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
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China8
Tues Nov 26
Yesterday I spent 9am to 5pm at Tai Lam women's prison (where I
was very sad to meet some new arrivals from Africa), then some time at the men's
prison next door. This year has seen a drop in arrivals from Malaysia, but an
increase from Africa .... which is why my next annual January trip is due to be
to Africa please God. .... to do more publicity to try to slow down the flow to
HK
Two comments about the
staggering election result last Sunday:
1.
Some media reports are saying that the huge anti-govt vote means support for the
protesters. Yes and no. It means huge unhappiness with the government and
support for (most of) the aims of the protesters, but certainly not support for
violence used by protesters. A survey of local people living in Jordan and Yau
Ma Tei would find virtually no one supporting any protesters who use violence
and vandalism.
2. The result is yet another wake-up call to the HK govt. If the govt again ignores the voice of the people, it will be increasing the toxic atmosphere which has become a breeding ground for violence.
Chinese
Consul General ordered to provide campus violence evidence
My article in today's Ming Pao newspaper has the topic: Ask help of Jordan Mainland soliders?. It's on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK". Text without recording
Thank you Jesus for
blessing Pope's trip to Japan
---------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Jonah
2-4: God arranged for a big fish to swallow Jonah.
Jonah was in the fish for 3 days. Inside the fish, Jonah prayed to God for help.
God heard Jonah's prayer and got the fish to vomit Jonah on the shore. Again God told Jonah to preach repentance in
Nineveh.
This time Jonah did as God requested.
"Forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed" he proclaimed. The people of Nineveh believed God's message.
They put on sackcloth and ashes. They fasted and prayed.
They repented of their evil behavior. God saw their change of heart and spared
Nineveh.
Jonah complained to God:
"Your change of mind will cause me a big loss of face."
God said to Jonah:
"Do I not have the right to show compassion to my people?"
Lord, please help me repent of
bad behavior
My
recording of this reading
Psalm 46:
(c.f.
famous hymn by Martin Luther "A Mighty Fortress is our
God", and also the hymn "Be Still and Know that I am
God").
God is for us a refuge and strength,
in time of distress he is a helper close at hand. Therefore we shall not fear even though the
earth should rock,
even though the mountains fall into the sea. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come and consider the works of the Lord
and always remember his words: "Be still and know that I am God".
Lord, help us to be more aware
of your presence, especially when we are in trouble
Listen
Colossians
1.9-14: I pray that you will continue to grow in your
Christian life,
a life full of good deeds. Never give in when trials come, but bravely,
even joyfully,
carry your cross each day. Keep on thanking the Father who has rescued us
from the power of darkness, and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves, in whom we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins
Father, thank you for letting me be a
Christian.
Help me be a good Christian
Listen
Matthew
13.53-58: One day Jesus went to Nazareth, his home
town.
In the prayer hall there he taught the local people. But the local people would not accept
him. They said
"Where did he get such wisdom and miraculous power?
He is just a carpenter's son. His mother is that woman called Mary.
His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Jude.
His sisters are here, too. He's nobody special." Jesus said to them
"A prophet is despised only in his own country and his own house".
And he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Jesus, please give me more
faith in you
.... and don't let me reject people
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: Probably the number one reason we don't see more miracles of healing is ... lack of faith
------------------------------
Mainland media report on HK polls, but avoid results
-------------------------------
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 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, Tuesday,
please pacify Boko
Haram
----------------------------
----------------------------
Mon Nov 25
As
I walked to Mass yesterday morning around 7.45 I thought I was seeing things: a
hundred people lined up to vote at a polling station near Yau Ma Tei Catholic
Primary School. Local HK old timers also were shocked (in a good sense) to see
so many people voting ... especially considering that voting is not compulsory
in HK. Later in the day I met a number of people who queued for an hour or more.
I was lucky ... my HK ID required me to be in a special line where my vote took
less than 2 minutes. My
photos from yesterday
So ... why did so many people vote? My gut feeling at 7.45am: this is the ordinary people of HK, young and old, making another plea, a peaceful orderly plea, to a deaf and dumb government: PLEASE LISTEN TO US! PLEASE TAKE NOTICE OF OUR CONCERNS! WE ARE DISTRESSED THAT YOUR STUPIDITY HAS LED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY. THIS VOTE IS A REFERENDUM ON WHAT WE THINK OF YOU. PLEASE STOP BEING DEAF AND DUMB! *** SCMP updates here
And ... my theory - posted last Friday night - about a peaceful weekend coming up ... was correct. See menu of Sat Nov 23, below. Also ... all the talk that riot police would be guarding all polling stations was just scare talk or fake news. At the 3 stations I saw, I did not see even one policeman in uniform, let alone in riot gear.
Jesus, please bless Pope
Francis in Japan! Pope:
possession of nuclear weapons is immoral ***
Why
Pope's visit is so important for atomic bomb survivors
------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Jonah 1:
God said to Jonah: "Go to the city of
Nineveh and preach repentance." Jonah was afraid to go to
Nineveh. He ran away. He boarded a ship for Tarshish.
When the ship was at sea, a great storm hit the ship. The sailors drew lots to see who was
responsible for this bad luck.
The lot chose Jonah who admitted his guilt in disobeying God. The sailors then threw Jonah
overboard. The sea immediately became calm again.
Lord,
please help me agree to do anything you ask me to do
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
Colossians
1.1-6: From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle
of Christ Jesus,
to the Christians in Colossae.
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
I always pray for you and give thanks for
your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love you show to others
because of the hope which is stored up for you in heaven.
The Good News is spreading all over the world,
bringing blessings to so many people
Jesus, increase my faith, hope and love. Help me
spread the Good News in my corner of the world
Listen
Matthew
13: Jesus said to the people:
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.
It's the smallest of all seeds.
But it becomes a big bush, then a big tree that the birds live
in. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which
leavens flour. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure
in a field.
Someone finds it, then sells all they have to buy the field. The kingdom of heaven is like a fishing net
that catches all sorts of fish. Good fish are put in a basket. Useless
fish are thrown away.
So at the end of time, bad people will be thrown into hell
Jesus, may your kingdom come,
your will be done
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: Who else in the Bible, apart from Jesus, calmed a storm? ( .. today's 1st reading!)
-------------------------
I
have met this
poor guy ... a super optimist?
--------------------
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 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, Monday,
please pacify I.S.
-----------------------
----------------------
Sun Nov 24
Feast
of Christ the King
Voting
today to choose 452 local district councillors ... for
my theory why this weekend is peaceful, see yesterday's menu, below. What a
spontaneous coincidence (??) that yesterday saw no violence in any part of
HK.
Singapore
executes Malaysian man who had 16g of heroin
Defecting spy reveals Beijing's operations in
HK, Australia & Taiwan **
ABC
report
Jesus, please bless
Pope Francis in Japan today! (He flew over HK yesterday!)
Urgent message from a HK father -
his 11 month old daughter desperately needs liver transplant:
My daughter, Chan Hoi-Ching, has biliary atresia. She desperately needs a liver transplant. Unfortunately, after numerous medical tests, neither my wife nor I are able to donate our livers to her.
We've been on the transplant waiting list for 9 months, but haven't had any luck either. If anyone is able to kindly donate part of their liver to give our daughter a second chance at life, please contact Mr Joe Chan on (852) 6686 5000, or call the Queen Mary Hospital hotline 2255 3838
.
Donors will need to meet the following criteria:
Blood type O.
Aged between 18 and 60.
Physically and mentally healthy.
BMI less than 30.
Not a carrier of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or HIV.
Not a heavy drinker nor a recreational drug-user.
Have never had surgery on the upper torso .
Not pregnant.
Will have family and friends to look after you before and after the transplant surgery.
Jesus, please help Chan Hoi Ching!
------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
c.f. readings for Christ the King
2 Samuel 4-5:
After Ishbaal, son of Saul, was
murdered,
David became king of Israel as well as king of Judah.
David was 30 years old when he became king.
He reigned over Judah for 7 years.
Then he reigned over all Israel and Judah for 33 years. David continued to fight against the
Philistines.
God blessed David in all his campaigns.
Dear God, may all of Israel be
blessed with peace
My
recording of this reading
Psalm
122: I rejoiced when I heard them say
"Let us go to God's house." And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
For the peace of Jerusalem pray
"Peace be to your homes."
For love of the house of the Lord
I will ask for your good.
Lord, may your peace be in our
hearts and homes
Listen
Colossians
1.15-20:
Christ is the image of
the unseen God.
In him were created all things.
All things were created through him and for him. Before anything was
created, he existed.
He holds all things in unity. The Church is his body.
He is its head. God wants all things to
be reconciled through him
who brought peace by his death on the Cross
Jesus, God the Son
become man, may our world
find reconciliation and peace in you
Listen
Luke
23.39-43: One of the criminals hanging on a cross mockingly
said to Jesus
"Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well". But the other criminal rebuked the first one
and said "We are paying the penalty for our crimes. But this man has
done nothing wrong". "Jesus", he said, "remember me
when you come into your kingdom". Jesus replied "I promise you, this day
you will be with me in Paradise"
Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: Such is the love of God for us that he through whom all things were made became a criminal hanging on a Cross.
Video
commentary on today's readings - in Italian, Chinese, English, and
Spanish
Daniel Daring: Blessed is the Kingdom of Christ (with Chinese text below English text)
-------------------------------
Hour
of Love HK radio program 8.30
pm HK time tonight
- with items about HK prison inmates
-------------------------------
Re
today's Gospel: The "Good Thief" s
t o l e Heaven at the last moment
------------------------------
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 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, Sunday,
please bless all Muslims in my country
-----------------------
----------------------
Sat Nov 23
I might be completely wrong, but I have a feeling that this will
be a peaceful weekend .... since local elections are being held tomorrow ....
and pro-democrats (who support the protesters) are hoping that the anti-govt
protests will win them votes .... which means the protesters (who support the
pro-democrats) will not stop the elections from being held. Just a theory ....
Call
for peace from son of 70 year old man killed by brick hurled by
protester * (Video
of the brick throwing)
AUD300
million of Estacy seized in Netherlands - destined for Australia
(same location has also sent parcels to HK)
Jesus, please bless Pope
Francis' visit to Thailand!
---------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Amos
1-9: It was God who formed the mountains
and created the wind.
The Lord is his name. He says to the House of Israel: Seek me and you shall live.
Do not go to the places of idol worship. Seek good and not evil, so that you may live.
Hate evil and love good. Injustice and swindling, exploitation of the
poor,
this is the reason for earthquakes and disaster.
Lord,
please help me to do good and avoid evil
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
Philippians
4.11-20:
I have learnt how to manage on whatever I
have.
I am ready for anything anywhere:
full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master
with the help of the One who gives me strength. I thank you my friends for supporting me financially, especially when I was in great need.
Jesus, bless everyone who has
helped me
in any way since the day I was born
Listen
Matthew
13: Jesus told the people another story:
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
An enemy came and sowed weeds in the same field. When the good seed sprouted, so did the weeds.
The man's servants asked if they should get rid of the weeds. "No", said the man, "you might
damage the good seed if you do that.
Let them both grow till harvest time. Then burn the weeds." Then Jesus explained his story:
"I am the sower. The field is the world.
The good seed stands for people of good will.
The weeds stand for people of bad will. The enemy is Satan. At the end of the world, the Son of Man will
send his angels
to sort out the good and the bad people.
Bad people will go to hell. Good people will go to heaven".
Jesus, please protect good
people from bad people
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: The above parable, in simple language, explains the problem of how evil entered a world which God had made good
---------------------------
I spent a long day at Lai Chi Kok men's prison yesterday.
I'm now starting to meet some of the arrested protesters ... giving them a copy
of Good News for the Poor
which shows how Gandhi was the world's most successful protesters, yet he never
used violence
------------------------------
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 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, Saturday,
please pacify the
Taliban
------------------------
------------------------
Fri Nov 22
As a media student, I am concerned at the bias in coverage
(locally and internationally) of events in HK. For example, this surely was a
most important story: 8,000 petrol bombs found at Chinese University.
But did it get a mention by RTHK or HKFP or Apple Daily or BBC or US or
Australian media? Please let me know: jdwomi@gmail.com.
If those media did not report such an important story, why not???
Not just bias; fake news
also a big concern: Fake news amplifies fear and confusion in
HK
"Homeless
Jesus" placed at entrance to Newman College ...
to encourage well-off students to help poor people
Jesus, please bless Pope
Francis in Thailand today!
-------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Joel 1-4: My country has been invaded.
Joy has disappeared from the land. Priests, put on sackcloth and lament.
Proclaim a fast to pray for our nation. Turn to the Lord your God again,
for he is all tenderness and compassion. Call out to the Lord for help.
"Spare your people, Lord!" The Lord replies:
"I will save and rescue you. I will pour out my spirit on all peoples.
Every one will prophesy and see visions. You will learn that I am the Lord your God.
Jerusalem will be a holy place."
Lord,
let our land be filled with knowledge of you and love for you
My
recording of this reading
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
Philippians
4.4-9:
I want you to be happy, always happy in the
Lord.
Let your tolerance be evident to everyone. If there is anything you need, with prayer and
thanksgiving ask God for it. Fill your minds with everything that is true,
everything that is noble, everything that is
good and pure, everything
that is worthwhile. Then the God of peace will be with you
Jesus, please fill my mind with good things
Listen
Matthew
13.1-23: One day Jesus told the people this story:
A farmer was planting seeds in his field.
Some seeds fell on the path. Birds ate them. Some seeds fell on rocky ground.
They became sickly plants, without roots, and died. Some seeds fell among thorns.
When they became plants, they were choked by the thorns. Some seeds fell on good soil
and produced a rich harvest. People who hear God's word without good will
are like the seeds on the path.
They are easy prey for Satan. People who hear God's word only superficially
are like the seeds on rocky ground.
As soon as difficulties come, such people easily give up. People who hear God's word with one ear
but with the other listen to the call of greed and pleasure
are like the seeds among thorns. Greed kills the
word. People who hear God's word with good will and
put it into practice
are like the good seeds which produced a rich harvest.
Jesus, please help me be good
seed!
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings: Joel - a hopeless situation; Psalm 40 - fresh hope. HK at the moment is suffering from hopelessness. May the Lord put fresh hope into our hearts!
-------------------------
Since February 2017, some volunteers and I have been having
a meal with homeless people each Thursday night. We have been like squatters,
moving from canteen to canteen ... and currently we are in an area under a tent
where people enjoy singing in Temple Street .... hoping to find a better place
for our guests. Well, last night when I went to collect a parcel for a
prisoner's study from EF Epress at the other end of Temple Street, I discovered
that for the past month or two a group of very kind Christians have also been
having a Thursday night meal for the poor at 289 Temple Street in a specious G/F
indoor area. Indeed, some of our guests have been going from A to B. So, from
next week, we will gladly and gratefully escort our group from A to B .... and
maybe we can redirect our efforts to those unable/unwilling to go to B. God is
Good!
-------------------------
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 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, Friday,
please bless all Muslims
----------------------------
----------------------------
Thu Nov 21
I
was at the High Court morning and afternoon yesterday for cases involving
defendants from Indonesia, Nigeria and Venezuela. I couldn't help thinking:
judges, legal teams, officials .... a system in which HK people have immense
trust .... a system which is the foundation of HK society .... so different from
a place across the border, below:
This
is frightening ... it explains why HK people took/take part in protests .... for
fear of being sent to China for Mainland "justice": I was tortured on mainland, says
local UK consulate worker
Maybe there will be another "silent march" by the legal profession? - Beijing interpretations should be
scarce
Campus situation dangerous, 100 still holed
up (notice that 80 of them are not PolyU students ..). Also, Bishop
Joseph Ha has again been to the Polytechnic University to try to liaise with the
remaining students
My beloved
HK has become a war zone and daily life is full of anxiety
Jesus,
please protect Pope Francis now in Thailand
-------------
Chris McDonnell
A
day in November - The assassination of President John F. Kennedy Nov 22, 1963
We are better for his passing with us on our journey
-------------------------
The Book Blog: 4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from Simple
Bible
Baruch 6:
Because of your sins, you will be exiles in
Babylon
for 7 generations. In Babylon when you see all
sorts of idols being worshipped by the local people, say in your hearts:
"Master, it is you we must
worship."
Lord, when we are in places where
people are worshipping idols,
please help us remember to pray in our hearts:
"Master, it is you we worship"
Recording
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
Recording
Philippians 3.20 - 4.1:
Our homeland is in
heaven. We wait for the
Savior from heaven who will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours
into copies of his glorious body. He will do this by the same power he has as
C.E.O. of the universe. So, do not stop running but
remain faithful in the Lord
Jesus, please increase my longing for heaven
Listen
Matthew
12.46-50: One day when Jesus was speaking to a crowd of
people inside a house,
his mother and brothers arrived at the house. From outside the house they sent a message to
say
they would like to speak with him. When Jesus heard they were there, he said
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then holding out his hand towards his
disciples he said
"Here are my mother and brothers.
Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven,
that person is my brother and sister and mother." Brother Jesus, please
help me do the will of your Father in heaven
Listen
Reflection on the above Bible readings: How many brothers or sisters do you have? The answer is the answer plus ONE!
---------------
True story: During my sermon last Sunday morning at Yau Ma Tei,
right in the middle of the sermon, two men in the centre of the hall, one behind
the other, stood up. At first I thought maybe they were objecting to something I
was saying (... I was offering a reflection on the HK situation...). After some
agitation, they sat down. At the end of Mass I found out what the commotion was
about: the man behind had noticed that there were bed bugs (!) in the clothes of
the man in front .... and the bugs were being dispatched to the next life (...oh
oh ... are there bed bugs in Heaven?!)
--------------------
Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day:
Sun:
Mon:
Tues:
Wed:
Thurs: S.E. Asia, Pacific
Frid:
Sat:
Cent,
Jesus,
today, Thursday,
please bless
the people of
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
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, Thursday, please pacify Al-Qaeda
----------------------------
Wed Nov 20
Morning
(mourning) scenes in Jordan yesterday after rampage by wild
animals the previous night (some of the wild animals in videos here)
More
than 8,000 petrol bombs primed for Hong Kong streets found at Chinese University
This Friday
morning, Singapore is due to execute a Malaysian father of three for 16.56 (!)
grams of diarmorphine. Words fail me ....***
And speaking of harshness: "Absolutely
No Mercy" - leaked show China organised mass detentions of Muslims
Jesus, please give
Pope Francis a safe trip to Thailand and Japan
------------------------------
The
Book Blog:
4 readings + recordings
Comments welcome here
Readings are from
Simple Bible
Baruch 3-4:
Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life and
peace.
Remember all that God has taught us. As by your will you strayed away from God,
so now turn back and search for him ten times as hard.
Lord, please help us not to
forget you
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
Philippians
3.12-14: I am not yet perfect. I have not yet won the
race.
But I am still running,
trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I forget the past, and strain ahead for what
is still to come.
I am racing for the finish,
for the prize to which God calls us to receive in Christ Jesus.
Jesus, please help me keep running each day!
Listen
Matthew
12.9-14: On another Sabbath Jesus visited a
prayer hall.
A man with a withered hand was in the hall. Some religious leaders asked Jesus, to trap
him,
"Is it lawful to heal a man on the Sabbath day?"
(The leaders taught that no "work" could be done on the
Sabbath). Jesus replied:
"If one of your sheep fell down a hole on the Sabbath,
wouldn't you lift it out?
A man is more important than a sheep.
Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then Jesus said to the man with the withered
hand
"Stretch out your hand".
He stretched it out. It was healed. The religious leaders left the prayer hall
and began plotting how to get rid of Jesus.
Jesus, please stop bad
religious leaders from misleading people
Listen
Reflection on the above readings: The religious leaders were so blind (with envy of Jesus) that they could not rejoice in the healing of a withered hand. Sometimes people can be incapable of seeing the truth because their minds have been infected/brainwashed by prejudices of various kinds.
---------------------------
Because of the protests etc I had a very late night Monday
night .....and after a long day at Lo Wu prison yesterday I was extra tired on
the train from Sheung Shui .... so I dozed ... and missed the station where I
intended to get off!
-------------------------
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 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, Wednesday,
please pacify Al-Shabaab
--------------------------------
-------------------------------
Usually I remove each day's menu after one week. It can still be accessed on "Archives" (top of this page). But because the menu of Oct 8 has special relevance to HK at the moment, I will not delete the following part of Oct 8 menu for the time being
-------------------------------
Tues Oct 8
The collapse of HK is continuing at exponential speed: Vandals
bring HK to standstill.
Yesterday before midday as I crossed the intersection of Nathan Road and Jordan
Road to join two very special friends for a Yum Cha, I noticed the traffic and
pedestrian lights were not working ... with pedestrians running the gauntlet
between buses, trucks and cars to cross the road .... and vehicles blasting
horns trying to force their way through the intersection .... with not a few
near-misses. I actually made a video of a police car going through the
intersection, but not stopping to help the situation.
More than an hour later when I returned to the same place, after the Yum Cha,
the situation was just as chaotic. So, I went home, got my trusty bush hat, and
went back to the intersection as a volunteer traffic guide .... for which, as
the afternoon went on, many dozens of bus drivers and other drivers waved a
thank you sign to me as they went past. Many pedestrians gave me bottles of
water ... from a few of which I took a few mouthfuls before putting the bottles
at an crossing island.
After about 30 minutes a police car stopped and several policeman told me to stop. I said I'd be happy to stop if they would do the job. They asked me to get in their car. I declined and walked to a footpath. Then I went home for a drink and toilet break. Then went back. Police still not helping. So I went back to work. Having a bus licence (in Australia and formerly in HK) I understand traffic and felt in no danger. Just got tired after another 90 minute stint. With a cramp in my left foot. So I went again to the footpath. Providential timing. Within a minute another police car came and two polite officers and I had the same conversation as above. They told me to go. I said I would go if they would do their job. My left foot and tiredness decided on a trip home, where I had a shower (very hot weather) and rest.
About 6.30pm I went back to the intersection ....as part of a prayer walk ...and was pleased to see 4 (!) traffic policeman on the job. But when I returned around 7pm they were just leaving ....walking away from a dangerous situation. So I ask myself, as on last night's menu: why are police not on the job? Why are they letting vandals have hours of freedom to wreck MTR stations and smash shops? Some people say the authorities want to see HK in chaos so that the PLA can come in and restore order and rule will be from Beijing. To this end, some people even say that some of the destruction is being done by undercover policemen .... maybe from the Mainland since some don't speak HK Cantonese.
Some people say that while the vast majority of protesters are peaceful, there's a small minority of radical vandals whose aim is anarchy. No mainstream media will talk much about this, but in private many people feel that former legislator "Long Hair" Leung Kwok Hung is one of the masterminds of the destruction that "spontaneously" breaks out at the same time at so many locations. Wikipedia's main article (with it's many links) shows he was/is a Trotskyist, anarchist and revolutionary Marxist.
So, the vandalising is maybe coming from more than one source, but it is turning one of the safest and most beautiful cities in the world into a place of destruction and despondency. I felt absolutely gutted last night as I walked down Nathan Road from Jordan Road to Waterloo Road, seeing the trail of destruction ...especially my beloved Kowloon Central Post Office whose doors and windows have been smashed and the front of the building covered in "campaign signs". And I noticed many groups of mainly young people in black carrying umbrellas (on a fine night) heading towards Mong Kok ....trouble brewing there.
Violence just makes things worse. And this is a lesson that the HK government is just not getting. It caused the original peaceful protests (by its crazy extradition amendment) and then by ignoring the peaceful protesters, the govt bred violence, bred radical vandals ..some of whom didn't need much breeding .... they were waiting for a chance to destroy HK. The govt has handed HK to them on a petrol bomb.
Is this all a bad dream? If only. But today is another day .... and how will people get to work and school with the MTR badly damaged and under threat after four nights of destruction (Frid, Sat, Sun, public holiday yesterday for Chung Yeung Festival)? God, please help HK get out of this mess! Please thwart the plans of the wicked!
================
My Africa trips:
2015: Tanzania, Malawi
2016:
Kenya, Uganda
2017:
Southern Africa, Dubai (
The
Last Run)
2018:
My trip to Latin America
2018: My trip to Thailand and Cambodia
March 18, 2018: South China Morning Post report on my work
Dec 2018 - Jan 2019 trip to Malaysia
June 2019: my anti-drug campaign featured in The Malaysia Drug Trade
Oct 23, 2019: FM988 Breakfast program in Kuala Lumpur at which I was a guest
--------------------
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.
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Fr John Wotherspoon O.M.I. 胡
頌 恆 神 父
jdwomi@gmail.com
HK
mobile +852- 67095674
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