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
Links, Search
& Archives Imitating
Pope
Francis
This
website's anti-drug campaign saves people from going to prison in HK
See & share inmates'
letters!
HK
Indon
Kenya
Nigeria
Phil
S.A.
S.Amer
Thail
Tanz
Ug
EU
How
campaign began
HK:how
long prison for trafficking?
www.AsylumSeekerHK.com
Tues March 7
"Chew your food slowly" ....and we who don't live on
bread alone also need to chew slowly the food of God's word! ...which includes the food of
solid teaching ....like the words of Pope Francis in 323, below. Each sentence
is powerful ...which is why I now separate the sentences ...so that I give each
one a bit more attention....so that I chew more slowly. Hope this helps other
chewers!
For
Colombian drug mules, trip to China can be lucrative but deadly
More than 140 Colombians are serving drug trafficking sentences in mainland
jails, some awaiting execution
Excellent article, as usual, by John
Allen:
Foreign nuns, priests embody historic opportunity for U.S. church
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Numbers
11: Some of the
Israelites started complaining
about not having meat to eat, only manna.
So God arranged for quails to land near the camp
and be easily caught for food.
About this time Moses selected seventy men
to help him care for the people.
God blessed the seventy men and they began to prophesy.
Moses said "I wish the whole people of God could be prophets,
and God
would give his Spirit to them all".
Dear
God, please pour out your Holy Spirit on the whole human family
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
69-70: Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to
my neck.
I am sinking fast and can't keep afloat much longer. So many people hate me without cause.
I have no more strength to resist them. May my situation not cause anyone to lose
faith in you.
May people realize that it is for your sake that I am taunted. Taunts have broken my heart.
No one shows me any compassion. For food they give me poison.
In my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. Lord, do not hide your face from your servant.
Answer quickly for I am in distress. You are my rescuer, my help, O God.
O Lord, do not delay to help me.
O God come to our
assistance. Lord make haste to help us
Recording
Romans
4.1-25:
Remember our ancestor Abraham. He put his
faith in God,
and this was how he became holy. We too must put our faith in God the Father
who raised Jesus from the dead to make us holy.
Jesus, please increase my faith. Help me
believe like Abraham
Recording
Luke
11:9-13:
Jesus said to his disciples "Ask, and it will
be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open.
If children ask their parents for something
good, their parents will always give it to them. Even more so will the heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him".
Heavenly Father, please give me your Holy
Spirit!
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
The Holy Spirit is
mentioned by Moses (first reading) and Jesus (Gospel) - with a common theme: the
Spirit is for everyone, not just for a select few. COME
HOLY SPIRIT! FALL AFRESH ON EVERYONE!
--------------------------------------------------------
The Gospel of Greed:
Big gamblers from China not going to Australia - so Crown might sell assets
-------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
323: Recording
It
is a profound spiritual experience to contemplate our loved ones with the eyes
of God and to see Christ in them.
This demands a freedom and openness which enable us to appreciate their dignity.
We can be fully present to others only by giving fully of ourselves and forgetting all else.
Our loved ones merit our complete attention.
Jesus is our model in this, for whenever people approached to speak with him, he would meet their gaze, directly and lovingly (cf. Mk 10:21).
No one felt overlooked in his presence, since his words and gestures conveyed the question: "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mk 10:51).
This is what we experience in the daily life of the family.
We are constantly reminded that each of those who live with us merits complete attention, since he or she possesses infinite dignity as an object of the Father's immense love.
This gives rise to a tenderness which can "stir in the other the joy of being loved. Tenderness is expressed in a particular way by exercising loving care in treating the limitations of the other, especially when they are evident".
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text
Full Chinese text
25a: Recording Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods.
It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades.
Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.
They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
288d: Recording
Mary, Virgin and Mother, Filled with Christ's
presence, you brought joy to John the Baptist, making him exult in the womb of
his mother. Brimming over with joy, you sang of the great things done by God.
Having stood at the foot of the cross
with unyielding faith, you received the joyful comfort of the resurrection, and
joined the disciples in awaiting the Spirit so that the evangelizing Church
might be born.
-------------------------------------
Lots of smiles and useful info about "eating
slowly" Here
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Sun:
Africa Mon:
Europe & Russia Tues:
South Asia
Wed: East
Asia Thurs:
S.E. Asia & Pacific
Frid: South
America Sat:
Central & North America
Jesus,
today, Tuesday,
please bless the people of
South
Asia
And
praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 7th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Henan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 7th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Burkina Faso
And
praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday March 6
For Cardinal John Tong to
make such a strong statement in public, against the number one candidate who is
a practising Catholic, the issue has to be very serious indeed. And it is
- just ask anyone on the Mainland who has experience of China's "Religious
Affairs Unit".
Catholic Church slams chief exec. candidate Carrie Lam's suggestion of "Religious Affairs Unit"
Just
as Pope Benedict wisely cancelled a planned trip to Ireland some years ago, so
President Xi would be well-advised not to come to HK for the 20th anniversary of
HK's return to China (July 1). His presence will be like red rag to a bull:
Xi likely to preside over military parade in handover anniversary
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Numbers
10: The Israelites made two silver trumpets.
When both trumpets sounded,
the whole community would go to where Moses was.
When only one trumpet sounded,
only the leaders would assemble.
The trumpets were also used on special feast days,
to remind the people to praise God.
Dear
God, when we hear trumpets being used in an orchestra or band, may their sound remind us of you
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
66-68: O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shine its light upon us. Let all the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the peoples praise you. O sing to the Lord, make music to his name.
Rejoice in the Lord, exult at his presence. Father of the orphan, defender of the widow,
God provides a shelter for the homeless. God gives his people strength.
May all the peoples of the
earth know you and praise you, O God
Recording
Romans
3.20-24: Only by faith in Jesus can we really become
holy in God's sight.
This faith is a free gift of God's grace to us. Only when Jesus is in our hearts, can our
hearts become holy in God's sight.
Jesus, please live in my heart! May you live
in me, and I in you
Recording
Luke
11.1-4: Once when Jesus had finished praying in
private, one of his disciples asked him "Lord, teach us to
pray". Jesus replied "Pray like this: Father, may everyone love and honor you.
Your kingdom come.
Thank you for enough food for today.
Forgive us as we forgive others.
Save us in time of trial".
Jesus, please teach me how to pray
Recording
Reflection on the above readings:
Song: Jesus, live in my heart
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
322: Recording All
family life is a "shepherding" in mercy.
Each of us, by our love and care, leaves a mark on the life of others; with Paul, we can say: "You are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God" (2 Cor 3:2-3).
Each of us is a "fisher of men" (Lk 5:10) who in Jesus' name "casts the nets" (cf. Lk 5:5) to others, or a farmer who tills the fresh soil of those whom he or she loves, seeking to bring out the best in them.
Marital fruitfulness involves helping others, for "to love anybody is to expect from him something which can neither be defined nor foreseen; it is at the same time in some way to make it possible for him to fulfil this expectation".
This is itself a way to worship God, who has sown so much good in others in the hope that we will help make it grow.
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
24b: Recording
Carbon dioxide
pollution increases the
acidification of the oceans and compromises the marine food chain.
If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us.
A rise in the sea level, for example, can create extremely serious situations, if we consider that a quarter of the world's population lives on the coast or nearby, and that the majority of our megacities are situated in coastal areas.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
288c: Recording
With Mary we advance confidently towards the fulfilment of this promise,
and to her we pray: Mary,
Virgin and Mother, you who, moved by the Holy Spirit, welcomed the Word of
Life in the depths of your humble faith: as you gave yourself completely to the
Eternal One, help us to say our own "yes" to the urgent call, as
pressing as ever, to proclaim the good news of Jesus.
-------------------------------------
My
dear old Dad up in Heaven (a devoted small punter, but great lover of horses and
jockeys) would like this:
Moreira sets new
HK record with eight winners in a day
--------------------------------------
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 6th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hainan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 6th of
the month, Jesus please bless the people of Liberia
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun March 5
Oblate leader in South Africa carjacked last
week!
Recognizing
the Oblate Cross
(I was with Fr Ron in Johannesburg for Mass and lunch on Jan 1. In Lesotho I
met another O.M.I. who was carjacked in December
....and has a bullet hole in each
leg)
Check sad statistics at end of this
article:
Kakenya Ntaiya's mission to educate the girls of Kenya
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. readings for Lent 1
Genesis
3: A creature hostile to
God took the form of a snake
and tempted the first man and first woman.
The snake tempted them to disobey God.
When God asked them why they disobeyed him,
the man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the snake.
God said to the snake:
"You are the enemy of the human race.
Someday a member of the human race will defeat you."
God said to the man and woman:
"From dust you came and to dust you will return."
The first man's name was Adam (meaning "man").
The first woman's name was Eve (meaning "life").
Dear God, please help me understand
how evil in the world
started when Adam and Eve disobeyed you
My
recording of this reading ... and
see below!
Psalm
51:
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness, and
cleanse me of my sin. My offences truly I know them. What is evil in your sight
I have done. But in my defence please don't forget that sinfulness is part of
the human condition, part of our DNA. A pure heart create for me, O God. Put a
steadfast spirit within me. Give me again the joy of your help. With a spirit of
fervor sustain me.
Lord, you will not spurn a humbled, contrite heart
Recording
Romans
5.12-21: Through one man, Adam, the virus of sin
entered the world,
and sin infected everyone with death. Through one man, Jesus, the divine anti-virus
of grace entered the world, and brought the gift of eternal life to
everyone who allows it to be installed in their heart. The divine anti-virus of grace is more
powerful than any sin virus.
Jesus, please download and install in my heart
your anti-virus program of grace
Recording
Matthew
4.1-11: After he was baptized, Jesus spent about 40 days praying and fasting in the
desert.
During this time, he was tempted by Satan. "If you are the Son of God,
change some stones into bread" said Satan. Jesus replied "Human life needs more than
bread.
Life needs God's message". Satan then took Jesus to a high place
and said
"Throw yourself down, since the angels will protect you". Jesus replied
"Presumption is a sin". Then Satan took Jesus to a high mountain
and showed him all the nations of the world. "Worship me and I will give you all these
nations" said Satan. Jesus replied
"Go away, Satan! Only God is to be worshipped". The devil then went away.
Jesus, please protect us from
Satan and from evil
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
Song
- Jesus fasting in the desert
--------------------------------------------------------
Zimbabwean
man who saved children from Manchester fire to be deported
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
321: Recording A
spirituality of care, consolation and incentive
"Christian couples are, for each other, for their children and for their relatives, cooperators of grace and witnesses of the faith".
God calls them to bestow life and to care for life.
For this reason the family "has always been the nearest 'hospital'".
So let us care for one another, guide and encourage one another, and experience this as a part of our family spirituality.
Life as a couple is a daily sharing in God's creative work, and each person is for the other a constant challenge from the Holy Spirit.
God's love is proclaimed "through the living and concrete word whereby a man and a woman express their conjugal love".
The two are thus mutual reflections of that divine love which comforts with a word, a look, a helping hand, a caress, an embrace.
For this reason "to want to form a family is to resolve to be a part of God's dream, to choose to dream with him, to want to build with him, to join him in this saga of building a world where no one will feel alone".
-------------------------
Refugees
Who Helped Snowden Escape Hong Kong Are Stuck in a Living Hell
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
24a: Recording
Warming
has effects on the carbon cycle.
It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting
the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and
agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part
of the planet's biodiversity.
The
melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains
can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas, while the
decomposition of frozen organic material can further increase the
emission of carbon dioxide.
Things
are made worse by the loss of tropical forests which would otherwise help to
mitigate climate change.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
288b: Recording
Mary is the
woman of prayer and work in Nazareth, and she is also Our Lady of Help, who sets
out from her town "with haste" (Lk 1:39) to be of service to
others.
This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization.
We implore her maternal intercession that the Church may become a home for many peoples, a mother for all peoples, and that the way may be opened to the birth of a new world.
It
is the Risen Christ who tells us, with a power that fills us with confidence and
unshakeable hope: "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev 21:5)
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
------------------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30pm
HK time tonight - with messages about African inmates in HK prisons
-------------------------------------------
To
go with today's reading from Genesis:
--------------------------------------
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 & Nth
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 5th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guizhou
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 5th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Chad
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus,
today, Sunday, please bless
all Muslims in my country
Please
also join me in praying for the very many deformed and handicapped people from
China who are on the streets of HK as beggars...as well as deformed people in
China itself ...like Hung
Chun Cai
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat March 4
Filipina
in mailed drugs case freed ( - this Oct 2016 case has only just come to my
attention ...an important one as there are many others like it, involving
Indonesian and Thai women, as well as other Filipinas) - a
domestic helper jailed 4 months ago for accepting a gift containing cocaine
from her Nigerian boyfriend was freed Oct. 20 after prosecutors dropped a drug
trafficking case against her
Heart-breaking
letter from a Ugandan man in prison in HK for drug trafficking, describing
the non-stop heartache of being away from his family
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Numbers
9: Whenever the Israelites pitched camp
the Cloud of God's presence covered the Sacred Tent.
From nightfall until morning,
the Cloud took the appearance of fire.
Whenever the Cloud lifted above the Tent,
the Israelites broke camp.
Wherever the Cloud stopped,
there the Israelites pitched camp.
Sometimes the Cloud stayed in one place
for one day, sometimes for a month, sometimes a year.
However long the Cloud stayed above the Tent
the Israelites remained in camp.
In this way they pitched camp and broke camp
at the Lord's command.
The
Cloud in Christian tradition is understood to be God the Holy Spirit,
so we can pray:
Dear Holy Spirit,
please lead me and guide me
just as you guided the Israelites through the desert
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
61-65: O God, hear my cry,
you who are my refuge and help. In you alone is my soul
at rest. My help comes from you. Take refuge in God,
everyone in trouble.
Trust him at all times. O God, you are my God,
for you I long.
My body and soul thirst for you
like a dry, weary land without water. Your love is better
than life,
my lips will speak your praise. On my bed I remember
you.
On you I muse through the night. You are the Creator of
the world.
You care for the earth, you give it water. To you our praise is
due,
wherever we are on earth.
Lord, my
soul clings to you. Your right hand holds me fast
Recording
Romans
2.13-29: People become holy in God's sight by doing
what is right.
Listening to God's Law is not enough. We have to put it into practice in
our lives. Non-Jewish people who follow a good conscience
and do what is right,
have God's Law engraved on their hearts. What matters is not circumcision of the body,
but circumcision of the heart.
The real Jew is one who is a Jew in his
heart.
Jesus, help me to love you with all my heart.
May my love for you not be just something external, but something real, in
my heart
Recording
Luke 10.29-37: The religious leader then asked another
question: "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied "A man on a journey was
attacked by robbers. They beat him, took all he had, and left him
seriously injured. A priest came by and saw the man, but did not help
him. A temple worker also saw him, but did not help. But a lowly foreigner
who saw him was moved with pity. The foreigner bandaged his wounds, and used
his own donkey to take the man to an inn. He paid the innkeeper to look
after the man. Which of the three was a neighbor to the
injured man?" The leader replied "The one who
helped him". Jesus then said "Go, and do the same".
Jesus, please don't let me ignore people who
need help
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
A one
minute YouTube:
Pope Francis and the Good Samaritan
--------------------------------------------------------
First
China TV broadcast on China-Vatican issue
There is now a consensus on how to appoint bishops in China
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
320: Recording There
comes a point where a couple's love attains the height of its freedom and
becomes the basis of a healthy autonomy.
This happens when each spouse realizes that the other is not his or her own, but has a much more important master, the one Lord.
No one but God can presume to take over the deepest and most personal core of the loved one; he alone can be the ultimate centre of their life.
At the same time, the principle of spiritual realism requires that one spouse not presume that the other can completely satisfy his or her needs.
The spiritual journey of each - as Dietrich Bonhoeffer nicely put it - needs to help them to a certain "disillusionment" with regard to the other, to stop expecting from that person something which is proper to the love of God alone.
This demands an interior divestment.
The space which each of the spouses makes exclusively for their personal relationship with God not only helps heal the hurts of life in common, but also enables the spouses to find in the love of God the deepest source of meaning in their own lives.
Each day we have to invoke the help of the Holy Spirit to make this interior freedom possible.
---------------------------------------------
Daniel
Daring: Year with Matthew - 10
The Beatitudes Today
we climb the Mount of Beatitudes in order to listen to the first among five
great speeches of Jesus about the kingdom of Heaven
-------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
23b: Recording It
is true that there are other factors (such as volcanic activity, variations in
the earth's orbit and axis, the solar cycle), yet a number of scientific studies
indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great
concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and
others) released mainly as a result of human activity.
As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they hamper the escape of heat produced by sunlight at the earth's surface.
The problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels, which is at the heart of the worldwide energy system.
Another determining factor has been an increase in changed uses of the soil, principally deforestation for agricultural purposes.
------------------------------------
Much
food for thought here - mainstream media at last starting to listen to ordinary
people, rather than imposing an agenda from on high:
Why Australians are turning to Pauline Hanson
(in fact, two other articles at ABC on same theme...... the Trump/Brexit
effect!....will the same thing happen in the Church?!)
-------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
288a: Recording
There
is a Marian "style" to the Church's work of evangelization.
Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness.
In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves.
Contemplating
Mary, we realize that she who praised God for "bringing down the mighty
from their thrones" and "sending the rich away empty" (Lk
She
is also the one who carefully keeps "all these things,
pondering them in her heart" (Lk
Mary is able to recognize the traces of God's Spirit in events great and small.
She constantly contemplates the mystery of God in our world, in human history and in our daily lives.
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
2007-03-04: House blessing for Ramon & Teray.....then Bingo English at Yunfu
------------------------------------------
Yesterday I attended a case at Eastern Court ...in support
of an asylum seeker from The Gambia charged with drug trafficking. His
case involved 0.2 grams of cocaine ...that's zero point two .... compared with
1,008 grams the day before in a case at the High Court!
--------------------------------------
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 4th
of the month, Jesus please bless the
prisoners of Guangdong
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 4th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Mozambique
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Frid March 3
After
attending the High Court yesterday morning with an inmate from South America
...and spending some time in Central...I exited the metro at Jordan Station,
only to find that my metro ticket (my "Octopus") wasn't working....so
I had to go to Customer Service to get my ticket fixed....which took a couple of
minutes.
When this sort of thing happens I now think/pray/say ...OK Lord, what's in the pipeline that needs a delay? And sure enough, when I got the lift to exit the station (my travel bag was heavy with items for the prisons ...too heavy for stairs) I saw someone I'd met on one of my visits to Africa! Without the delay, no meeting. And the meeting is, Please God, going to lead to a number of good things happening as part of my anti-drug campaign.
I was not able to attend a double-sentencing case last Tuesday of two other South
American inmates. Yesterday I heard the good news from Tuesday: both of them
were given 6 month reductions for helping the campaign. Deo
Gratias!
--------------------------------------------
Fridays
of Lent:
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Numbers
7-8: When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting
to speak with God,
Moses heard God's voice.
Specially dedicated to God were the Levites.
They were responsible for the worship ministry in the Tent.
They served this ministry from when they were
twenty five years old until they were fifty years old.
Dear
God, please bless all pastors and ministers
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
52-60: Lord, I will tell everyone about how good you
are.
You are our Creator. Everyone should love you. Thank you for so often rescuing me from
trouble.
You uphold my life. Sometimes I have so many troubles and cares
that I can't get to sleep. Sometimes I wish I was a bird and could fly away to a safe place.
When I fear, I will trust in you,
in you whose word I praise. My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise. Each morning I will sing of your strength,
and each morning acclaim your love.
O God, please help me to praise
and love you every day
Recording
Romans
1.26-32:
Refusing to honor the Creator is why people's
behaviour went bad:
why women turned from natural intercourse to unnatural practices, and why
men gave up natural intercourse to be consumed with passion for each
other, men doing shameless things with men, and getting an appropriate
reward for their perversion. Since people refused to honor God, they have
dishonored themselves.
Jesus, help people not be
mislead by false teaching which says that a "gay" lifestyle is
ok
(See: "Can Homosexuality Be
Healed?", by Francis MacNutt)
Recording
Luke
10.25-28: To test Jesus, a religious leader asked him
in public "Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replied "What does the Law
say?" He replied "You must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and you must care for others as much as you care about yourself".
"You are correct", said
Jesus, "do this and life is yours".
Jesus, help me to love you with all my
heart....and to care for others as much as I care about myself
Recording
Reflection
on the above Bible readings:
Today's
Gospel reminds us what life is all about: love of our Creator....and care for
others. The more we focus on these two goals, the better our lives will go. The
less we focus on these two goals, the worse our lives will go.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
319: Recording A
spirituality of exclusive and free love
Marriage is also the experience of belonging completely to another person.
Spouses accept the challenge and aspiration of supporting one another, growing old together, and in this way reflecting God's own faithfulness.
This firm decision, which shapes a style of life, is an "interior requirement of the covenant of conjugal love", since "a person who cannot choose to love for ever can hardly love for even a single day".
At the same time, such fidelity would be spiritually meaningless were it simply a matter of following a law with obedient resignation.
Rather, it is a matter of the heart, into which God alone sees (cf. Mt 5:28) .
Every morning, on rising, we reaffirm before God our decision to be faithful, come what may in the course of the day.
And all of us, before going to sleep, hope to wake up and continue this adventure, trusting in the Lord's help.
In this way, each spouse is for the other a sign and instrument of the closeness of the Lord, who never abandons us: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20).
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
23a: Recording
The climate is a
common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At
the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential
conditions for human life.
A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system.
In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon.
Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
287b: Recording
Along this journey of evangelization we will have
our moments of aridity, darkness and even fatigue.
Mary herself experienced these things during the years of Jesus' childhood in Nazareth:
"This is the
beginning of the Gospel, the joyful good news. However, it is not difficult to
see in that beginning a particular heaviness of heart, linked with a sort of
night of faith - to use the words of Saint John of the Cross - a kind of 'veil'
through which one has to draw near to the Invisible One and to live in intimacy
with the mystery. And this is the way that Mary, for many years, lived in
intimacy with the mystery of her Son, and went forward in her pilgrimage of
faith".
-------------------------------------
Last night I had my usual Thursday night
meal with the poor ....at McDonald's with four homeless men who sleep there. One
has been homeless for 3 years, two for 7 years, one for more than 10 years. And
as usual I gave them HK$10 to buy a Mark 6 lottery ticket ....with the hope we
can rent a place for them to stay.
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe
& Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia &
Pacific
Frid: South
America Sat:
Central & North America
Jesus,
today, Friday,
please bless the people of South
America
And
praying for prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 3rd
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Gansu
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 3rd of the month, Jesus please bless
the people of Burundi
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thur March 2
Pope
says give to the homeless, don't worry about how they spend it, as Lent begins
(Tonight
in Jordan, HK ...another meal at McDonald's with homeless people who sleep at
McDonald's ...as the plan to rent a flat for this homeless group moves towards
implementation)
See
also: Finding Common
Ground - How to house the homeless and save money
David Timbs
(Melbourne):
A
People not a Pyramid Christianity: Leadership in a Society of Equals. Part I
(Published by Catholics For Renewal):
This essay attempts to tell at least part of the story of how Paul's Gospel of
human freedom and equality in Christ was practically neutralised over time by
the leaders of the Christian Church
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Numbers
6: God said to Moses and Aaron:
"This is how you are to bless the people. Say to them:
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace."
Dear
God, please bless everyone in the world
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
49-50: I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve a problem. The problem is: why do bad people prosper and
succeed? The answer: at the end of their lives bad
people will have to face death and judgement, just like everyone else. When we are rich, we often lack wisdom.
Wealth blinds our minds and hearts. Let's not forgot God and his laws.
Let's try to be good and lead good lives.
Lord, please help me understand
the meaning of life
Recording
Romans
1.18-25:
Everyone needs the Good News, especially
people who put truth in prison. Ever since the world began, people could know
God by seeing the wonders of creation. But even though they saw the beauty of
creation, they refused to honor the Creator. They replaced honor for God with honor for
images of men and beasts.
They worshipped a god they made instead of God who made them.
Jesus, may the beauty of creation help people
know you and your Father and the Holy Spirit
Recording
Luke
10.17-24: The 72 came back rejoicing. "Lord",
they said, "even the devils submit to us when we use your name".
Jesus replied "Yes, I have given
you power to tread underfoot the whole strength of the enemy. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to
you. Rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven. Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see,
and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it".
Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith
Recording
Reflection
on the above Bible readings:
In
his letter on climate change - "Laudato Si"
- Pope Francis encourages us to put into practice today's words from Romans: to
see God in the beauty of this world, even in the tiniest speck of dust
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
318: Recording Family
prayer is a special way of expressing and strengthening this paschal faith.
A few minutes can be found each day to come together before the living God, to tell him our worries, to ask for the needs of our family, to pray for someone experiencing difficulty, to ask for help in showing love, to give thanks for life and for its blessings, and to ask Our Lady to protect us beneath her maternal mantle
With a few simple words, this moment of prayer can do immense good for our families.
The various expressions of popular piety are a treasure of spirituality for many families.
The family's communal journey of prayer culminates by sharing together in the Eucharist, especially in the context of the Sunday rest.
Jesus knocks on the door of families, to share with them the Eucharistic supper (cf. Rev 3:20). There, spouses can always seal anew the paschal covenant which united them and which ought to reflect the covenant which God sealed with humanity in the cross.
The Eucharist is the sacrament of the new covenant, where Christ's redemptive work is carried out (cf. Lk 22:20). The close bond between married life and the Eucharist thus becomes all the more clear.
For the food of the Eucharist offers the spouses the strength and incentive needed to live the marriage covenant each day as a "domestic church".
---------------------------------------------
This spending is
scandalous, immoral, wrong:
How much do global superpowers spend on their military?
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
22: Recording
These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish.
To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is thrown away and not recycled.
It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems work is exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become food for carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to new generations of plants.
But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products.
We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them.
A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
287a: Recording
We ask the Mother of
the living Gospel to intercede that this invitation to a new phase of
evangelization will be accepted by the entire ecclesial community.
Mary is the woman of faith, who lives and advances in faith, and "her exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents a constant point of reference for the Church".
Mary let herself be guided by the Holy Spirit on a journey of faith towards a destiny of service and fruitfulness.
Today
we look to her and ask her to help us proclaim the message of salvation to all
and to enable new disciples to become evangelizers in turn.
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
------------------------------------------
Yesterday I spent several hours at the male drug treatment
centre on Hei Ling Chau Island - shaking hands with several hundred men
and giving out 40 copies of Jackie Pullinger's book "Chasing the
Dragon" (Chinese edition). One young man shared how I'd previously given
him a copy of the same book ...and how that had influenced him to spend several
months at Jackie's St Stephen's Centre...but he was asked to leave after twice
being caught smoking...and then he was detained for another drug possession
case. He's already applied to be given another chance by St Stephen's and
hopes to return to the centre on release from Hei Ling Chau in a few months time
--------------------------------------
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
2nd of the month,
Jesus please bless the prisoners of Fujian
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 2nd of the month, Jesus please bless the people of
Niger
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus,
today, Thursday,
please pacify Al-Qaeda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wed March 1
Ash Wednesday - no meat
What is the meaning of
the word "Lent"?
Pro-abortion
bills defeated in Queensland parliament
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris McDonnell
How
free is free?
For many people in countries across the world, talking to the press is
dangerous
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f.
readings for Ash Wed
Joel
1-4: My country has been invaded. Joy has
disappeared from the land. Priests, put on sackcloth and lament. Proclaim a fast
to pray for our nation. Turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all
tenderness and compassion. Call out to the Lord for help. "Spare your
people, Lord!" The Lord replies: " I will save and rescue you. I will
pour out my spirit on all peoples. Every one will prophesy and see visions. You
will learn that I am the Lord your God. Jerusalem will be a holy place."
Lord, let our land be filled with knowledge of you and love for you
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
51:
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness, and
cleanse me of my sin. My offences truly I know them. What is evil in your sight
I have done. But in my defence please don't forget that sinfulness is part of
the human condition, part of our DNA. A pure heart create for me, O God. Put a
steadfast spirit within me. Give me again the joy of your help. With a spirit of
fervor sustain me.
Lord, you will not spurn a humbled, contrite heart
Recording
2
Cor 5.14-19: The love of Christ is like a tsunami.
It overwhelms us and sweeps us away when we remember how Jesus died for
everyone. God, through Christ, has repaired his friendship with humanity. We
must spread the news of this reconciliation.
"And when I think, that God his Son not sparing, sent him to die, I
scarce can take it in"
- from the song "How Great Thou Art"
Recording
Matthew 6.1-15: Jesus
said to the crowds: When you do a good deed, do it for its own sake, not just to
get people to praise you. When you pray, love to pray in private in your heart.
Don't be looking for people to notice and praise you. When you pray, there's no
need to rave on and on. God is not deaf. Prayer is not a lawyer arguing a case.
Prayer is a child speaking with simple trust like this: Our Father in heaven,
may everyone love and honor you. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth
as in heaven. Thank you for enough food for today. Forgive us as we forgive
others. Save us in time of trial. Protect us from evil.
Jesus, help me remember that each time I pray "The Our Father", you
are praying with me. "Your Father = my Father = our Father"
Recording
Reflection on the above readings:
The Season of Lent begins today. What will I give up for Lent? How can I do a bit more to help poor people during Lent? How can I give a little bit more time to prayerful Bible reading?
--------------------------------------------------------
Tweet by Edward Snowden about asylum seekers in HK who sheltered him
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
317: Recording
Gathered in prayer in the light of Easter
If a family is centred on Christ, he will unify and illumine its entire life.
Moments of pain and difficulty will be experienced in union with the Lord's cross, and his closeness will make it possible to surmount them.
In the darkest hours of a family's life, union with Jesus in his abandonment can help avoid a breakup.
Gradually, "with the grace of the Holy Spirit, [the spouses] grow in holiness through married life, also by sharing in the mystery of Christ's cross, which transforms difficulties and sufferings into an offering of love".
Moreover, moments of joy, relaxation, celebration, and even sexuality can be experienced as a sharing in the full life of the resurrection.
Married couples shape with different daily gestures a "God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord".
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
21: Recording
Account must also be
taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in
different areas. Each year
hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it
non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive,
from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from
clinical, electronic and industrial sources.
The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish.
Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people's health has been irreversibly affected
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
286b: Recording
Through her many titles, often linked to her
shrines, Mary shares the history of each people which has received the Gospel
and she becomes a part of their historic identity.
Many Christian parents ask that their children be baptized in a Marian shrine, as a sign of their faith in her motherhood which brings forth new children for God. There, in these many shrines, we can see how Mary brings together her children who with great effort come as pilgrims to see her and to be seen by her. Here they find strength from God to bear the weariness and the suffering in their lives.
As she did with Juan
Diego, Mary offers them maternal comfort and love, and whispers in their ear:
"Let your heart not be troubled. Am I not here, who am your Mother?"
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Special visitor from HK, Anna-Maria, with HK Betty, HK Rosa C and HK Rosa H
------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
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 1st of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Anhui
And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month: On this 10th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Congo
And
praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Wednesday,
please pacify Al-Shabaab
---------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------
Please also join me in praying for the very many deformed and handicapped people from China who are on the streets of HK as beggars...as well as deformed people in China itself ...like Hung Chun Cai
My Africa trips:
2015 - Tanzania, Malawi 2016 - Kenya, Uganda
--------------------
Video: What "gay marriage" did to Massachusetts
--------------------------------------------
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
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This website was launched in construction
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The official launching
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Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I. 胡
頌 恆 神 父
jdwomi@gmail.com
HK
mobile (852) 6709 5674
China
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