Tuesday December 13

Pope (237, below): ...And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, 
and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor

Christmas calls us to be peacemakers

If but one broken relationship could be mended, our Christmas, our God-with-us, might just be real for one other person, writes Good Samaritan Sister Clare Condon.

My article in today's Ming Pao newspaper with the topic: 
Christmas ... and Donald Trump
is on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK". Free access to article with recording today from about noon to 8pm HK time. Text without recording 

This is a powerful answer to the charge that Pius XII was "Hitler's Pope":
BBC owes us the truth on the Church and the Nazis

Albert Einstein: "Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth…I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.”

Yesterday I spent 9 hours at Lo Wu women's prison, encouraged to know that many inmates heard CE candidate Mr Woo Kwok Hing's words on a Sunday night radio program which has a special segment for prisoners ....Mr Woo telling me personally on Sunday night that if he becomes CE he will work for a better justice system for all inmates (..photos coming in next few days...)

Genesis 43

The famine continued and so Jacob sent his sons back to Egypt to buy more grain.

This time Benjamin went with them, even though Jacob worried greatly about his safety.

When the brothers arrived in Egypt Joseph invited them to his home for a meal. Simeon was allowed to join them.

The brothers still didn't recognize Joseph. Joseph was moved when he saw Benjamin, his full blood brother. Joseph left the company and cried for quite some time.

When Joseph rejoined the meal
he gave the brothers a hearty meal which they all enjoyed.
Joseph arranged that Benjamin's portion was extra large.

Dear God, please bless all missing persons

Psalm 128

O blessed are those who love the Lord and walk in his ways.

By the labor of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper:

your wife like a fruitful vine in the heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive, around your table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed the people who love and honor the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life.
May you see your children's children in a happy Jerusalem!

On Israel, peace!

Dear Lord, may all married people live to see their children's children

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 9.32-35

Peter visited churches in many areas. When he went to Lydda,
he saw a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bed-ridden for 8 years

Peter said to him "Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you. Get up and fold up your sleeping mat"

Aeneas got up immediately. The people of that area who saw him, were converted to the Lord

Jesus, let there be more miracles of healing, so that more people will believe in you  

Recording  

 Mark 15.21-32

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

Sometime after 9am, Jesus was nailed to 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. The sign said "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 

Wedding ceremonies often use the beautiful words of Psalm 128: "May you see your children's children" ...especially in our times when marriage is under attack  

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

248: Recording

“Marriages involving disparity of cult represent a privileged place for interreligious dialogue in everyday life… They involve special difficulties regarding both the Christian identity of the family and the religious upbringing of the children…

The number of households with married couples with disparity of cult, on the rise in mission territories, and even in countries of long Christian tradition, urgently requires providing a differentiated pastoral care according to various social and cultural contexts.

In some countries where freedom of religion does not exist, the Christian spouse is obliged to convert to another religion in order to marry, and, therefore, cannot celebrate a canonical marriage involving disparity of cult or baptize the children.

We must therefore reiterate the necessity that the religious freedom of all be respected”.

“Attention needs to be given to the persons who enter such marriages, not only in the period before the wedding. Unique challenges face couples and families in which one partner is Catholic and the other is a non-believer. In such cases, bearing witness to the ability of the Gospel to immerse itself in these situations will make possible the upbringing of their children in the Christian faith”.

237: Recording

On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world.

 Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”.[168] In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity. 

We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity.

  Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence. It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else. The law of weekly rest forbade work on the seventh day, “so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed” (Ex 23:12).

 Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others. And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.

224: Recording 

Sometimes I wonder if there are people in today’s world who are really concerned about generating processes of people-building, as opposed to obtaining immediate results which yield easy, quick short-term political gains, but do not enhance human fullness.

History will perhaps judge the latter with the criterion set forth by Romano Guardini: “The only measure for properly evaluating an age is to ask to what extent it fosters the development and attainment of a full and authentically meaningful human existence, in accordance with the peculiar character and the capacities of that age”.

10 years ago today

2006-12-13 CAS secondary students' concert

Last Sunday night as I walked with Mr Woo Kwok Hing from St Paul's YMT to a Temple Street restaurant, I asked him where he was born. He replied "On this very street we are walking along, Shanghai Street....I was born in Jordan" !!

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 13th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 13th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mali

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 12

Pope (236, below):  the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: “Even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world”

From a reader in Australia:

Creation Pps - SlideShare

-----------------------------------

Video: What "gay marriage" did to Massachusetts

Last night at the weekly gathering for the poor at St Paul's Yau Ma Tei there was a very, very special guest: Mr Woo Kwok Hing, a candidate to be the next Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Photos and reports on tomorrow's menu Please God  

Genesis 42

In Joseph's home country of Canaan, the famine was very severe.

Joseph's father Jacob said to his sons "I hear there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go to Egypt and buy grain for our families so that we will  not die".

All Joseph's brothers, except Benjamin,  went to Egypt and arrived at the place where Joseph was selling grain.

The brothers had not seen Joseph for about 20 years and they didn't recognize him.  But Joseph recognized them.

Joseph put them to the test: he said they were spies, and he told them to bring Benjamin to Egypt
to prove they were not spies.

He kept Simeon in prison until they returned with Benjamin. 

Dear God, please help any places in the world which are suffering from famine

My recording of this reading

Psalm 127

If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor.

If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.

Success comes not from earlier rising or from going later to rest,
but from the Lord's blessing.

Success is from the Lord who blesses the womb of  his beloved while she sleeps.

Truly, children are a gift from the Lord, a blessing, the fruit of the womb.

Lord, many people these days don't want children. Please help such people understand that children are a blessing

Recording 

Acts 9.20-31

After a few days, Paul began preaching in the prayer halls that Jesus is the Son of God. People were amazed at Paul's conversion

As time passed, the Jews planned to kill Paul. Paul heard of this and decided to leave the city. The Jews kept watch at the city gates to stop him leaving

Then one night he was able to escape: some disciples lowered him in a basket from the city wall

He went to Jerusalem and began preaching boldly in the name of the Lord

Soon another plot was made to kill him. Therefore the disciples sent him to Tarsus

After this the churches throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria were left in peace. They steadily grew, strengthened by the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, please strengthen me, as you strengthened Paul and the first believers

Recording 

Mark 15.16-20

After the Roman soldiers scourged Jesus, they made fun of him. They put a purple cloak on him. They made a crown out of thorns and put it on his head

They knelt in front of him and mocked him saying "Hail, king of the Jews".  They hit his head with a reed, and spat on him

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 

It's a bit strange close to Christmas using Gospels about Jesus' suffering ... but from Dec 19 we'll start using Luke ... good timing since Luke has so much of the Christmas story. And ... maybe using the end of Mark reminds us that Pilate did what Herod failed to do: kill Jesus

Recommended 
by a reader in Australia:

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

247: Recording

“Issues involving mixed marriages require particular attention. 

Marriages between Catholics and other baptized persons ‘have their own particular nature, but they contain numerous elements that could well be made good use of and developed, both for their intrinsic value and for the contribution that they can make to the ecumenical movement’.

For this purpose, ‘an effort should be made to establish cordial cooperation between the Catholic and the non-Catholic ministers from the time that preparations begin for the marriage and the wedding ceremony’.

With regard to sharing in the Eucharist, ‘the decision as to whether the non-Catholic party of the marriage may be admitted to Eucharistic communion is to be made in keeping with the general norms existing in the matter, both for Eastern Christians and for other Christians, taking into account the particular situation of the reception of the sacrament of matrimony by two baptized Christians. 

Although the spouses in a mixed marriage share the sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony, Eucharistic sharing can only be exceptional and in each case according to the stated norms’

236: Recording

It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures.

 The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours. In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living centre of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life. 

Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: “Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world”.[166]

 The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation. The world which came forth from God’s hands returns to him in blessed and undivided adoration: in the bread of the Eucharist, “creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards unification with the Creator himself”.[167] 

223c: Recording

Time governs spaces, illumines them and makes them links in a constantly expanding chain, with no possibility of return.

What we need, then, is to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society and engage other persons and groups who can develop them to the point where they bear fruit in significant historical events. 

Without anxiety, but with clear convictions and tenacity.

At least two locations quite close to Queen Elizabeth Hospital have prominent big billboards with the words "Choose green burial ...return to nature"  (free government service for ashes to garden or the sea). Hope hospital  patients can't see these signs from their windows!

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 12th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangsu

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 12th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Guinea Bissau

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 11

Pope (246, below): How can we encourage divorced parents to do everything possible to raise their children in the Christian life, to give them an example of committed and practical faith, if we keep them at arm’s length from the life of the community, as if they were somehow excommunicated?

May the coming celebration of Christmas give our world an increase of hope and peace

George Monbiot:

The McDonald's Theory of Decline     

What I mean is that, under the onslaught of the placeless, transnational capital McDonald’s exemplifies, democracy as a living system withers and dies. The old forms and forums still exist – parliaments and congresses remain standing – but the power they once contained seeps away, re-emerging where we can no longer reach it.

Letters from women in prison in HK for drug trafficking:

Letter from a Kenyan mother. Here (Dec 2)

Letter from a South African mother. Here (Dec 8)

Letter in Portuguese from a Brazilian mother. Here (Nov 17)

c.f. Readings for "Advent 3"

Isaiah 35

Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees, and say to all faint hearts "Courage! Do not be afraid. The Lord is coming to save you."

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed.

Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy.

Exiles will return to Zion shouting for joy, everlasting joy on their faces.

Joy and gladness will go with them. Sorrow and lament will be ended.

Lord, please heal the friends I know who are blind, deaf, dumb 

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 

James 1.1-12

From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Greetings to believers scattered around the world

You will always have difficulties and things going wrong.
When they happen, praise God for them and patiently keep going

Blessed are people who stand firm when trials come. They have proved themselves, and will win the prize of eternal life which the Lord has promised to those who love him

Jesus, please give me patience and praise when life gets tough

Recording  

Matthew 11.1-19

John the Baptist sent some of his friends to ask Jesus "Are you the promised Anointed One?"

Jesus replied "Tell John what you hear and see: blind people see, lame people walk, lepers are healed".

Jesus also said to the people around him how neither John nor himself could please the religious leaders.

"For John always fasted and never drank wine, and people said he was possessed.

I eat well and I drink wine and people call me a glutton and a drunkard."

Jesus, please help me be someone who is easy to live with,
someone who is not hard to please

Recording  

Our sick world has so many problems. We need help from Heaven. We need Jesus. Come Lord Jesus and save us (Isaiah). Come Lord Jesus and protect us (Psalm 146). Come Lord Jesus and give us courage (James).  Come Lord Jesus, Anointed One (Gospel)

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

246: Recording

The Church, while appreciating the situations of conflict that are part of marriage, cannot fail to speak out on behalf of those who are most vulnerable: the children who often suffer in silence. 

Today, “despite our seemingly evolved sensibilities and all our refined psychological analyses, I ask myself if we are not becoming numb to the hurt in children’s souls… Do we feel the immense psychological burden borne by children in families where the members mistreat and hurt one another, to the point of breaking the bonds of marital fidelity?”

Such harmful experiences do not help children to grow in the maturity needed to make definitive commitments. 

For this reason, Christian communities must not abandon divorced parents who have entered a new union, but should include and support them in their efforts to bring up their children.

“How can we encourage those parents to do everything possible to raise their children in the Christian life, to give them an example of committed and practical faith, if we keep them at arm’s length from the life of the community, as if they were somehow excommunicated? We must keep from acting in a way that adds even more to the burdens that children in these situations already have to bear!”

Helping heal the wounds of parents and supporting them spiritually is also beneficial for children, who need the familiar face of the Church to see them through this traumatic experience. 

Divorce is an evil and the increasing number of divorces is very troubling. Hence, our most important pastoral task with regard to families is to strengthen their love, helping to heal wounds and working to prevent the spread of this drama of our times.

235: Recording 

The Sacraments are a privileged way in which nature is taken up by God to become a means of mediating supernatural life. Through our worship of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a different plane.

 Water, oil, fire and colours are taken up in all their symbolic power and incorporated in our act of praise. The hand that blesses is an instrument of God’s love and a reflection of the closeness of Jesus Christ, who came to accompany us on the journey of life. Water poured over the body of a child in Baptism is a sign of new life. Encountering God does not mean fleeing from this world or turning our back on nature.

 This is especially clear in the spirituality of the Christian East. “Beauty, which in the East is one of the best loved names expressing the divine harmony and the model of humanity transfigured, appears everywhere: in the shape of a church, in the sounds, in the colours, in the lights, in the scents”.[164] 

For Christians, all the creatures of the material universe find their true meaning in the incarnate Word, for the Son of God has incorporated in his person part of the material world, planting in it a seed of definitive transformation. “Christianity does not reject matter. Rather, bodiliness is considered in all its value in the liturgical act, whereby the human body is disclosed in its inner nature as a temple of the Holy Spirit and is united with the Lord Jesus, who himself took a body for the world’s salvation”.[165]

223b: Recording

One of the faults which we occasionally observe in sociopolitical activity is that spaces and power are preferred to time and processes. 

Giving priority to space means madly attempting to keep everything together in the present, trying to possess all the spaces of power and of self-assertion; it is to crystallize processes and presume to hold them back.

Giving priority to time means being concerned about initiating processes rather than possessing spaces. 

10 years ago
 today

2006-12-11 Frankie (HK ND), A-Wah, Professor Francesco (Italy) at centers   +
Evening secondary English class at Ricci School

One of the inmates' letters at the top of this menu has the words "I was born and bread in South Africa" ....obviously not a loafer ...trying to make dough and earn a crust

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 11th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hunan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 11th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Eritrea

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 10

Pope (245, below): I make this appeal to parents who are separated:
 Never ever, take your child hostage!

Video: What "gay marriage" did to Massachusetts

Islam File    The New Translation

The video at left "What gay marriage" did to Massachusetts is frightening. Notice the increase in sexually transmitted diseases that goes with a promotion of the radical homosexual agenda.

To help HK avoid the same situation, would anyone please be able to help get Chinese sub-titles put on the video? Please let me know before starting, to avoid more than one person doing such a big job: jdwomi@gmail.com 

Yesterday I made the long trip to Shek Pik Prison on Lantau Island to visit some South African prisoners ...in preparation for my trip to SA at the end of this month DV. 
Then on the way home I visited some newly-arrived African prisoners at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre. No trouble sleeping last night...

Genesis 41 (a)

Two years later Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing by the river Nile and saw 7 healthy cows feeding on the riverside.

Then he saw 7 sickly cows which ate the 7 healthy cows.

Pharaoh woke, then had a second dream when he went back to sleep: 7 rich ears of corn on one stalk, followed by 7 withered ears
which ate the 7 rich ears.

None of Pharaoh's wise men could interpret the dreams.

Then the cup-bearer told Pharaoh
how Joseph could understand dreams. Pharaoh sent for Joseph
and Joseph told Pharaoh the meaning of his dreams: the 7 healthy cows and 7 rich ears meant 7 good years for Egypt; 
the 7 sickly cows and 7 withered ears meant 7 years of famine.

My recording of this reading

Genesis 41 (b)

Joseph also told Pharaoh what to do: use a tax to collect one fifth of all grain in the 7 good years;
then during the 7 years of famine 
use the collected grain to feed Egypt.

Pharaoh and his ministers were so impressed by Joseph's wisdom
that Pharaoh made Joseph governor of the whole of Egypt,
second only to Pharaoh himself.

Pharaoh gave Joseph Asenath, a priest's daughter, as his wife.

Joseph was now 30 years old, 
having spent more than 10 years in Egypt.

For the next 7 years Joseph traveled all over Egypt,
supervising the collection of grain.

Before the famine began, Joseph and Asenath had two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim.

When the famine began, Pharaoh told the Egyptians "Go to Joseph and do what he tells you".

People from all over Egypt and from other countries went to Joseph to buy grain during the famine.

Recording  

Acts 9.1-19

Paul kept up his campaign against the Lord's disciples. He got the ok to arrest followers of the Way in Damascus

But on his way to Damascus, a light from heaven surrounded him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying "Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me?"

He said "Who are you, Lord?"
The voice replied "I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. Go into Damascus and you will be told what to do"

Paul's eyes were open, but for more than a day he was without his sight, and he ate and drank nothing

The Lord got Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to visit Paul and pray for him. The Lord said to Ananias "Paul  is my chosen instrument to bring my name to non-Jews and Jews. He will suffer much for me"

Ananias went to Paul and prayed for him with the laying on of hands. Straight away, Paul could see again. Then Ananias baptized him

Jesus, please help me understand
how unkindness to others is unkindness to you

 Recording 

Mark 15.1-15

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

Giving in to the crowd, Pilate then ordered Jesus to be scourged and crucified

Jesus, help people who are condemned to death

Recording  

Joseph was in prison (Genesis). Paul put people in prison (Acts). Jesus was prisoner in front of Pilate (Mark). The powers that be were wrong about Joseph and Jesus ...both were innocent. Paul was wrong about the people he had imprisoned ...their only "crime" was being Christians. A lesson here for all involved in legal cases ....you can't be too careful in judging legal cases. Come to think of it, so often we are mistaken in our judgements about people. As an old movie (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) puts it: "The time to judge is never"

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

245: Recording

The Synod Fathers also pointed to “the consequences of separation or divorce on children, in every case the innocent victims of the situation”.

Apart from every other consideration, the good of children should be the primary concern, and not overshadowed by any ulterior interest or objective. 

I make this appeal to parents who are separated: “Never ever, take your child hostage! You separated for many problems and reasons. Life gave you this trial, but your children should not have to bear the burden of this separation or be used as hostages against the other spouse. They should grow up hearing their mother speak well of their father, even though they are not together, and their father speak well of their mother”.

It is irresponsible to disparage the other parent as a means of winning a child’s affection, or out of revenge or self-justification. Doing so will affect the child’s interior tranquillity and cause wounds hard to heal.

234: Recording 

Saint John of the Cross taught that all the goodness present in the realities and experiences of this world “is present in God eminently and infinitely, or more properly, God is in each of these sublime realities”.[161] 

This is not because the finite things of this world are really divine, but because the mystic experiences the intimate connection between God and all beings, and thus feels that “all things are God”.[162]

 Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord:

 “Mountains have heights and they are plentiful, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant. These mountains are what my Beloved is to me. Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady and flowing with fresh water; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest. These valleys are what my Beloved is to me”.[163]

223a: Recording

This principle ("time is greater than space") enables us to work slowly but surely, without being obsessed with immediate results.

 It helps us patiently to endure difficult and adverse situations, or inevitable changes in our plans.

 It invites us to accept the tension between fullness and limitation, and to give a priority to time.

10 years ago
 on this day

On the MTR (Metro) on my way home from visits to two prisons yesterday I saw a man wearing a shirt with these words: Anti-Social Club

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 10th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hubei

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 10th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Guinea

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 9

Pope (233, below): The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face

Thursday December 8 

Pope (243, below): The Christian community’s care of divorced persons is not to be considered a weakening of its faith and testimony to the indissolubility of marriage; rather, such care is a particular expression of its charity”.

A man sent his friend a cryptic Christmas card. It said:
A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. 

The recipient puzzled over it for weeks, finally gave up and wrote asking for an explanation.

He received the explanation on a postcard: "No L." 

(The 1st Noel)

After many unsuccessful efforts to get my anti-drug message into media of drug-sending countries, I recently started using Facebook pages of radio and tv stations in those countries. Like this post on a Venezuelan radio station. Here

Chained Venezuelans at Vatican plead for end to their country’s nightmare

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Video "What 'gay-marriage' did to Massachusetts" - at this link:
Lessons Learned from Overseas

HK readers: asylum seeker concert on Sunday, Dec 11 at HK Science Museum. Click to enlarge this poster for details:

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Ireland not ready to meet the Pope

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us

The Immaculate Conception
of Mary by her mother Anne

The immaculate conception of Mary refers to her mother's conception of her, not her conception of Jesus (the virgin birth of Jesus) 

Today's feast reminds us that it is possible to defeat evil - e.g. the evil of drugs. Drug taking can be stopped. Many people have come off drugs by community support and prayer 

c.f. readings for Immaculate Conception

Genesis 3: 

A creature hostile to God took the form of a snake and tempted the first man and first woman. The snake tempted them to disobey God.

When God asked them why they disobeyed him, the man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the snake.

God said to the snake: "You are the enemy of the human race.
Someday a member of the human race will defeat you."

God said to the man and woman:
"From dust you came  and to dust you will return."

The first man's name was Adam (meaning "man"). The first woman's name was Eve (meaning "life").

Dear God, please help me understand how evil in the world
started when Adam and Eve disobeyed you

My recording of this reading

Psalm 98:

Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand has brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation. He has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp, with the sound of music.

Let the sea, the world and all peoples acclaim the King, the Lord.

Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy

at the presence of the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

Lord, may all peoples in all countries know your love and goodness

Recording

Ephesians 1:

God our Father, before Mary was born, you chose her to be Jesus' mother. Before I was born, you  chose me to be a brother/sister of Jesus

Recording

Luke 1:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel
Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary who was betrothed to a man named Joseph

The angel said to her "Mary, Rejoice! You have been greatly blessed by God.  You are to conceive and have a son whom you must name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God"

Mary said to the angel, "How can this happen since I am a virgin?"

The angel replied "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will specially bless you. Know this too: your cousin Elizabeth has, in her old age, conceived a son, and is now in her sixth  month"

"I am the handmaid of the Lord", said Mary, "let what you have said, be done for me".  And the angel left her

God the Son, thank you for becoming a baby in Mary's womb

Recording

Mary got involved, from start to finish - Mary a model re Pope Francis' words "get out", "get involved", "look outwards"

Assumption reflection  - Vatican II encourages a healthy love for the mother of Jesus

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

243: Recording

It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church. 

“They are not excommunicated” and they should not be treated as such, since they remain part of the ecclesial community.

These situations “require careful discernment and respectful accompaniment.

Language or conduct that might lead them to feel discriminated against should be avoided, and they should be encouraged to participate in the life of the community.

The Christian community’s care of such persons is not to be considered a weakening of its faith and testimony to the indissolubility of marriage; rather, such care is a particular expression of its charity”.

The road of no return Part 2: How the courts could have handled the oaths row

232: Recording 

Not everyone is called to engage directly in political life. Society is also enriched by a countless array of organizations which work to promote the common good and to defend the environment, whether natural or urban. 

Some, for example, show concern for a public place (a building, a fountain, an abandoned monument, a landscape, a square), and strive to protect, restore, improve or beautify it as something belonging to everyone. Around these community actions, relationships develop or are recovered and a new social fabric emerges. Thus, a community can break out of the indifference induced by consumerism.

 These actions cultivate a shared identity, with a story which can be remembered and handed on. In this way, the world, and the quality of life of the poorest, are cared for, with a sense of solidarity which is at the same time aware that we live in a common home which God has entrusted to us. These community actions, when they express self-giving love, can also become intense spiritual experiences.

221: Recording

Progress in building a people in peace, justice and fraternity depends on four principles related to constant tensions present in every social reality. 

These derive from the pillars of the Church’s social doctrine, which serve as “primary and fundamental parameters of reference for interpreting and evaluating social phenomena”.

 In their light I would now like to set forth these four specific principles which can guide the development of life in society and the building of a people where differences are harmonized within a shared pursuit.

 I do so out of the conviction that their application can be a genuine path to peace within each nation and in the entire world.

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 8th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Heilongjiang

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 8th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Sierra Leone

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 December 7

Pope (220, below):  Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation

Yesterday I visited Pik Uk Correctional Insitutuion (for under 21 offenders) and next door Pik Uk Prison. At the prison I saw a number of African inmates, especially from Tanzania, who are coming to end of their sentences ....due to be released in the next 3-12 months. They have smiles on their faces which poor inmates who are just starting their 10 year sentences can only dream of.

Australian love-scam victim Yoshe Ann Taylor's appeal rejected by Cambodian court as Nigerian conman lashes out

Drug Lords are still recruiting vulnerable people from Venezuela to come to HK ....people desperate for money ... desperate as in this story:

Women sell hair in order to buy basic necessities

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

What ever happened
to the Easter People?

We might ask how many diocesan bishops have a lay pastoral council, where views might be exchanged and opinions offered?

Genesis 39

The slave traders took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's top officials.

God was with Joseph. God blessed everything Joseph did.

Because Joseph did everything so well Potiphar put Joseph in charge of his household and all his possessions.

Because of Joseph, God blessed Potiphar and all his interests.

Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph who was very handsome. But day after day Joseph refused to sleep with her.

Then one day when Joseph again refused her she tore his clothes and started screaming.

She claimed Joseph had tried to seduce her. Potiphar believed his wife and he put Joseph in jail.

Dear God, please don't let me cause other people to do wrong

Psalm 125

Those who put their trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, that cannot be shaken.

Jerusalem, the mountains surround her, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forever.

Lord, please help us be more aware of your protecting presence

Recording   

Acts 8.4-8

The believers who escaped from Jerusalem went from place to place spreading the Good News

One of these believers was Philip. He preached about Jesus in a Samaritan town

The Samaritans welcomed Philip's message because of the miracles he worked

Unclean spirits came out of many possessed people, and a number of handicapped people were cured

Such miracles caused great rejoicing in that town

Jesus, let there be more miracles in our day, especially the healing of handicapped people

Recording 

Mark 14.53-65

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 "I am". The 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 

The Joseph story (Genesis) has been made into one of my favourite movies ...I've seen it more than 50 times, in English classes ....Joseph, King of Dreams ...great music and songs

Daniel Daring: New Year Resolution - Reading the New Testament

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

242: Recording

The Synod Fathers noted that “special discernment is indispensable for the pastoral care of those who are separated, divorced or abandoned. 

Respect needs to be shown especially for the sufferings of those who have unjustly endured separation, divorce or abandonment, or those who have been forced by maltreatment from a husband or a wife to interrupt their life together.

To forgive such an injustice that has been suffered is not easy, but grace makes this journey possible. Pastoral care must necessarily include efforts at reconciliation and mediation, through the establishment of specialized counselling centres in dioceses”.

At the same time, “divorced people who have not remarried, and often bear witness to marital fidelity, ought to be encouraged to find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to sustain them in their present state of life. The local community and pastors should accompany these people with solicitude, particularly when children are involved or when they are in serious financial difficulty”.

Family breakdown becomes even more traumatic and painful in the case of the poor, since they have far fewer resources at hand for starting a new life. A poor person, once removed from a secure family environment, is doubly vulnerable to abandonment and possible harm.

Recommended 
by a reader in Australia:

YouTube by The Catholic Guy

...personal prayer....growing in our relationship with Jesus ....especially for leaders

231: Recording 

Love, overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world. 

Love for society and commitment to the common good are outstanding expressions of a charity which affects not only relationships between individuals but also “macro-relationships, social, economic and political ones”.[156] That is why the Church set before the world the ideal of a “civilization of love”.[157] 

Social love is the key to authentic development: “In order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity”.[158]

 In this framework, along with the importance of little everyday gestures, social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a “culture of care” which permeates all of society. When we feel that God is calling us to intervene with others in these social dynamics, we should realize that this too is part of our spirituality, which is an exercise of charity and, as such, matures and sanctifies us. 

220: Recording

People in every nation enhance the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible citizens, not as a mob swayed by the powers that be.

 Let us not forget that “responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation”.

Yet becoming a people demands something more. It is an ongoing process in which every new generation must take part: a slow and arduous effort calling for a desire for integration and a willingness to achieve this through the growth of a peaceful and multifaceted culture of encounter.

At Tai Lam women's prison on Monday and at Pik Up prison yesterday, many inmates wished me a Merry Christmas. I didn't have the heart to wish them a Merry Christmas (..how can you be happy in prison? ...), but, as in previous years, they genuinely and warmly wish all visitors a Merry Christmas. A lesson here ....

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 7th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hebei

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 7th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Burkina Faso

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)