lo Wu Women's Correctional Institution. Tomorrow I'm due to spend the day at Tai Lam Women's Centre.

I used to spend very little time at the women's prisons, but now I need to spend more time for a sad reason: the drug lords in various parts of the world are these days using woman as drug mules most of the time. Female drug mules this year out-number males

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.

Lord, may more and more people in more and more countries know you and love you.

Psalms 9-13

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart. You have so often rescued me from trouble. Thank you!

You are the best helper for people in trouble. Please keep on helping me when troubles come.

Please stop bad people from hurting others. Please let peoples in all countries know they must avoid evil and live a life of justice.

Dear Lord,  thank you for so often rescuing me

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

1 Peter 2.4-9

Jesus is Mr Livingstone, the living stone rejected by men, but chosen by God.  Stay close to him, so that you too may be living stones in the spiritual house of God's church

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light

Jesus, you are the foundation stone of my life. May I build my life on your teaching, your values, your example

Recording 

 Matthew 17.14-20

A man went down on his knees and pleaded with Jesus:

"Lord, please help my son. He is crazy and does crazy things like falling into fire and into water.
I asked  your disciples to heal him but they were not able to."

There was an evil spirit oppressing the boy, so Jesus ordered the spirit to leave the boy. The boy was healed immediately.

Jesus' disciples asked him "Why were we unable to expel that spirit?"

Jesus answered "Because your faith is not strong enough."

Jesus, please increase my faith, so that my prayers can be of more help to other people

Recording 

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family      Full English text

137: Recording

Take time, quality time. This means being ready to listen patiently and attentively to everything the other person wants to say.

 It requires the self-discipline of not speaking until the time is right.

 Instead of offering an opinion or advice, we need to be sure that we have heard everything the other person has to say. 

This means cultivating an interior silence that makes it possible to listen to the other person without mental or emotional distractions.

 Do not be rushed. Put aside all of your own needs and worries, and make space.

 Often the other spouse does not need a solution to his or her problems, but simply to be heard, to feel that someone has acknowledge their pain, their disappointment, their fear, their anger, their hopes and their dreams. 

How often we hear complaints like: “He does not listen to me.” “Even when you seem to, you are really doing something else.” “I talk to her and I feel like she can’t wait for me to finish.” “When I speak to her, she tries to change the subject, or she gives me curt responses to end the conversation”.

Pope's critique of 'gender theory' emboldens bishops to speak out

131: Recording

Here I would recall the balanced position of Saint John Paul II, who stressed the benefits of scientific and technological progress as evidence of “the nobility of the human vocation to participate responsibly in God’s creative action”, while also noting that “we cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention to the consequences of such interference in other areas”.[109]

He made it clear that the Church values the benefits which result “from the study and applications of molecular biology, supplemented by other disciplines such as genetics, and its technological application in agriculture and industry”.[110]

But he also pointed out that this should not lead to “indiscriminate genetic manipulation”[111] which ignores the negative effects of such interventions. 

Human creativity cannot be suppressed. If an artist cannot be stopped from using his or her creativity, neither should those who possess particular gifts for the advancement of science and technology be prevented from using their God-given talents for the service of others. We need constantly to rethink the goals, effects, overall context and ethical limits of this human activity, which is a form of power involving considerable risks.

113: Recording 

 The salvation which God has wrought, and the Church joyfully proclaims, is for everyone. God has found a way to unite himself to every human being in every age. He has chosen to call them together as a people and not as isolated individuals.

 No one is saved by himself or herself, individually, or by his or her own efforts. God attracts us by taking into account the complex interweaving of personal relationships entailed in the life of a human community. 

This people which God has chosen and called is the Church. Jesus did not tell the apostles to form an exclusive and elite group. He said: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).

 Saint Paul tells us in the people of God, in the Church, “there is neither Jew or Greek... for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

 To those who feel far from God and the Church, to all those who are fearful or indifferent, I would like to say this: the Lord, with great respect and love, is also calling you to be a part of his people!

10 years ago today

2006-08-23 Hong Kong, Notre Dame: Happy fund-raising group from St Edward's Parish

UK criminals use drones to smuggle drugs, phones into 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, 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 

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)

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

Islam File    The New Translation

"Same-sex marriage" file

Healthy living in unhealthy environment

Hong Kong has a radio activity level double that of Japan after the nuclear meltdown at Fukushima !

Christine Aquino went home to the other side of the veil last night in Manila.

Sincere sympathy to her dear family .... and many thanks to so many dear friends who helped her in HK and prayed for her.

Thank you Jesus for the privilege of knowing Christine. May her prayers in Heaven help us on this side of the veil.

Isaiah 50

The Lord has opened my ear to hear his message. The Lord has given me words to proclaim his message.

For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.

I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard.

I did not protect my face from insult and spittle.

I set my face like flint. The Lord will help me.

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

My recording of this reading

Psalm 7

Lord God, I take refuge in you.
Please rescue me from people who are trying to hurt me.

Lord, please stop bad people from doing bad things.

Please help good people to keep on doing good things.

Lord, I will sing to you and thank you for your goodness to me.

Lord, please help me to avoid evil and to do good

Recording 

1 Peter 1.13 - 2.3

Delete rubbish from your minds. Control your thinking.

Trust more in Jesus. Live the way he wants you to live, not like the way you used to live before you learnt the truth. Be good and holy

Let your love for each other be real and from the heart

You are born again by the everlasting word of the living God

Never be spiteful, or deceitful, or hypocritical or envious and critical of each other

Jesus, help me live the way you want me to live

Recording 

Matthew 16.21-28

Jesus now began explaining to his disciples how he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise from the dead.

He also said "If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your own cross, and follow me.

Selfishness will ruin your life.
Self-sacrificing will bless your life.

What use is it to have everything in this world yet miss out on Heaven?"

Jesus, please help me find my life by losing it in service of others

Recording 

The Joy of Love - Pope Francis' letter - on love in the family     Full English text

136: Recording

Dialogue is essential for experiencing, expressing and fostering love in marriage and family life.

 Yet it can only be the fruit of a long and demanding apprenticeship. 

Men and women, young people and adults, communicate differently. 

They speak different languages and they act in different ways.

 Our way of asking and responding to questions, the tone we use, our timing and any number of other factors condition how well we communicate. 

We need to develop certain attitudes that express love and encourage authentic dialogue.

130: Recording

In the philosophical and theological vision of the human being and of creation which I have presented, it is clear that the human person, endowed with reason and knowledge, is not an external factor to be excluded. 

While human intervention on plants and animals is permissible when it pertains to the necessities of human life, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that experimentation on animals is morally acceptable only “if it remains within reasonable limits [and] contributes to caring for or saving human lives”.[106]

The Catechism firmly states that human power has limits and that “it is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly”.[107] All such use and experimentation “requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation”.[108]

112: Recording

The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him.[79] He sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives.

 The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as the sacrament of the salvation offered by God.[80] Through her evangelizing activity, she cooperates as an instrument of that divine grace which works unceasingly and inscrutably. 

Benedict XVI put it nicely at the beginning of the Synod’s reflections: “It is important always to know that the first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, only begging for this divine initiative, shall we too be able to become – with him and in him – evangelizers”.[81] 

This principle of the primacy of grace must be a beacon which constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.

Christine, thank you for so many smiles over the past 6 months ... maybe the best one was when I offered you a plastic bag at HK airport while you were waiting for your flight to Manila ....when you started vomiting ...only to find that the bag had a hole in it ....and your lovely new dress received some extra colors. 

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 Zheziang

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 

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)