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
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& Archives Imitating
Pope
Francis
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www.AsylumSeekerHK.com
April 11
Tues of Holy Week
Yesterday I was at Tai Lam Women's Centre from 9.30am to 5.30pm, in four remand
sections where I visited nearly 30 inmates who are preparing for court
sentencing. One piece of good news from the inmates: no new African or South
American inmates this year at Tai Lam ... i.e. no female drug mules from Africa
or South America arrested at HK airport this year. And the inmates prefaced
their comments with the remark "The campaign is working". At last the
flow from South America has stopped. Thank you Jesus!
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f.
readings for Tues of Holy Week. Let's use these readings with Jesus ... they apply to him
Isaiah 46-49: The Lord
called me before I was born. From my mother's womb he knew my name. While I was
thinking that I had toiled in vain, all the while my cause was with the Lord.
The Lord who formed me in the womb and assigned me to rescue his people, that
same Lord said to me: "I will make you the light of the nations, so that my
salvation will reach to the ends of the earth"
Jesus, please help me understand how
these words refer to you
Psalm
71: In
you, O Lord, I take refuge. Please hear me and help me. Be
a rock where I can take refuge. Rescue me from people
who want to hurt me. It is
you, O Lord, who are my hope. In you I have trusted since I was young. From my
mother's womb you have been my help. My hope has always been in you. Now that I
am old, please do not forget me. Now that my strength fails, do not abandon me.
To you I will sing with the harp. All day long my tongue will tell of your
goodness to me. Jesus, please help me
understand how these words refer to you
Recording 
Lk 22.63-65: The men who were guarding Jesus mocked him
and beat him.
They blindfolded him. "Since you are a prophet", they said,
"tell us who hit you just then". And they continued heaping insults on him.
Jesus, please stop me from making offensive
fun of other people
Recording
Luke
22.66 - 23.12: At daybreak there was a meeting of the
religious leaders.
Jesus was brought before them. They asked him "Are you the Son of
God?". He replied "Yes".
They said "We have heard his blasphemy from his own lips". They took him to the Roman governor,
Pilate, and made many false accusations against him. Pilate said "I find no case against
him". Jesus was then taken to King Herod who made fun of him and sent
him back to Pilate.
Jesus, on trial before the leaders, before
Herod and before Pilate, please help all prisoners who are on trial today
Reflection
on the above readings:
When
someone makes fun of us, we react, internally if not externally. Being made fun
of is not a pleasant experience. And most of us have to admit to having made fun
of others. But our hurt feelings pale into insignificance to what Jesus must
have felt. The Creator of the Universe being ridiculed by creatures. A loving
and kind parent being ridiculed by a son or daughter .... only a faint image of
what happened 2,000 years ago this week.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
59: Recording
Our
teaching on marriage and the family cannot fail to be inspired and transformed
by this message of love and tenderness; otherwise, it becomes nothing more than
the defence of a dry and lifeless doctrine.
The mystery of the Christian family can be fully understood only in the light of the Father's infinite love revealed in Christ, who gave himself up for our sake and who continues to dwell in our midst.
I now wish to turn my gaze to the living Christ, who is at the heart of so many love stories, and to invoke the fire of the Spirit upon all the world's families
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text
Full Chinese text
52a: Recording: The foreign debt of poor countries has become a way of controlling them, yet this is not the case where ecological debt is concerned.
In different ways, developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future.
The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse.
The developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programs of sustainable development.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
33: Recording
Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to
abandon the complacent attitude that says: "We have always done it this
way". I invite everyone to be bold and creative in
this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of
evangelization in their respective communities.
-------------------------------------
Before setting out for Tai Lam women's prison yesterday
morning I checked the weather report: rain. So I wore my heavy boots and took a
large umbrella. At the end of the day I had 6 mins to get from the prison's main
entrance to the mini-bus stop ... about 400 metres.... so I jogged the whole
way, with my faithful trolley in tow. Was pleased with myself to arrive with a
couple of minutes to spare....still a bit of life in the old legs which used to
do a lot of running in former days. As I sat down in the mini-bus the smile on
my face changed to a grimmace as I suddenly realised I had forgotten my umbrella
(still in the umbrella rack at the main door of the prison). Can collect it next
visit. As they say in South Africa: "ISSHH"!
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent, N. 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 11th
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hunan
And praying for one of
the world's poorest countries
each day of the month:
On this 11th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Eritrea
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
April
10
Monday of Holy Week
Another meeting was held yesterday afternoon to plan the running of two
accommodation centres in Temple Street, near my home, for homeless people
(especially recently released inmates). The men's centre will be managed by an
ex-inmate, and the women's centre co-managed by an ex-inmate. God bless all the
kind people who are supporting this project.
Finally done: a public report on my recent trip
to Southern Africa and Dubai, visiting families of inmates in HK and doing
publicity about the danger of drug trafficking to HK - Here
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. Monday of Holy Week.
Isaiah 42: Here is my
servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed
him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not
cry out or shout aloud. He does not extinguish the wavering flame. I have called
him to serve the cause of right, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives
from prison.
Jesus, Servant of the Father, you are the Saviour of the world.
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!
Jesus, may we pray this psalm in time of trial, just as you did
Recording
Acclamation:
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Thank you for showing
mercy to us sinners.
Recording
John
12.1-8: Six
days before the Passover, Jesus went to
Bethany, for a dinner at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Mary
put expensive ointment on Jesus' feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair.
Judas Iscariot, the disciple who was going to betray Jesus, said "Why
wasn't this ointment sold and the money given to the poor?" He said this
not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He was in
charge of the moneybag and would steal from it. Jesus replied "Leave her
alone. She is anticipating and honoring my burial. Besides, the poor will always
be with you. But I will soon be gone".
Jesus, may we "anoint your feet" by serving the poor
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
We
can wash Jesus' feet ... by serving him in the poor ... by real service of the
real poor, not insincere lip-service like that of Judas.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
58: Recording In
and among families, the Gospel message should always resound; the core of that
message, the kerygma, is what is "most beautiful, most excellent, most
appealing and at the same time most necessary".
This message "has to occupy the centre of all evangelizing activity"
It is the first and most important proclamation, "which we must hear again and again in different ways, and which we must always announce in one form or another".
Indeed, "nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wise than that message".
In effect, "all Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma".
---------------------------------------------
Updates from Sr. Anastasia, M.M. (黄修女）
http://anastasialindawatimm.
http://anastasialindawatimm.
http://anastasialindawatimm.
-------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
51c: Recording
"We
note that often the businesses which operate this way are multinationals.
They do here what they would never do in developed countries or the so-called first world.
Generally, after ceasing their activity and withdrawing, they leave behind great human and environmental liabilities such as unemployment, abandoned towns, the depletion of natural reserves, deforestation, the impoverishment of agriculture and local stock breeding, open pits, riven hills, polluted rivers and a handful of social works which are no longer sustainable"
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
32: Recording
Since I am called to put into practice what I
ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of
the papacy.
It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization.
Pope John Paul II asked for help in finding "a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation".
We have made little progress in this regard.
The papacy and the central structures of the universal Church also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion.
The Second Vatican Council stated that, like the ancient patriarchal Churches, episcopal conferences are in a position "to contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegial spirit".
Yet this desire has not been fully realized, since a juridical status of episcopal conferences which would see them as subjects of specific attributions, including genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated.
Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church’s life and her missionary outreach
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
HK A-Yau & friends at Assisi, Mazenod, CAS, Ricci School, Marco Polo & Bahkita
------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Frid: South America
Sat: Cent, N. 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 10th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hubei
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 10th of
the month, Jesus please bless the people of Guinea
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
April 9
Palm Sunday
This is the week when Jesus
became a prisoner, became an executed prisoner. He was executed alongside two
other prisoners ... on crosses. God the Son didn't just become a man. He became
a prisoner. Actually an attempt was made on his life when he was a baby. As a
baby he was taken to safety. As an adult he freely went to his death .... to
show us how much he cares for every one of us ... how much he loves us .... to
stir a response whereby we love him and care for others. This week is all about
love, the greatest love story the world has ever known. May this week cause us
to practise a higher level of loving than we have practised previously.
Article in Spanish in a Colombian newspaper with good news about a 73 year old
man with cancer in Stanley Prison about to be transferred to Colombia - Here
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50: The Lord has opened my ear to hear his
message.
The Lord has given me words to proclaim his message. For my part, I made no
resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard. I did not protect my face
from insult and spittle. I set my face like flint.
The Lord will help me.
Jesus, please help me understand
how these words refer to you
My
recording of this reading
Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I call to you for help, but day and night you give no reply. I am a worm and not a man. Everyone who sees me makes fun of me. They taunt me: "He trusted in the Lord, why doesn't the Lord help him?" Like water I am poured out, my bones no longer connected. My throat is parched, my tongue sticks to my jaws. Many evil people attack me. They make holes in my hands and my feet. They await my death. They divide my clothing among them, they throw a dice for my robe.
Yet I know Lord, that you are good and
holy.
I know how you heard the cries of our ancestors and you helped them. It was you who took me from the womb
and entrusted me to my mother's breast.
To you I was committed from my birth,
from my mother's womb you have been my God. Lord, I trust in you even now.
I trust you will not scorn my prayer. Even now I praise you as my Creator.
May all the nations know and worship you.
Lord, please help people who
are in big trouble right now,
especially people whose lives are in danger
Recording
Philippians 2.6-11:
O Lord, unite us in your love
and keep our minds in you
O Lord, unite us in your love
and keep our minds in you
Though you were God in state divine
you did not cling to what you were.
No, you shed your glory's shine
so as to live just like a slave
O Lord, unite us in your love
and keep our minds in you
You came on earth in human form
and you shared our troubled life.
A humbler man there never was,
even in death obedient
Yes, Lord, death upon a cross,
yes, upon a cross
Therefore are you raised on high
and you have the name of names.
At that name should bend the knee
and tongue confess: Jesus Christ is LORD.
And tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD.
And tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD.
To the glory of God the Father
Matthew
21.1-11: Jesus sat on a donkey colt for the trip down
the hill
from the Mount of Olives to the city of Jerusalem. This was as a prophet had
predicted:
"Look, your king is coming, humbly riding a peaceful donkey". Big crowds accompanied Jesus down
the hill.
People spread their clothes on the road as a sign of honor. People cut branches from the
trees and waved them singing
"Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" People in the city asked
"Who is he?"
The crowd answered "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in
Galilee".
Jesus, may you be warmly welcomed
by every place and every person in the world
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
Video
commentary on today's readings - in Spanish with English subtitles
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
57: Recording I
thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect,
live in love, fulfil their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall
many times along the way.
The Synod's reflections show us that there is no stereo-type of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems.
The situations that concern us are challenges.
We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity.
In every situation that presents itself, "the Church is conscious of the need to offer a word of truth and hope
The great values of marriage and the Christian family correspond to a yearning that is part and parcel of human existence".
If we see any number of problems, these should be, as the Bishops of Colombia have said, a summons to "revive our hope and to make it the source of prophetic visions, transformative actions and creative forms of charity".
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
51b: Recording
There is a pressing need to calculate the use of
environmental space throughout the world for depositing gas residues which have
been accumulating for two centuries and have created a situation which currently
affects all the countries of the world.
The warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming.
There is also the damage caused by the export of solid waste and toxic liquids to developing countries, and by the pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in the countries in which they raise their capital
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
31: Recording
The bishop must always foster
this missionary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the
first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one heart and one
soul.
To do so, he will sometimes go before his people, pointing the way and keeping their hope vibrant.
At other times, he will simply be in their midst with his unassuming and merciful presence.
At yet other times, he will have to walk after them, helping those who lag behind and - above all - allowing the flock to strike out on new paths.
In his mission of fostering a dynamic, open and missionary communion, he will have to encourage and develop the means of participation proposed in the Code of Canon Law, and other forms of pastoral dialogue, out of a desire to listen to everyone and not simply to those who would tell him what he would like to hear.
Yet the principal aim of these
participatory processes should not be ecclesiastical
organization but rather the missionary aspiration of reaching everyone
-------------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30
pm HK time tonight
- with messages about African inmates in HK prisons
(Today is 13th anniversary of the program - Happy Birthday, Bruce!)
-------------------------------------------
For
Palm Sunday:
It was Palm Sunday
but because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Johnny stayed home from church with a
sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several pieces of
palm. Johnny asked them what they were for. "People waved them as
Jesus walked by," his father told him. "Wouldn't you know
it," Johnny said with annoyance, "the one Sunday I don't go and he
shows up."
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia,
Pacific
Fri: South America
Sat: Cent., N 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 9th
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 9th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Central African Repub
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday,
please bless all Muslims in my country
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat
April 8
(Palm
Sunday tomorrow)
Yesterday I was at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre for five hours. My head was spinning as I came away, after
hearing more stories and details about the way the Drug Lords operate in Hong
Kong. A big number of the local Drug Lords are asylum seekers .... and I'm
forming the conclusion that HK's ghastly policy towards asylum seekers has been
a breeding ground for Drug Lords and drug dealers among the asylum seeker
population ... in the sense that asylum seekers are not allowed to work and are
given inadequate funding for food and board .... so it is not surprising that
many of them turn to crime to make money. Injustice breeds crime. I just Googled
"injustice breeds crime" .... many articles on this theme.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Deuteronomy
14-15: Moses' teaching:
"There are certain animals you must not eat, including pigs.
At the end of every 7 years, you must cancel all debts.
If there is a poor person among you,
do not harden your heart or close your hand against that person.
Always be generous to anyone in need."
Dear Lord, make me more
generous towards poor people
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
101: My song is of mercy and justice.
I sing to you, O Lord. I will try to walk with blameless
heart.
I will try to give my attention to what is good, not what is bad. People who slander others, people of proud
looks,
these will not be my friends. People who are good and do good,
these will be my friends.
Dear Lord, please help me to
avoid bad company
Recording
Lk
22.47-53: While Jesus was speaking, a group of
men arrived, led by Judas.
One of Jesus' apostles used his sword to cut
off the right ear of one of the men sent to arrest Jesus. Jesus told his apostles not to use their
swords. Then touching the man's ear, he healed him. Jesus said to the men arresting him "This
is your hour. This is the reign of darkness".
Jesus, you gave up your freedom for our
salvation.
Recording
Luke
22.54-62: The men who arrested Jesus took him to the
home of the main religious leader. Peter followed at a distance. As Peter sat by a fire in the courtyard, a
servant-girl said "This man was with Jesus". Peter replied
"Woman I do not know him". A little while later, another person said
"You are one of them". Peter replied "I am not". About an hour later, a man said "He was
certainly with them. He is from Galilee". Peter replied "I do
not know what you are talking about". While he was still speaking, a rooster crowed,
and the Lord looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord
had said, "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three
times". Peter went outside and cried bitterly.
Jesus, don't let me ever deny that I
know you
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
Only
Luke, a doctor always attentive to medical details, records that Jesus healed
the man whose ear Peter cut off.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
56: Recording Yet
another challenge is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that
"denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and
envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the
anthropological basis of the family.
This ideology leads to educational programs and legislative enactments that promote a personal identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male and female.
Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which can also change over time".
It is a source of concern that some ideologies of this sort, which seek to respond to what are at times understandable aspirations, manage to assert themselves as absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised.
It needs to be emphasized that "biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated".
On the other hand, "the technological revolution in the field of human procreation has introduced the ability to manipulate the reproductive act, making it independent of the sexual relationship between a man and a woman.
In this way, human life and parenthood have become modular and separable realities, subject mainly to the wishes of individuals or couples".
It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality.
Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator.
We are creatures, and not omnipotent.
Creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift.
At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
51a: Recording Inequity
affects not only individuals but entire countries; it compels us to consider an
ethics of international relations.
A true "ecological debt" exists, particularly between the global north and south, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment, and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time.
The export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialized north has caused harm locally, as for example in mercury pollution in gold mining or sulphur dioxide pollution in copper mining.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
30: Recording
Each particular Church, as a portion of the
Catholic Church under the leadership of its bishop, is
likewise called to missionary conversion.
It is the Church incarnate in a certain place, equipped with all the means of salvation bestowed by Christ.
Its joy in communicating Jesus Christ is expressed both by a concern to preach him to areas in greater need and in constantly going forth to the outskirts of its own territory or towards new sociocultural settings.
Wherever the need for the light and the life of the Risen Christ is greatest, it will want to be there.
To make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous
and fruitful, I encourage each particular Church to
undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform.
-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent. & N
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 8th
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Heilongjiang
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 8th of the month, Jesus please
bless the people of Sierra Leone
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
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Frid April 7
Report in a HK Filipino newspaper mentions my
support for the Filipina who was acquitted March 31 of a drug trafficking charge
- Here
Pope to wash
prison inmates feet Holy Thursday
Sr Joan Chittister:
The
normalization of insanity
-------------------------------------------
Fridays
of Lent:
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Deuteronomy 12-13: Moses continued his
teaching:
"Be faithful in keeping all the instructions that I give you,
so that you and your children after you may be happy,
always doing what is good and right
in the eyes of the Lord your God.
If anyone, even someone from your own family,
tries to get you to worship a false god,
have nothing to do with that person".
Dear
God, please don't let anyone influence me to forget you
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
100: Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy. Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we
belong to him.
We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his temple with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name. Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
Dear Lord, please help us to
serve you with gladness
Recording
Luke 22.31-34: (extra reading from Lk in order to finish Lk before Easter)
Jesus said to the apostle Peter "Satan
has got his wish to attack you. But I have prayed for you, that your faith
may not fail. Once you have recovered from Satan's attack, you in your
turn must give strength to others". Peter said "Lord, I am ready to go to
prison with you and to die with you". Jesus replied "Peter, before the rooster
crows, you will deny three times that you know me".
Jesus, please strengthen my faith. Please
strengthen my faith
Recording
Luke
22.39-46: After the Passover meal, Jesus and his
disciples went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus said to them
"Pray for protection in time of trial". Then he went apart by himself, about 40 meters
away, knelt down and prayed "Father, save me from this time of
trial. But let your will, not mine, be done". An angel from heaven appeared to him to give
him strength. His agony was so great that his sweat became drops of blood
falling to the ground. When he got up and went to the disciples, he
found them sleeping - so overcome were they with sorrow.
Jesus, please help me to pray "not my
will, but yours be done"
Recording
Reflection
on the above Bible readings:
Luke,
a doctor, adds something that Matthew and Mark don't say: the reason why the
disciples slept ... sorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
55: Recording Men
"play an equally decisive role in family life, particularly with regard to
the protection and support of their wives and children
Many men are conscious of the importance of their role in the family and live their masculinity accordingly.
The absence of a father gravely affects family life and the upbringing of children and their integration into society.
This absence, which may be physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual, deprives children of a suitable father figure".
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
50: Recording
Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and
thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in
the birth rate.
At times, developing countries face forms of international pressure which make economic assistance contingent on certain policies of "reproductive health".
Yet "while it is true that an unequal distribution of the population and of available resources creates obstacles to development and a sustainable use of the environment, it must nonetheless be recognized that demographic growth is fully compatible with an integral and shared development".
To blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues.
It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized, since the planet could not even contain the waste products of such consumption.
Besides, we know that approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and "whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor".
Still, attention needs to be paid to imbalances in population density, on both national and global levels, since a rise in consumption would lead to complex regional situations, as a result of the interplay between problems linked to environmental pollution, transport, waste treatment, loss of resources and quality of life.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
29: Recording
Other Church institutions, basic communities and small
communities, movements, and forms of association are a source of enrichment for
the Church, raised up by the Spirit for evangelizing different areas and
sectors.
Frequently they bring a new
evangelizing fervour and a new capacity for dialogue with the world whereby the
Church is renewed.
But it will prove beneficial for them not to lose
contact with the rich reality of the local parish and to participate
readily in the overall pastoral activity of the particular Church.
This kind of integration will prevent
them from concentrating only on part of the Gospel or the Church, or becoming
nomads without roots
-------------------------------------
Yesterday at Hei Ling Chau Drug Treatment Centre I was a
bit worried that my bright blue shirt might again cause problems .... once
before a guard mistook me for an inmate and told me to sit down as I walked
around a canteen where 200 men were seated at tables. But no problem yesterday
....men are still wearing Winter clothing ....grey shirts....not yet into their
Summer blue.
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid: S.
America
Sat: Cent, N. 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 7th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hebei
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 7th of the month, Jesus please bless
the people of Burkina Faso
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thur April 6
A big disappointment in the Court of Appeal yesterday morning: an Indonesian
domestic helper's appeal was rejected by the Court ... even though two other
people (a local Chinese man and a Filipina) were acquitted of similar charges by
lower courts in the past few weeks (... signing for an overseas parcel which
contained drugs ... sent by Nigerian drug lords who use social media to trick
people). Maybe an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal is on the cards .... to
make one more effort to get justice for the Indonesian woman and others in her
situation.
900
kg of ice from China found in Melbourne floorboards
HK woman jailed for smuggling ice into Australia
Kenyan
woman to become senator in Australia?
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Deuteronomy
11: Moses continued his
speech to the people:
"You must love the Lord your God.
Remember this day, how it was you who heard these words,
not your children.
It is your eyes that have seen the great works God has done.
Keep the Lord's commandments,
so that you may have strength to conquer the land God is giving you.
That land is a land of hills and valleys watered by rain from heaven.
If you love the Lord your God with all your heart
the Lord will give your land its rain in due season,
autumn and spring,
so that you may harvest your corn, your wine and your oil.
But if you forget the Lord your God and worship other gods,
then the heavens will be closed and produce no rain.
See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:
a blessing if you obey the commandments of the Lord our God;
a curse if you disobey the commandments of the Lord our God."
Dear
Lord, please help us to obey you and never forget you,
and please give rain to places that urgently need it
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
99: The Lord is king. He is great in Sion.
His power is seen throughout the world. Among his priests were Aaron, Moses and
Samuel.
They prayed to the Lord and he answered their call. Let peoples everywhere praise his name.
He is holy, full of power.
Lord, may all peoples
know and love you
Recording
Luke 22.1-6: (extra reading from Lk in order to finish Lk by Easter)
Big crowds were in Jerusalem for the feast of
the Passover which was only a few days away. The
religious leaders were afraid that the crowds would prevent them
from killing Jesus. But then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot who
was one of the 12 apostles. Judas went to the leaders to plan how to
capture Jesus. The leaders agreed to give Judas some money for his
help. Judas then began looking for an opportunity to
betray Jesus at a time when there were no crowds around.
Jesus, please protect me from Satan's
influence, and from any sort of pride that might make me want to abandon
your friendship
Luke
22.12-20: On the evening of the Passover feast, Jesus and his apostles ate the
Passover Lamb in a large upper room furnished with couches. While they were having the meal, Jesus took some bread, and when he
had given thanks, broke it and gave it to his apostles saying: "This
is my body. Do this in memory of me".
Then he took a cup of wine and said "This cup is the new
covenant
in my blood which will be poured out for you".
Jesus, please help me understand how your Body
and Blood
are present in a Communion service
Recording
Reflection
on the above Bible readings:
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.
"Source": the Eucharist is the number one occasion where we receive
grace and strength. "Summit": the Eucharist is the number one occasion
for our worship as Christians.
--------------------------------------------------------
Catholics
for Renewal:
Open
Letter to the Bishops of Australia
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
54: Recording In
this brief overview, I would like to stress the fact that, even though
significant advances have been made in the recognition of women's rights and
their participation in public life, in some countries much remains to be done to
promote these rights.
Unacceptable customs still need to be eliminated.
I think particularly of the shameful ill-treatment to which women are sometimes subjected, domestic violence and various forms of enslavement which, rather than a show of masculine power, are craven acts of cowardice.
The verbal, physical, and sexual violence that women endure in some marriages contradicts the very nature of the conjugal union.
I think of the reprehensible genital mutilation of women practiced in some cultures, but also of their lack of equal access to dignified work and roles of decision-making.
History is burdened by the excesses of patriarchal cultures that considered women inferior, yet in our own day, we cannot overlook the use of surrogate mothers and "the exploitation and commercialization of the female body in the current media culture".
There are those who believe that many of today's problems have arisen because of feminine emancipation. This argument, however, is not valid, "it is false, untrue, a form of male chauvinism".
The equal dignity of men and women makes us rejoice to see old forms of discrimination disappear, and within families there is a growing reciprocity.
If certain forms of feminism have arisen which we must consider inadequate, we must nonetheless see in the women's movement the working of the Spirit for a clearer recognition of the dignity and rights of women.
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
49: Recording It
needs to be said that, generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear
awareness of problems which especially affect the excluded.
Yet they are the majority of the planet's population, billions of people.
These days, they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage.
Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile.
This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centres of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems.
They live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level of development and a quality of life well beyond the reach of the majority of the world's population.
This lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality.
At times this attitude exists side by side with a "green" rhetoric.
Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
28: Recording
The parish is not an
outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great
flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness
and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community.
This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few.
The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God's word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.
In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers.
It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach.
We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Happy Birthday Mary; HK Tung Chung visitors; College volunteers
------------------------------------------
Yesterday at Jordan McDonald's I had a mid-afternoon drink
with this website's kind Facebook editor on visit from Melbourne. We sat in the
area where homeless people usually sleep of a night time. Just as I started
explaining this fact, a McDonald's cleaning lady was asked by someone sitting
near us "who owns this bag on the seat" ... and the lady proceeded to
give a long lecture about the arrival times and seats used etc etc of the
homeless guests .... to the bemusement of my visitor and myself.
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent, Nth
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 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, Thursday,
please pacify Al-Qaeda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wed April 5
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP:
We
cannot close our eyes to the reality of abortion
China's
labs modify deadly fentanyl to circumvent ban on sales to US
Chinese laboratories are producing and selling a
new form of deadly fentanyl to
get around China's export ban on the synthetic drug causing thousands of
overdose deaths in the US
Yesterday afternoon I joined a group of volunteers in Yau Ma Tei
to plan the operation of our newly rented premises in Temple Street for homeless
people (especially recently-released inmates). The group feels that setting up
an NGO is the way to go. I'm very happy with the idea, but right now I'm also
involved with another group of kind people who also are setting up an NGO to
lobby about issues concerning prison inmates: sentencing policy, review of
sentences, publicity to stop drug mules coming to HK, transfer agreements
etc. So ... I'm beginning to feel like a mother who is expecting
twins!
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris McDonnell
A Bidding Prayer or two this Sunday
I would suggest that, convenient though it might be, a source book of Bidding Prayers sidesteps the primary intention of this occasion
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Deuteronomy 10:
Moses continued his
speech to the people:
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you?
Only this: to love and honor the Lord, to follow all his ways,
to serve him with all your heart and all your soul,
to keep the commandments and laws of the Lord
that for your good I set before you today.
Circumcise your heart and be obstinate no longer.
The Lord your God is great and good.
He it is you must praise, he is your God.
It is he who sees justice done for the orphan and widow,
who loves the stranger and gives him food and clothing.
You too must love the stranger,
for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt."
Dear Lord, please help me love you as I should
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
98: Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked
wonders.
His right hand has brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation.
He has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy. Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp,
with the sound of music. Let the sea, the world and all peoples
acclaim the King, the Lord. Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy at the presence of the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
Lord,
may all peoples in all countries know your love and goodness
Recording
Luke 20.45-47: (extra reading from Lk in order to finish Lk by Easter)
After some leaders had asked him
some trick questions,
Jesus said to his disciples "Beware of the religious leaders who like
to walk about in special clothes and love to be greeted obsequiously in
the market places.
They like the front seats in prayer halls and the places of honor at
banquets. They like making a show of lengthy prayers.
But at the same time they steal the property of widows. They will
receive a severe sentence from God at the end of their lives.
Jesus, please help religious leaders be good
people
Recording
Luke
21.3-38:
Jesus said to his disciples that Jerusalem
would be destroyed and its people scattered throughout the world. He also spoke of how his followers would be
persecuted, and of the end of the world: "The planets will be
shaken, nations will be in agony, bewildered by the force of the oceans.
Then they will see me coming in a cloud with great power and
glory. To prepare for your own end of earthly life,
stay faithful to prayer and goodness. Don't let your heart be coarsened by
debauchery, drunkenness and material cares". In this his final week on earth, Jesus spent
the daytime in the Temple, teaching. From early morning the people would
gather round him to listen to him. Then he would spend the night on the
Mount of Olives.
Jesus, help me be faithful to prayer
and goodness
Recording
Reflection
on the above readings:
Over
the next two weeks we recall how the
drama of Jesus' earthly life came to a final showdown with the powers of
darkness. This is the number one "Good vs Evil" story in human
history. And every human person is a part of the drama, not just a spectator.
The drama takes place in small or not-so-small ways in every human life every
day. Jesus calls us to avoid the darkness of hypocrisy, debauchery and
materialism.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of Love - on love in the family
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
53: Recording "Some
societies still maintain the practice of polygamy; in other places, arranged
marriages are an enduring practice. In many places, not only in the West, the
practice of living together before marriage is widespread, as well as a type of
cohabitation which totally excludes any intention to marry.
In various countries, legislation facilitates a growing variety of alternatives to marriage, with the result that marriage, with its characteristics of exclusivity, indissolubility and openness to life, comes to appear as an old-fashioned and outdated option.
Many countries are witnessing a legal deconstruction of the family, tending to adopt models based almost exclusively on the autonomy of the individual will.
Surely it is legitimate and right to reject older forms of the traditional family marked by authoritarianism and even violence, yet this should not lead to a disparagement of marriage itself, but rather to the rediscovery of its authentic meaning and its renewal.
The strength of the family "lies in its capacity to love and to teach how to love. For all a family's problems, it can always grow, beginning with love".
---------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
48b: Recording The
depletion of fishing reserves especially hurts small fishing communities without
the means to replace those resources; water pollution particularly affects the
poor who cannot buy bottled water; and rises in the sea level mainly affect
impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go.
The impact of present imbalances is also seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems which are insufficiently represented on global agendas
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
27: Recording
I dream of a "missionary option", that is,
a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church's
customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can
be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today's
world rather than for her self-preservation.
"All
renewal in the Church must have mission
as its goal if it is not to fall prey to a kind of ecclesial
introversion".
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Visit to CAS Primary School open class by Ricci School teachers Nicole & Mary
------------------------------------------
A few years back
I was asked to write the Bidding Prayers for the Requiem Mass of our organist
and choir master, Brian Hobbs. I wrote the first line 'We come to celebrate
the life of Brian', and then realised the implications. It was hastily
re-written!
- from Chris McDonnell's article, above
--------------------------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun: Africa
Mon: Europe,
Russia
Tues: South
Asia
Wed: East
Asia
Thurs: S.E.Asia, Pacific
Frid: South
America
Sat: Cent, 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 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, 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
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.
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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
China
mobile 13030213703 - out of
action for the time being
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