Computer Cud    Vatican II asks us to read the Bible every day,   'to have a burning love'   for the Word of God           Resolution

This plan follows the Sunday liturgy:  reading + psalm + reading + gospel               From  www.simplebible.info              Previous Bible Blogs 

O Holy Spirit, may these passages give me hope, strength, wisdom, compassion, courage and peace for my daily life          Chinese text

  Reading:  Genesis 20-21  

Abraham and his wife Sarah were old people
but God blessed them with a son.
They named their son Isaac.

Sarah again made life difficult for Hagar and Hagar's son.

Hagar and her son had to leave Abraham's home
but God protected them and found them a new home.

Reflection: 
Am I a person who makes life difficult for others?
Am I easy to get along with, or difficult to get along with?
c.f. St Peter, easy to get along with...but St Paul?!

Prayer: Dear God, please don't let me make life difficult for anyone else

Reading: Psalm 1

Happy the person who avoids evil and evil entertainment.
Happy the person who reads and meditates on God's words.

Such a person is like a tree planted beside a river, getting plenty of nourishment, bearing plenty of fruit.

Such a person is on the Way of Life.
People who do evil are on the Way of Death.

Reflection:
Our basic choice: Life or death, good or evil, or as Pope John Paul II put it:
the Culture of Life or the Culture of Death

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help us do good and avoid evil

Reading:  1 Corinthians 15

When this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of Scripture will come true: "Death has been defeated. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?"

Never give up, dear friends, never admit defeat. Keep on working at the Lord's work always. Know that, in the Lord, no work is in vain

Reflection - Poem by John Bowring:
Death where is thy Sting? 

Prayer: Jesus, please give me more faith in your victory over death

Reading: Mark 14

The men who arrested Jesus took him to a meeting of the religious leaders. The leaders wanted to condemn Jesus to death,
even if they had to use false evidence

Jesus remained silent before their accusations.
Then the main leader challenged Jesus:
"Are you the Saviour, the Son of God?"

Jesus replied "I am".
The leader then called out
"We have heard him claim to be of Divine origin. This is blasphemy"

The rest of the leaders shouted "He should die".
Then they spat in Jesus' face and hit him with their fists

Reflection:
Only once in my life has anyone spat at me. Not a nice experience.
This is how I recorded it in my diary at the time (July 21, 2004) 

Good morning from Gold Coast, one hour south of Brisbane in Australia. Fine and cool and sunny here - best weather in the world. Arrived here yesterday morning after 8 hour overnight flight from Hong Kong. Enjoyed taking dear (93 year old) Mum for walk in her wheelchair yesterday afternoon......

New experience yesterday afternoon while walking home from Mum's nursing home: was thinking "I'm too tired to walk, better catch a bus".....when two young boys (aged about 12-14) rode their bikes past me on the footpath. As they passed me, one of them spat on me. Tiredness was instantly replaced by Olympic sprint ...couldn't quite catch them.....but they came back to taunt their victim from other side of road....and the old man's second sprint caused one of them to abandon his bike and flee. Thought of phoning police while kid followed me and accused me of stealing his bike.....eventually left bike and hoped the scare might stop them from spitting at people again. Looked up Matthew 26.67 last night.....now has a great deal more meaning for me. ......Have never even heard of such a thing in Hong Kong or China....what is Australia coming to? 

Prayer Jesus, thank you for submitting yourself to insult and spittle
for the salvation of the world