Tuesday December 6

Pope (241, below): ...in some marriages, separation becomes inevitable

                                 Video: The St. Nicholas Tradition

Two Good News stories:

HK lawyer goes the distance for trafficking victims

Store on busy road invigorates Nairobi women's peacemaking group

Yesterday I spent 8 hours at Tai Lam Women's prison ....grateful to learn that there has not been a new African drug mule arrested at HK airport for the past 6 months...but sad to learn that there is a new drug mule from South America

Genesis 38

Jacob's son Judah had three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah. Er married Tamar, but not long after the wedding, Er died.

So, according to custom, Judah asked Onan to marry Tamar and have a child for his brother.

But Onan spilt his seed each time he slept with Tamar, so Tamar did not conceive.

Judah then said to Tamar "Wait till Shelah grows up, and you can marry him." But when Shelah was older, he still hadn't been given to Tamar. So Tamar tricked her father-in-law Judah.

She dressed as a prostitute and conceived a baby by Judah. Judah did not know that the woman was Tamar; her face was covered. Three months later  Judah was told that his daughter-in-law was pregnant after acting as a prostitute.

Judah followed the harsh local  custom and said "Take her outside and burn her." But Tamar  produced Judah's seal, stick and cord which he had given to her as a pledge when he had sex with her.

So Judah admitted his guilt and freed Tamar who gave birth to twin boys.

Dear God, please help married people to be happy

Psalm 124

"If the Lord had not been on our side", this is Israel's song.

If the Lord had not been on our side when people rose against us, then would they have swallowed us alive when they were angry with us.

Blessed be the Lord who did not let us become a prey for their teeth.

Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the hunter.

Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. 

Thank you, Lord, for all the times you have rescued me from trouble
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

Acts 7.55 - 8.3

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand

"I can see heaven thrown open", he said, "and Jesus standing at the right hand of God"

At this, the religious leaders at the meeting covered their ears with their hands. They sent Stephen out of the city and stoned him. The false witnesses (who were required to throw the first stones) put down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Paul

As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Then he knelt down and prayed "Lord, do not hold this sin against them". Then he died. Paul entirely approved of the killing

That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem and everyone except the apostles fled to the countryside

Paul  began working for the destruction of the church. He went from house to house arresting men and women and sending them to prison

Jesus, thank you for the example of Stephen who, like yourself, forgave those who were killing him

Recording  

 Mark 14.43 - 52

While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived. Judas had with him a large crowd of men with swords and clubs, sent by the religious leaders

Judas had told these men "The one I kiss is the man. Take him".
So Judas went  to Jesus and said  "Teacher" and kissed him. The men then seized Jesus

Jesus said to them "Am I a robber that you needed to capture me with swords and clubs?  Day after day I was openly teaching in the Temple"

All the apostles then deserted him and ran away

Jesus, when I am being treated unfairly by other people, please give me strength

Recording 

Notice the difference: in today's Gospel, the apostles run away from danger. Some months later, (in the reading from Acts), the apostles do not run away from danger. They had undergone a drastic change at Pentecost. Such can be the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives

This is disturbing:
Refugee on court bail for three years without welfare

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

241: Recording

In some cases, respect for one’s own dignity and the good of the children requires not giving in to excessive demands, or preventing a grave injustice, violence or chronic ill-treatment. 

In such cases, “separation becomes inevitable.

At times it even becomes morally necessary, precisely when it is a matter of removing the more vulnerable spouse or young children from serious injury due to abuse and violence, from humiliation and exploitation, and from disregard and indifference”.

Even so, “separation must be considered as a last resort, after all other reasonable attempts at reconciliation have proved vain”.

230: Recording

Saint Therese of Lisieux invites us to practise the little way of love, not to miss out on a kind word, a smile or any small gesture which sows peace and friendship.

 An integral ecology is also made up of simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness.

 In the end, a world of exacerbated consumption is at the same time a world which mistreats life in all its forms.

219: Recording 

Nor is peace “simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed day after day towards the establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect justice among men”.

 In the end, a peace which is not the result of integral development will be doomed; it will always spawn new conflicts and various forms of violence. 

10 years ago today

2006-12-06  Hong Kong PIME visitors, all from Italy, happy to visit so  places with
Italian names (...Ricci....Marco Polo..)

2006-12-06 CAS Primary 6 English teacher Candy with daughter Xiao Mei

It's happened twice now ....after a long day at Tai Lam women's prison....I doze on the train coming home ...and miss my station ....and have to get off at a later station and go back to my station!

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)

Monday December 5

Pope (240, below):  Many people leave childhood without ever having felt unconditional love

Pope (229, below): When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment.

See the moving photos here: 

Mixed Blessings: Islamic State's trail of destruction

This story about a Filipina mentions how she helped my anti-drug campaign: 
DH-turned-drug mule jailed 16½ yrs  

Please God this man will be the next CE of HK ....will be good news for the poor, especially prisoners!

Ex-judge Woo Kwok-hing determined to lead Hong Kong out of political stalemate

Exclusive interview: Edward Snowden and his HK lawyer, Robert Tibbo

Families who sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong say NSA whistleblower ‘gave them hope’

Genesis 37

Jacob loved Joseph more than  his other sons because Joseph was the son of his old age. Jacob had a special coat of many colors made for Joseph.

Joseph's older brothers were jealous of Joseph and hated him.

Joseph had a dream: he became a famous person. This made his brothers hate him all the more.

One day, when the brothers were looking after their sheep in a distant place, Jacob sent Joseph to see how they were.

When the brothers saw Joseph coming some of them wanted to kill him. Eventually they sold Joseph to some slave traders for 20 silver pieces.

The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and re-sold him there.

The brothers told Jacob that a wild animal had killed Joseph. 
Jacob was heart broken and mourned Joseph all the time.

Dear God, please help me not to be jealous of other people

My recording of this reading

Psalm 123

To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens.

My eyes, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their lords.

Like the eyes of a servant on the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the Lord our God till he show us mercy.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. We are filled with contempt.

Indeed all too full is our soul with the scorn of the rich, with the proud man's disdain.

Lord, please protect poor people from being exploited by rich people

Recording 

Acts 7.1-54

The meeting of religious leaders had falsely accused Stephen of being disloyal to Moses

So Stephen gave a long speech, full of loyalty to Moses. Then he made a stinging attack on the leaders: "You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did.

Your ancestors killed the prophets who foretold the coming of the Just One. You have gone further: you have killed the Just One himself"

When the leaders heard these words, they were very angry and wanted to kill Stephen

Jesus, Just One from heaven, please don't let me resist the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit of God, please increase your influence in my life

Recording 

Mark 14.26-42

After the meal, Jesus said to his apostles "Tonight all of you will desert me"

Peter said "I will never desert you". Jesus replied "Tonight before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times"

They came to a place with olive trees called Gethsemane. Jesus asked Peter, James and John to pray with him

Jesus was overcome with sadness and fear. He said to them "Sadness is filling my heart, as if my heart is dying. Please support me as I pray"

Then he fell on his face and prayed for about an hour: "Father, don't let this suffering continue. But your will be done"

He stood up and found that the apostles were asleep. He said to them "Couldn't you stay awake one hour to support me?"

Three times he prayed the same way. Three times the apostles went to sleep.

Then he said "Get ready.  The one who is betraying me is coming"

Jesus, please help me give more time to prayer

Recording 

Joseph (Genesis) was sold for 20 silver pieces, then re-sold for 30 silver pieces. Jesus was sold for 30 silver pieces. Jospeh's slavery in Egypt brought blessings for his own people and for Egypt. Jesus' suffering brought blessings for his own people and the whole world. See 31 ways in which Joseph prefigured Jesus

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

240: Recording

Many people leave childhood without ever having felt unconditional love.

This affects their ability to be trusting and open with others.

A poor relationship with one’s parents and siblings, if left unhealed, can re-emerge and hurt a marriage.

Unresolved issues need to be dealt with and a process of liberation must take place. 

When problems emerge in a marriage, before important decisions are made it is important to ensure that each spouse has come to grips with his or her own history.

This involves recognizing a need for healing, insistent prayer for the grace to forgive and be forgiven, a willingness to accept help, and the determination not to give up but to keep trying.

A sincere self-examination will make it possible to see how one’s own shortcomings and immaturity affect the relationship.

Even if it seems clear that the other person is at fault, a crisis will never be overcome simply by expecting him or her to change. 

We also have to ask what in our own life needs to grow or heal if the conflict is to be resolved.

229: Recording

We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.

 We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. 

It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. 

When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment.

218: Recording

Peace in society cannot be understood as pacification or the mere absence of violence resulting from the domination of one part of society over others. 

Nor does true peace act as a pretext for justifying a social structure which silences or appeases the poor, so that the more affluent can placidly support their lifestyle while others have to make do as they can. 

Demands involving the distribution of wealth, concern for the poor and human rights cannot be suppressed under the guise of creating a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority. 

The dignity of the human person and the common good rank higher than the comfort of those who refuse to renounce their privileges. When these values are threatened, a prophetic voice must be raised. 

10 years ago today

Many years ago, when I had a holiday in Australia, people would sometimes ask me to buy some famous Manuka honey and bring it back to HK for them. Yesterday while I was waiting for some visitors in Temple Street, one minute from my home, I discovered a newly-opened shop ...with Australia-only products ...including Manuka 

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)

Sunday December 4

Pope (239, below): Yet the fact is that only in their forties do some people achieve a maturity that should have come at the end of adolescence

Must admit I'd never heard of this:

Being intersex: Understanding the 'I' in LGBTQI

Intersex - Wikipedia

This is good:


Interview:  Social worker Fermi Wong decries ‘narrow nationalism’ and fake refugee scares in Hong Kong

This Court of Appeal judgement summary has  many references to my anti-drug campaign

c.f. Readings for "Advent 3 "

Isaiah 10 - 12

Woe to legislators who issue unjust laws, laws which exploit poor people.

A day of reckoning is coming
when unjust legislators will answer to the Lord.

The Lord will send a good and just king to rescue the poor.

A shoot will spring from the stock of Jesse, on him the spirit of the Lord will rest,

a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge, a spirit of love and respect for the Lord.

He will judge justly and the land will know peace. The country will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Exiles will return to their homeland.

Then we will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation, for great in our midst will be the Holy One of Israel.

Lord, please help governments to do more for poor people

My recording of this reading

Psalm 72

O Lord, please bless the king,
that he might serve your people with justice.

May the mountains bring forth peace for the people and the hills, justice.

The kings of Sheba and Seba bring him gifts. All nations will serve him.

He will save the poor when they cry for help and the needy who are helpless.

He will have pity on the weak and save the lives of the poor.

May every tribe be blessed in him. May every nation bless his name.

May all the nations know and love you, Lord
Recording 

Romans 15.4-13

Learn hope from the Scriptures, from the example of people who did not give up, and were helped by God

May the God of hope bring you such joy and peace in your faith, 
that the power of the Holy Spirit will remove all bounds to hope

Holy Spirit of God, help me understand that no situation in this life is ever hopeless, that you can enlighten even the darkest place

Recording  

Today's Gospel:

Matthew 3.1-17

About 30 years after Jesus was born, a man began preaching repentance, and baptizing people in the river Jordan.

This man was John the Baptist.
His message was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand".

John fulfilled the prophecy: "A voice cries in the wilderness: prepare a way for the Lord".

John said "I baptize you with water, but one is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit".

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. After Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened, and Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove.

And a voice from heaven said
"This is my Son, the Beloved.
My favor rests on him".

Jesus, please help me to prepare your way, like John the Baptist

Recording  

The more problems our world has, the more we long for peace, for better leaders, for leaders who care about justice, care about the poor.

... just like Isaiah in today's first reading...and just like Psalm 72....and like John the Baptist....longing for someone, Someone, who can help this world be a better place

...and no matter how bad things get, we don't give up hoping....we learn hope from the Scriptures (today's reading from Romans) ...as we feel hope reviving in our hearts with the approach of  the birthday of our Hope

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

239: Recording

Understandably, families often experience problems when one of their members is emotionally immature because he or she still bears the scars of earlier experiences. 

An unhappy childhood or adolescence can breed personal crises that affect one’s marriage. 

Were everyone mature and normal, crises would be less frequent or less painful.

Yet the fact is that only in their forties do some people achieve a maturity that should have come at the end of adolescence. 

Some love with the selfish, capricious and self-centred love of a child: an insatiable love that screams or cries when it fails to get what it wants. 

Others love with an adolescent love marked by hostility, bitter criticism and the need to blame others; caught up in their own emotions and fantasies, such persons expect others to fill their emptiness and to satisfy their every desire.

The Gambia

 President Jammeh concedes defeat in election
(HK's hundreds of Gambian asylum seekers might now be able to return home?)

228: Recording

Care for nature is part of a lifestyle which includes the capacity for living together and communion.

 Jesus reminded us that we have God as our common Father and that this makes us brothers and sisters.

 Fraternal love can only be gratuitous; it can never be a means of repaying others for what they have done or will do for us. That is why it is possible to love our enemies. 

This same gratuitousness inspires us to love and accept the wind, the sun and the clouds, even though we cannot control them. In this sense, we can speak of a “universal fraternity”.

216: Recording

Small, yet strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as Christians, are called to watch over and protect the fragile world in which we live, and all its peoples. 

Pilot suspended for urging protest against delay

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 4th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guangdong

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 4th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mozambique

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)

Saturday December 3

464 years ago today, in 1552, on a remote island off the coast of China, Saint Francis Xavier died. He could see China some 14km across the sea, but could not enter it. In the months before he died, he offered up his suffering that someone else might follow him and enter China. On October 6, 1552, Matteo Ricci was born in Italy. Xavier's prayer was answered two months before he died.

Xavier died on the island today known as Shangchuan. I've been privileged to visit there a number of times: e.g. 1993 & 2005. But only after checking above Wiki article did I know that the name "Shangchuan" means "Saint John"!   

These are good!

Despite cardinals' challenge, 'Amoris Laetitia' is clear about mercy

Charge the 'rich' to feed the poor- Madrid's Robin Hood homeless cafe It's a business model – using breakfast and lunch takings from paying customers to fund free evening meals for the homeless. The idea came from Pope Francis

Interview with me in HK News
‘More women being recruited as drug mules’
More and more women are being recruited as drug mules to bring cocaine into Hong Kong, a Catholic priest warned Filipinas in the city

New letter from a Filipina domestic worker in HK who was tricked by a Nigerian Drug Lord in HK to receive a parcel of drugs. Here - scroll down to Nov 27. This link also has name and photo of the Nigerian. Filipina is currently in prison waiting trial

Genesis 35 & 36

God said to Jacob "Go to Bethel and live there." So Jacob moved to the area of Bethel.

Not long after this, Rachel conceived another baby.

But Rachel died in childbirth. Jacob named the baby boy Benjamin.

In all, Jacob had 12 sons: 
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun
 - their mother being Leah;
Joseph and Benjamin
- their mother being Rachel;
Dan and Naphtali
- their mother being Bilhah;
Gad and Asher
- their mother being Zilpah.

Jacob and his family stayed in the land of Canaan, the land of his father Isaac.

Esau and his family moved to the land of Edom.

Dear God, please bless and protect my brothers and sisters

My recording of this reading

Psalm 122

I rejoiced when I heard them say
"Let us go to God's house."

And now our feet are standing 
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray
"Peace be to your homes."

For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good.

Recording  

Acts 6.8-15

One of the seven deacons, Stephen, was filled with grace and power. He began to do many miracles

A group of Jews tried to beat Stephen in a debate. But they could not win, because the Holy Spirit was guiding Stephen in his speech

The group then got some men to falsely accuse Stephen of being disloyal to Moses and to God

The group had Stephen arrested and brought before a meeting of the religious leaders. At the meeting, false witnesses accused Stephen of speaking against Moses and the Law

Jesus, please protect people who are accused by false witnesses

 Recording 

Mark 14.17-25

On Passover Eve, Jesus ate a last meal with his apostles. While they were eating, Jesus told them he knew he would be betrayed by one of them. He told Judas he knew he was the betrayer.

Then Jesus took some bread, blessed it and gave it to his apostles saying " This is my body"

Then he took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave it to them saying "This is my blood"

Jesus, please help me understand how bread and wine become your body and blood when Christians celebrate the Eucharist

Recording  

The most famous meal in human history? It's in today's Gospel!
It's a meal that nourished not only the people who attended it
but also nourishes the millions of people who repeat it each day, each week.
It's a meal that gives strength, peace, joy and love

George Monbiot

The Misinformation Machine
Donald Trump’s staff are drawn from an opaque network of corporate-funded thinktanks and fake grassroots campaigns....When the Institute of Economic Affairs, as it so often does, appears on the BBC to argue against regulating tobacco, shouldn’t we be told that it has been funded by tobacco companies since 1963?

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

238: Recording

In such situations, some have the maturity needed to reaffirm their choice of the other as their partner on life’s journey, despite the limitations of the relationship. They realistically accept that the other cannot fulfil all their cherished dreams.

Persons like this avoid thinking of themselves as martyrs; they make the most of whatever possibilities family life gives them and they work patiently at strengthening the marriage bond. They realize, after all, that every crisis can be a new “yes”, enabling love to be renewed, deepened and inwardly strengthened.

When crises come, they are unafraid to get to the root of it, to renegotiate basic terms, to achieve a new equilibrium and to move forward together. 

With this kind of constant openness they are able to face any number of difficult situations. 

In any event, while realizing that reconciliation is a possibility, we also see that “what is urgently needed today is a ministry to care for those whose marital relationship has broken down”.

OUT WITH 'MOTHER & FATHER' - IN WITH BIG GOVERNMENT

227: Recording 

One expression of this attitude is when we stop and give thanks to God before and after meals. 

I ask all believers to return to this beautiful and meaningful custom.

 That moment of blessing, however brief, reminds us of our dependence on God for life; it strengthens our feeling of gratitude for the gifts of creation; it acknowledges those who by their labours provide us with these goods; and it reaffirms our solidarity with those in greatest need.

215b: Recording

Here I would make my own the touching and prophetic lament voiced some years ago by the bishops of the Philippines:

“An incredible variety of insects lived in the forest and were busy with all kinds of tasks… Birds flew through the air, their bright plumes and varying calls adding color and song to the green of the forests… God intended this land for us, his special creatures, but not so that we might destroy it and turn it into a wasteland… After a single night’s rain, look at the chocolate brown rivers in your locality and remember that they are carrying the life blood of the land into the sea… How can fish swim in sewers like the Pasig and so many more rivers which we have polluted? Who has turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of color and life?”

10 years ago
 on this day

Message on front of envelope of letter recently received from a prison inmate: "Thanks Postman"!

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 3rd of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Gansu

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 3rd of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Burundi

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)

Friday December 2

Pope (226, below): We are speaking of an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to someone without thinking of what comes next

Thursday December 1

Pope (214, below): On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?

Yesterday I was at the High Court for two cases and a long meeting:

The first case was that of a Filipina, who received 16 years and 6 months for trafficking 3.7kg of cocaine. The judge kindly gave a 9-month discount for the help the Filipina had given to my anti-drug campaign (16.6 should have been 17.3). And the 16.6 will reduce to 11 years for good behaviour. 

The other case I attended was that of a Peruvian woman, also charged with drug trafficking ....and another kind judge did something that should have been done long ago: she began an inquiry to establish the effectiveness of my anti-drug campaign. This inquiry Please God will do a lot of good for future cases. 

Hong Kong sees 12 weather records broken in 2016

Genesis 32

As Jacob returned to his own land of Canaan, he feared that his brother Esau would  try to kill him.

So Jacob, always clever and wily, sent messengers ahead of him to make friends with Esau.

The messengers reported that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob and had 400 men with him.

This news increased Jacob's fears
so he divided his family and flocks into two groups, thinking that if Esau attacked one group
then the other group could escape.

Jacob also prayed hard to God for protection.

Jacob sent gifts of animals to Esau, hoping that Esau would be friendly to him.

On the night before Jacob and Esau met, God appeared to Jacob
and gave him a new name: Israel.

Dear God, please help me to be kind and clever

My recording of this reading

Acts 5.21-33 (a)

When the leaders had their big meeting later that same morning, they sent for the apostles to be brought from prison

The police went to the prison, then came back and reported to the leaders "We found that the prison was properly locked, and the guards were on duty. But when we unlocked the door, there was no one inside"

Then a man arrived at the meeting with the news "At this very moment, the men you imprisoned are now in the Temple preaching to the people"

The police again arrested the apostles and brought them to the meeting

Recording

Acts 5.21-33 (b)

When the main religious leader reminded them of his previous warning not to preach, Peter and the apostles replied "Obedience to God comes before obedience to men. God  raised Jesus up to be the Savior. We are witnesses to this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God gives to those who obey him"

This made the leaders so angry that they wanted to kill the apostles

Jesus, please help me put obedience to you before all other obediences

Recording

Mark 13.1-37

Jesus spoke to his disciples about the future:

"On account of my name you will be hated, tortured and killed.
But the Good News of the kingdom will spread to every nation before the end of the world

At the end of the world, the sun and moon will stop shining.
Stars will fall from the sky

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all peoples will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and glory

He will send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather good people from all parts of the earth

Therefore you  should live a good life and you will have nothing to fear on your last day"

Jesus, please help me live and grow and die in your love ...
and not be afraid of death

Recording

In today's Gospel from Mark, Jesus predicts how his followers will sometimes be persecuted ....as in today's reading from Acts ...and as in so many parts of the world today....a persecution that some spiritual writers see prefigured in the animosity of Esau to his twin brother Jacob (Genesis). Such persecution and animosity are explained by St Paul who says that God's Spirit causes a reaction from anti-God forces .... something like a fire which causes water to boil!

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

236: Recording

Then there are those personal crises that affect the life of couples, often involving finances, problems in the workplace, emotional, social and spiritual difficulties.

Unexpected situations present themselves, disrupting family life and requiring a process of forgiveness and reconciliation.

In resolving sincerely to forgive the other, each has to ask quietly and humbly if he or she has not somehow created the conditions that led to the other’s mistakes.

Some families break up when spouses engage in mutual recrimination, but “experience shows that with proper assistance and acts of reconciliation, through grace, a great percentage of troubled marriages find a solution in a satisfying manner.

To know how to forgive and to feel forgiven is a basic experience in family life”.

“The arduous art of reconciliation, which requires the support of grace, needs the generous cooperation of relatives and friends, and sometimes even outside help and professional assistance”.

225: Recording 

On the other hand, no one can cultivate a simple and satisfying life without being at peace with him or herself. An adequate understanding of spirituality consists in filling out what we mean by peace, which is much more than the absence of war.

 Inner peace is closely related to care for ecology and for the common good because, lived out authentically, it is reflected in a balanced lifestyle together with a capacity for wonder which takes us to a deeper understanding of life.

 Nature is filled with words of love, but how can we listen to them amid constant noise, interminable and nerve-wracking distractions, or the cult of appearances?

 Many people today sense a profound imbalance which drives them to frenetic activity and makes them feel busy, in a constant hurry which in turn leads them to ride rough-shod over everything around them. This too affects how they treat the environment.

 An integral ecology includes taking time to recover a serene harmony with creation, reflecting on our lifestyle and our ideals, and contemplating the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence “must not be contrived but found, uncovered”.[155]

214: Recording

Precisely because this involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on this question ((abortion ...c.f. 213, below)).

 I want to be completely honest in this regard. This is not something subject to alleged reforms or “modernizations”. It is not “progressive” to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.

 On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?

10 years ago today

On most of the new websites at the top of this menu, I have used the words "Hong Kong is not China. HK belongs to China, but HK has its own legal, financial and other arrangements". Yesterday at the High Court, during a meeting concerning my campaign, a barrister advised me to be careful how I use the words "HK is not China" ....too sensitive these days! My concern is not "HK independence" but that people in other countries, especially Africa and South America, don't understand that HK is different from Mainland China.

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 1st of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Anhui

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 1st of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Congo

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

Wednesday November 30

Pope (233, below): Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenceless and innocent among us  

To prepare for my trip to Southern African after Christmas, I spent yesterday at Stanley Prison visiting a dozen inmates from South Africa. 

Many of them have been involved in my  campaign to stop drug mules coming to HK, and they share my feeling of satisfaction that the flow of drug mules from Africa has dropped dramatically over the past two years.

George Monbiot:
Unlucky Number

"Please don’t read this unless you are feeling strong. 

This is a list of 13 major crises that, I believe, confront us. There may be more. Please feel free to add to it or to knock it down. I’m sorry to say that it’s not happy reading"

This is what Hong Kong urgently needs ....and one for men also!

Victoria's first dedicated centre for homeless women

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

It’s journey time again

The Christ-child, helpless and dependent, whose journey from Bethlehem would lead to Calvary and the garden of Resurrection , was not part of the story line

Genesis 31

Jacob said to Rachel and Leah

"You know how hard I have worked for your father, yet he has treated me unfairly - ten times he changed my wages. Now God has told me to go back to my own land. So, get ready, we are going."

Jacob took his wives, children and livestock and left - without telling Laban.

Only after three days did Laban find out that Jacob had outsmarted him.

Laban chased Jacob, but God told Laban not to hurt Jacob.

So Laban made a treaty with Jacob and let him go on his way.

Dear God, please help us to treat everyone fairly

Psalm 119

They are happy who follow God's word, those who seek God with all their hearts.

How can young people avoid evil? By seeking you and obeying you, Lord.

Open my eyes, Lord, that I may understand the beauty of your word.

Lord, when I'm worried or in trouble, your word revives me and gives me strength.

Lord, keep my eyes from what is false. Bend my heart to your word and not to love of gain.

The word from your mouth means more to me than silver and gold.

The unfolding of your word gives light and teaches simple people.

Lord, thank you for your word which gives peace to our hearts

Recording   

Acts 5.17-21

The religious leaders were jealous of the apostles. The leaders had the apostles arrested and put in prison

But that night an angel of the Lord opened the prison gates
and led them out of the prison, saying to them:

"Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life"

The apostles went to the Temple at dawn and continued preaching

Jesus, please help more and more people know about the new Life

Recording 

Mark 12.41-44

Jesus sat down in the Temple area and noticed people putting money into a donation box to help the poor

Many rich people put in a lot of money. A poor widow put in two small coins

Jesus said to his disciples  "That poor widow has donated more than all the other people, for they put in money they had left over, but she  put in the only money she had"

Jesus, please make me more generous in helping poor people

Recording 

People sometimes say there is no humor in the Bible. Well, how about the angel helping the apostles break out of prison! (Acts 5) And then - with a smile on his face - telling them to go and do something for which they had been arrested the day before. Divine Disobedience! 

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

235: Recording

Some crises are typical of almost every marriage.

Newly married couples need to learn how to accept their differences and to disengage from their parents.

The arrival of a child presents new emotional challenges.

Raising small children necessitates a change of lifestyle, while the onset of adolescence causes strain, frustration and even tension between parents.

An “empty nest” obliges a couple to redefine their relationship, while the need to care for aging parents involves making difficult decisions in their regard.

All these are demanding situations that can cause apprehension, feelings of guilt, depression and fatigue, with serious repercussions on a marriage.

224: Recording 

Simplicity and humility were not favourably regarded in the last century. And yet, when there is a general breakdown in the exercise of a certain virtue in personal and social life, it ends up causing a number of imbalances, including environmental ones. 

That is why it is no longer enough to speak only of the integrity of ecosystems. We have to dare to speak of the integrity of human life, of the need to promote and unify all the great values. 

Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment.

 It is not easy to promote this kind of healthy humility or happy simplicity when we consider ourselves autonomous, when we exclude God from our lives or replace him with our own ego, and think that our subjective feelings can define what is right and what is wrong. 

213: Recording

Among the vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children, the most defenceless and innocent among us.

 Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this.

 Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church’s effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative.

 Yet this defence of unborn life is closely linked to the defence of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development. 

Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defence of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be.

 Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue from the standpoint of faith, “every violation of the personal dignity of the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the creator of the individual”.

10 years ago today

2006-11-30 Visit by CAS secondary students to newly opened Chimelong Paradise Theme Park in Guangzhou

There is an old legal joke which goes “In England you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In France you are presumed guilty until proven innocent. In China you are presumed guilty until you confess. And then you’re really guilty.” (in this article)

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 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 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)