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 us hope, wisdom, compassion, courage and peace for our daily life           Chinese text

Reading:  Judges 12, 13

Samson wanted to marry a Philistine woman,
even though custom required he marry an Israelite.

On his way to the visit the woman in Philistine territory,
Samson was confronted by a young lion.

The spirit of the Lord filled Samson
and he tore the lion to pieces with his bare hands.

On his next visit to the woman's home, 
Samson saw that in  the carcase of the dead lion 
there was a swarm of bees, and honey.

The people of the village made a wedding feast for 7 days.
But they were scared of Samson
so they assigned 30 men to stay with him.

Samson challenged them to answer a riddle:
if they got the right answer before the 7 days were over,
he would give them 30 pieces of silver and 30 festal robes.

But if they failed to get the right answer,
they had to give Samson 30 pieces of silver and 30 robes.
They agreed to the challenge.

Samson stated his riddle:
"Out of the eater came what is eaten,
out of the strong came what is sweet".

Three days went by and they could not solve the riddle.
So they asked Samson's wife to find out the answer.

Day after day she pestered Samson with pleading and tears
until, on the 7th day, he told her. She then told the men.

The men then said to Samson:
"What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?"

Samson was filled with the spirit of the Lord.
He went to a nearby Philistine town and killed 30 men there.

He took their robes and gave them to the 30 wedding feast guests.

Full of anger, he stormed out of the village
and returned to his parents' house.

His wife was then given to the companion 
who had been his best man.

Reflection: 
No doubt there's a deal of exaggeration of numbers in this story, and it's hard to believe the God of goodness would inspire someone to kill people at random. So what can we learn from this story?  One lesson: Samson, a faulty human, was part of God's plan to protect the people of Israel. In fact, most of the time God has only faulty material to work with. Our job is to become "less faulty"

Prayer:  Dear God, please help me control my anger, as a way of becoming "less faulty"

Reading: Psalms 52-60

Lord, I will tell everyone about how good you are.
You are our Creator. Everyone should love you.

Thank you for so often rescuing me from trouble.
You uphold my life.

Sometimes I have so many troubles and cares
that I can't get to sleep.

Sometimes I wish I was a bird 
and could fly away to a safe place.

When I fear, I will trust in you,
in you whose word I praise.

My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.

Each morning I will sing of your strength,
and each morning acclaim your love.

Reflection: 
When we are afraid, when we fear, when our troubles keep us from sleeping, when we have a panic attack ....one thing we can do is to make a prayer of trust using the above words: 

Prayer: O God, when fears increase, so may my trust in you and awareness of your presence also increase

Reading:  One Peter 5

To everyone else I say: do what the elders tell you.
Wrap yourselves in humility to be servants of each other.
God refuses the proud and favors the humble

Bow down before the power of God, and he will raise you up

Unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you

Be calm, but careful, because your enemy the Devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith

Peace to all who are in Christ

Reflection: 
"Be calm".  Calmness helps us avoid all sorts of mistakes ....and helps us avoid the influence of him who fishes in troubled waters (..the Devil ....he loves to stir up trouble between individuals/groups/nations)

 Prayer: Jesus, please help me remember your presence, and thereby stay calm

Reading:  John 11

The religious leaders had a meeting to decide what to do about Jesus.
They said "If this man keeps on doing miracles, everyone will follow him. Then the Romans will see him as a threat, and they will wipe out our nation"

The main  leader said "It is better for one man to die for the people, than for the whole nation to be destroyed"

These words had more meaning than the leader realized, since Jesus was to die not just for the nation, but for the whole world

Since the leaders wanted to kill him, Jesus went to a remote area near the desert, and stayed there with his disciples

Reflection:
Jesus' death has relevance for every human being, just like the death of a parent has relevance for every child of that parent

Prayer: Jesus, please help me better understand how your death saved the world  ....and saved me