Coffin cubicles, caged homes and subdivisions … life inside Hong Kong’s grim low income housing

Letter (in Spanish) from a Venezuelan woman in prison in HK for drug trafficking
Here (Sep 10  ..not the same lady as in Sep 11 ....another one ... they keep coming, sadly)

 Letter from a single mother from South Africa now in prison in HK for drug trafficking. Here (Sep 11)

The Story of Kassim - born with polio, now walking! See an amazing 9 second video!

Jeremiah 46-52

Jeremiah predicted that the powerful nations involved in  Israel's capture would all fall:

the Egyptians, the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites,
the Babylonians and others.

Jeremiah also reminded Israel to rely on the help of the Lord more than the help of other nations:

"Our redeemer is strong. The Lord is his name. He will bring peace to the world".

Lord, help us to rely on you more than on human help

Revelation 1.4-8 (a)

From John, to the seven churches of Asia province: grace and peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come,
from the seven spirits at his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth

Jesus Christ loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings and priests to serve his God and Father

Recording 

Revelation 1.4-8 (b)

It is he who will come on the clouds. Everyone, in every part of the world, will see him. All hearts will be moved by his coming

"I am the beginning and the end", says the Lord God. "I am the originator and goal of all things"

Jesus, please help more and more people know who you are

Recording  

 Matthew 27.32-44

As Jesus was taken to the place of crucifixion, a man name Simon, from Cyrene, was made to carry Jesus' cross.

Jesus was then nailed to the cross and hung on the cross. Two robbers were crucified with him,
one on his right and one on his left.

Above Jesus' head was a sign with the charge against him: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews".

People passing by that place made fun of Jesus. So did the religious leaders. They mocked and taunted him.

Jesus on the Cross, thank you for suffering so much for the salvation of the world

Recording 

Third Mexican priest found dead

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

171: Recording

With great affection I urge all future mothers: keep happy and let nothing rob you of the interior joy of motherhood.

Your child deserves your happiness. Don’t let fears, worries, other people’s comments or problems lessen your joy at being God’s means of bringing a new life to the world. 

Prepare yourself for the birth of your child, but without obsessing, and join in Mary’s song of joy: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant” (Lk 1:46-48).

Try to experience this serene excitement amid all your many concerns, and ask the Lord to preserve your joy, so that you can pass it on to your child.

162b: Recording

Furthermore, our inability to think seriously about future generations is linked to our inability to broaden the scope of our present interests and to give consideration to those who remain excluded from development.

Let us not only keep the poor of the future in mind, but also today’s poor, whose life on this earth is brief and who cannot keep on waiting.

Hence, “in addition to a fairer sense of intergenerational solidarity there is also an urgent moral need for a renewed sense of intragenerational solidarity”.[125]

'You started a quiet revolution'- Tributes flow for permaculture 'father' Bill Mollison

166: Recording 

Another aspect of catechesis which has developed in recent decades is mystagogic initiation.This basically has to do with two things: a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. 

Many manuals and programs have not yet taken sufficiently into account the need for a mystagogical renewal, one which would assume very different forms based on each educational community’s discernment. 

Catechesis is a proclamation of the word and is always centred on that word, yet it also demands a suitable environment and an attractive presentation, the use of eloquent symbols, insertion into a broader growth process and the integration of every dimension of the person within a communal journey of hearing and response.

10 years ago today

Mazenod and Assisi children at local
hospital.....thank you kind HK sponsors!

Yesterday I was at the High Court for two cases - a man from Nigeria and a woman from South America. As I entered the building I noticed a number of media people with TV cameras etc. They were covering this story: Community service order for breast-assault woman

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 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, 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)

Rally for US whistleblower Edward Snowden brings Hong Kong’s refugees to the fore

- photo of refugees who sheltered Snowden in HK (I know them!)

Letter from a Zambian woman in prison in HK for drug trafficking - after being tricked by a Nigerian man called "Emeka" and a Zambian woman named "Mercy Zulu".
Here (Sep 10)  

Peace deal puts Colombia at heart of Year of Mercy

- A Jesuit has been at the center of the process 

- Pope due to visit Colombia early 2017

Letter from a Filipina in detention in Hong Kong, facing a charge of drug trafficking - how she was tricked by a "friend": Here (August 30)

Jeremiah 37-45

Jeremiah was arrested and put into a muddy well to die. But a good official persuaded the king to free Jeremiah.

When the Chaldaeans captured Jerusalem, they sent many people to Babylon as exiles.

Jeremiah was spared from exile
and he kept trying to get the people to accept defeat as God had told them.

But most of the people would not listen to Jeremiah, even though all his prophecies about defeat had come true.

God protected the good officials who had helped Jeremiah.

Lord, please help government leaders be good, like the good officials who helped Jeremiah.

My recording of this reading

Psalm 49-50

I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve a problem.

The problem is: why do bad people prosper and succeed?

The answer: at the end of their lives bad people will have to face death and judgement, just like everyone else.

When we are rich, we often lack wisdom. Wealth blinds our minds and hearts.

Let's not forgot God and his laws.
Let's try to be good and lead good lives

Lord, please help me understand the meaning of life

Recording 

Today's Gospel:

Jude

From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are dear to God the Father and kept safe, wishing you mercy and peace and love

I write with urgency to appeal to you: stand up for the faith that has been entrusted to us

Some false teachers have infiltrated our ranks. They reject the teaching of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. They say "anything goes" in the area of morality.

Such teaching, such people, must be opposed. Be kind to such people, but with great caution

To God who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory and all honor, now and forever

Jesus, please protect your church from false teachers

Recording 

Matthew 27.27-31

After the Roman soldiers scourged Jesus, they made fun of him:
- they put a red cloak on him.
- they made a crown out of thorns.
- they put a reed in his right hand.

Then they knelt in front of him saying "Hail, king of the Jews".
They spat on him. 

They took the reed and hit him with it.

When they had finished making fun of him, they dressed him  in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.

Jesus, please don't let me hurt other people by making fun of them

Recording 

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

170: Recording

Scientific advances today allow us to know beforehand what colour a child’s hair will be or what illnesses they may one day suffer, because all the somatic traits of the person are written in his or her genetic code already in the embryonic stage. 

Yet only the Father, the Creator, fully knows the child; he alone knows his or her deepest identity and worth.

Expectant mothers need to ask God for the wisdom fully to know their children and to accept them as they are. 

Some parents feel that their child is not coming at the best time. They should ask the Lord to heal and strengthen them to accept their child fully and wholeheartedly. It is important for that child to feel wanted. He or she is not an accessory or a solution to some personal need. A child is a human being of immense worth and may never be used for one’s own benefit. 

So it matters little whether this new life is convenient for you, whether it has features that please you, or whether it fits into your plans and aspirations. For “children are a gift. Each one is unique and irreplaceable… We love our children because they are children, not because they are beautiful, or look or think as we do, or embody our dreams. We love them because they are children. A child is a child”.

The love of parents is the means by which God our Father shows his own love. He awaits the birth of each child, accepts that child unconditionally, and welcomes him or her freely.

162a: Recording

Our difficulty in taking up this challenge seriously has much to do with an ethical and cultural decline which has accompanied the deterioration of the environment.

Men and women of our postmodern world run the risk of rampant individualism, and many problems of society are connected with today’s self-centred culture of instant gratification. 

We see this in the crisis of family and social ties and the difficulties of recognizing the other. Parents can be prone to impulsive and wasteful consumption, which then affects their children who find it increasingly difficult to acquire a home of their own and build a family. 

165b: Recording

The centrality of the kerygma calls for stressing those elements which are most needed today: it has to express God’s saving love which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical.

 All this demands on the part of the evangelizer certain attitudes which foster openness to the message: approachability, readiness for dialogue, patience, a warmth and welcome which is non-judgmental. 

I had another happy day yesterday at St Paul's Yau Ma Tei - DG!
- 8.30am Chinese Mass (about 200 people)
- 3pm prayer meeting for the sick (about 30 people)
- 5.30pm gathering for the poor (about 300 people, including volunteers)

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 26th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Xinjian

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, 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

Pope Francis, MD, uses medical metaphors to provoke and explain

Another medical problem afflicting souls is “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” a condition that renders some people incapable of remembering God’s love and mercy for them

To go with today's Gospel - this award-winning 6 minute YouTube:  Chicken a la Carte

- a true story

How the pro-Beijing Sing Pao newspaper turned against HK Chief Executive CY Leung

c.f. Readings for "Sunday 26"

Amos 1-9

It was God who formed the mountains and created the wind.
The Lord is his name.

He says to the House of Israel:

Seek me and you shall live. Do not go to the places of idol worship.

Seek good and not evil, so that you may live. Hate evil and love good.

Injustice and swindling, exploitation of the poor, this is the reason for earthquakes and disaster.

Lord, please help me to do good and avoid evil

My recording of this reading

Psalm 146

My soul, give praise to the Lord.
I will praise the Lord all my days.

Put no trust in princes, in mortal men in whom there is no help.

Take their breath, they return to clay and their plans that day come to nothing.

They are happy who are helped by Jacob's God, whose hope is in the Lord our God, who alone made heaven and earth, the seas and all they contain.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free.

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down.

It is the Lord who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion's God, from age to age.

Lord, please increase my trust and faith in you

Recording 

Luke 16.19-26 (a)

Jesus told this story to the people: There was a rich man who used to dress in expensive clothes and feast magnificently every day

At his gate there was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to eat scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even came and licked his sores

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In his torment in Hell, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus at his side

Recording  

Luke 16.19-26 (b)

So the rich man cried out "Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames"

"My son", replied Abraham, "remember that during your life, good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here, while you are in agony"

Jesus, please help me understand how I should do more to help poor people

Recording  

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

169: Recording

A pregnant woman can participate in God’s plan by dreaming of her child.

“For nine months every mother and father dream about their child… You can’t have a family without dreams. Once a family loses the ability to dream, children do not grow, love does not grow, life shrivels up and dies”.

For Christian married couples, baptism necessarily appears as a part of that dream. With their prayers, parents prepare for baptism, entrusting their baby to Jesus even before he or she is born.

161: Recording

Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain.

We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth.

The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world.

The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now.

 We need to reflect on our accountability before those who will have to endure the dire consequences

165a: Recording

We must not think that in catechesis the kerygma gives way to a supposedly more “solid” formation. Nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wisdom-filled than that initial proclamation. 

All Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma, which is reflected in and constantly illumines, the work of catechesis, thereby enabling us to understand more fully the significance of every subject which the latter treats.  It is the message capable of responding to the desire for the infinite which abides in every human heart. 

10 years ago
 today

2006-09-25 Hamish & Matt at Guangzhou Ke Da Foreign Language Commercial School

Yesterday around lunch time, after a morning spent on preparing support letters and info for cases at the High Court this week, I went out with three targets in mind: to buy a salad roll to eat on the way to the post office, to post a parcel back to Africa for an inmate in prison in HK, and to have a haircut. Before arriving at the post office I met a man just released two days ago from detention. Man works in building next to mine in Temple Street ...attracting customers for a "shop"(?) in his building. Like so many people just released ....no where to stay, no money, nothing to eat. I know him well ...he's not a drug addict, and this was his very first time in prison (for four months). So I gave him the contents of my wallet (about HK$120). But then when I arrived at the barber shop I realised ...no money to pay barber! No money, no haircut!

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America 
  
Jesus, today, Sunday,  please bless the people of Africa

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:
On this 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 bless all Muslims in my own country 

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)

During my usual all day Friday visit to Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre yesterday I heard more stories of people being "set up":

e.g. "You take this parcel from place A to place B in HK". When the courier gets to B he is immediately arrested by waiting police who are in collaboration with the Drug Lord who sent the courier. c.f. this report (notice how this story came to light only because of the media ....)

Protest march in HK tomorrow

• Grant Edward Snowden a presidential pardon!

• Defend refugee rights in Hong Kong!

Tomorrow, Sunday, 3pm to 5pm
at St Paul's Catholic Primary School Yau Ma Tei: 

Gathering to pray for the sick.

Everyone most welcome!

Photos of a previous gathering

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

Understandings

Jeremiah 36

God told Jeremiah to write down
all the messages he had spoken for God.

So Jeremiah got Baruch to make a written record of all his messages. Baruch wrote the messages on a scroll.

Some good officials took the scroll to the king to read. The officials hoped the king would obey the words of the scroll.

The king had the scroll read aloud for him. As each section was read, the king used a knife to cut off the section, and then threw the section into a fire.

Eventually the whole scroll was burnt. The king then issued an order for  Jeremiah to be arrested.

God protected Jeremiah and did not allow him to be arrested for the time being. God also told Jeremiah to have another scroll made.

Lord, please move world leaders' hearts to be open to your message of justice and peace and love

My recording of this reading

Psalms 47-48

All peoples, clap your hands, cry to God with shouts of joy. For the Lord, our Creator, we must love and honor, great king over all the earth.

Especially in his holy city is the Lord worthy to be praised. Praise is fitting in Mount Sion, our earth's most sacred site.

O God, as we pray in your temple, our hearts meditate on your love.

May peoples and rulers everywhere acknowledge and love you as Creator of the Universe

Let all the peoples praise you,
Lord. Let all the peoples praise you

Recording  

3 John

From the Elder to my dear friend Gaius. People have told me of your faithfulness to the truth.

It is always a great joy for me
when I hear that my children are living according to the truth

Thank you for your hospitality to believers who travel to spread the Good News. Such people deserve whatever support we can give them

Jesus, please bless people who travel to spread the Good News

Recording   

Today's Gospel:

Matthew 27.1-26

Early in the morning, the religious leaders had Jesus bound with ropes. 

They then took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

The leaders accused Jesus of many crimes. 

To the governor's amazement, Jesus remained silent.

The leaders persuaded the crowd to demand the execution of Jesus. They called out to Pilate "Crucify him".

Pilate asked "Why? What has he done wrong?" The crowd shouted all the louder "Crucify him. Crucify him".

Pilate then washed his hands in front of the crowd and said
"I am innocent of this man's blood". The crowd shouted "His blood be on us and on our children".

Pilate then ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified.

Jesus,  help people who are condemned to death

Recording  

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

168: Recording

Pregnancy is a difficult but wonderful time.

A mother joins with God to bring forth the miracle of a new life.

Motherhood is the fruit of a “particular creative potential of the female body, directed to the conception and birth of a new human being”. Each woman shares in “the mystery of creation, which is renewed with each birth”.

The Psalmist says: “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps 139:13). 

Every child growing within the mother’s womb is part of the eternal loving plan of God the Father: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5).

Each child has a place in God’s heart from all eternity; once he or she is conceived, the Creator’s eternal dream comes true.

Let us pause to think of the great value of that embryo from the moment of conception. We need to see it with the eyes of God, who always looks beyond mere appearances

160: Recording 

What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? This question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal.

When we ask ourselves what kind of world we want to leave behind, we think in the first place of its general direction, its meaning and its values. Unless we struggle with these deeper issues, I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results. 

But if these issues are courageously faced, we are led inexorably to ask other pointed questions: What is the purpose of our life in this world? Why are we here? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us? 

It is no longer enough, then, simply to state that we should be concerned for future generations. We need to see that what is at stake is our own dignity. Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us. The issue is one which dramatically affects us, for it has to do with the ultimate meaning of our earthly sojourn.

164: Recording

In catechesis too, we have rediscovered the fundamental role of the first announcement or kerygma, which needs to be the centre of all evangelizing activity and all efforts at Church renewal. 

The kerygma is Trinitarian. The fire of the Spirit is given in the form of tongues and leads us to believe in Jesus Christ who, by his death and resurrection, reveals and communicates to us the Father’s infinite mercy. 

On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.”

 This first proclamation is called “first” not because it exists at the beginning and can then be forgotten or replaced by other more important things. It is first in a qualitative sense because it is the principal proclamation, the one which we must hear again and again in different ways, the one which we must announce one way or another throughout the process of catechesis, at every level and moment.

 For this reason too, “the priest – like every other member of the Church – ought to grow in awareness that he himself is continually in need of being evangelized”

10 years ago
 on this day

Yesterday morning as I was about to get the MTR (metro) to Lai Chi Kok detention centre for my usual Friday visit, I realised I had forgotten my mobile phone. "Too bad ...too late to go back now ...prayer service due to start 10am". When I left the prison for a short lunch break and when I finished my visit around 5.30 pm I had a strange feeling of peace ....no phone to check, no messages, no missed calls. Jesus was wise being born in a simple age without email and texts and social media and missed calls!

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, Saturday,  please bless the people of Central & North America

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 the Taliban

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 I was at a women's prison from 10am to 6pm hearing more stories of how vulnerable women were tricked or coerced by Nigerian men in various parts of the world - Indonesia, Malaysia, South America, Philippines, China, Africa - to bring drugs to Hong Kong.
Jesus, please "Damascus" the Nigerian Drug Gangs!

Central Americans to flee drug gangs for Australia

Greenland's huge annual ice loss is even worse than thought

An Oblate priest who loved China, often had seminars in China, and arranged for Chinese scholars to take part in meetings in many parts of the world:

George F. McLean (1929 - 2016)

Jeremiah 33-35

Most of the people and their leaders ignored God's message
delivered by Jeremiah.

But one group listened to Jeremiah and obeyed God's message: that group was the nomad clan of Rechabites.

At God's command Jeremiah invited them to a meal  near the Temple and invited them to drink wine.

But they replied that they had been told by God never to own property or build houses or be farmers or drink wine.

Jeremiah then spoke to the people watching the Rechabites:
"See how this clan is obedient to the message of the Lord, unlike most of the people and its leaders who ignore God.

Because this clan has been faithful and obedient, therefore it will  always be blessed by the Lord".

Lord, please help me be faithful to you,  like the Rechabites

My recording of this reading

Psalm 46

(c.f. famous hymn by Martin Luther "A Mighty Fortress is our God",  and also the hymn "Be Still and Know that I am God")

God is for us a refuge and strength, in time of distress he is a helper close at hand.

Therefore we shall not fear even though the earth should rock,
even though the mountains fall into the sea.

The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come and consider the works of the Lord and always remember his words:

"Be still and know that I am God".

Lord, help us to be more aware of your presence, especially when we are in trouble

Recording  

2 John 

In our life of truth and love, we have grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father

I write not to give you any new commandment, but the one we were given at the beginning: let us love one another; let us live a life of love

Keep to what Jesus taught. Don't follow anyone who changes what Jesus taught

Jesus, please protect me from people who distort your message

Recording

Today's Gospel:

Matthew 26.69-75

Peter went to the place where the religious leaders had Jesus on trial.
A young woman in the courtyard of the place  said to him "You are a friend of the Galilean".

In front of the woman and people around her Peter said "I don't know what you're talking about".

Peter went to the gateway of the place, where another woman said to people around her "This man is a friend of the Galilean". Peter replied strongly "I don't know the man".

Not long after this a group of people said to Peter "You are his friend. We can tell by your Galilean accent".

Then Peter even more strongly replied "I do not know the man".

At that very moment, a rooster crowed.
Peter remembered Jesus' words "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times".  Peter went outside and wept loudly.

Jesus, please help me not to deny you. Give me courage to say "I am a Christian"

Recording  

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

167: Recording

Large families are a joy for the Church. 

They are an expression of the fruitfulness of love. 

At the same time, Saint John Paul II rightly explained that responsible parenthood does not mean “unlimited procreation or lack of awareness of what is involved in rearing children, but rather the empowerment of couples to use their inviolable liberty wisely and responsibly, taking into account social and demographic realities, as well as their own situation and legitimate desires”.

159: Recording

The notion of the common good also extends to future generations. The global economic crises have made painfully obvious the detrimental effects of disregarding our common destiny, which cannot exclude those who come after us. We can no longer speak of sustainable development apart from intergenerational solidarity. 

Once we start to think about the kind of world we are leaving to future generations, we look at things differently; we realize that the world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others. Since the world has been given to us, we can no longer view reality in a purely utilitarian way, in which efficiency and productivity are entirely geared to our individual benefit. 

Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us. The Portuguese bishops have called upon us to acknowledge this obligation of justice: “The environment is part of a logic of receptivity. It is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next”.[124] An integral ecology is marked by this broader vision.

163: Recording

Education and catechesis are at the service of this growth. We already possess a number of magisterial documents and aids on catechesis issued by the Holy See and by various episcopates.

I think in particular of the Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi Tradendae (1979), the General Catechetical Directory (1997) and other documents whose contents need not be repeated here. I would like to offer a few brief considerations which I believe to be of particular significance.   

((Interesting: no mention of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which tried to reverse much of the teaching of Vatican II - c.f. CCC = V2 ?))

'Mainland's rise spurring secession calls in HK'

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 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, 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)

Refugees 01:

Final section of this article is important:    

Canada's refugee resettlement model

Private sponsorship occurs over and above the government's  program

In Assisi, Pope Francis lunches with world refugees

Refugees 02: 

Refugees 03:

'A dream coming true' - Iranian woman freed from detention in Australia

May some of the many asylum seekers locked up in HK soon have the joy of freedom!

Letter in Spanish by an inmate from Venezuela in prison in HK for drug trafficking.

As Venezuela descends into chaos these days, vulnerable people there are being targeted by the Nigerian Drug Gang in South America to traffic in drugs to HK. Letter is Here (Sep 11)

Jeremiah 32

Jerusalem was about to be captured by the Chaldaeans. But God  promised that Jerusalem would recover its freedom.

As a sign that Jerusalem would be free again, God told Jeremiah to buy a field.

People thought Jeremiah was crazy. But through this action Jeremiah delivered God's message:

This city and this land are now a waste, but soon people will again buy land and build homes in freedom and safety.

Lord, when things get really bad, please increase our trust in you
that you will turn things around in our lives

My recording of this reading

Psalms 42-45

Like a deer that longs for running streams, so my soul is longing for you, my God.

My soul is thirsting for you, the God of my life. I think of you all the time, here in my land of exile.

People make fun of us here in exile. They  taunt us saying "Where is your God?"

Yet no matter what happens we will hope in you, for you are our saviour and our God.

No matter where we are or what happens to us, our hearts will long for you, like a bride longing for her groom.

Lord, no matter what happens, may I always hope in you

Recording

1 John 4.20 - 5.13

Anyone who says "I love God"
but hates his brother, is a liar

A man who does not love the brother he can see cannot love God whom he has never seen

Who can overcome the world?
Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God

God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son

You who believe in the Son of God have eternal life

Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God

Recording

Today's Gospel:

Matthew 26.57-68

The men who arrested Jesus took him to a meeting of the religious leaders. The leaders wanted to condemn Jesus to death, even if they had to use false evidence.

Jesus remained silent before their accusations.

Then the main leader challenged Jesus: "Are you the Saviour, the Son of God?" Jesus replied "Yes".

The main leader then called out "We have heard him claim to be of Divine origin. This is blasphemy".

The rest of the leaders shouted "He should die". 

Then they spat in Jesus' face and hit him with their fists.

Jesus, thank you for submitting yourself to insult and spittle
for the salvation of the world
Recording

Recommended by 
a reader in Australia:

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

166b: Recording

If a child comes into this world in unwanted circumstances, the parents and other members of the family must do everything possible to accept that child as a gift from God and assume the responsibility of accepting him or her with openness and affection.

For “when speaking of children who come into the world, no sacrifice made by adults will be considered too costly or too great, if it means the child never has to feel that he or she is a mistake, or worthless or abandoned to the four winds and the arrogance of man”.

The gift of a new child, entrusted by the Lord to a father and a mother, begins with acceptance, continues with lifelong protection and has as its final goal the joy of eternal life. By serenely contemplating the ultimate fulfilment of each human person, parents will be even more aware of the precious gift entrusted to them. For God allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity.

158: Recording 

In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable, the principle of the common good immediately becomes, logically and inevitably, a summons to solidarity and a preferential option for the poorest of our brothers and sisters. 

This option entails recognizing the implications of the universal destination of the world’s goods, but, as I mentioned in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,[123] it demands before all else an appreciation of the immense dignity of the poor in the light of our deepest convictions as believers. We need only look around us to see that, today, this option is in fact an ethical imperative essential for effectively attaining the common good.

162: Recording

On the other hand this process of response and growth is always preceded by God’s gift, since the Lord first says: “Baptize them in the name…”. 

The Father’s free gift which makes us his sons and daughters, and the priority of the gift of his grace, enable that constant sanctification which pleases God and gives him glory.

In this way, we allow ourselves to be transformed in Christ through a life lived “according to the Spirit” 

I've spent much time lately trying to help male asylum seekers who have wives/children in HK to avoid being deported. What a heartless policy, separating families. Yesterday afternoon I spent time with a community worker as he interviewed a mother (holding an 8 month old baby) whose husband is facing deportation. We were in an eating place. At one stage both the worker and the mother had to leave the table at the same time, and I was literally left holding the baby

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 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 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)

Following the recommendation of a senior judge in the Court of Appeal, I have sent an email to HK's Chief Executive asking to meet with government officials about two issues:

1. This website's anti-drug campaign

2. Mitigation for inmates who support the campaign

I've also asked to meet with officials re a third issue: the situation of asylum seekers in HK.

Ugandans driven to despair by spending on MPs' cars as basic services suffer

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

Understanding, questions and answers
Those who ask questions, serious questions, do so from within family of the Church, not seeking to be destructive but asking for a greater understanding of issues and situations

c.f. readings for Feast of St Matthew

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.

My recording of this reading

Psalm  117  

O Praise the Lord, all you nations. Acclaim him, all you peoples!

Strong is his love for us. He is faithful for ever.

May all the nations love and praise you, Lord

Recording

Today's Gospel:

Ephesians 4.1-16

I implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation

Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall become more and more like Christ

We are parts of the Body of Christ. Christ is the head. Each part must do its bit to keep the Body healthy and growing in love

Jesus, help me understand how the Church is your Body

Recording 

Today's Gospel:

Matthew 9.9-13

One day when Jesus was walking past a customs house he said to a tax collector  named Matthew "Follow me". Matthew got up and followed Jesus.

Matthew invited Jesus and Jesus' friends to a dinner in his house.
Some tax collectors and "bad" people sat at Jesus' table.

Religious leaders saw this and complained to Jesus' friends "Why does your master eat with tax collectors and bad people?"

Jesus' answer was "It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick.

Go and think about the Bible words 'What I want is mercy, not sacrifice'. I have a special concern for rejects and down-and-outs."

Jesus, please help religious leaders in today's world to care more about people who are rejected by society

Recording  

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

166a: Recording

The family is the setting in which a new life is not only born but also welcomed as a gift of God.

Each new life “allows us to appreciate the utterly gratuitous dimension of love, which never ceases to amaze us. It is the beauty of being loved first: children are loved even before they arrive”.

Here we see a reflection of the primacy of the love of God, who always takes the initiative, for children “are loved before having done anything to deserve it”.

And yet, “from the first moments of their lives, many children are rejected, abandoned, and robbed of their childhood and future. There are those who dare to say, as if to justify themselves, that it was a mistake to bring these children into the world. This is shameful! … How can we issue solemn declarations on human rights and the rights of children, if we then punish children for the errors of adults?”

Perth preacher in induced coma after attack in Malawi

157: Recording 

Underlying the principle of the common good is respect for the human person as such, endowed with basic and inalienable rights ordered to his or her integral development. 

It has also to do with the overall welfare of society and the development of a variety of intermediate groups, applying the principle of subsidiarity. Outstanding among those groups is the family, as the basic cell of society.

Finally, the common good calls for social peace, the stability and security provided by a certain order which cannot be achieved without particular concern for distributive justice; whenever this is violated, violence always ensues. Society as a whole, and the state in particular, are obliged to defend and promote the common good.

SSM leaders’ failure to condemn violence endangers everyone’s safety

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, the advocacy group Marriage Alliance and ACL had booked a meeting room to hold a campaign briefing for more than 100 coalition partner groups

161b: Recording

These are the words of Saint Paul , for whom the commandment of love not only sums up the law but constitutes its very heart and purpose: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’” 

To his communities Paul presents the Christian life as a journey of growth in love: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all”.

Saint (?) James likewise exhorts Christians to fulfil “the royal law according to the Scripture: You shall love your neighbour as yourself”, in order not to fall short of any commandment.  
(re "Saint" James ...see here - scroll down to menu of May 3)

Last Saturday morning, after the funeral service of a dear friend at Cheung Sha Wan Cemetery, I got the MTR (metro) from nearby Lai Chi Kok station to go home to Jordan. Only after the train had gone 4 stations did I realise I was going the wrong way! Possible (weak) excuse: I get the MTR several times a week from LCK after visiting nearby LCK detention centre, but I enter and leave by Exit C. Last Saturday I entered by a different exit from a different direction ...and my GPS feet got it wrong!

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 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 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)