Tuesday December 20

Pope (255, below): Our deceased loved ones have no need of our suffering, nor does it flatter them that we should ruin our lives.

Has had 6,656,406 views!

Say Merry Christmas

This is so relevant!

Can the Catholic Church help an addicted generation

More than 27 million Americans have problems with prescription drugs, illegal drugs or alcohol. 

And it’s not just substance addictions that are on the rise. Process addictions, related to behaviors, have also seen recent spikes. Pornography addiction in particular has reached what some view as crisis levels.

I was expecting something like this ...and he didn't let me down: 

Pope celebrates 80th birthday by inviting homeless to breakfast

Pope Francis kicked off his 80th birthday on Saturday by having breakfast with a group of homeless from around St Peter’s and inviting them to Mass. 

For God’s sake Pope Francis, don’t retire. The world needs you

What is the distance between Nazareth and Bethlehem?
 ....Mary on a donkey, Jospeh walking...

c.f. readings for Dec 20

Isaiah 7: 

A foreign king and his army attacked  Jerusalem. The king of Judah and his people were full of fear.

God told Isaiah to say to the king of Judah: "Keep calm, have no fear. You will not be defeated.

The Lord himself  gives you a sign of his protection: a maiden is with child and will give birth to a son whom she will call God-with-us."

Lord,  please help me understand how you are God-with-me every day

My recording of this reading

Psalms  24-26:

The Lord's is the earth and all its peoples. It is the Lord who is Creator of the universe.

May all hearts open their doors to the Lord. Let him enter, the king of glory.

Lord I hope in you all the day long. Forgive my sins and help me walk in your truth.

God my savior, teach me your way of truth

Recording

Recording

Today's Gospel:

Luke 1.26-38

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  

As Christmas comes close, the Bible readings begin to focus on the mother of the Christmas baby. Six days before the baby's birth, were she and Joseph already in Bethlehem by now? Or still on the way?  Let's often think of them this week.

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

255: Recording

Ordinarily, the grieving process takes a fair amount of time, and when a pastor must accompany that process, he has to adapt to the demands of each of its stages.

The entire process is filled with questions: about the reasons why the loved one had to die, about all the things that might have been done, about what a person experiences at the moment of death.

With a sincere and patient process of prayer and interior liberation, peace returns.

At particular times, we have to help the grieving person to realize that, after the loss of a loved one, we still have a mission to carry out, and that it does us no good to prolong the suffering, as if it were a form of tribute.

Our loved ones have no need of our suffering, nor does it flatter them that we should ruin our lives.

Nor is it the best expression of love to dwell on them and keep bringing up their name, because this is to be dependent on the past instead of continuing to love them now that they are elsewhere. 

They can no longer be physically present to us, yet for all death’s power, “love is strong as death” (Song 8:6). 

Love involves an intuition that can enable us to hear without sounds and to see the unseen. 

This does not mean imagining our loved ones as they were, but being able to accept them changed as they now are.

The risen Jesus, when his friend Mary tried to embrace him, told her not to hold on to him (cf. Jn 20:17), in order to lead her to a different kind of encounter.

244: Recording

In the meantime, we come together to take charge of this home which has been entrusted to us, knowing that all the good which exists here will be taken up into the heavenly feast.

 In union with all creatures, we journey through this land seeking God, for “if the world has a beginning and if it has been created, we must enquire who gave it this beginning, and who was its Creator”.[172]

 Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope. 

231: Recording 

There also exists a constant tension between ideas and realities. 

Realities simply are, whereas ideas are worked out. 

There has to be continuous dialogue between the two, lest ideas become detached from realities.

It is dangerous to dwell in the realm of words alone, of images and rhetoric.

So a third principle comes into play: realities are greater than ideas. 

This calls for rejecting the various means of masking reality: angelic forms of purity, dictatorships of relativism, empty rhetoric, objectives more ideal than real, brands of ahistorical fundamentalism, ethical systems bereft of kindness, intellectual discourse bereft of wisdom.

10 years ago today

2006-12-20 Christmas canteen meal for migrant worker families living near former Xavier
Center

Christmas smile

Little boy in "Outback" Australia had never seen rain. 
There had been a drought for more than 5 years.
Then just before Christmas the clouds began to form.
On Christmas Eve water fell from the sky.
The little boy ran to the window to see what was happening.
He called out to his mother "Mum, what's that?"
His mother replied "That's rain, dear"  (..reindeer..)

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 20th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Sichuan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 20th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Gambia

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)

Both of these are good!

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

"A Facebook Christmas Story".

The 16 page booklet Good News for the Poor has just been reprinted (I'm planning to take many copies to Southern Africa) and now has its own website: 
www.goodnewsforthepoor.earth 

(great name ...the poor of the earth ..)

Another one from San Paulo:
HK$3.5mn worth of cocaine seized at HKIA

Letter in Spanish from a Venezuelan woman in prison in HK for drug trafficking. Here (Nov 24)

c.f. readings for Dec 19

Judges 12-13:

Jephthah was judge in Israel for 6 years. For the following 25 years,
Ibzan (7 years), Elon (10 years)  and Abdon  (8 years) were judges.

After these judges, the Israelites again were unfaithful to the Lord
and so they were oppressed by the Philistines for 40 years.

It was then that the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife
and said to her:

"You are barren and have had no child. But you will soon conceive and bear a son. No razor is to touch his head, for he shall be dedicated to the Lord from his mother's womb. It is he who will rescue Israel from the Philistines".

The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew and the Lord blessed him.

Dear Lord, please bless all barren women

Recording of this reading

Psalm 71:

In you, O Lord, I take refuge.
Please hear me and help me.

Be a rock where I can take refuge. Rescue me from people who want to hurt me.

It is you, O Lord, who are my hope. In you I have trusted since I was young.

From my mother's womb you have been my help. My hope has always been in you.

Now that I am old, please do not forget me. Now that my strength fails, do not abandon me.

Now that I am old and grey-headed, may I continue to trust in you and proclaim your help.

To you I will sing with the harp.
All day long my tongue will tell of your goodness to me.

Lord, may all elderly people put their trust and hope in you

Recording 

Recording 

Today's Gospel:

Luke 1. 5-25

When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth who were really good people,
but they were childless

Once when they went to the Temple in Jerusalem, Zechariah entered the inner sanctuary to burn incense, while all the people prayed outside

An angel appeared and said "Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife will have a son and you must name him John.
He will prepare the way of the Lord"

Not long after this, Elizabeth conceived, and for 5 months she kept to herself, thanking God for taking away her humiliation at not being able to have a baby

Jesus, please help childless couples to have a baby

Recording  

Jesus was not the first baby from Heavenly Family Planning. Samson (today's first reading) and John the Baptist (today's Gospel) were Heavenly-assisted babies.... each in his own way prefiguring Mary's baby.

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

254: Recording

I can understand the anguish felt by those who have lost a much-loved person, a spouse with whom they have shared so much. 

Jesus himself was deeply moved and began to weep at the death of a friend (cf. Jn 11:33, 35).

And how can we even begin to understand the grief of parents who have lost a child? 

“It is as if time stops altogether: a chasm opens to engulf both past and future”, and “at times we even go so far as to lay the blame on God. How many people - I can understand them - get angry with God”.

“Losing one’s spouse is particularly difficult… From the moment of enduring a loss, some display an ability to concentrate their energies in a greater dedication to their children and grandchildren, finding in this experience of love a renewed sense of mission in raising their children…. 

Those who do not have relatives to spend time with and to receive affection from, should be aided by the Christian community with particular attention and availability, especially if they are poor”.

243: Recording

At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God (cf. 1 Cor 13:12), and be able to read with admiration and happiness the mystery of the universe, which with us will share in unending plenitude.

Even now we are journeying towards the sabbath of eternity, the new Jerusalem, towards our common home in heaven.

Jesus says: “I make all things new” (Rev 21:5). Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place.

Recommended
 by a reader in Australia

230: Recording

The message of peace is not about a negotiated settlement but rather the conviction that the unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity. 

It overcomes every conflict by creating a new and promising synthesis.

 Diversity is a beautiful thing when it can constantly enter into a process of reconciliation and seal a sort of cultural covenant resulting in a “reconciled diversity”.

 As the bishops of the Congo have put it: “Our ethnic diversity is our wealth… It is only in unity, through conversion of hearts and reconciliation, that we will be able to help our country to develop on all levels”

When I got to St Paul's YMT for Mass yesterday morning, I noticed something about the Christmas stable: the cow statue was in the empty crib. An ox in the box!  I evicted it and asked the donkey on the other side of the crib to keep an eye on things. 

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 19th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shanxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 19th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Sudan

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)

7 days to Christmas.  O Come, Divine Messiah, our troubled world urgently needs your peace

Photos of Nigerian man in Guangzhou responsible for at least two women from China being in prison in HK on drug trafficking charges. Here (July 13)

I've posted this story at Nigeria's No. 1 Blog.....here

One of the saddest letters I have ever received - about a Kenyan woman due to be executed in Malaysia for drug trafficking. Here (Dec 14)

I've posted this story at East Africa's No. 1 Blog .....here (scroll down to my name)

Asylum seekers who sheltered Snowden in Hong Kong at risk of being deported, lawyer warns  (and see my comment)

c.f. Readings for "Advent 4"

Isaiah 7

A foreign king and his army attacked  Jerusalem. The king of Judah and his people were full of fear.

God told Isaiah to say to the king of Judah: "Keep calm, have no fear.  You will not be defeated.

The Lord himself  gives you a sign of his protection: a maiden is with child and will give birth to a son whom she will call God-with-us."

Lord,  please help me understand how you are God-with-me every day

My recording of this reading

Psalms 24-26

The Lord's is the earth and all its peoples. It is the Lord who is Creator of the universe.

May all hearts open their doors to the Lord. Let him enter, the king of glory.

Lord I hope in you all the day long. Forgive my sins and help me walk in your truth.

God my savior, teach me your way of truth

Recording 

Today's Gospel:

Romans 1.1-7

From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News

This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of David

This news is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, by his resurrection from the dead, proved he was the Son of God

From him I received my mission to preach the obedience of faith to non-Jewish nations

You are one of these nations. You belong to Jesus Christ

To you who are God's beloved friends in Rome, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give grace and peace

Jesus, Son of God,  may all nations know and love you

Recording  

Matthew 1.18-23

Recording  

Today's first reading and Gospel say how Jesus will be Emmanuel, "God with us". 
From "God be with you" came "Godbwye" which became "Godbye" which became "Goodbye".
Each time we say "bye bye" or  "bye" or "goodbye" to someone, let's remember the meaning "God be with you".

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

253: Recording

When death makes us feel its sting

At times family life is challenged by the death of a loved one.

We cannot fail to offer the light of faith as a support to families going through this experience.

To turn our backs on a grieving family would show a lack of mercy, mean the loss of a pastoral opportunity, and close the door to other efforts at evangelization.

YouTube - 4,700,000 views

Where's the line to see Jesus?

Cardinal Paulo Everisto Arns obituary
When we got to the third paragraph, the pope (JPII) became indignant and said, ‘I am not going to sign this. I never said this about you, Paulo, and neither do I want it stated in a document.’ He then threw the paper on the floor.”

242: Recording

At Mary's side in the Holy Family of Nazareth, stands the figure of Saint Joseph. Through his work and generous presence, he cared for and defended Mary and Jesus, delivering them from the violence of the unjust by bringing them to Egypt. 
The Gospel presents Joseph as a just man, hard-working and strong. But he also shows great tenderness, which is not a mark of the weak but of those who are genuinely strong, fully aware of reality and ready to love and serve in humility. 
That is why he was proclaimed custodian of the universal Church. He too can teach us how to show care; he can inspire us to work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us.

Vatican official

229: Recording

This principle, drawn from the Gospel, reminds us that Christ has made all things one in himself: heaven and earth, God and man, time and eternity, flesh and spirit, person and society. The sign of this unity and reconciliation of all things in him is peace. Christ “is our peace” (Eph 2:14 ).

The Gospel message always begins with a greeting of peace, and peace at all times crowns and confirms the relations between the disciples.

 Peace is possible because the Lord has overcome the world and its constant conflict “by making peace through the blood of his cross”  

But if we look more closely at these biblical texts, we find that the locus of this reconciliation of differences is within ourselves, in our own lives, ever threatened as they are by fragmentation and breakdown. If hearts are shattered in thousands of pieces, it is not easy to create authentic peace in society.

10 years ago
 today

2006-12-18 San Mau No. 4 Hospital's Dr Mai and Nurse Luo with CAS's Garth - visiting Mr
Xue, Li Jan Jan, Mr An and Wendy

These days I spend so much time at the High Court that maybe I'll soon start growing a wig!?

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 18th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shandong

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 18th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ivory Coast

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 17              Happy 80th Birthday, Pope Francis!

Pope (241, below): Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power.   

Excellent article for helping us to follow Pope Francis in trying to live a simpler life:

The Meaning of Bethlehem

Bethlehem ought to develop in us a sensitivity to what is authentic and simple, starting with asking whether it might  be possible to celebrate and be happy with fewer things

Nature's Job Description for Marriage and Family - Dr David Van Gend

What to expect in Australia, HK and other places if the radical rainbow agenda is allowed to succeed: 
School district strikes back at Omaha parents’ group that exposed graphic “comprehensive sex-ed” curriculum

Letter from a Ugandan man in prison in HK ...naming Nigerian Drug Lords in Kampala and their location (the Abuja Restaurant)
- Here (Nov 28)

Letter from a Filipina serving 10 years in prison in HK -  Here

Two more letters (one in English) from a Russian man in prison in Hong Kong for drug trafficking   - Here (Dec 9)

Has had 5,673,000 views:
Mary, Did You Know?

7 days to Christmas:
Come Jesus, Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: teach us to walk in the paths of knowledge

c.f. readings for Dec 17

Genesis 49: 

Jesus, "Lion of Judah" may all peoples of the world know and love you

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 

Matthew 1.18-24 

Recording

Mt 1.1-17 (cont)

Recording

Jesus, your family tree had some interesting characters! Please bless my family tree

Today the Church begins the liturgical countdown to Christmas. May the special readings of the next seven days give us hope and courage .... as we think and pray about the birth of our Saviour

Elizabeth
 Anderson

Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD (9 June 1836 – 17 December 1917),  an English physician and feminist, the first Englishwoman to qualify as a physician and surgeon in Britain, the co-founder of the first hospital staffed by women, the first dean of a British medical school, the first female M.D. in France, the first woman in Britain to be elected to a school board and, as Mayor of Aldeburgh, the first female mayor and magistrate in Britain

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

252: Recording

Single-parent families often result from “the unwillingness of biological mothers or fathers to be part of a family; situations of violence, where one parent is forced to flee with the children; the death of one of the parents; the abandonment of the family by one parent, and other situations. 

Whatever the cause, single parents must receive encouragement and support from other families in the Christian community, and from the parish’s pastoral outreach.

Often these families endure other hardships, such as economic difficulties, uncertain employment prospects, problems with child support and lack of housing”.

George Monbiot: The Fortifying Commons

In his brilliant, incendiary new book Age of Anger, Pankaj Mishra explains the current crises as new manifestations of one long disruption, that has been ripping up society for 200 years or more. Our sanitised histories of Europe and America allow us to forget that bedlam and carnage, civil and international war, colonialism and overseas slaughter, racism and genocide were norms of this period, not exceptions.

Now the rest of the world is confronting the same disruptive forces, as industrial capitalism is globalised. It destroys old forms of authority while promising universal freedom, autonomy and prosperity. Those promises collide with massive disparities of power, status and property ownership. The result is the global spread of the 19th-century European diseases of humiliation, envy and a sense of impotence. Frustrated expectations, rage and self-disgust have driven support for movements as diverse as Isis, resurgent Hindu nationalism and stomping demagoguery in Britain, the US, France and Hungary.

From today's Mass:

Heavenly Father, your Word became man, born of the Virgin Mary. May we share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

241: Recording 

Mary, the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for this wounded world. Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power. 

Completely transfigured, she now lives with Jesus, and all creatures sing of her fairness. She is the Woman, “clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12:1). Carried up into heaven, she is the Mother and Queen of all creation. In her glorified body, together with the Risen Christ, part of creation has reached the fullness of its beauty. She treasures the entire life of Jesus in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19,51), and now understands the meaning of all things. Hence, we can ask her to enable us to look at this world with eyes of wisdom.

228: Recording

In this way it becomes possible to build communion amid disagreement, but this can only be achieved by those great persons who are willing to go beyond the surface of the conflict and to see others in their deepest dignity.

This requires acknowledging a principle indispensable to the building of friendship in society: namely, that unity is greater than conflict.

Solidarity, in its deepest and most challenging sense, thus becomes a way of making history in a life setting where conflicts, tensions and oppositions can achieve a diversified and life-giving unity. 

This is not to opt for a kind of syncretism, or for the absorption of one into the other, but rather for a resolution which takes place on a higher plane and preserves what is valid and useful on both sides.

10 years ago
 on this day

A minister of a city church enjoyed a few drinks, but his passion was for peach brandy. One of his congregants would make him a bottle each Christmas. One year, when the minister went to visit his friend, hoping for his usual Christmas present, he was not disappointed, but his friend told him that he had to thank him for the peach brandy from the pulpit the next Sunday. In his haste to get the bottle, the minister hurriedly agreed and left. So the next Sunday the minister suddenly remembered that he had to make a public announcement that he was being supplied alcohol from a member of the church. That morning, his friend sat in the church with a grin on his face, waiting to see the minister's embarrassment. The minister climbed into the pulpit and said, "Before we begin, I have an announcement. I would very much like to thank my friend, Joe, for his kind gift of peaches...and for the spirit in which they were given!"

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 17th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shaanxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 17th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Malawi

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

Things are happening too fast for most people to keep up with. Please read this:
At UN next week: Appointment of a Global LGBT Enforcer
(I have signed the petition)

Video: What "gay marriage" did to Massachusetts

The Church of Laos joyfully celebrates the beatification of 17 martyrs (including 6 O.M.I.s)

At the end of the celebration, to the great astonishment of the assembly, the Deputy Director of the Lao Front  praised at length the doctrine and action of the Catholic Church in Laos. The Apostolic Nuncio did not hesitate to take hold of that outstretched hand: he expressed his wish that harmony and collaboration will develop

This is what every city needs:

First of 165 emergency beds for Dublin homeless to open

Genesis 45

When Joseph realized his older brothers were sorry for having sold him as a slave he was overcome and started crying loudly.

He told his brothers "I  am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. God sent me here to provide food for you".

He hugged all his brothers and talked with them. Joseph told his brothers to bring their father
and their families to Egypt since the famine would last for five more years.

Pharaoh was pleased that Joseph's brothers had come
and warmly invited them to live in Egypt.

The brothers returned to Canaan.
They told their father that Joseph was alive. Their father Jacob was overcome with joy.
 
Dear God, please help separated family members to be re-united 

My recording of this reading

Psalm 133

How good and how pleasant it is
when people live in unity.

It is like precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard.

It is like the dew of Hermon
which falls on the heights of Zion.

For there the Lord gives his blessing, life for ever.

Dear Lord, please help all the peoples of the world to live as one family, in unity.

Recording

Acts 11.19-26

Some believers went to Antioch in Syria where they preached the Good News of the Lord Jesus to non-Jewish people. Many non-Jewish people became believers

Barnabas, a good man filled with the Holy Spirit, was sent to Antioch in Syria to encourage the new believers to remain faithful to the Lord

Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch. They stayed in Antioch one year, instructing a large number of people

It was at Antioch that the believers were first called "Christians"

Jesus, please help me be a good Christian

Recording

Mark 15.42-47

Joseph from Arimathaea was a rich man who had become a disciple of Jesus. After Jesus died on Friday, he asked Governor Pilate for Jesus' body.

Joseph wrapped the body in a clean burial cloth and put it in a tomb in a rock cave. He then put a large stone at the cave's entrance.

Mary of Magdala and another woman watched Joseph as he put Jesus' body in the tomb

Jesus in the tomb, please give eternal life to everyone who dies today

Recording

Jacob (today's reading from Genesis) must have been the happiest man on the planet when he heard that not only was Benjamin was safe, but that Joseph was alive. 

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

250: Recording

The Church makes her own the attitude of the Lord Jesus, who offers his boundless love to each person without exception.

During the Synod, we discussed the situation of families whose members include persons who experience same-sex attraction, a situation not easy either for parents or for children.

We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence. 

Such families should be given respectful pastoral guidance, so that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives

239: Recording 

For Christians, believing in one God who is trinitarian communion suggests that the Trinity has left its mark on all creation. Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature “testifies that God is three”.

The reflection of the Trinity was there to be recognized in nature “when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become darkened”.

The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure, so real that it could be readily contemplated if only the human gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to read reality in a Trinitarian key.

226: Recording

Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced. But if we remain trapped in conflict, we lose our perspective, our horizons shrink and reality itself begins to fall apart. In the midst of conflict, we lose our sense of the profound unity of reality.

About a week ago I received an email from CNN asking if they could do an interview about my anti-drug campaign.
A team of 4 came to my home yesterday around midday ...but when they saw how small my home was, they moved camp to the footpath of Temple Street. As they filed out the door of my home after a 30 second inspection, I said "well, that sure was the quickest visit I've ever had!

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 15th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Liaoning

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 15th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Zimbabwe

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 14

Pope (238, below):  The Son, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary.

Last Sunday night Hong Kong Chief Executive candidate (former) Judge Woo Kwok Hing graciously attended our gathering for the poor at St Paul's Yau Ma Tei. 

Asked to greet each table in the hall, Mr Woo not only went to each table. He shook hands with everyone at every table ....almost 300 people....who were captivated by his words as he spoke about his concern for the poor ....and as he answered questions from the guests.....and as he posed for photos with a group of around 20 homeless people. Followed by a meal at a Temple Street restaurant with Sunday night volunteers. Thank you dear God for a most encouraging night. Please let Mr Woo become the next CE!      Photos here

Yesterday after attending a case at the High Court in the morning, I went to the Open University of Hong Kong to enroll an African prison inmate for his next semester (...he's now completed five semesters ...well done!). 

And I thought back to the day when I myself enrolled at Monash University in Melbourne .... 50 years ago this year! 

Chris McDonnell   (UK blogger)

In a time of preparation: 
The Great Antiphons
 of Advent

It has been said that they create ‘a poetry that fills the liturgy with splendour’

Genesis

Joseph had his brothers' sacks filled with free grain, then he gave them back their money.

But he again put them to the test:
he got his servants to put his special chalice in Benjamin's sack.

Not long after the brothers left,
Joseph's servants caught up with them and asked them why had they stolen Joseph's chalice.

They replied that they would never dream of doing such a thing and that if the chalice was found in anyone's sack that man would die.

Each man's sack was opened, beginning with the oldest, and finally the chalice was discovered in Benjamin's sack.

On returning to Joseph's home
the brothers pleaded with Joseph not to punish Benjamin.

Judah even offered to be Joseph's slave for life in return for Benjamin's freedom

Dear God, please help us in time of trial

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice.

If you, O Lord, should  record our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

But with you is found forgiveness. For this we revere you.

My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.

My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for the daybreak.

With the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption.

Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its  iniquity.

Lord, please forgive me for all the bad things I have done

Recording   

Acts 10.1-48

Cornelius was a Roman centurion stationed in the town of Caesarea. He and his household prayed, loved God, and helped the local people

One morning Cornelius had a vision that Peter would visit him.
In another town, Peter was instructed by the Lord to visit Cornelius

Peter preached God's message to Cornelius and his household.
While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners

Jewish believers  who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the Holy Spirit would come down on non-Jewish people

Holy Spirit, please come down on all peoples everywhere!

Recording 

Mark 15.33-39

Jesus was put on the cross sometime after 9am. From about noon until 3pm there was darkness over all the land

About 3pm Jesus cried out the words of Psalm 22 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

A little while later he again cried out in a loud voice. Then he died. At that moment the holy curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom

The leader of the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus, when he saw how Jesus died, said "Truly this man was a son of God"

Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for the salvation of the world

Recording 

As Christmas comes near we start to hear a voice in our hearts telling us to slow down .... and be with Mary as she awaits the birth of her Baby .... who is destined to die on a cross for the salvation of the world 

John Allen: Time for a tipping point on anti-Christian persecution

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

249: Recording

“Particular problems arise when persons in a complex marital situation wish to be baptized.

These persons contracted a stable marriage at a time when at least one of them did not know the Christian faith.

 In such cases, bishops are called to exercise a pastoral discernment which is commensurate with their spiritual good”.

238: Recording 

The Father is the ultimate source of everything, the loving and self-communicating foundation of all that exists. 

The Son, his reflection, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary.

The Spirit, infinite bond of love, is intimately present at the very heart of the universe, inspiring and bringing new pathways.

 The world was created by the three Persons acting as a single divine principle, but each one of them performed this common work in accordance with his own personal property. Consequently, “when we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity”.

225: Recording

This criterion also applies to evangelization, which calls for attention to the bigger picture, openness to suitable processes and concern for the long run. 

The Lord himself, during his earthly life, often warned his disciples that there were things they could not yet understand and that they would have to await the Holy Spirit. 

The parable of the weeds among the wheat graphically illustrates an important aspect of evangelization: the enemy can intrude upon the kingdom and sow harm, but ultimately he is defeated by the goodness of the wheat

Catechist to group of small children in front of Christmas crib a week before Christmas: 
Is Jesus in the crib?
Children: not yet.
Catechist: yes he is. He's already there.
Children: but we can't see him.
Catechist: you can't see him him yet, but he's already there.
One child: I get it ...inside his mother Mary!

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 14th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jilin

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 14th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ethiopia

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)