The New Translation    Islam File 

25 (a): Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods.

It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades.

Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry.

They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited.  

Menu of July 10 had this story:

Crime syndicate duping elderly into ice trafficking uncovered after Australian grandfather's death in Guangzou military hospital

In HK prisons there are a number of elderly people who were conned by internet scams ...and then tricked into carrying bags with drugs. 

Just like this Australian couple who had a lucky escape

Problem is: in HK there is no excuse. More about this story in the coming days DV

Exodus 14

Not long after the Israelites left Egypt, Pharaoh again changed his mind.

He decided to catch the Israelites
and make them return to Egypt.

The Israelites were near the edge of the Red Sea when they saw the Egyptians approaching.

The Israelites cried out in fear, but Moses said to them "Do not be afraid. God will do the fighting for you."

God then told Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea. After he did so, a strong wind blew all night
and caused the waters to part.

Then the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on both sides.

The Egyptians gave chase and also went into the sea.

When the Israelites had crossed to the other side, Moses again stretched out his staff over the sea,
and this time the sea returned to its normal flow, drowning all the Egyptians.

The people offered thanksgiving and praise to God.

Dear God, please rescue people in trouble, just as you rescued the Israelites when they were in trouble

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

Today's first reading (Exodus):

2 Peter 1.12-18

As long as I am in this passing world, my duty is to keep on reminding you of the truths we hold dear

Writing this letter is one way of making sure that after my departure you will still have a way of recalling the truths we hold dear

These truths are not cleverly invented myths. I myself saw the majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ

He was honored and glorified by God the Father, when the Sublime Glory himself spoke to him and said "This is my Son, the Beloved. He enjoys my favor"

I heard this myself, spoken from heaven, when I was with Jesus on the holy mountain

Jesus, Beloved Son, may more and more people accept the truth of your Good News

Recording

Recommended: check these readings early morning, think about them during the day, check them again at night. This habit gives us extra energy, courage, motivation, peace and compassion for each day

 Matthew 14.13-21

Once after Jesus had been healing and teaching many people all afternoon,  his disciples said to him "It's getting late and the people need to go and eat".

Jesus replied "They don't need to go. You feed them".

The disciples said "We have only 5 loaves and 2 fish".

Jesus got the people to sit on the grass. There were about 20,000 of them.

Then he blessed the loaves and fish. He handed the loaves and fish to his disciples. His disciples gave them to the crowd.

Everyone had plenty to eat. They even had 12 baskets of leftovers.

Jesus, please make leaders do more to help  the starving people of the world

Recording

Tokyo's Dorothy Day: the Japanese woman who gave up privilege to live among ragpickers

Pope's requests for visit to Uganda in November
- no state banquet; no meeting with political leaders

Lord, have mercy

53. Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. 

Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. 

Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.

Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have created a “throw away” culture which is now spreading.

My weekly article in today's Ming Pao newspaper
with the topic: The sad story of Hong Kong's jade
is on Ming Pao website - click "Australian in HK".
Free access to article with recording today from about noon to 8pm HK time. Text without recording 

Seen last Friday in the hospital section of a detention centre: a (sick??) man had his left hand and left leg on one bed, his right hand and right leg on the next bed ....and he was doing push-ups! ...Must be something special about prison medicine?!

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 14th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jilin

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 14th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Ethiopia

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Boko Haram 

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

   
Pope dedicates Mass to women as thousands make Paraguay pilgrimage

The New Translation     Islam File  

24 (b):  Carbon dioxide pollution increases the acidification of the oceans and compromises the marine food chain. 

If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us.

A rise in the sea level, for example, can create extremely serious situations, if we consider that a quarter of the world’s population lives on the coast or nearby, and that the majority of our megacities are situated in coastal areas.

On the menu of July 10,  I mentioned how many African prisoners in Macau Prison rarely have a visitor ....and I asked if any kind Macau friends could help. The next day a kind Macau reader of this website's Facebook page posted a message re several groups which visit Macau prison: Macau Christian Prison Ministries,  Maryknoll Sisters and The Order of St. Anne

Thank you kind Macau reader ...I will try to get in touch with the above groups 

Exodus 12-13 (a)

God said to Moses and Aaron "From now on, this month is to be the first month of your year.

On the evening of the 14th day of this month, each family must kill and eat a one year old male sheep or goat. Some of its blood must be put on your front door.

You must eat it in a hurry, with a belt round your waist, sandals on your feet and a staff in your hand.

This night I will go through the land of Egypt and strike every first-born Egyptian

But when I see the blood on your doors, I shall PASS OVER your homes and you shall be unharmed.

Each year you must remember this night. Each year you must observe this feast of the Passover. You also must consecrate all first-born to me."

My recording of this reading

Exodus 12-13 (b) 

That night God indeed struck dead the first-born of all the Egyptians,
including the son of Pharaoh.

There was great mourning in Egypt, and Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites go.

The Israelites now numbered about 600,000 men, having been in Egypt exactly 430 years.

As the people travelled, God went before them in the form of a pillar of cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire at night.

Dear God,  please help me understand the full meaning of the Passover story

Recording

2 Peter 1.1-11

From Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to all who have faith through our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

May you have more and more grace and peace as you come to know our Lord more and more

By his divine power, he has given us all we need for life and faith.
He has called us to share his divine nature in his eternal kingdom

So we must do our best to live lives of goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, a love for prayer, kindness and love

Dear Jesus, may I see you more clearly, love you more dearly,
follow you more nearly, day by day

Recording

Matthew 14.1-12

Not long after Jesus began traveling and teaching, King Herod arrested John the Baptist and put him in prison.

This was because John had told Herod he was breaking the Law
by living with Herodias, his brother's wife.

During a birthday party for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias danced.

Her dancing so pleased Herod
that he said he would give her anything she wanted.

Herodias told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a dish.
Herod then had John beheaded.

John's disciples came and buried the body.

Jesus, please give the world good leaders, and protect people from bad leaders like Herod

Recording

Losing Your Life for the Lord’s Sake
The Gospel presents a radical new way of living and being in this world

Lack of Hong Kong ID card means isolation and education limbo

52.    In our time humanity is experiencing a turning-point in its history, as we can see from the advances being made in so many fields. We can only praise the steps being taken to improve people’s welfare in areas such as health care, education and communications. 

At the same time we have to remember that the majority of our contemporaries are barely living from day to day, with dire consequences. A number of diseases are spreading. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, even in the so-called rich countries. The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity. 

We are in an age of knowledge and information, which has led to new and often anonymous kinds of power.

In HK's Sai Kung district - where I went for an inmate's funeral service recently - I noticed this sign outside a coffee shop: "Dog's welcome"   (...lots of people in Sai Kung have dogs..)

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 13th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangxi

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 13th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Mali

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify ISIS 

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Pope tells inmates in infamous Bolivian jail Palmasola he too ‘must do penance’

Full text of prison address

The New Translation       Islam File

24a: Warming has effects on the carbon cycle. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity.

The melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas, while the decomposition of frozen organic material can further increase the emission of carbon dioxide.

Things are made worse by the loss of tropical forests which would otherwise help to mitigate climate change. 

Grace Soso is a local Tanzanian social worker I met when I was in Tz.  She is in contact with some 60 families of Tanzanian inmates in HK prisons.  She has even set up a company - "St Barnabas" to help the families, and has an office where she can meet the families.

Last week she asked for more help to pay for school fees for inmates' children ....for the new semester.

Thanks to several kind HK and Macau friends, I was able to send her some help yesterday.  God bless Grace, the inmates and their families ...and kind benefactors!

c.f. Readings for "Sunday 15"

Amos 7.12-15

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, ‘Go away, seer;’ get back to the land of Judah; earn your bread there, do your prophesying there. We want no more prophesying in Bethel; this is the royal sanctuary, the national temple.’

‘I was no prophet, neither did I belong to any of the brotherhoods of prophets,’ Amos replied to Amaziah, ‘I was a shepherd, and looked after sycamores: but it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”’

Lord, may your word strengthen us when our faith is threatened

My recording of this reading

Psalm 85

I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace.

Peace for his people and his friends, and those who turn to him in their hearts.

His help is near for those who love him, and his glory will dwell in our land.

Mercy and faithfulness have met.
Justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.

The Lord will make us prosper, 
and our earth shall yield its fruit.

Justice shall march before him
and peace shall follow his steps

Lord, please give more peace to our world

Recording

Ephesians 1.1-7

From Paul, appointed to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us in Christ, to live through love in his presence

He chose us, in Christ, to be his adopted children, to make us praise the glory of his grace

This grace is his free gift to us in his Beloved Son, through whose blood we gain our freedom and the forgiveness of our sins

Father, thank you for upgrading me from human child to Divine Child!

Recording

Mark 6.7-13

Jesus went on a teaching tour of  the nearby villages.

He sent out his 12 special friends in 6 pairs, with authority over evil spirits.

He told them to take only bare essentials for the journey. 

He said "If any place does not welcome you, as you leave that place shake the dust from your feet as a sign to them".

The 12 apostles preached repentance. They cast out many devils. They anointed sick people with oil and healed them.

Jesus, may every place welcome you and your messengers

Recording

David Timbs
(Melbourne)

Further highlighting substantial changes of thinking in the early Church, David Timbs in this continuation of his series of papers on ‘the Jesus Movement’, recounts the basis of Paul’s conviction that the Jesus Movement would only achieve credibility, attract and hold outsiders if its members validated the Gospel message by the quality and congruence of their community life. 

For Paul, this meant that Christians needed to establish a revolutionary alternative community in which people would be welcomed, given a place of belonging, treated as human beings and embraced as sisters and brothers. Read this Part IV paper HERE

 Muslim and Jewish groups at forefront of efforts to rebuild black churches

Tanzania (corrupt) ruling party (self-destructing) in choice of candidate for Oct 25 presidential election

Francis Pushes Collegiality  (Gerard O'Connell)
Pope sent a copy of Laudato Si to every diocesan bishop two days before its publication, accompanied by a personal handwritten note

"Same-sex marriage"

America Editorial
The church must also carefully consider our pastoral approach to gay and lesbian people and to Catholic families headed by same-sex couples

51. I exhort (everyone) to an “ever watchful scrutiny of the signs of the times”. This is in fact a grave responsibility, since certain present realities, unless effectively dealt with, are capable of setting off processes of dehumanization which would then be hard to reverse. 

We need to distinguish clearly what might be a fruit of the kingdom from what runs counter to God’s plan.

In this Exhortation I wish to consider certain factors which can restrain or weaken the impulse of missionary renewal in the Church, either because they threaten the life and dignity of God’s people or because they affect those who are directly involved in the Church’s institutions and in her work of evangelization.

When Pope Benedict went to South America, he made a strange remark about native peoples "silently longing to become Christians" ....whereas in fact many were forced to become Christians at the point of a gun...which is why Pope Francis has said "I'm sorry for what the Church did to native peoples":
Francis begs forgiveness for grave sins against indigenous peoples of the  Americas

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 12th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Jiangsu

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 12th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Guinea-Bissau

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please bless all Muslims in my own country 

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Unbridled capitalism is the 'dung of the devil', says Pope 
- he condemns impoverishment of developing countries by the world economic order
- he apologises for the church’s treatment of native Americans

Full text of this powerful speech!

The New Translation      Islam File

23(a): The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. 

A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system.

In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. 

Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it.

Yesterday morning at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre I found myself looking after some 20 Spanish-speaking inmates from South America at their weekly prayer service (... I was filling in, with the help of an inmate-translator, for their Spanish-speaking chaplain)  

Their stories are similar to those of inmates from Africa:  tricked or persuaded into drug trafficking to get money for their families

Most of the group are from one city (!): Pereira in Colombia. Please God the message will spread in Pereira about the danger of drug-trafficking to HK, Macau and China

Exodus 11

One last time God sent Moses to Pharaoh, with this message:

"Tonight at midnight, God's angel will pass through Egypt. All the first-born in the land of Egypt will die, except the first-born of the Israelites."

Dear God, please bless everyone in Egypt !

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

Recording

1 Peter 5.5-14

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

Jesus, please protect me from Satan

Recording

Matthew 13 (31 - 33; 44; 47 - 50)

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

Recording

Bolivia’s propaganda coup with papal visit may be short-lived (John Allen)

49(b): If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life.

 More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat”

B:   Cardinal O’Malley once joked that Cuba’s Fidel Castro was the only Latin American dictator   to survive a papal visit during the John Paul years. (in John Allen article, above)

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 11th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hunan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 11th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Eritrea

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify the Taliban

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

My Islam File    

The New Translation

22. These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish. 

To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is thrown away and not recycled. It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems work is exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become food for carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to new generations of plants.

But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products. We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them.

A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.

Yesterday at Macau Prison I visited two Tanzanian inmates. I had a 45 minute individual chat with each one

One of them told me I was his first ever visitor - and he's been in detention since 2011

And he said that many of the 30 or so Africans (including a dozen Tanzanians) rarely if ever get a visitor

So, dear friends in Macau, let's do something about this

Please contact me (jdwomi@gmail.com) and I'll give you some names to start with

"I was in prison and you came to see me"

Exodus 10

Pharaoh's advisers urged him to let the Israelites go. They said to him "How much longer is this affair going to go on? Let the Israelites go before Egypt is ruined."

Pharaoh agreed to let the men go, but not the rest of the people.

So God sent two more plagues on the Egyptians: locusts which devoured all the plants and trees,
and then three days of total darkness, except in the land where the Israelites lived.

But even after the above nine plagues, Pharaoh still wouldn't let the Israelites go.

Dear God, stubbornness can sometimes be a good thing, but please don't let me be stubborn if that will hurt other people

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

Recording

1 Peter 5.1-4

To those of you who are elders I say: I am an elder myself, a witness to the sufferings of Christ

Be good shepherds of the flock that God has entrusted to you.
Watch over it, not simply as a duty, or for sordid money,
but gladly, because that's what God wants you to do

Never be a dictator over any group that is in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow

When the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will be given the crown of unfading glory

Jesus, help pastors and elders be good shepherds

Recording

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

Recording

Crime syndicate duping elderly into ice trafficking uncovered after  Australian grandfather's death in Guangzou military hospital

"Same-sex marriage"

Video - Campaign Promo - Australian Marriage Forum - March 2015 - Dr David van Gend

NO, SENATOR WONG: 0.1% SHOULD NOT CHANGE MARRIAGE & FAMILY FOR THE 99.9%

It's not cocaine- what you need to know about the pope's coca drink

49(a) Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ. 

Here I repeat for the entire Church what I have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.

 I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.

Today's HK Ming Pao English editorial 
- re the stock market crashes in China and HK - excellent

c.f. article on yesterday's menu:
Conservatives' collective tantrum over the pope has been a wonder to behold

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 10th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hubei

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 10th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Guinea

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, on this Muslim day of prayer, please bless all Muslims!

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

My Islam File     

The New Translation

 21. Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in different areas. Each year hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial sources. 

The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish.

Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected.

(And see, below, story re radioactive Johhanesburg!)

I'm now in Macau - due to visit some Tanzanian inmates in Macau Prison this morning. Arrived here yesterday afternoon - enjoying kind hospitality of the Claretian Community, who have already printed an English edition of Laudato Si....maybe the first non-Vatican edition available anywhere in the world....some copies of which will be given to the Macau prisoners. So ..these prisoners will have a copy in their hands long before most people in the world!

Exodus 9

Through Moses,  God kept saying to Pharaoh "Let my people go to offer me worship." But Pharaoh kept refusing to let the people go.

So God sent three more plagues:
all the Egyptians' animals died,
then all the Egyptians were covered with boils, then the land was hit by a fierce hailstorm.

During the hailstorm, Pharaoh said the people could go. But as soon as the storm stopped, he changed his mind again.

Dear God, please help us not to ignore your voice

My recording of this reading

Psalm 33

Ring out your joy to the Lord, all good people, for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

For the Lord loves justice and right; he fills the earth with his love.

By his word the heavens were made, he spoke and the universe came into being.

They are happy, whose God is the Lord, he is the source of all true  joy.

May your love be upon us, O Lord, since we place all our trust in you.

Lord, we trust in your precious love

Recording

1 Peter 4.13-19

If you have a share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because this means you will have an extra share of happiness in the life to come

It is a blessing for you when they insult you for being a Christian. It means you have the Spirit of God resting on you

People who experience suffering for God's sake, must trust themselves to the grace of the Creator, and keep on doing good

Jesus, give strength to persecuted Christians

Recording

Matthew 13 (24 - 30; 36 - 43)

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

Recording

What a great article! Thank you, dear reader in Australia, for sending this!
Conservatives' collective tantrum over the pope has been a wonder to behold
- the week-long freakout in The Australian over Laudato Si 

Millions missing from Shanghai Church accounts
“under instructions from the party’s Religious Affairs Bureau officials”

Famous Chinese Christians

Tanzania accused of making laws on the hoof in 'Kafkaesque' curb on free speech

George Monbiot   Disinventing Democracy
The assault on Greece is just the latest episode in a long history of shutting down choice on behalf of the financial elite

Chinese stock markets continue to nosedive as regulator warns of panic

48. If the whole Church takes up this missionary impulse, she has to go forth to everyone without exception.

 But to whom should she go first? When we read the Gospel we find a clear indication: not so much our friends and wealthy neighbours, but above all the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked, “those who cannot repay you”.

 There can be no room for doubt or for explanations which weaken so clear a message.

 Today and always, “the poor are the privileged recipients of the Gospel”, and the fact that it is freely preached to them is a sign of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish.

 We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them.

10 years ago today

2005-07-09 Saturday night meal with the poor at Marco Polo + thank you CAS for more clothes for the poor

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North America 
  
Jesus, today, Thursday,  please bless the people of S.E. Asia & Pacific

And praying for prisoners in one part of China each day of the month:
On this 9th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Henan

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 9th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Central African Republic

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Al-Qaeda

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

My Islam File     

The New Translation

20. Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths.

People get sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general.

Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things, and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others.

Pope Francis records blessing for leukemia sufferer

Pope Francis appeals for more inclusive Catholic church during Ecuador visit In his homily, the pope also called for a rekindling of family values and solidarity with the elderly, the abandoned and the unemployed.

“How many of our adolescents and young people sense that (love and happiness) are no longer found in their homes? How many elderly people feel left out of family celebrations, cast aside and longing each day for a little love?” 

Exodus 8

After seven days, God told Moses and Aaron to go to Pharaoh again,
this time causing a plague of frogs to cover the land when Pharaoh again refused to let the Israelites go.

Then God got Aaron to strike the ground, and the dust turned into mosquitoes which attacked people and animals throughout Egypt.

But still Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.

Next there was a plague of flies which afflicted every place
except the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived.

Pharaoh then said the Israelites could go, and he asked Moses to pray for the flies to stop.

But once the flies stopped, 
Pharaoh changed his mind and would not let the Israelites go.

Dear God, please help all world leaders to listen to your voice

(and: Jesus, the New Moses, please rescue us from the "Egypt" of Satan, sickness, sin and death

Psalm 32

Happy is the person whose sin is forgiven.

For a while I refused to ask for forgiveness, and my body paid the penalty.

But then I said "Lord, forgive me"
and my spirit and body revived.

Lord, when I do wrong, please give me the grace to say sorry and ask forgiveness

Recording

1 Peter 4.3-5

You spent enough time in the past living a careless life, behaving indecently, drinking all the time, having wild parties

Now that you don't do these things anymore, people can't understand why you've changed, and they tell lies about you

They will have to answer for this to him who will judge everyone at the end of their lives

Jesus, rescue young people from wild party life

Recording

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!

Recording

Chris McDonnell (Wed UK blogger) 

Amazing Grace in Mother Emanuel Church
Those Christian people have much to teach us about the ever-present grace of God brought to us by faith, after lives of difficulty and struggle
(+ link to story: Confederate Flag to be removed from State House grounds)

The (economic) rape of Africa by China
The number of democracies in Africa increased from 4 in 1990 to 15 in 2008 and has remained stuck there. Part of the reason was that wily autocrats quickly learned new tricks to beat back the democratic challenge. The other part was due to China's forays into Africa, which encouraged Africa's despots to abandon reform. In the past, Western aid to Africa was conditioned on implementation of reform. In 2008, China announced it would provide Africa with $10 billion in aid over 5 years with no strings attached.

Philippines - Fr Shay Cullen:
The folly of our 'freedom'
The once beautiful Philippines is a nation of 100 million people ruled by 140 dynastic families. Perhaps twenty of them are the mega rich who are mightier than the rest. All have countless relatives and province-mates imbedded in the heart and veins of government sucking the life energy of the people into their own financial blood streams

47. The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open.

One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.

There are other doors that should not be closed either. Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason.

This is especially true of the sacrament which is itself “the door”: baptism. And the Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.

These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness. Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.

10 years ago today

Last week I heard a male inmate, whose first language is not English, describing his restlessness at a detention centre hospital: "Doctor got me to see a gynecologist"  (= psychologist)"

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 8th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Heilongjiang

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 8th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Sierra Leone

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Al-Shabaab 

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

My Islam File       

The New Translation

19. Following a period of irrational confidence in progress and human abilities, some sectors of society are now adopting a more critical approach. 

We see increasing sensitivity to the environment and the need to protect nature, along with a growing concern, both genuine and distressing, for what is happening to our planet.

Let us review, however cursorily, those questions which are troubling us today and which we can no longer sweep under the carpet.

Our goal is not to amass information or to satisfy curiosity, but rather to become painfully aware, to dare to turn what is happening to the world into our own personal suffering and thus to discover what each of us can do about it.   

Francis offers embrace to all upon landing in Ecuador

-------------------------------------

No plan B if Paris climate summit  fails, says EU climate chief

Laudato Si': special interview with Leonardo Boff  (scroll down)

Exodus 7

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh again, and showed him  Aaron's staff changing into a snake.

When Pharaoh's magicians were able to do the same thing, Aaron's staff swallowed up the magicians' staffs.

But Pharaoh's heart stayed stubborn, and he wouldn't listen to Moses and Aaron.

So God told Moses and Aaron to go to the river the next morning.
When they saw Pharaoh there, Aaron struck the river with his staff, and the river and all water throughout Egypt turned into blood.

But Pharaoh still would not let the Israelites go.

Dear God, please soften stubborn hearts that make life difficult for other people

Psalm 31

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in distress. My eyes are full of tears, my heart full of sorrow.

Everyone makes fun of me. My friends don't want to know me.
Save me, Lord, from this mess.

I praise you Lord, for you protect those who trust you. You keep them safe from slander and lies.

Be strong, let your heart take courage, all you who trust in the Lord

I trust in you, Lord. My life is in your hands

Recording

1 Peter 3.8-11

Be agreeable and sympathetic. Love everyone. Have compassion and be self-effacing

Never pay back one wrong with another, or an angry word with another one. Instead, pay back with a blessing

Anyone who wants to have a happy life must banish malice from their tongue; they must avoid evil, do good and seek peace

Jesus, when people are  unkind to me, help me to pray in my heart "Lord, please bless them"

Recording

Recommended: check these readings early morning, think about them during the day, check them again at night. This habit gives us extra energy, courage, motivation, peace and compassion for each day

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

Recording

 Today, July 7, an important day in Chinese history: The Marco Polo Bridge Incident
(1937 - Japanese invasion of China ... an early WWII start for China)

China’s Falling Markets - Blame the Foreigners

A happy story from yesterday at Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre:

After I finished greeting individually the 60 or so inmates of Room 3B ...and giving out Bibles etc ....I followed my usual custom of inviting the inmates to make a circle, standing, and put their right hand on the left shoulder of the man next to them (as in this photo, a seated version).

About 20 men joined in - Christians, Muslims, Buddhists (a group of 8 or 9 from the Mainland) - and we had a minute's silent prayer + 30 secs in Putonghua + 30 secs in English. Then hands into the middle for a big "sign of peace". That was it. But as we finished I noticed the main guard of the room with the TV remote control in his hand. I hadn't noticed, and certainly hadn't asked him, but spontaneously he had kindly turned down the TV volume while the prayer was in progress. There are still a lot of good people in this old world!

HK: Refugees not allowed to purchase certain products with newly introduced food coupons

46. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. 

Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world.

 Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness, in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another, and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way. 

At times we have to be like the father of the prodigal son, who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns, he can readily pass through it.

Yesterday at Lai Chi Kok Detention Centre I asked one of the guards near "L" block if the inmates of the 8/F were still in their day room (on the 8/F) or (since it was already c.4.30pm) had they gone to the dining room (in another building). But when I said "L8 still up there?" (in Cantonese "L-bart still up there?" (pointing to upper floor) the guard (quite seriously, no joke intended) just said "who is Albert?". In fact I should have said "8-L".

Please join me in praying for one part of the world each day of the week:

Sun: Africa        Mon: Europe & Russia     Tues: South Asia      Wed: East Asia  
Thurs: S.E. Asia & Pacific       Frid: South America       Sat: Central & North 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 7th of the month,  Jesus please bless the prisoners of Hebei

And praying for one of the world's poorest countries each day of the month:
On this 7th of the month, Jesus please bless the people of Burkina Faso

And praying for one Islam-related intention each day of the week:
Jesus, please pacify Boko Haram 

This website's Tanzania File
(stopping Africans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from Tanzanian inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's South America file 
(stopping South Americans from being tricked into bringing drugs to HK)
- letters  from South American inmates  in Hong Kong prisons

This website's HK Asylum Seekers' File
(stopping South Asians from being "people smuggled" to HK)

Pope Francis:
Thank you Holy Spirit

Inspiring photos:

Link
Link		Links 01  02	Link
Link	Link		Link
Link	Link		Link
Link	Link		Link

Newness, harmony, mission

Engagements of Pope Francis

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Ron Schmit:
 1962 Mass a condemnation of Vat II

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Available in 19 languages

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China Library
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