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Tuesday
September 6
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Pope
canonises Mother Teresa
On
Pope's orders 1,500 homeless people were brought to Rome
overnight on buses from around Italy to be given seats
of honour at the canonisation |
My article in today's Ming Pao
newspaper with the topic:
Story of A-Mei & greedy HK
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
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Anti-Beijing activists gain foothold in power
HKelections
HK’s political class shaken up by new kids on the block
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Letter from a South African
woman, a mother of two young
children, in prison in HK for drug trafficking. Here
(August 17)
Letter from
a 22 year old man from Peru
in prison in HK for drug trafficking. Here
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The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
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Comments/reflections
welcome here
Readings are
from Simple
Bible |
Jeremiah
8-11
Jeremiah said sorrowfully:
My people have forgotten God.
My people ignore God.
My people follow false gods.
My people have no time for the real God.
Lord, you know how weak we are.
Correct us gently, Lord.
Correct us gently, Lord,
correct us gently
My
recording of this reading
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
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Psalms
29-30
The Lord gives us strength, the Lord blesses
us with peace.
Thank you, Lord, for so often helping and healing me.
I cried to you when sickness surrounded me, and you healed me.
You changed my mourning into dancing.
So I will thank you always. Thank you, Lord, for all the
times you have healed me
Recording
Today's
Gospel: 
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2
Peter 1.20 - 3.18
We must be careful to understand Scripture
according to God's mind.
We are not free to make up our own interpretations as we like
In the past there were false prophets. So
there will always be false prophets and teachers who twist the truth to
suit their own tastes and corrupt behavior. They will have much to
answer for when the Day of the Lord comes
Our brother Paul has written to you about this
issue. Sometimes his writing is not easy to understand, and is distorted by false teachers
Avoid false teaching. Stand firm in the truth.
Go on growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen
Jesus, protect me from people who
distort the Bible message
Recording
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Matthew
21.1-11
Jesus sat on a donkey colt for the trip down
the hill
from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem.
This was as a prophet had
predicted:
"Look, your king is coming, humbly riding a peaceful donkey".
Big crowds accompanied Jesus down
the hill.
People spread their clothes on the road as a sign of honor.
People cut branches from the
trees and waved them singing
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
People in the city asked
"Who is he?"
The crowd answered "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in
Galilee".
Jesus, may you be warmly welcomed by every place and every person in the world
Recording
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Why
did Facebook shut down a conservative group on sexual
issues?
and see
the link in this article to:
Former
Facebook Workers - We Routinely Suppressed Conservative
News |
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The
Joy of Love - Pope
Francis' letter - on
love in the family
Full
English text
151: Recording
To
those who fear that the training of the passions and of
sexuality detracts from the spontaneity of sexual love,
Saint John Paul II replied that human persons are
“called to full and mature spontaneity in their
relationships”, a maturity that “is the gradual
fruit of a discernment of the impulses of one’s own
heart”.
This
calls for discipline and self-mastery, since every human
person “must learn, with perseverance and consistency,
the meaning of his or her body”.
Sexuality
is not a means of gratification or entertainment; it is
an interpersonal language wherein the other is taken
seriously, in his or her sacred and inviolable dignity.
As
such, “the human heart comes to participate, so to
speak, in another kind of spontaneity”.
In
this context, the erotic appears as a specifically human
manifestation of sexuality. It enables us to discover
“the nuptial meaning of the body and the authentic
dignity of the gift”.
In
his catecheses on the theology of the body, Saint John
Paul II taught that sexual differentiation not only is
“a source of fruitfulness and procreation”, but also
possesses “the capacity of expressing love: that love
precisely in which the human person becomes a gift”.
A
healthy sexual desire, albeit closely joined to a
pursuit of pleasure, always involves a sense of wonder,
and for that very reason can humanize the impulses.
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Interactive
Bible Quz - Exodus
Based on the actual words of the Bible.
How many times you can get
3/3 ?! |
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143: Recording
Together
with the patrimony of nature, there is also an historic,
artistic and cultural patrimony which is likewise under
threat. This patrimony is a part of the shared identity
of each place and a foundation upon which to build a
habitable city.
It
is not a matter of tearing down and building new cities,
supposedly more respectful of the environment yet not
always more attractive to live in. Rather, there is a
need to incorporate the history, culture and
architecture of each place, thus preserving its original
identity.
Ecology,
then, also involves protecting the cultural treasures of
humanity in the broadest sense. More specifically, it
calls for greater attention to local cultures when
studying environmental problems, favouring a dialogue
between scientific-technical language and the language
of the people.
Culture
is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is
also, and above all, a living, dynamic and participatory
present reality, which cannot be excluded as we rethink
the relationship between human beings and the
environment.
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A
Sino-Vatican Win-Win? |
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124: Recording
The
Aparecida Document describes the riches which the
Holy Spirit pours forth in popular piety by his gratuitous
initiative. On that beloved continent, where many Christians
express their faith through popular piety, the bishops also
refer to it as “popular spirituality”
or “the people’s mysticism”.
It
is truly “a spirituality incarnated in
the culture of the lowly”. Nor is it devoid of content;
rather it discovers and expresses that
content more by way of symbols than by discursive reasoning,
and in the act of faith greater accent is placed on credere
in Deum than on credere Deum.
It
is “a legitimate way of living the faith, a way of feeling
part of the Church and a manner of being missionaries”; it
brings with itself the grace of being a missionary, of
coming out of oneself and setting out on pilgrimage:
“Journeying
together to shrines and taking part in other manifestations of
popular piety, also by taking one’s children or inviting
others, is in itself an evangelizing gesture”. Let
us not stifle or presume to control this missionary power!
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Gender
equality issue:
Chess pieces ...not right to have king,
queen ...all should be the same ...all pawns (???) |
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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, Tuesday,
please bless the people of South
Asia
And praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 6th
of the month, Jesus
please bless the prisoners of Hainan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 6th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Liberia
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) |
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Monday
September 5
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Canonisation of Mother
Teresa ... I watched it on computer last
night ....very simple yet very beautiful. Saint
Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!
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Bishop Mark Edwards O.M.I. (my former student!):
The Year of Mercy and the prodigal son
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Green
building at back of fire in this report is St Paul's
school where our gathering for the poor last night was
cancelled because of the fire!
Huge blaze at Yau Ma Tei fruit market
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Another
dear friend now in Heaven - A-MING
... died peacefully two nights ago in
hospital
Photos
- many happy memories:
2010-06-05
2010-10-23
2010-10-31
2011-03-05
2011-01-06
2013-07-28
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The
Book Blog
4 readings +
recordings |
|
Readings
are from Simple
Bible
(which has Chinese translation
available) |
Jeremiah
7
At the gate of the Temple in Jerusalem,
Jeremiah proclaimed the word of the Lord:
"You people of Judah who come here to worship,
amend your behavior and actions,
and then I, the Lord, will meet you here in this Temple.
Do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and the widow.
Do not follow alien gods, do not break the Commandments.
If you don't care about bad behavior
and yet keep on coming to my Temple for worship,
your worship is useless
and you are turning this Temple into a robbers' den.
This nation refuses to listen to the Lord.
Sincerity has vanished since worship and behavior are not related."
Lord, please help me "practise
what I preach"
My recording of
this reading
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Psalm
28
To you, O Lord, I call, my rock, hear me.
If you do not heed, I shall become like people in the grave.
Lord, you are my strength and my shield.
In you my heart trusts.
Thank you, Lord, for so often hearing my
prayer.
I will always thank and praise you.
You are the strength of your people Israel.
Save your people. Be our shepherd and carry us for ever.
Lord, please help people who
are in big danger today
Recording
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2
Peter 1.12-18
As long as I am in this passing world, my duty
is to keep on reminding you of the truths we hold dear
Writing this letter is one way of making sure
that after my departure you will still have a way of recalling the truths
we hold dear
These truths are not cleverly invented myths.
I myself saw the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ
He was honored and glorified by God the
Father,
when the Sublime Glory himself spoke to him and said
"This is my Son, the Beloved. He enjoys my favor"
I heard this myself, spoken from heaven,
when I was with Jesus on the holy mountain
Jesus, Beloved Son, may more and more people
accept the truth of your Good News
Recording
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Matthew 20.29-34
As Jesus was leaving Jericho on his way
to Jerusalem,
many people followed him along the road.
Sitting by the road were
two men who had become blind.
When they heard that Jesus was going past,
they called out "Son of David, have pity on us."
Some people tried to stop them
from calling out,
but they shouted even more loudly "Son of David, have pity on
us."
Jesus stopped and said to them
"What do you want me to do for you?" They
replied "Lord, let us see again".
Jesus felt sorry for them.
He touched their eyes and straight away their sight returned.
Jesus, please heal my blind friend ....(name)....
Recording
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The
Joy of Love - Pope
Francis' letter - on
love in the family Full
English text
150:
Recording
All
this brings us to the sexual dimension of
marriage.
God
himself created sexuality, which is a marvellous gift to
his creatures.
If
this gift needs to be cultivated and directed, it is to
prevent the “impoverishment of an authentic value”.
Saint
John Paul II rejected the claim that the Church’s
teaching is “a negation of the value of human
sexuality”, or that the Church simply tolerates
sexuality “because it is necessary for procreation”.
Sexual
desire is not something to be looked down upon, and
“and there can be no attempt whatsoever to call into
question its necessity”.
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Iraqi refugee humbled by bravery medal after saving man in house fire |
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Climate
Change – stunning
visuals |
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142b:
Recording
Whether
in the administration of the state, the various levels
of civil society, or relationships between individuals
themselves, lack of respect for the law is becoming more
common. Laws may be well framed yet remain a dead
letter.
Can
we hope, then, that in such cases, legislation and
regulations dealing with the environment will really
prove effective?
We
know, for example, that countries which have clear
legislation about the protection of forests continue to
keep silent as they watch laws repeatedly being broken.
Moreover,
what takes place in any one area can have a direct or
indirect influence on other areas. Thus, for example,
drug use in affluent societies creates a continual and
growing demand for products imported from poorer
regions, where behaviour is corrupted, lives are
destroyed, and the environment continues to deteriorate.
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YouTube
(55 mins) |
This
is good:
Dr. Dan Wallace - The Son's Ignorance in Matthew 24:36
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123:
Recording
Popular
piety enables us to see how the faith, once received, becomes embodied in a
culture and is constantly passed on. Once looked down upon, popular
piety came to be appreciated once more in the decades following the Council.
In the Exhortation Evangelii
Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI gave a decisive impulse in this area. There he
stated that popular piety “manifests a thirst for God
which only the poor and the simple can know” and that “it makes
people capable of generosity and sacrifice even to the point of heroism, when it
is a question of bearing witness to belief”.
Closer to our own time, Benedict XVI, speaking about
Latin America, pointed out that popular piety is “a precious treasure of the
Catholic Church”, in which “we see the soul of the Latin American
peoples”.
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10
years ago today |
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2006-09-05
First week of new academic year at various centers in the poor areas |
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G20
leaders told 'avoid empty talk' by China's Xi Jinping
This
should be: "G20 leaders told
by China's Xi Jinping to avoid empty talk"
...otherwise it means the leaders should avoid Xi's
empty talk!
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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, Monday,
please bless the people of Europe
& Russia
And praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 5th
of the month,
Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guizhou
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 5th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Chad
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) |
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See below:
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