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 Nov 21
Two
women arrested at HK airport last week, one from Peru (with 180 condoms in body)
the other from Tanzania
I've never heard of a man with more
than 100 condoms ...what cruelty to make a woman swallow 180.
Uni
students raise $50,000 for Tanzania
为什么新州最反对同性婚姻SSM:
Why NSW had the largest opposition to same-sex marriage
Pope's
homily for World Day of the Poor
My article in today's Ming Pao newspaper has the topic: Chinese women scammed by African Drug Lords. It is on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK". Text without recording
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs 3: Let kindness and loyalty never leave you.
Tie them around your neck. In everything you do, keep God in mind.
He will help you take the right path. Love God and turn your back on evil.
This will give good health to your body. Do not refuse a kindness to anyone who asks,
if it is in your power to help them.
Lord, please help us to be kind
to everyone
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
33: Ring out your joy to the Lord, all good
people,
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts. For the Lord loves justice and right;
he fills the earth with his love. By his word the heavens were made,
he spoke and the universe came into being. They are happy, whose God is the Lord,
he is the source of all true joy. May your love be upon us, O Lord,
since we place all our trust in you.
Lord, we trust in your precious
love
Listen
1
John 4.7-16:
Let us love one another.
Love comes from God.
God is love. God showed his love for us
by sending his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Since God has loved us so much
we should love one another. God is love.
Anyone who lives in love, lives in God,
and God lives in him.
Jesus, you are love itself. May I
live
in your love
Listen
Mark
6.30-34:
Once after Jesus had been healing and teaching
many people all afternoon, his disciples said to him
"It's getting late and the people need to go and eat".
Jesus replied "They don't need to go. You feed them".
The disciples replied "We have only 5 loaves and 2 fish". Jesus got the people to sit on the grass.
There were about 20,000 of them.
Then he blessed the loaves and fish. He handed the loaves and fish to his
disciples.
His disciples gave them to the crowd.
Everyone had plenty to eat. They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.
Jesus, please help the starving
people of the world
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
Pope Francis has often
quoted the words in today's Gospel "You
feed them" .... Jesus is speaking to each one of us "You
help the poor" ...and so we bring the little bit of good we can do and
offer it to him like the 5 loaves and 2 fish of long ago.
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text
Full Chinese text
237: Listen On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance.
Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world.
Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the "first day" of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord's risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality.
It also proclaims "man's eternal rest in God".
In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity.
We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its meaning.
We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity.
Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very essence.
It protects human action from becoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed and sense of isolation which make us seek personal gain to the detriment of all else.
The law of weekly rest forbade work on the seventh day, "so that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your maidservant, and the stranger, may be refreshed" (Ex 23:12).
Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others.
And so the day of rest, centred on the Eucharist, sheds it light on the whole week, and motivates us to greater concern for nature and the poor.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
214: Listen
Precisely because this
involves the internal consistency of our message about the value of the human
person, the Church cannot be expected to change her position on abortion
(( ...c.f. 213, below)).
I want to be completely honest in this regard. This is not something subject to alleged reforms or "modernizations". It is not "progressive" to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life.
On the other hand, it is also true that we
have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations,
where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially
when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of
extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?
-------------------------------------
Interactive
Bible Quiz - Tobit
Based on the actual
words of the Bible.
How many times can you get 3/3 ?!
----------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Update re A-Lin (cancer on neck)
------------------------------------------
When the apostles (in today's Gospel) said to Jesus
"it's getting late....it's time for people to eat" ....maybe, maybe
they were also thinking of themselves?! (...time to stop work..?!)
--------------------------------------
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 21st
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Yunnan
And praying for one of
the world's poorest countries
each day of the month:
On this 21st of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Benin
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mon Nov 20
Former juvenile offenders speak of abuse behind
bars
Last Saturday afternoon I had the privilege of having afternoon tea with Canadian
and HK TVB actress, Alannah
On and her daughter Laara
What's
the Mass got to do with climate change? See
236, below!
Pope: what he says about abortion - 213, below
Where does the word "meander"
come from? See below!
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs
2: If you turn your ear to wisdom,
you will discover the knowledge of God. For God himself is the giver of wisdom.
From his mouth come knowledge and discernment. When wisdom comes into your heart,
then prudence and discernment will protect you from evil.
Dear God, source of wisdom,
please give us more wisdom
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
32: Happy is the person whose sin is forgiven.
For a while I refused to ask for forgiveness,
and my body paid the penalty. But then I said "Lord, forgive me"
and my spirit and body revived.
Lord, when I do wrong, please give me the grace to say sorry and ask forgiveness
Listen
1
John 3.16-21: This has taught us love:
that Jesus gave up his life for us.
We too should give up our lives for others. If you see someone in need
and refuse to help him,
how can the love of God be in you? Our love must be put into practice, not be
just words.
Anyone who loves God must also love other people
Jesus, help me put my love into practice by
helping people in need
Listen
Mark
6.17-29: Not long after Jesus began traveling and teaching,
King Herod arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison. This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias, his brother's wife. During a birthday party for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias danced. Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted. Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish.
Herod then had John beheaded.
Jesus, please give the world
good leaders, and protect people from bad leaders like Herod
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
Why
did John the Baptist die? Because he "spoke truth to power" about the
sacredness of marriage
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
236: Listen
It is in the Eucharist that all that has been
created finds its greatest exaltation.
Grace, which tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and gave himself as food for his creatures.
The Lord, in the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter.
He comes not from above, but from within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours.
In the Eucharist, fullness is already achieved; it is the living centre of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life.
Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God.
Indeed the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: "Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world".
The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation.
The world which came forth from God's hands returns to him in blessed and undivided adoration: in the bread of the Eucharist, "creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards unification with the Creator himself".
Thus, the Eucharist is also a source of light and motivation for our concerns for the environment, directing us to be stewards of all creation.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
213: Listen
Among the vulnerable for whom
the Church wishes to care with particular love and concern are unborn children,
the most defenceless and innocent among us.
Nowadays efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this.
Frequently, as a way of ridiculing the Church's effort to defend their lives, attempts are made to present her position as ideological, obscurantist and conservative.
Yet this defence of unborn life is closely linked to the defence of each and every other human right. It involves the conviction that a human being is always sacred and inviolable, in any situation and at every stage of development.
Human beings are ends in themselves and never a means of resolving other problems. Once this conviction disappears, so do solid and lasting foundations for the defence of human rights, which would always be subject to the passing whims of the powers that be.
Reason alone is sufficient to recognize the
inviolable value of each single human life, but if we also look at the issue
from the standpoint of faith, "every violation of the personal dignity of
the human being cries out in vengeance to God and is an offence against the
creator of the individual"
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
------------------------------------------
The
word "meander" comes from the name of a river
near the city of
Colossae (Letter to Colossians) which ....meanders all over the place!
--------------------------------------
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 20th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Sichuan
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 20th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Gambia
And praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun Nov 19
Today is World Day of the Poor - Pope's message:
Tragically, in our own time, even as ostentatious wealth accumulates in the hands of the privileged few, often in connection with illegal activities and the appalling exploitation of human dignity, there is a scandalous growth of poverty in broad sectors of society throughout our world. Faced with this scenario, we cannot remain passive, much less resigned.
There is a poverty that stifles the spirit of initiative of so many young people by keeping them from finding work. There is a poverty that dulls the sense of personal responsibility and leaves others to do the work while we go looking for favours. There is a poverty that poisons the wells of participation and allows little room for professionalism; in this way it demeans the merit of those who do work and are productive. To all these forms of poverty we must respond with a new vision of life and society.
I invite the whole Church, and men and women of good will everywhere, to turn their gaze on this day to all those who stretch out their hands and plead for our help and solidarity. They are our brothers and sisters, created and loved by the one Heavenly Father. This Day is meant, above all, to encourage believers to react against a culture of discard and waste, and to embrace the culture of encounter
Man
freed after being unjustly jailed for 45 years
---------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. readings for Sun 33
Proverbs 30-31: Every word of God is true and of great value.
Do not change or misinterpret God's words. Do not give way to sexual excess.
Do not give way to drunkenness. Be the voice of the
poor, the unwanted.
Uphold the rights of the needy. Happy the man who finds a good wife.
She is far beyond the price of pearls. She looks after her household with care.
She works diligently for her family. She holds out her hand to the poor.
She opens her arms to the needy. Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty.
The woman who is wise is the one to praise.
Lord, thank you for all the
wisdom in the Book of Proverbs!
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
128: O blessed are those who love the Lord and
walk in his ways. By the labor of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper: your wife like a fruitful vine in the heart of
your house;
your children like shoots of the olive, around your table. Indeed thus shall be blessed
the people who love and honor the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days
of your life.
May you see your children's children in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, peace!
Dear Lord, may all married
people live to see their children's children
Listen
1
Thessalonians 5.1-11: The Lord's coming will not find us unprepared
if we live a good life. You are not children of the night and of
darkness.
You are children of the light and of the day. Put on faith and love for a
breastplate.
Put on the hope of salvation for a helmet. Encourage one another. Strengthen one
another.
Jesus, please help me be a person of
encouragement, not
discouragement
Listen
Luke
12.35-38: Jesus said to his disciples "Be like people waiting for their master
to return, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Be
ready, for I will come at an hour you do not expect. "When someone is given a great deal, of that person more will
be expected".
Jesus, you have given me so much. Please help
me use my gifts and my situation
to do more to help other people
Listen
Reflection on the above readings:
On this very first World Day of the Poor, we "who have been given a great deal" (today's Gospel) must ask ourselves: are we helping as many people as God intends us to help?
Video
commentary on today's readings - in Italian with English, Chinese and
Spanish subtitles
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
235: Listen
The Sacraments are a privileged way in which nature
is taken up by God to become a means of mediating supernatural life.
Through our worship of God, we are invited to embrace the world on a different plane.
Water, oil, fire and colours are taken up in all their symbolic power and incorporated in our act of praise.
The hand that blesses is an instrument of God's love and a reflection of the closeness of Jesus Christ, who came to accompany us on the journey of life.
Water poured over the body of a child in Baptism is a sign of new life.
Encountering God does not mean fleeing from this world or turning our back on nature.
This is especially clear in the spirituality of the Christian East. "Beauty, which in the East is one of the best loved names expressing the divine harmony and the model of humanity transfigured, appears everywhere: in the shape of a church, in the sounds, in the colours, in the lights, in the scents".
For Christians, all the creatures of the material universe find their true meaning in the incarnate Word, for the Son of God has incorporated in his person part of the material world, planting in it a seed of definitive transformation.
"Christianity does not reject matter. Rather, bodiliness is considered in all its value in the liturgical act, whereby the human body is disclosed in its inner nature as a temple of the Holy Spirit and is united with the Lord Jesus, who himself took a body for the world's salvation".
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
212: Listen
Doubly poor are those women
who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are
frequently less able to defend their rights.
Even so, we constantly
witness among them impressive examples of daily heroism in defending and
protecting their vulnerable families.
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Zhaoqing Xijiang Newspaper report on fatal traffic accident near railway station (+ JW's report)
------------------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30
pm HK time tonight
- with items about HK prison inmates
-------------------------------------------
Even
one year olds when someone says "give me 5" ....which is what Someone
is asking us to give... in ...today's Gospel!
--------------------------------------
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 19th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shanxi
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 19th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Sudan
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday,
please bless all Muslims in my country
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat Nov 18
Yesterday I spent 8 hours
at Lai Chi Kok men's prison....and came away with a list of jobs to do that will
take many hours. Such is work in the field....it leads to much office work. As
usual I knew in advance who I might meet ....they had been featured in the media
when arrested recently. As well as many new friends I also met a number of old
friends ....see ,
below!
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings RRP/Recordings/OT-1Macs-Malachi/Proverbs01.MP3
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs
1: If you listen to these sayings, you
will acquire wisdom.
These sayings will help you develop
virtue, justice and fairness. Be careful of bad people who try to
mislead you.
A net is spread in vain if the bird is watching. Wisdom calls aloud in the streets.
She delivers her message at the city gates: "How much longer will you prefer
ignorance to knowledge?
The complacency of fools works their own ruin. But whoever listens to me will live
in safety.
Whoever listens to me will choose good and avoid evil."
Dear God, please give
us more wisdom
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
31: Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in
distress.
My eyes are full of tears, my heart full of sorrow. Everyone makes fun of me. My friends don't want to know me.
Save me, Lord, from this mess. I praise you Lord, for you protect those who trust you.
You keep them safe from slander and lies. Be strong, let your heart take courage,
all you who trust in the Lord.
I trust in you, Lord. My life
is in your hands
Listen
1
John 3.1-3:
Think of the love that the Father has lavished
on us
by letting us be called God's children.
And God's love has even more in store for us in the future:
we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. This is why we must try to live good lives.
We must try to be as good as Christ.
Jesus, please help me be more like you
Listen
Mark
6.7-13: Jesus went on a teaching tour of the
nearby villages.
He sent out his 12 special friends in 6 pairs, with
authority over evil spirits. He told them to take only bare essentials for
the journey.
He said "If any place does not welcome you, as you leave that place shake the dust from your feet as a
sign to them". The 12 apostles preached
repentance. They cast out many devils. They anointed sick people with
oil and healed them.
Jesus, may every place welcome
you and your messengers
Listen
Reflection on the above readings:
With the dumbing down of society, the words from Proverbs, above, are a timely warning: "The complacency of fools works their own ruin"
----------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
234: Listen Saint
John of the Cross taught that all the goodness present in the realities and
experiences of this world "is present in God eminently and infinitely, or
more properly, in each of these sublime realities is God".
This is not because the finite things of this world are really divine, but because the mystic experiences the intimate connection between God and all beings, and thus feels that "all things are God".
Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord: "Mountains have heights and they are plentiful, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant. These mountains are what my Beloved is to me. Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady and flowing with fresh water; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest. These valleys are what my Beloved is to me".
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
211: Listen
I have always been
distressed at the lot of those who are victims of various kinds of human
trafficking. How I wish that all of us would hear
God's cry: "Where is your brother?" (Gen 4:9).
Where is your brother or sister who is enslaved? Where is the brother and sister whom you are killing each day in clandestine warehouses, in rings of prostitution, in children used for begging, in exploiting undocumented labour?
Let us not look the other way. There is
greater complicity than we think. The issue involves everyone! This
infamous network of crime is now well established in our cities, and many people
have blood on their hands as a result of their comfortable and silent
complicity.
-------------------------------------
Yesterday at Lai Chi Kok men's prison, I saw my barber of
the past several years, a very nice guy from the Sub-Continent! Arrested for
working illegally....he's an asylum seeker, and in HK it's illegal for asylum
seekers to work. Disclosure: when he cut my hair, I didn't know he was an asylum seeker....he was
working in an ordinary barber shop. He's asked me to write a support letter for
him when he goes to court, but considering he's being charged for working
illegally, I can't very well say he's been a great barber for the past 3
years!?!
------------------------------------
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 18th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shandong
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 18th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ivory
Coast
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri Nov 17
Dr David van Gend: No
public vote, no Parliament, no court has the authority to repeal nature and
change the meaning of marriage
Fr Harry Winter O.M.I. OMI's
and 50th Anniversary of Charismatic Renewal
The
Renewal greatly improved the awareness of the urgent needs of prisoners
Recommended
by a reader:
Professor
No. 129
Pope - 233, below: There is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf
-------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Job 40-42: Job
said to God " My words have been frivolous. I will not say anything
else." God then
reminded Job how God was creator of everything, including amazing animals like
the hippo and crocodile. Job then said to God "I know you are all-powerful.
I have been speaking about things I don't fully understand. I retract all I have
said and in dust and ashes I repent." God then praised Job for his
fidelity. God restored Job to good health. God restored Job's possessions, more
than he had before: 10 more children and thousands of animals. Job lived to be
140 years old and died full of peace.
Dear God, you never really
answered Job's questions
about the mystery of evil and suffering
....but I know your Son Jesus gave us the answers
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
29-30: The Lord gives us strength, the Lord blesses
us with peace.
Thank you, Lord, for so often helping and healing me.
I cried to you when sickness surrounded me, and you healed me. You changed my mourning into dancing.
So I will thank you always.
Thank you, Lord, for all the
times you have healed me
Listen
1 John
2.9-16:
Anyone who claims to be in the light
but hates his brother
is still in the dark. Do not love the ungodly values of this world
generated by the sensual body,
the lustful eye
and a pride in
possessions. Such things do not come from God.
Jesus, please help me avoid worldly values
Listen
Mark
6.1-6:
Jesus and his disciples went to his home town
of Nazareth.
On the Sabbath he went to the prayer hall and began teaching. People in the prayer hall were astonished at
his teaching.
"Who does he think he is?" they asked. "He is just a
carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joset, Jude and Simon.
His sisters also are here." And they would not accept
him. So Jesus said to them "A prophet is
despised only in his own country". Because of their lack of faith, Jesus cured
only a few sick people there. He was amazed at the lack of faith in
Nazareth.
Jesus, please help me be happy
about your gifts to others
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings:
Jesus was not just the step-son of a human carpenter. He was the Son of the Divine Artisan who made the universe
----------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
233: Listen
The universe unfolds in God, who fills it
completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a
mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person's face.
The ideal is not only to pass from the exterior to the interior to discover the action of God in the soul, but also to discover God in all things.
Saint Bonaventure teaches us that "contemplation deepens the more we feel the working of God's grace within our hearts, and the better we learn to encounter God in creatures outside ourselves"
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
210: Listen
It is essential to draw near to new
forms of poverty and vulnerability, in which we are called to recognize the
suffering Christ, even if this appears to bring us no tangible and immediate
benefits.
I think of the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned, and many others.
Migrants present a particular challenge for me, since I am the pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers herself mother to all.
For this reason, I exhort all countries to a generous openness which, rather than fearing the loss of local identity, will prove capable of creating new forms of cultural synthesis.
How beautiful are those cities which overcome paralysing mistrust, integrate those who are different and make this very integration a new factor of development!
How attractive are those cities which, even in
their architectural design, are full of spaces which connect, relate and favour
the recognition of others!
-------------------------------------
Today I'm hoping to spend most of the day at Lai Chi Kok
men's prison.....which will be like a holiday for me after so much time recently
at the computer and at meetings
--------------------------------------
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 17th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Shaanxi
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 17th of the month, Jesus please bless the
people of Malawi
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu Nov 16
In
the
Australian postal vote on same-sex marriage, 7.8 million people voted
for change, 4.9 million voted against. I wonder how many of the 7.8 million are
aware that such change in other countries has led to things like this: British
Catholic schools remove "mother" & "father" from
admission forms?
On a personal note, aware of what has happened in other
countries, I was deeply saddened by the result of the postal vote ...close to
tears at one stage .....c.f. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.....resolving to do
all I can to help protect HK from such madness.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Job
32-39: Job's three friends had no more to say.
But a young man named Elihu, decided to join the conversation. He said to Job "How can you claim to be
innocent and yet say that God is persecuting you without cause?" As Elihu continued his speech, suddenly the voice of God himself was heard.
God asked Job "Have you ever given orders
to the morning for day to begin? Have you ever arranged the stars in the sky?
Was it you who gave all the animals their
various powers?
Who do you think you are?"
Dear God, when we are
confronted
by the mystery of suffering and evil,
please help us realize that these things do not come from you
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
28: To you, O Lord, I call, my rock, hear me.
If you do not heed, I shall become like people in the grave. Lord, you are my strength and my shield.
In you my heart trusts. Thank you, Lord, for so often hearing my
prayer.
I will always thank and praise you. You are the strength of your people Israel.
Save your people. Be our shepherd and carry us for ever.
Lord, please help people who
are in big danger today
1 John
2.3-6:
We can be sure we know God
only by keeping his commandments. Anyone who says "I know him"
and does not keep his commandments,
is a liar, refusing to admit the truth. We can be sure we are in God
only if we are living the same kind of life as Christ lived.
Jesus, please help me live like you, live for
you
Listen
Mark
5: A prayer hall official,
Jairus, fell at
Jesus' feet and pleaded "My little daughter is dying. Please come and
lay your hands on her and save her life". While Jesus was on the way to
Jairus' home,
people arrived and told Jairus "Your daughter is dead. No need
to trouble the Master any further". Jesus heard this and said to Jairus "Do
not be afraid. Just have faith". Jesus allowed only Peter, James and
John to go with him. At Jairus' home, everyone was weeping and
wailing.
Jesus said to them "Why all this crying? The child is not dead, but
asleep". Everyone laughed at him.
So he got them all to leave. Then taking the girl's parents and his 3
companions, he went to the place where the child was lying. Taking the girl by the hand he said to her
"Little girl, I tell you to get up". The little girl got up at
once. She was 12 years old.
Jesus, please give us more
faith to pray for the sick
....even for children who have died!
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings:
The Gospels record three occasions when Jesus brought dead people back to life: the little girl in today's Gospel, the son of the widow in Nain, Lazarus. Maybe there were others...
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
232: Listen Not
everyone is called to engage directly in political life.
Society is also enriched by a countless array of organizations which work to promote the common good and to defend the environment, whether natural or urban.
Some, for example, show concern for a public place (a building, a fountain, an abandoned monument, a landscape, a square), and strive to protect, restore, improve or beautify it as something belonging to everyone.
Around these community actions, relationships develop or are recovered and a new social fabric emerges.
Thus, a community can break out of the indifference induced by consumerism.
These actions cultivate a shared identity, with a story which can be remembered and handed on.
In this way, the world, and the quality of life of the poorest, are cared for, with a sense of solidarity which is at the same time aware that we live in a common home which God has entrusted to us.
These community actions, when they express self-giving love, can also become intense spiritual experiences.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
209: Listen
Jesus,
the evangelizer par excellence and the Gospel in person, identifies especially
with the (disadvantaged).
This reminds us Christians that we are called to care for the vulnerable of the earth.
But
the current model, with its emphasis on success and self-reliance, does not
appear to favour an investment in efforts to help the slow, the weak or the less
talented to find opportunities in life.
-------------------------------------
10 years ago today:
Happy Birthday Marco Polo teacher Leanne
------------------------------------------
To go with Australian same-sex marriage postal vote. A
topic for the next postal vote: Should men be given the
right to breast feed?
--------------------------------------
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, 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 16th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Qinghai
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 16th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Afghanistan
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Thursday,
please pacify Al-Qaeda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wed Nov 15
Yesterday morning I had a disappointing time at the High Court when an inmate from Africa who had given much info to authorities and much help to my anti-drug campaign was given only a token discount for his efforts. Last night I was back at Admiralty MTR station ...for a meeting at the office of prominent Legco member James To who is totally supportive of my campaign.
Q: Who said this? "I made a pact with my eyes
not to linger on any other woman but my wife"
A: see Job, below
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris McDonnell
So
what shall we call you?
Each of
us gets a name at birth, essential if parents aren't going to call us 'baby' for
the rest of our years
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Job 25-31:
Bildad then reminded Job that God's power is
beyond human understanding. No one should question God's actions. Job replied:
"I swear by God who denies me justice that as long as I have breath,
I will live a life of innocence. I remember how I have always lived as a friend
of God:
how I helped the poor, the orphan, the dying, the widow, the blind, the
lame. I remember how I made a pact with my eyes
not to linger on any other woman but my wife.
I remember how I have never put my trust in riches or fame.
I have always trusted only in the Lord. Yet now people laugh at me and make fun of me.
They avoid me and even spit on me. When will God answer me?"
Dear God, please help me to
imitate Job's way of life
Psalm
27: The Lord is my light and my help, whom shall
I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life, before whom shall I shrink? Though
an army encamp against me, even then would I trust. There is one thing I ask of the Lord, for this
I long:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek. Hide not
your face.
I am sure I will see your goodness in the land of the living. Hope in the Lord, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
Lord, you are my light and my
help.
I will always praise you.
Listen
1 John
1.5-9:
God is light. There is no darkness in him.
If we say we are in union with God
while we are living in darkness,
we are lying, because we are not living the truth. If we say we have no sin in us,
we are deceiving ourselves
and refusing to admit the truth. But if we acknowledge our sins,
God will forgive us
and purify us from everything that is wrong.
Jesus, forgive my sins. Please help me
avoid sin
Listen
Mark
5.25-34:
A large crowd gathered around Jesus near the
side of the Sea of Galilee. In the crowd was a woman who had suffered from
bleeding for 12 years. She had spent all her money on doctors, but
they had been unable to help her. She had heard about Jesus. She came up behind
him in the crowd and touched his cloak. "If I can touch even his
clothes, I will be healed" she said to herself. As soon as she touched Jesus' cloak, the
source of the bleeding dried up at once. Aware that power had gone out
from him, Jesus turned round and said "Who touched me?" The woman fell at his feet and told her story.
Jesus said "My daughter, your faith has restored you to health. Go in
peace and be free from your illness".
Jesus, please
help sick people
touch you by prayer
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
Some
people say Job was not a real person ...that the story is made up. Maybe some of
it is extra, but there seems to be a real character as the foundation of the
story ....and what a good person he was. He lived a life based on love of God
and love of neighbour....summing up the very best of Jewish spirituality
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
231: Listen Love,
overflowing with small gestures of mutual care, is also civic and political, and
it makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world.
Love for society and commitment to the common good are outstanding expressions of a charity which affects not only relationships between individuals but also "macro-relationships, social, economic and political ones".
That is why the Church set before the world the ideal of a "civilization of love".
Social love is the key to authentic development: "In order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life - political, economic and cultural - must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity".
In this framework, along with the importance of little everyday gestures, social love moves us to devise larger strategies to halt environmental degradation and to encourage a "culture of care" which permeates all of society.
When we feel that God is calling us to intervene with others in these social dynamics, we should realize that this too is part of our spirituality, which is an exercise of charity and, as such, matures and sanctifies us.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
208: Listen
If anyone feels offended by my
words, I would respond that I speak them with affection and with the best of
intentions, quite apart from any personal interest or political ideology.
My words are not those of a foe or an opponent.
I am interested only in helping those
who are in thrall to an individualistic, indifferent and self-centred mentality
to be freed from those unworthy chains and to
attain a way of living and thinking which is more humane, noble and fruitful,
and which will bring dignity to their presence on this earth
-------------------------------------
On yesterday's menu I highly praised the Masala tea I had
on Monday afternoon. Two cups of it. But Monday night I realised that two cups
in the afternoon is not a good idea for a good night's sleep! Bit like coffee in
the afternoon....
--------------------------------------
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, Wednesday,
please bless the people of East
Asia
And praying for
prisoners in one
part of China each day of the month:
On this 15th
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Liaoning
And praying for one of
the world's poorest
countries each day of the month:
On this 15th of the month, Jesus please
bless the people of Zimbabwe
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, 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
2017:
Southern Africa, Dubai (
The
Last Run)
--------------------
Australian Chinese for
Families Association
Gay marriage: an elephant in the room (by John W)
Video:
What "gay
marriage" did to Massachusetts
同志婚姻自2004年立法後，美國麻省的改變
（ 廣東話附字幕版）
Frightening
YouTube reports:
LGBT radical impact
on educational institutions (No.
5); LGBT
infiltrating churches
(No. 6); US corporations massively
supporting LGBT agenda (No. 7). What
has happened in the US is now starting to happen in other places. Some
day our children will ask "why didn't you do more to stop this evil?"
--------------------------------------------
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 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- 67095674
China
mobile +86-13828421861 - (only
when in China)
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