V2Catholic.com  A voice for the poor   Edited by HK prison chaplain 
 Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I . 胡頌恆神父    jdwomi@gmail.com   

Happy Lunar New Year of the Rooster!

Saturday January 28

At the Lusaka Central Prison which I visited with Fr Freeborn O.M.I. late last Thursday, I heard officials say that earlier in the day they had deported 147 Ethiopians who had been found in a container bound for South Africa. (Google "Ethiopians container Zambia" for info & photos re this trafficking)

This Spanish prison ministry is helping rehabilitate inmates

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Friday January 27

Hello from Lusaka airport in Zambia, where I'm waiting for a flight to Dubai....after another long but happy day:

This morning my faithful guide Bro Max and I were at the local Catholic radio station for 8.15 Mass, arranged by the O.M.I. director of the station Fr Singini.

Then we took part in a one-hour live program at the station, explaining the situation of people who are recruited as drug mules to go to Hong Kong. 

Next we visited a nearby O.M.I. parish one of whose priests is the world's newest Oblate priest, Fr Abraham - ordained January 21. (A security guard at the radio station is named Isaac. Not often one meets Abraham and Isaac in one morning!)

Then after lunch back at the O.M.I. main centre, Delegation Leader Fr Freeborn kindly took me to a meeting with several prison chaplains, followed by a visit to Lusaka Central Prison and the National Marian Shrine....and lastly the airport....where after posting this mini-blog, I'll try to catch up on some email  (internet working well here!)

What a month! I could a book about each day. I'm looking forward to a bit of a rest in Dubai and time to do a report on the trip and a number of other trip-related jobs.

My Mass at the radio station this morning was for all the people who made this trip possible, for all the people I've met on the trip (especially the families of prisoners in Hong Kong) ....and for Africa!

Thank you Jesus for Day 30!

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Thursday January 26

Yesterday morning I joined about a dozen other O.M.I.s for 7am Mass at the O.M.I. centre in Lusaka, Zambia where I've been staying these days. 
Then at midday my faithful guide and driver, Bro Max O.M.I. and I had a meal in a local mall with a very special family of an inmate in prison in Hong Kong. That was the last family I was due to see in Southern Africa ....all now seen....all  27 families ....and also one of an inmate recently released...that's 28 ....and several of them more than once ....like one whose husband and children are in Johannesburg and parents in Lesotho.
Yesterday afternoon Bro. Max took me to the O.M.I. "pre-novitiate" (seminary) where I had a sharing session with about 20 students.

This morning I'm due to visit an O.M.I. radio station for Mass and an interview ....then two more O.M.I. centres before I head for the airport and a flight to Dubai.
Much trouble yesterday with internet connection. Wifi not working. USB modem not working. I am typing this in the hope that help is on the way. 
I'll try to post another update here before my flight to Dubai. But if internet problems continue I may not be able to post another update until Dubai.

Thank you Jesus for Day 29!  

Chris McDonnel (UK)

Another year, another remembrance
(Jan 27: International holocaust remembrance day)

The mark of so many of those we call ‘saints’ for want of a better word, has been precisely the sense of being undefeated even in the most difficult of circumstances.

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Wednesday January 25
 - O.M.I. congregation began 201 years ago today.

Yesterday morning I was up at 4.30 (after a very late night previously) for 5.30am Mass with Brother Max O.M.I. who then, after a quick breakfast,  drove me the 6 hours from Lusaka to Kitwe (in the copper belt of Zambia ...lots of Chinese mines and businesses) where we spent two and a half hours with two families of inmates in prison in HK ....then one or two other jobs....then the six hours back to Lusaka (with a stop for a meal) ...arriving home at 11pm....and we are due to be on deck for 7am Mass today for the O.M.I. anniversary.

So....please excuse this min-menu. Chris McD - your article will be on tomorrow's menu DV.

Today here in Lusaka I'm due to see the very last family of the HK inmates.

Thank you Jesus for Day 28!

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Tuesday January 24

As I packed up yesterday to leave South Africa, I had one special regret: there was one family of an inmate in prison in HK ...just one out of 24 in South Africa .... that I'd been unable to contact. I had phoned many, many times without success.
Yesterday morning, before leaving early for the airport, something (Someone) made me try one last time ...and the phone was answered....and my airport taxi driver took me to meet the inmate's family before we went to the airport. Thank you Lord! The inmate would have been so disappointed if I'd not made contact with his family. And his family is a very special one where I've been able to help bring about a very important reconciliation. DG!

But my joy turned to confusion when I arrived at the airport. See
, below!!!

Today I'm due to travel to the town/city of Kitwe (just above the name "ZAMBIA" on the map of Zambia, above) to visit the families of two more inmates. 

Thank you Jesus for Day 27!

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible

Exodus 22: Laws announced by Moses: "If a man seduces a virgin, he must marry her. A sorceress must be put to death.
Anyone who has intercourse with an animal must die. Do not discriminate against foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Do not be harsh to widows and orphans. Do not demand interest if you make a loan to a poor person. Always remember you are a people consecrated to God."
Dear God, please help us not to hurt other people
My recording of this reading

Psalm 6: Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength. My body is racked with pain. Please heal me, Lord. I am exhausted with my groaning. Every night  my pillow is covered  with tears. Lord, please hear my prayer.
Dear Lord, please help people who are in distress of mind or body
Recording

Acts 16.11-15: Paul left Athens and went to the city of Corinth. He met a Jewish couple who had recently left Italy when the Emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome. The couple were tentmakers, like Paul himself. Paul stayed with them and they worked together. Each Sabbath Paul preached in the prayer halls,
trying to convert Jews as well as non-Jewish people.
Jesus, thank you for the example of Paul who worked to support himself and didn't live off others
Recording

Luke 1: 5, 19-34: One day when Jesus was standing near the Lake of Gennesaret, with people pressing round him listening to the word of God, he saw two fishing boats near the bank. He got into one boat, it belonged to Simon Peter, and taught people from the boat, away from the shore a little distance. When he'd finished speaking he said to Simon "Go out further to deep water and use your nets for a catch of fish". Simon replied "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but if you say so I'll lower the nets". They soon caught so many fish that the nets began to tear. They called to their friends in the second boat to come and help. Both boats were soon filled with fish.

Peter fell at Jesus' knees and said "Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man", for he was overcome by the catch they had made, as were James and John who were his partners. But Jesus said to Simon "Don't be afraid. From now on, you will be fishers of men".  Simon and his friends then left everything to follow Jesus.
Jesus,  bless and protect  all "fishers of men"
Recording

Reflection on the above readings:  Today's reading from Acts reminds us that Paul earned his living, as a tent-maker ... just like Jesus earned his living as a carpenter. My own tent-making is doing weekday recordings and writing bi-monthly articles for Ming Pao ....below. Pays for my rent!    

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My article in today's Ming Pao newspaper with the topic: 
January 24, 2017: A Lunar New Year wish!
is on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK". 
Free access to article with recording today from about noon to 8pm HK time. Text without recording 

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

286: Recording  

Nor can we ignore the fact that the configuration of our own mode of being, whether as male or female, is not simply the result of biological or genetic factors, but of multiple elements having to do with temperament, family history, culture, experience, education, the influence of friends, family members and respected persons, as well as other formative situations. 

It is true that we cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore. 

But it is also true that masculinity and femininity are not rigid categories. It is possible, for example, that a husband’s way of being masculine can be flexibly adapted to the wife’s work schedule. 

Taking on domestic chores or some aspects of raising children does not make him any less masculine or imply failure, irresponsibility or cause for shame. 

Children have to be helped to accept as normal such healthy “exchanges” which do not diminish the dignity of the father figure.

A rigid approach turns into an overaccentuation of the masculine or feminine, and does not help children and young people to appreciate the genuine reciprocity incarnate in the real conditions of matrimony. 

Such rigidity, in turn, can hinder the development of an individual’s abilities, to the point of leading him or her to think, for example, that it is not really masculine to cultivate art or dance, or not very feminine to exercise leadership. 

This, thank God, has changed, but in some places deficient notions still condition the legitimate freedom and hamper the authentic development of children’s specific identity and potential.

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 25 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

260: Recording  In this final chapter, I do not intend to offer a synthesis of Christian spirituality, or to explore great themes like prayer, Eucharistic adoration or the liturgical celebration of the faith.

 For all these we already have valuable texts of the magisterium and celebrated writings by great authors. I do not claim to replace or improve upon these treasures.

 I simply wish to offer some thoughts about the spirit of the new evangelization.

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 Last time I was at Johannesburg airport - for my trip to Lesotho - I had enormous trouble finding the right check-in counter. I asked numerous airport staff who sent me from counter to counter in Terminal A and Terminal B.

Today I was pleased with myself when I went straight to an information desk where a lady had the correct info in her computer ...and she gave me the correct location of the check-in counter for Lusaka. But when I arrived at the check-in counter, I learned that my 3.45pm flight had been cancelled! 

Yes, I did receive a refund notice from South African Airlines some days ago, but I thought that was a refund for a flight from Lesotho to Johannesburg which I cancelled after they rescheduled me from a midday to a 6am flight (not very convenient for myself or the Oblates I was staying with).

But I didn't read the fine print at the bottom of the message - it's Here - from which I was meant  to realize that a  new booking was needed! 

DG I was able to get a 7pm flight to Lusaka ....all's well that ends well!

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

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

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month: On this 24th of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Inner Mongolia

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month: On this 24th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Zambia

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday, please pacify Boko Haram

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Monday January 23

Today I'm due to fly from Johannesburg to Lusaka, the capital of Zambia (see map, above). In Zambia I'm due to meet with three families of inmates in prison in HK.

Yesterday I spent most of the time with a media team visiting the home of an inmate in HK - with the hope that continued media publicity will lessen the number of drug mules going to HK. During the visit, Bruce Aitken phoned, by arrangement, for a live chat with the family on his Sunday night HK program "The Hour of Love", to which the inmate was listening. Thank you Bruce! And for icing on the cake: the chat was recorded on camera by the local media team!

It's with a sense of sadness that I leave South Africa which has been my home since Dec 28 (including 4 nights in beautiful Lesotho). I've met with the families of 23 inmates ....usually for two hours or so each time....and at each meeting it's as if I become a member of the family ...and the family becomes a member of a much wider family. As one mother in Tanzania said to me in January 2015 "When I see you I see my daughter". 

Doing this job is a happy task and a great privilege.

Thank you Jesus for Day 26!

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible

Exodus 21: Laws announced by Moses:

"When you buy an Israelite slave, you may keep him for only six years. In the seventh year he is free to leave or stay. Put to death anyone who kills someone in cold blood, anyone who curses or strikes his father or mother. If someone injures another person,
the compensation will be according to the formula eye for eye, tooth for tooth, burn for burn, injury for injury."
Dear God, please help people not to seek revenge
My recording of this reading

Psalm 5: At the start of this day I pray to you, O Lord, my King and my God.  I offer you my prayer and ask for your help. Through the greatness of your love, I have access to your friendship.  I bow down in reverence and worship. Lead me, Lord, in the way you want me to go. It is you, Lord, who bless good people. You surround them with favors, as with a shield.
Lord, I adore you as my Creator
Recording

Acts 17.29-34: Paul continued speaking to the intellectuals: "We have no excuse for thinking that the Creator looks like something carved in gold, silver or stone. God overlooked that sort of thing when we were ignorant. But now he is telling everyone to repent and believe in Jesus raised from the dead". Some intellectuals laughed at Paul. A few became believers.
Jesus, please give intellectuals the humility to believe in you
Recording

Luke 4.38-44: Jesus went to the home of Simon Peter. Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever. Jesus was asked to help her. He bent over her, rebuked the fever and it left her. She immediately got up and served her guests. After the Sabbath finished at sunset, everyone who had sick friends brought them to Jesus. Laying his hands on each of them, he healed them. The next morning Jesus got up early and went to a lonely place to pray.  People found him and asked him not to leave the area. But he replied "I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do".
Jesus,  heal my friend ... (name)... who is sick  
Recording

Reflection on the above readings:   Today's Gospel says Jesus "rebuked" the fever, just as he rebuked evil spirits .... indicating that Jesus regarded sickness as an enemy, somehow linked to influence of The Enemy, Satan. Never once did Jesus say that sickness was in any way a friend, a good thing, a cross to be carried. Regarding sickness as a cross, a good thing is like regarding drunkenness or drug abuse as a good thing

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

285: Recording  

Sex education should also include respect and appreciation for differences, as a way of helping the young to overcome their self-absorption and to be open and accepting of others. 

Beyond the understandable difficulties which individuals may experience, the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created, for “thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation

… An appreciation of our body as male or female is also necessary for our own self-awareness in an encounter with others different from ourselves. 

In this way we can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find mutual enrichment”.

Only by losing the fear of being different, can we be freed of self-centredness and self-absorption.

Sex education should help young people to accept their own bodies and to avoid the pretension “to cancel out sexual difference because one no longer knows how to deal with it”.

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 24 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

259: Recording  Spirit-filled evangelizers means evangelizers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit. 

At Pentecost, the Spirit made the apostles go forth from themselves and turned them into heralds of God’s wondrous deeds, capable of speaking to each person in his or her own language. 

The Holy Spirit also grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness (parrhesía) in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition. 

Let us call upon him today, firmly rooted in prayer, for without prayer all our activity risks being fruitless and our message empty.

 Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence.

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 Yesterday I phoned someone who looks after a Chinese Catholic group in Johannesburg.....but I noticed that my Cantonese showed signs of not being practised for a few weeks and was more clumsy than usual. Bit like playing the piano ...a pianist needs daily practice to stay in tune!

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

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

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month: On this 23rd of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guangxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month: On this 23rd of the month,  Jesus please bless the people of Djibouti

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday, please pacify I.S.

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Sunday January 22

My number in South Africa: +27 (0)788228537 (SA is 6  hours behind HK)

Yesterday I again made the 60 minute trip (by taxi) from Johannesburg to Pretoria - to meet two more families of inmates in prison in Hong Kong. And once again the occasion saw two families in the same boat becoming friends ...to support each other in the future.

Today I'm due to go with a media team to visit a special family .... hopefully the media coverage of drug trafficking to HK will lead to a reduction in the number of people being recruited as drug mules for HK.

Being in South Africa has really opened my eyes to what will happen in other countries if there is no concerted effort to combat the Drug Lords. All countries face the same battle, but SA with its widespread corruption is losing the battle. God, please help SA!

Thank you Jesus for Day 25!

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible 

My recording of this reading

Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my help, whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life, before whom shall I shrink? Though an army encamp against me, even then would I trust. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek. Hide not your face. I am sure I will see your goodness in the land of the living. Hope in the Lord, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!

Lord, you are my light and my help. I will always praise you. 
Recording

1 Corinthians 1.1-10: I, Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle, send greetings to the church of God in Corinth. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. I never stop thanking God for all the graces you have received through Jesus Christ. The witness to Christ has been strong among you. God shares with us the life of his Son, Jesus. God helps us to be faithful as followers of Jesus. I appeal to you to be united in belief and practice. Put an end to the differences between you

Jesus, Son of God, thank you for all the graces I have received
Recording
 

Jesus, you are the Light of the World!
Recording

Reflection on the above readings:  All periods of history and all  peoples experience darkness. 2017 is no exception. All nations are in need of light to overcome darkness - the darkness of corruption, the darkness of addiction, the darkness of selfishness, the darkness of injustice, the darkness of indifference to the suffering of others. So we often pray: Come Lord Jesus! Come and give light to our world!  

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  Davos elite debates inequality while averting sacrifice

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  Homeless man's odyssey from addiction to priesthood

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Daniel Daring - Year with Mathew: Going out into the Wilderness

Is it possible to experience God and live out the message of the Gospel in a huge city like Hong Kong?

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

284: Recording  Young people should not be deceived into confusing two levels of reality: “sexual attraction creates, for the moment, the illusion of union, yet, without love, this ‘union’ leaves strangers as far apart as they were before”.

The language of the body calls for a patient apprenticeship in learning to interpret and channel desires in view of authentic self-giving. 

When we presume to give everything all at once, it may well be that we give nothing. 

It is one thing to understand how fragile and bewildered young people can be, but another thing entirely to encourage them to prolong their immaturity in the way they show love.

But who speaks of these things today? Who is capable of taking young people seriously? Who helps them to prepare seriously for a great and generous love? 

Where sex education is concerned, much is at stake.  

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 23 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

258: Recording  Starting from certain social issues of great importance for the future of humanity, I have tried to make explicit once again the inescapable social dimension of the Gospel message and to encourage all Christians to demonstrate it by their words, attitudes and deeds.

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Hour of Love HK radio program 9.05pm HK time tonight
- with messages about African inmates in HK prisons (c. 9.25pm)
....including recordings I've made the past week with inmates' families in Lesotho and South Africa

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  Taxi driver yesterday asked me about the Bible verse which says "Don't shoot the messenger". I told him the words are not in the Bible. Just now Google helped me learn that the words come from .....Shakespeare!

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

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

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month: On this 22nd of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Zhejiang

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month: On this 22nd of the month,  Jesus please bless the people of Rwanda

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday, please bless all Muslims in my country

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Saturday January 21

Yesterday morning at Durban airport I met with one more family of an inmate in prison in Hong Kong for drug trafficking. Then as I was waiting in the departure area for my flight to Johannesburg I saw a priest in a short sleeve black shirt with a clerical collar. Being a friendly Australian O.M.I. I said hello to him and asked him if he was a Catholic priest (...Anglicans and others wear the same type of clerical shirt). He answered "Yes, I'm Cardinal Napier"!

He was on his way to Lesotho where today he is today due to install retired Bishop Sebastian Khoarai O.M.I. as a cardinal (86 year old Bishop Sebastian not being well enough to travel to Rome for the recent installation of new cardinals)

Cardinal Napier in real life is very friendly, humbly travelling second class ....very different from the image portrayed by some international media. 

Turned out my seat was just in front of his ....and as we said goodbye at the end of the flight he remembered my name and wished me well in my work of visiting prisoners' families. 

If I'd know about the installation date when I was planning my trip in October I would have tried to have been in Lesotho today ....but I'll be there in spirit!

Today I'm due to make another trip to Pretoria to meet with two more families of HK inmates. 

Thank you Jesus for Day 24!

Durban Jan 19 South Beach photos: Here

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible

Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments given by God to Moses:

1: I am the Lord your God. Do not worship anyone or anything else 

2: Use my name with respect. Do not insult my name.

3: Make the Sabbath Day a holy day each week.

4: Honor your father and your mother.

5: Do not kill.

6: Do not commit adultery.

7: Do not steal.

8: Do not tell lies.

9: Do not lust after someone else's wife.

10: Do not desire what belongs to someone else.

Dear God, please help us to put these commandments into practice
My recording of this reading

Psalm 4: At the end of this day I praise you, Lord, for all your love and help. O people of the world, how long will you close your hearts to God? How long you will keep on chasing false goals? Lord, you have put into my heart a joy that cannot be obtained by big meals and plenty of wine. I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once, for you, Lord, make me dwell in safety and peace

Thank you, Lord, for your love and help right through today
Recording

Acts 17.16-28: In Athens, Paul was sad see so much idol worship.
Each day he talked to as many people as he could about Jesus. He was invited to a meeting of intellectuals. He said to them "The Creator of the world does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. He wants everyone to know him as the living God.
It is in him that we live and move and have life"

In its mother's womb, a baby lives and moves and has life. The universe is like a giant womb, God's womb, in which we live and move and have life. Jesus, please help me understand Paul's words

Recording        c.f. The Universe - God's Womb  

Paul was in the famous Areopagus of Athens. 
See 257, below, Pope speaks of the new Areopagi!

Luke 4.31-37: Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee. On the Sabbath day he taught in the local prayer hall. In the hall there was a man possessed by a devil which shouted "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God". Jesus said sharply "Be quiet! Come out of him". And the devil left the man without hurting him. People in the hall said "He gives orders to unclean spirits and they obey him". Jesus' reputation continued to spread through the district.

Jesus, please protect my family from evil 
Recording

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

283: Recording  Frequently, sex education deals primarily with “protection” through the practice of “safe sex”. 

Such expressions convey a negative attitude towards the natural procreative finality of sexuality, as if an eventual child were an enemy to be protected against. 

This way of thinking promotes narcissism and aggressivity in place of acceptance. 

It is always irresponsible to invite adolescents to toy with their bodies and their desires, as if they possessed the maturity, values, mutual commitment and goals proper to marriage. 

They end up being blithely encouraged to use other persons as an means of fulfilling their needs or limitations. 

The important thing is to teach them sensitivity to different expressions of love, mutual concern and care, loving respect and deeply meaningful communication.

All of these prepare them for an integral and generous gift of self that will be expressed, following a public commitment, in the gift of their bodies. 

Sexual union in marriage will thus appear as a sign of an all-inclusive commitment, enriched by everything that has preceded it.

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Pope says Trump should be guided by concern for the poor

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 22 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

257: Recording  As believers, we also feel close to those who do not consider themselves part of any religious tradition, yet sincerely seek the truth, goodness and beauty which we believe have their highest expression and source in God.

 We consider them as precious allies in the commitment to defending human dignity, in building peaceful coexistence between peoples and in protecting creation. 

A special place of encounter is offered by new Areopagi such as the Court of the Gentiles, where “believers and non-believers are able to engage in dialogue about fundamental issues of ethics, art and science, and about the search for transcendence”. This too is a path to peace in our troubled world.

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

Sun: Africa          Mon: Europe & Russia            Tues: South Asia  
Wed: East Asia                          Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific 
Frid: South America                   Sat: Central & North America    
Jesus, today, 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 21st of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Yunnan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month: On this 21st of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Benin

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

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Friday January 20

Yesterday morning I met with the family of an inmate in prison in Hong Kong for drug trafficking ...and then....since I had an hour before meeting a second family at Durban's famous South Beach...I had a swim in the lovely surf! It was glorious!

By the time I got home to the O.M.I. centre where I'm staying it was just about time for the community's evening prayer which I joined (just like the 6.45am prayer and Mass each day). After which one of the Oblate priests kindly took me for a tour of Durban's "rough areas" ...including a meal and chat with a local Nigerian football coach who really helped me understand more about the poverty and unemployment situation in Nigeria which is a breeding ground for the recruitment of drug mules who in turn often become drug lords in other countries.

Some photos of yesterday will hopefully be on tomorrow's menu.
Late night last night ....so just a mini-menu for today.

At midday today I'm due to fly back to Johannesburg...after hopefully meeting one more family at Durban airport. 

 Thank you Jesus for Day 23!

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Thursday January 19

My number in South Africa: +27 (0)788228537 (SA is 6  hours behind HK)

A scene that keeps coming back to me is what I saw about 7.30am on the main road through Maseru the capital of Lesotho as I was on my way to Bloemfontein a few days ago: hundreds of people lined up outside factories, hoping to get a job. Desperate for work. No unemployment benefits in Lesotho. My O.M.I. driver said that the people are there each day ....maybe a few of them will sometimes get a job.
And I keep thinking: no wonder people turn to crime ...even become drug mules....desperation. And ...why doesn't the Lesotho government create jobs: build homes, make new roads (urgently needed)? May the hearts of the government leaders suffer an attack of compassion and care.

Yesterday here in Durban I met with two more families of inmates in prison in HK...each, as usual, for a couple of hours. Both inmates were recruited by Nigerian Drug Lords. In fact, the daughter of one of the inmates was also asked by a Nigerian to be "a courier" ....and a taxi driver yesterday told me how his sister is being chatted up by a Nigerian man. Groan....

Thank you Jesus for Day 22!

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible

Exodus 19:  

The Israelites kept traveling and came to Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb). Through Moses, God told the people to prepare themselves for a special revelation from Heaven. Three days later a thick cloud covered the mountain accompanied by lightning and thunder and a trumpet blast which grew louder and louder. God then called Moses to the top of the mountain and gave him "The Ten Commandments".

Dear God, please make us willing to hear your voice
My recording of this reading

Psalm 3: When people make fun of me for believing in you, Lord,
I deeply remember how you are my help and my shield. Even when the whole world seems against me, I can go to bed and sleep easy, knowing that you protect me. O Lord, please rescue me from people who plot against me. Lord our savior, please bless everyone who needs help.

Lord, thank you for your protection and help
Recording

Acts 17.10-12: That night Paul and Silas left for the town of Beroea. At the local prayer hall, the Jews were very open-minded and they warmly welcomed the word of the Lord. Every day they studied the Scriptures to check that Paul's words were true. Many Jews and many non-Jewish people became believers.

Jesus, please help people be open-minded when hearing your message   
Recording

Luke 4.23-30: 

People in the prayer hall rejected Jesus. "Who does he think he is?" they asked. "He's just the son of Joseph". Jesus replied "No prophet is ever accepted in his own country". The angry people then took Jesus by force to the edge of the hill on which  Nazareth  was built. They planned to throw him down the cliff. But Jesus escaped from them and went away

Jesus, please forgive people who reject you. Please help them accept you
Recording

Reflection on today's Bible readings: Who were the people in the prayer hall who tried to kill Jesus? Not the religious leaders, but the ordinary people of Nazareth, Jesus' neighbours for 30 years, people he had prayed with in the prayer hall for 30 years.  

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

282: Recording  A sexual education that fosters a healthy sense of modesty has immense value, however much some people nowadays consider modesty a relic of a bygone era. 

Modesty is a natural means whereby we defend our personal privacy and prevent ourselves from being turned into objects to be used. 

Without a sense of modesty, affection and sexuality can be reduced to an obsession with genitality and unhealthy behaviours that distort our capacity for love, and with forms of sexual violence that lead to inhuman treatment or cause hurt to others.

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 21 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

256: Recording  When considering the effect of religion on public life, one must distinguish the different ways in which it is practiced. Intellectuals and serious journalists frequently descend to crude and superficial generalizations in speaking of the shortcomings of religion, and often prove incapable of realizing that not all believers – or religious leaders – are the same.  Some politicians take advantage of this confusion to justify acts of discrimination.

 At other times, contempt is shown for writings which reflect religious convictions, overlooking the fact that religious classics can prove meaningful in every age; they have an enduring power to open new horizons, to stimulate thought, to expand the mind and the heart. 

This contempt is due to the myopia of a certain rationalism. Is it reasonable and enlightened to dismiss certain writings simply because they arose in a context of religious belief? These writings include principles which are profoundly humanistic and, albeit tinged with religious symbols and teachings, they have a certain value for reason.

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10 years ago today:

2007-01-19 Visit to poor areas by Renee & Brian (HK Lantau Island) with Anne & Ray (Canada) + CAS Garth

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Football/Soccer Africa Cup is on at the moment ....people here glued to TV each night. And I know that African prisoners in prison in Hong Kong are also following with keen interest ....and a little bit of gambling!

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

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

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, today, Thursday, please pacify Al-Qaeda

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Wednesday January 18

My number in South Africa: +27 (0)788228537 (SA is 6  hours behind HK)

Yesterday morning after Mass with 6 other Oblate priests at the Mazenod Centre at Maseru in Lesotho, I was blessed to find that one of them was driving after Mass to Bloemfontein in South Africa... where I needed to go for a flight to Durban.

At the lovely little Bloemfontein airport I caught up on some computer work and then enjoyed a great 50 minute flight to Durban. As I looked out at great expanses of fields, then the breathtaking Drakensberg mountains, then glorious cloud formations, I thought to myself: how could a pilot be an atheist?!

Last night I arrived at the OMI provincial centre in Durban. Today I'm due to meet with three more families of prisoners in Hong Kong.

Thank you Jesus for Day 21!

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  Chris McDonnell (UK)

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child

Seeing those pictures from Chicago in 2008 filled me, and I am sure, so many others with hope, joy and expectation. This weekend, with the inauguration on January 20^th, I have no such feelings; just the opposite.

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The Book Blog:   4 readings + recordings 
Comments welcome here      Readings are from Simple Bible

Exodus 18: Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, heard about all that God had done for Moses and the Israelites, so he visited Moses in the desert. Jethro saw that Moses was struggling to do so much administration by himself. Jethro suggested that Moses appoint men to help him: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

Moses accepted this advice and appointed judges as Jethro suggested. These judges handled all small issues and referred only difficult cases to Moses. 

Dear God, please make us willing to share responsibilities with other people
My recording of this reading

Psalm 2: Why are the nations revolting against God? Why won't the nations accept God? O kings and rulers of the nations, listen to God's voice. Serve the Lord with love and honor. Blessed are the nations that love the Lord

Let all the nations love you, Lord. Let all the nations love you
Recording

Acts 17.1-9:  Paul and his friends next went to the town of Thessalonika. On three Sabbaths, Paul spoke at the local prayer hall, explaining how Jesus is the Anointed One. Some Jewish listeners and many non-Jewish people became believers. But the religious leaders, out of jealousy, stirred up a gang from the market place.

The gang dragged some believers to the city council. The leaders shouted "The people who have been turning the whole world upside down, have come to our town. They claim there is another emperor, Jesus". The believers were eventually allowed to go on bail

Jesus, please don't let jealous people stop anyone from becoming a Christian
Recording

Luke 4.14 -22: Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee. He taught in local prayer halls. His reputation spread. He came to his home town of Nazareth and went to the prayer hall on the Sabbath day as he usually did.

He stood up and read these words from the prophet Isaiah: "The spirit of the Lord has been given to me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to set the downtrodden free".

Jesus then sat down and said to the people in the prayer hall "These words from Isaiah are being fulfilled today even as you listen"

Jesus, please help me be more open to the power of your Spirit.
 Recording

Reflection on the above readings: Since many so-called "developed" countries are drifting away from God, the words of Psalm 2, above, have special meaning: Blessed are the nations that love the Lord. The opposite is true: nations which turn their back on God are bringing trouble on themselves, just like people who turn their back on reasonable concern for their own health. ----------------------------------------------

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Shame, HK government, shame, shame, shame:
Govt's stand on stranded children irks lawmakers

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Pope Francis: The Joy of Love  - on love in the family
Full English text      Full Chinese text

281: Recording  Sex education should provide information while keeping in mind that children and young people have not yet attained full maturity. The information has to come at a proper time and in a way suited to their age.

It is not helpful to overwhelm them with data without also helping them to develop a critical sense in dealing with the onslaught of new ideas and suggestions, the flood of pornography and the overload of stimuli that can deform sexuality. 

Young people need to realize that they are bombarded by messages that are not beneficial for their growth towards maturity.

They should be helped to recognize and to seek out positive influences, while shunning the things that cripple their capacity for love. 

We also have to realize that “a new and more appropriate language” is needed “in introducing children and adolescents to the topic of sexuality”.

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An open letter to Pope Francis ahead of the March for Life

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Pope's letter on climate change:  Laudato Si  我主應受讚美
Full English text       Full Chinese text

Today I am reading Day 20 of this excellent little book 40 Days of Pilgrimage with Pope Francis: Care for Our Common Home"
(used with permission)

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Pope Francis: The Joy of the Gospel   
Full English text         Full Chinese text

255: Recording  The Synod Fathers spoke of the importance of respect for religious freedom, viewed as a fundamental human right. This includes “the freedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one’s beliefs in public”.

 A healthy pluralism, one which genuinely respects differences and values them as such, does not entail privatizing religions in an attempt to reduce them to the quiet obscurity of the individual’s conscience or to relegate them to the enclosed precincts of churches, synagogues or mosques.

 This would represent, in effect, a new form of discrimination and authoritarianism. The respect due to the agnostic or non-believing minority should not be arbitrarily imposed in a way that silences the convictions of the believing majority or ignores the wealth of religious traditions. In the long run, this would feed resentment rather than tolerance and peace.

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10 years ago today:

2007-01-18 Visit to Ricci sites & poor areas by PIME friends Mario & Paulo

2007-01-18 Prayers please for Baby Ho - rare disease: Biliary Atresia

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 Bloemfontein's Bram Fischer airport is easily the best small airport I've ever experienced. But I had to smile when I looked at the computer screen projected above the check-in desk: it had the words "This is not a genuine copy of Windows. Click here to obtain a genuine copy"!

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

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

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 Heilongjiang

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, today, Wednesday, please pacify Al-Shabaab 

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Pope's surprise visit to drug treatment centre

Pope is practising what he preaches: "get out and mix with the poor"

HK readers might like to join me in praying each day for one group of HK prison inmates: Sun: Lo Wu; Mon: C.I.C., Siu Lam, Tai Lam; Tue: Stanley Wed:  Hei Ling Chau   Thu: Lantau 
Fri: Lai Chi Kok       Sat: Hospitals, Pik Uk & other centres

This website was launched  in construction mode in Hong Kong on November 20, 2011   - the Feast of Christ the King. The official launching  was held on the Gold Coast, Australia,  on January 20, 2012. Map and Flag Counter began Feb 11, 2012.  Previous visits 4,932. Note: counter on this page + Map & Flag Counter record visits only to this main/index page. Visits to other pages are not recorded. This site's 2016 statistics. Thank you for checking this website each day. God bless all readers and bloggers!                              

 Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I. 胡 頌 恆 神 父   
 jdwomi@gmail.com  HK mobile  (852) 6709 5674
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