This blog is written each night before I go to bed. Blog is written in the past tense, talking about "yesterday".

April 2,  2012                      Daily Blog                  John W                   Previous 2012 blogs

Dear Friends

Last Sunday at lunch time, I had a meal with some dear friends from China
...two of them handicapped: Danny (next to me) no right arm 
& only a nearly-joined double finger on left hand (result of electrical accident many years ago)
....and his wife Lina (next to him) has a "short leg".
Danny and Lina used to work at one of the centres I had in China for school-less children.
Half way through the meal, a Chinese man at a table behind me, tapped me on shoulder and said
"are you a priest" (guess he saw my cross). I said "yes" and we had a quick chat.
When he got up to leave (before us) he said "I'll pay your bill".
A very nice gesture from a stranger.

Same thing happened last night ...in same canteen. I was with a "deaf and dumb" rubbish collector 
who works near my home. A Chinese man at other end of table: "are you a priest?"  "yes".
No conversation....just straight to the point: "I'll pay your bill"!

As the pioneer Protestant missionary to China  Hudson Taylor used to say (200 years ago):
"God's work, done in God's way.....no need to worry about finance"

Yesterday at my monthly Mass in a women's prison, there were no palms for Palm Sunday,
so we used our Mass sheets as palms,
and waved them as we sang just one song:
 "Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna to the King of Kings..."

We sang it at start of Mass, as verse before Gospel (no Passion Sunday Gospel....too long...no sheets
...just the Palm Sunday Gospel), at Offertory, as Consecration response,  and at end of Mass.
At end of Mass we put sheets down and used two other palms, our left and right hands, to clap as we sang

This week the prisoners will be closely following
the progress of the world's most famous Prisoner

On Good Friday they will use the prisoner's prayer:
"Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom"

After prisoners left meeting room,
the guard who had been with us for Mass
....and had heard during Prayer of Faithful how prisoners 
prayed for ill members of their family
(and heard prisoners share how previous prayers had been answered)
that guard (who is not a Christian) asked for prayer for her father who is ill

Q: thinking about Jesus on donkey descending Mount of Olives:
when did Jesus make a previous donkey descent on same Mount?
(Crazy English: "same Mount" here means the same mountain, not the same mounted animal!)

A: on his way to the first Christmas Day in Bethlehem!

My  Bible Plan for today.  Please join me in using this menu to help us think about Holy Week

Thank you for a prayer

God bless!

John W