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 28
Jesus, please protect Pope Francis in Burma today
Pope's visit raises fears of violence if he mentions the Rohingya
Filipina
drug mule jailed 15 years
This is good! - Advice from Proverbs, below
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs 11-12: Pride comes before a fall.
Humility brings wisdom. A city prospers when good people are many.
A city falls when good people are few. Good people are kind to animals.
Bad people are cruel to animals. Good people overlook insults.
Good people's speech promotes harmony in society. Worry makes our hearts heavy.
Kindly words from others make us glad.
Lord, help me to be kind and
wise
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
42-45: Like a deer that longs for running streams,
so my soul is longing for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for you, the God of my
life.
I think of you all the time, here in my land of exile. People make fun of us here in exile.
They taunt us saying "Where is your God?" Yet no matter what happens we will hope in you,
for you are our saviour and our God. No
matter where we are or what happens to us,
our hearts will long for you, like a bride longing for her groom.
Lord, no matter what happens,
may I always hope in you
Listen
Revelation
1.9-17:
I, John, share your sufferings. I was on the
island of Patmos, imprisoned for having preached about Jesus. One Sunday the
Spirit possessed me. I heard a
voice shouting
"Write down all you see, and send it to the seven churches of
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea".
I turned to see who had spoken to me, and I
saw Jesus,
full of glory. His face was like the sun shining with all its force. He said to me "Do not be afraid. It is I,
the First and the Last. I am the Living One".
Jesus, Living One, we praise and adore you,
Lord
Listen
Mark
8.22-26:
In the village of Bethsaida, a blind man was
brought to Jesus.
His friends begged Jesus to touch him. Jesus took the man by the hand and led him
outside the town.
Jesus put spittle on the man's eyes
and placed his hands on the man's eyes. "Can you see anything?" asked Jesus.
The man was starting to see and replied "I can see people. They look
like trees, but they are walking about". Jesus then placed his hands on the man's eyes
again, and he saw clearly. He was healed. Jesus, heal my friend
....(name)...who is blind
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
In
yesterday's Gospel, Jesus put spittle on the tongue of a deaf man. In today's
Gospel he puts spittle on the eyes of a blind man. Many explanations are offered
as to why Jesus used spittle. ...Google "Why did Jesus use spittle"
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
244: Listen In the meantime, we come together to take charge of this home which has been entrusted to us, knowing that all the good which exists here will be taken up into the heavenly feast.
In union with all creatures, we journey through this land seeking God, for "if the world has a beginning and if it has been created, we must enquire who gave it this beginning, and who was its Creator".
Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text
Full
Chinese text
220: Listen
People in every nation enhance
the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible
citizens, not as a mob swayed by the powers that be.
Let us not forget that "responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation".
Yet becoming a people demands
something more. It is an ongoing process in which every
new generation must take part: a slow and arduous
effort calling for a desire for integration and a willingness to achieve this
through the growth of a peaceful and multifaceted culture of encounter.
-------------------------------------
Interactive
Bible Quiz - Judith
Based on the actual
words of the Bible.
How many times can you get 3/3 ?!
----------------------------------
10
years ago today:
------------------------------------------
From a reader in Australia - Dance
Illusion
--------------------------------------
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 28th
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Beijing
And praying for one of
the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 28th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Lesotho
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
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Mon Nov 27
Jesus, please protect Pope Francis as he travels today to Burma
Some good news: the two emerging NGO's with which I am associated - Voice for Prisoners and MercyHK - are both now at the final stages of the legal procedures which must be done before an NGO can be approved. Please God by Easter they will be approved ....and then more effective action can be taken on behalf of inmates and the poor
George Monbiot: Everything
must go. Economic
growth will destroy everything
Gerard O'Connel: Pope
- Indifference to the poor is a great sin
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs
10: A wise child is a father's joy.
A foolish child is a mother's sorrow. Laziness leads to poverty.
Diligence leads to success. Hatred provokes disputes.
Love covers over all offences. A flood of words is never without fault.
Prudent people control their lips.
Lord, may my words be wise and
loving
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
41: Blessed the person who helps the poor and the
weak.
He himself will be helped by the Lord when he is sick and in trouble. The Lord will help him on his bed of pain.
The Lord will bring him back from sickness to health.
Lord, please help me to do more
for the poor
Listen
Revelation
1.4-8: From John, to the seven churches of Asia
province:
grace and peace to you
from him who is, who was, and who is to come,
from the seven spirits at his throne,
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead,
the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus Christ loves us and has washed away our
sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings
and priests to serve his
God and Father. It is he who will come on the clouds.
Everyone, in every part of the world, will see him.
All hearts will be moved by his coming. "I am the beginning and the end",
says the Lord God.
"I am the originator and goal of all things".
Jesus, please help more and more people know
who you are
Listen
Mark
7.31-37: Jesus traveled through the area south of the
Sea of Galilee.
A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him. Jesus took the man aside in private, away from
the crowd.
He put his fingers into the man's ears and put spittle on his tongue.
Then he prayed and said "Be opened".
The man's ears were opened and his speech became normal. The people said "He has done all things
well. He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak".
Jesus, heal (..name..)
who is "deaf and dumb"
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
Why
did Jesus use actions rather than words to heal the deaf man? (What a stupid
question!)
--------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
243: Listen
At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with
the infinite beauty of God (cf. 1 Cor 13:12), and be able to read with
admiration and happiness the mystery of the universe, which with us will share
in unending plenitude.
Even now we are journeying towards the sabbath of eternity, the new Jerusalem, towards our common home in heaven.
Jesus says: "I make all things new" (Rev 21:5).
Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place and have something to give those poor men and women who will have been liberated once and for all.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
219: Listen
Nor is peace "simply the absence of
warfare, based on a precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts
directed day after day towards the establishment of the ordered universe willed
by God, with a more perfect justice among men".
In the end, a
peace which is not the result of integral development will be doomed; it
will always spawn new conflicts and various forms of violence.
-------------------------------------
10
years ago today:
Beijing Brent Johnson of China Care and Little Flower Foundations
------------------------------------------
Recently
I've been watching a YouTube teaching on St Paul's letters to the Thessalonians
....and "strike
me pink" as they say in Australia....yesterday I received an email from
....Thessaloniki....concerning the
young Greek model arrested at HK airport last week for drug trafficking!
--------------------------------------
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 27th of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Tibet
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 27th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Uganda
And praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun Nov 26
Feast
of Christ the King
I stayed home most of yesterday to catch up on office work...not going out till late afternoon when I visited the custodial section of Queen Elizabeth Hospital. From the custodial section I went to one of the open wards ....very overcrowded....10 beds where there should be only 6. One can only admire the over-worked and under-paid nurses and doctors. HK government has no trouble finding billions of dollars for questionable infra-structure projects, but for hospitals???
Holy
See accused of too much diplomacy, not enough faith
Cardinal
Zen says Vatican's secretary of state has encouraged Pope to have a naive view
of China's ruling communists
Peter Wilikinson:
Catholic
Church 2020 Plenary Council - bishops must tap into grassroots without delay
Supporting
the Pope and his vision for reform
Reform-minded
Catholics should ask God to bless Francis with good health
Pope
urges churches to give services without fees
-----------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. readings for Feast of Christ the King
Matthew
25: 31-46 (a): Jesus said to his
disciples: When I come in glory at the end of the world, all peoples of all
times will be gathered in front of me. I will separate them, like a shepherd
separates sheep from goats. I will place the sheep on my right, the goats on my
left. I will say to those on my
right "Come and enter my kingdom. For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I
was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you made me welcome. I
was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison,
and you came to see me".
Listen
Matthew 25.31-46 (b):
Then those good people on my right will say "Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you a drink? When did
we see you a stranger and welcome you, naked and clothe you, sick or in prison,
and visit you?" I will answer
"Each time you helped and cared for a poor person, you helped and cared for
me".
Listen
Matthew
25: 31-46 (c): Then I will say to
those on my left "Go away from me and join Satan and his angels in hell.
For I was hungry, and you never gave me food. I was thirsty, and you never gave
me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you never made me welcome, naked,
and you never clothed me, sick and in prison, and you never visited me".
Listen
Matthew
25: 31-46 (d): Those on my left will
then ask "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked,
sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?" I will answer "Each
time you refused to help and care for a poor person, you refused to help and
care for me". Those on the left will then go to eternal punishment. Those
on the right will go to eternal life.
Jesus, please help me do more for poor people. Make me understand that when I
help a poor person, I help you
Listen
Reflection on the above readings:
The King of the Universe identifies with the poor....to the point where he will judge us according to the way we have helped, or not helped, the poor. Or to paraphrase the sign in Bill Clinton's office: "The poor, stupid". (in Clinton's office: "The economy, stupid")
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
242: Listen
At Mary's side in the Holy Family of Nazareth,
stands the figure of Saint Joseph.
Through his work and generous presence, he cared for and defended Mary and Jesus, delivering them from the violence of the unjust by bringing them to Egypt.
The Gospel presents Joseph as a just man, hard-working and strong.
But he also shows great tenderness, which is not a mark of the weak but of those who are genuinely strong, fully aware of reality and ready to love and serve in humility.
That is why he was proclaimed custodian of the universal Church.
He too can teach us how to show care; he can inspire us to work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
218: Listen
Peace in society cannot be understood as pacification or the mere absence of
violence resulting from the domination of one part of society over others.
Nor does true peace act as a pretext for justifying a social structure which silences or appeases the poor, so that the more affluent can placidly support their lifestyle while others have to make do as they can.
Demands involving the distribution of wealth, concern for the poor and human rights cannot be suppressed under the guise of creating a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority.
The
dignity of the human person and the common good rank higher than the comfort of
those who refuse to renounce their privileges. When these values are
threatened, a prophetic voice must be raised.
-------------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30
pm HK time tonight
- with items about HK prison inmates
-------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
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 26th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Xinjiang
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 26th of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Togo
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Sunday,
please bless all Muslims in my country
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat Nov 25
After a long day yesterday spent at Lo Wu prison ....seeing so
many women behind bars, recruited by ruthless drug lords..... I had no
hesitation late last night in accepting a call from a Greek media group which is
doing a report on the
19 year old Greek model arrested earlier this week at HK airport for drug
trafficking. I hope the publicity will help save others from the same
situation. Woman is said to have won a free trip ...to Addis Abiba....and
then...probably unknowingly....was given a container of drugs for HK. And on the
same theme...I put a new post on East Africa's biggest blog, Jamii Forums - here
For HK readers: prayer meeting for healing tomorrow, Sunday, 3pm
at YMT Catholic Primary School (St Paul's Mass Centre). Everyone welcome.
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs
9: Wisdom has built herself a house,
she has erected 7 pillars. She has sent out her maidservants
to proclaim from the city's heights:
"Come and eat my bread,
drink the wine I have prepared. Leave your foolishness and you will live.
Come and walk in the way of wisdom."
Lord, please help us accept
your invitation to grow in wisdom
Psalm
40: I waited, I waited for the Lord and he
stooped down to me.
He heard my cry. He saved me from distress.
He put fresh hope into my heart. How many, O Lord my God, are the times you
have helped me.
They are too many for me to describe. My God, in the depth of my heart I delight in
your law.
You do not want external offerings.
You want my heart.
Lord, I offer you my heart, my
love. You deserve all my love
Listen
Jude:
From Jude, servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
to those who are dear to God the Father and kept safe,
wishing you mercy and peace and love. I write with urgency to appeal to you:
stand up for the faith that has been entrusted to us. Some false teachers have infiltrated our ranks.
They reject the teaching of our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
They say "anything goes" in the area of morality. Such teaching, such people, must be opposed.
Be kind to such people, but with great caution. To God who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory and all honor, now and forever.
Jesus, please protect your church from false
teachers
Listen
Mark
7.24-30: Jesus went to the district of
Tyre.
A foreign woman fell at his feet and begged him to expel a devil from her
daughter. Jesus said "The children (= Jews)
should be fed first. It's not right to give the children's food to the
house dogs (= foreigners)". She replied "Ah yes, Sir, but the house
dogs under the table can eat the children's scraps". Jesus said to her "For expressing such
great faith, you can go home happy. The devil has gone out of your
daughter". She went home
and found the child lying on a bed, and the devil gone.
Jesus, please give sick people
more faith in you
Listen
Reflection on the above readings:
May the Holy Spirit give us wisdom (first reading) to detect and avoid false teaching (Jude) and to look at this world with eyes of wisdom (241, below)
----------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
241: Listen Mary,
the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for
this wounded world.
Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power.
Completely transfigured, she now lives with Jesus, and all creatures sing of her fairness.
She is the Woman, "clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev 12:1).
Carried up into heaven, she is the Mother and Queen of all creation.
In her glorified body, together with the Risen Christ, part of creation has reached the fullness of its beauty.
She treasures the entire life of Jesus in her heart (cf. Lk 2:19,51), and now understands the meaning of all things.
Hence, we can ask her to enable us to look at this world with eyes of wisdom.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
217: Listen
We have spoken at length about joy and love, but the word
of God also speaks about the fruit of peace (cf. Gal
-------------------------------------
10
years ago:
Marco Polo primary one student Gary at San Mao hospital after finger operation
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
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 25th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Ningxia
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 25th
of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Comoros
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri Nov 24
To try to stop the disturbing recent flow of drug mules coming
via Addis Ababa, yesterday I put a post on East Africa's largest blog, Jamii
Forums - here
Yesterday morning in the HK High Court, a young Brazilian man was
given a reduction of 6 months from his sentence ...for participation in my
anti-drug campaign by himself and his family. Thank you Jesus!
China and Vatican to exchange artworks in bid to boost relations
Jesus, please heal Mark who is seriously ill in
hospital
-------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Proverbs 7-8: To Wisdom say "My sister".
Call Perception your dearest friend. Wisdom says:
"The Lord created me before time began.
I was by his side, delighting him day after day. Happy those who keep my ways.
Happy those who listen to me. Whoever finds me finds life.
I am more precious than silver or gold."
Dear Lord, please help me to be
a friend of Wisdom
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
38-39: O Lord, please forgive my sins and heal me.
Heal my body which is sick because of my sins. Protect me, Lord, from those who gloat over me
now that I am brought low and unable to help myself. Lord, you have shown me how short a time I
have on earth.
Lord, give me wisdom of heart to live my life better.
Lord, help us understand the
meaning of life
Listen
3 John:
From the Elder to my dear friend Gaius.
People have told me of your faithfulness to the truth. It is always a great joy for me
when I hear that my children are living according to the truth. Thank you for your hospitality to believers who travel to spread the
Good News. Such people deserve whatever support we can give them.
Jesus, please bless people who travel to
spread the Good News
Mark
7.1-23: Some religious leaders asked Jesus "Why
do your disciples ignore many external practices of our religion?" Jesus answered, with the words of the prophet
Isaiah:
"This people honors me with external lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me." Jesus also said
"It's not certain foods or lack of washing that makes a person
unclean. It's evil in the heart that makes a person unclean. Evil intentions like murder, adultery,
fornication, theft, perjury, slander. These are the things that make a
person unclean."
Jesus, please clean my
heart
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings:
Words are important, but words that don't come from the heart are ...heartless
----------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
240: Listen
The divine Persons are subsistent relations, and the
world, created according to the divine model, is a web of relationships.
Creatures tend towards God, and in turn it is proper to every living being to tend towards other things, so that throughout the universe we can find any number of constant and secretly interwoven relationships.
This leads us not only to marvel at the manifold connections existing among creatures, but also to discover a key to our own fulfilment.
The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures.
In this way, they make their own that trinitarian dynamism which God imprinted in them when they were created. Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
216: Listen
Small, yet
strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as
Christians, are called to watch over and protect the fragile world in which we
live, and all its peoples.
-------------------------------------
A South African inmate has been fighting cancer for many
years. For all of last year she was a patient in Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Earlier this year she was released from hospital. Last Monday at Lo Wu prison I
saw her for the first time in many months ....and I didn't recognise her (just
like doctors when she goes back to QE for check-ups)! She's put on weight and
looks great. I asked her how much longer she has to go ....and she replied
"the doctors say 5 years" ....then we both laughed, as she realised my
meaning was "how much longer before you are released from prison?"!
And, please God, she will live a long life.
--------------------------------------
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 24th
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Inner
Mongolia
And praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the
month:
On this 24th of the month, Jesus please bless the
people of Zambia
And praying for one Islam-related
intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu Nov 23
Another one....that's four women in the past week:
19
year old Greek model arrested at HK airport with HK$2.4 million of cocaine
God bless
USA on this Thanksgiving Day
--------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Proverbs
6: Idler, go to the ant. Ponder her ways
and grow wise.
No one gives her orders, yet she makes sure of her food. Night and day you spend so much time sleeping.
In no time poverty and want will be at your pillow. Avoid deceitful people, those who have leering
lips,
winking eyes, shuffling feet, beckoning fingers. Avoid people with a haughty look
and people who sow dissension. Do not desire the beauty of your neighbour's
wife.
Adultery means trouble and disgrace.
Dear God, please give us the
wisdom
to avoid deceit and dishonesty
My
recording of this reading
Psalms
35-37: O Lord, please save me from people who slander
me,
you who rescue the weak from the strong, you whose love is so precious,
you in whose light we see light. We believe that if we find our delight in you,
you will grant our heart's desire. And so we commit our lives to you,
confident you will help us in time of trouble.
Lord, please deepen our trust
in you,
especially in time of trouble
Listen
2 John:
In our life of truth and love,
we have grace, mercy and peace from God the Father
and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. I write not to give you any new commandment,
but the one we were given at the beginning:
let us love one another; let us live a life of love. Keep to what Jesus taught.
Don't follow anyone who changes what Jesus taught.
Jesus, please protect me from people who distort
your message
Listen
Mark
6.53-56: When Jesus got out of the boat on the other
side of the lake,
people recognized him and news of his presence spread quickly.
From
all around that area, sick people were brought to him.
Wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in
open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak.
All those who touched him were healed
Jesus, please heal my sick
friends ...(names)... by letting them,
through prayer, touch your clothing
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings:
Maybe not a popular message, but there's much truth in the message about the ant (Proverbs): there's a link between laziness and poverty (not always, but sometimes)
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
239: Listen For
Christians, believing in one God who is trinitarian communion suggests that the
Trinity has left its mark on all creation.
Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature "testifies that God is three".
The reflection of the Trinity was there to be recognized in nature "when that book was open to man and our eyes had not yet become darkened".
The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure, so real that it could be readily contemplated if only the human gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to read reality in a Trinitarian key.
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
215b: Listen
Here
I would make my own the touching and prophetic lament
voiced some years ago by the bishops of the
Birds flew through the air, their bright plumes and varying calls adding color and song to the green of the forests. God intended this land for us, his special creatures, but not so that we might destroy it and turn it into a wasteland.
After a single night's rain, look at the chocolate brown rivers in your locality and remember that they are carrying the life blood of the land into the sea.
How can fish swim in
sewers like the Pasig
and so many more rivers which we have polluted? Who has turned the wonderworld
of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of color and life?"
-------------------------------------
10 years ago today:
------------------------------------------
Yesterday I spent 7 hours at Lo Wu Women's prison. One of
the many unique features of a woman's prison is ....a lack of ....men's toilets!
--------------------------------------
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 23rd
of the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Guangxi
And
praying for one of the
world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 23rd of the month, Jesus
please bless the people of Djibouti
And
praying for one Islam-related intention
each day of the week:
Jesus, today, Thursday,
please pacify Al-Qaeda
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Wed Nov 22
HK ex-official
arrested for Africa bribery
Joshua Wong says he was treated
"like a dog" while in prison
Now that the major parties are increasingly made up of
politicians supporting anti-family values, maybe the time has come for people
supporting family values to field independent candidates in each electorate
where the major parties field anti-family people ....so that pro-family people
have someone to vote for ...and to lobby major parties to stop fielding
anti-family people.
What does "Drink the water of your own
cistern" mean? - see Proverbs,
below
--------------------------------------------------------
Chris McDonnell
Re-setting the clock
"Pope Francis has openly denounced the continuing possession of nuclear
weapons by various world governments, in what appears to be a departure from the
Roman Catholic Church's prior (policy)"
-------------------------------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Proverbs 4-5:
Acquire wisdom, never forget her.
Do not desert her. She will keep you safe. Wisdom is life to those who obtain her,
health for the entire body. Take no notice of a loose-living woman,
go nowhere near the door of her house. Drink the water of your own cistern,
fresh water from your own well. Find joy with the wife you married in your
youth,
let hers be the love that always holds you captive.
Dear Lord, please give married
people the wisdom to stay faithful to each other
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
34: I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips.
In the Lord my soul shall make its boast,
the humble shall hear and be glad. Glorify the Lord with me, together let us
praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me.
From all my terrors he set me free. The angel of the Lord is encamped around those
who revere the Lord, to rescue them. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
They are happy who seek refuge in him. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.
Those whose spirits are crushed he will save.
Lord, by our Bible reading and
prayer, may we taste and see your goodness each day
Listen
1
John 4.20-5.13:
Anyone who says "I love God"
but hates his brother, is a liar. A man who does not love the brother he can see
cannot love God whom he has never seen. Who can overcome the world?
Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. You who believe in the Son of God
have eternal life.
Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God
Listen
Mark
6.45-52:
After feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2
fish,
Jesus told his disciples to go by boat across the nearby lake.
Jesus stayed to send the crowds away.
Then he went up into the hills to pray. When it was dark, the boat was far from land,
but battling large waves caused by a strong head-wind. Jesus then walked on the water towards the
boat.
He called out to his disciples "Courage. It is I. Don't be
afraid."
Then he got into the boat, and the wind stopped.
Jesus, please give me courage
by helping me remember that you are in my boat (my life)
Listen
Reflection
on the above readings:
As
more and more storms of various types afflict our world it is more important
than ever to be aware of Jesus in our boat. Awareness of his presence gives us
courage and hope.
-------------------------------------------------------
Pope's
letter on climate change: Laudato Si 我主應受讚美
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
238: Listen The
Father is the ultimate source of everything, the loving and self-communicating
foundation of all that exists.
The Son, his reflection, through whom all things were created, united himself to this earth when he was formed in the womb of Mary.
The Spirit, infinite bond of love, is intimately present at the very heart of the universe, inspiring and bringing new pathways.
The world was created by the three Persons acting as a single divine principle, but each one of them performed this common work in accordance with his own personal property.
Consequently, "when we contemplate with wonder the universe in all its grandeur and beauty, we must praise the whole Trinity"
------------------------------------
Pope Francis: The
Joy of the Gospel
Full
English text Full
Chinese text
215a: Listen
There are other weak and defenceless
beings who are frequently at the mercy of economic
interests or indiscriminate exploitation.
I am speaking of creation as a whole. We human beings are not only the beneficiaries but also the stewards of other creatures.
Thanks to our bodies, God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement.
Let us not leave in our wake a swath of
destruction and death which will affect our own lives and those of future
generations.
-------------------------------------
Last Saturday, below, I mentioned how the day before
(Friday) I met my barber in prison ....an asylum seeker, he'd been arrested for
working illegally. Last Saturday night I shared this story with another O.M.I.
at our weekly Saturday night meeting. He then said his barber also was missing.
Turns out we were talking about the same man!
--------------------------------------
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 22nd
of
the month, Jesus please bless the prisoners of Zhejiang
And praying for one of
the world's poorest
countries each day of the month:
On this 22nd of the month, Jesus please
bless the people of Rwanda
And praying for one
Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, today, 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
mode in Hong Kong on November 20, 2011 - the Feast of Christ
the King.
The official launching
was
held on the Gold Coast, Australia, on January 20,
2012.
Map and Flag Counter began Feb 11, 2012. Previous visits 4,932.
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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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