“But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare; for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth. But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man.”
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
ASIA/CHINA - Special care for the elderly in Da Zhai parish in the diocese of Han Dan: spiritual and physical care for the elderly open to non Catholics
Han Dan (Agenzia Fides) - More than one hundred elderly people - including about 20 non Catholics - took part in a course for the elderly organised by the parish of Da Zhai, Cheng An district in the diocese of Han Dan from 3 to 7 November. A seminarian, Zhu Xi Xin, and two women religious were invited by the parish priest to lead the course in catechism for the elderly who were also given a free medical examination. The participants said: “I never thought I would learn so much at my age. I know much more about the faith now. I have always prayed the rosary during Mass”. The non Catholic participants said: “Catholics are very kind, they give us physical and moral assistance”. The course ended with a Mass and the Sacrament of the anointing of the sick.
The diocese of Han Dan, which includes 19 districts is situated in the south of the province of He Bei. It has a population of 8,380,000 including 130,000 Catholics. The area was first evangelised by Jesuit Fr. Matteo Ricci, in 1500. Han Dan diocese was created in 1946. It has over a hundred chapels and churches, 58 priests, 40 seminarians, 200 women religious of two diocesan congregations. The diocese runs several dispensaries, medical centres and social assistance centres. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 26/11/2007 - righe 20, parole 284)
AMERICA/CHILE - “To fight AIDS young people must be educated to chastity, fidelity and abstinence”: Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago opposes official government campaign
Santiago (Agenzia Fides) - Bishop Fernando Chomalí, auxiliary Bishop of Santiago de Chile openly criticised an anti-AIDS campaign promoted by the health ministry which promotes the use of condoms.
The Bishop said this during a lesson at the Enac Caritas Chile Professional Institute, when he referred to the tragedy of a disease affecting 40 million people in the world, including 15,000 Chileans.
On that occasion, Bishop Chomali said 3.2 per cent of the affected persons are under the age of 15 and that married women are most at risk. It is fundamental, the Bishop said for people to realise that a ’safe sex’ campaign is not the solution to the pandemic.
According to recent studies, in Chile more than 90 per cent of the cases of infection are due to sexual relations. “Invite people to have sexual relations certain of no risk of contagion is anti-ethical”, said Bishop Chomali. “A condom does not always work, not because I say so, but because nature works differently” he said and added, “as a contraceptive the condom is ineffective. Nevertheless it is promoted as a way of avoiding infections with a virus 500 times smaller than an spermatozoon. If the condom is ineffective as contraception, it certainly cannot prevent AIDS ”.
The Bishop said the way to prevent AIDS is to educate to chastity, fidelity and abstinence. “Promoting the use of the preservative, is anti-ethical because it offers false security and increases the danger of spreading the disease”.
Bishop Chomalí insisted that young people must think deeply about their role a men and women, their responsibility and the way of living their freedom. (AP) (19/11/2007 Agenzia Fides; Righe:28; Parole:319)
Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
One day, a poor boy was selling clothing door to door, to pay for his education realized that he only had ten cents left in his pockets. He was hungry and so decided to ask for some food at the next house that he came to.
In the meantime he lost his hunger when a beautiful young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked her for a glass of water.
She saw that he was very hungry so instead brought him a huge glass of milk. He drank it very slowly and then asked- « How much do I owe you? »
« You do not owe me anything at all », she replied:- « My mother taught us never to accept anything for doing someone a kindness».
He replied : « Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart ».
When Howard Kelly left the house, as well as feeling stronger physically, he sensed a return of his faith in the lord which he had nearly abandoned.
Years later, this same young woman fell gravely ill. The local doctors were mystified, so they sent her to the big city where they knew that the specialists would be able to diagnose this rare sickness.
Doctor Howard Kelly was called as a consultant. When he heard the name of the city where she lived, a memory burned brightly in his eyes.
He got up and went to her room. As he entered her room, he immediately recognized her. He returned to the consultation room, determined to do his best to save her life.
From that day on,he paid special attention to this case. After a long battle, the war was finally won
Doctor Kelly left instructions that the bill should be sent to him for authorization. He looked it over, wrote something in the margin, and sent it to her room.
She thought that when she opened the envelope she would find an invoice that would take the rest of her life to pay in full. But when she finally opened it.
Something caught her attention in the margin of the invoice.
She read these words: Paid in full with a glass of milk : Doctor Howard Kelly.
Tears of joy filled her eyes and her heart. She prayed :« Thank you lord, for your love has crossed the hands and hearts of man.
There is a saying that goes like this:
Bread thrown over the water returns to you.
An act of goodness that you do today can come back to you or someone that you love, when you are not expecting it. If you do not see this act of goodness returned, at least you will have made a difference in this world. And in the end, isn’t that what life is all about?
You now have two choices. You can pass on this message or make believe that you were never touched by it.
The hardest lesson in life, is to know which bridges to cross, and which to burn…
Many people pass through our lives but only real friends leave their imprint in our hearts..
Tian Jin (Agenzia Fides) - Proud Catholics in Tian Jin diocese rejoiced as eight young men ordained priests at the hands of Bishop Jin Pei Xian of the diocese of Liao Ning and 100 lay people received Confirmation. The solemn Mass was attended by over 1,500 Catholic faithful and 30 women religious. About 70 priests concelebrated including three Marynoll missionaries who were visiting Tian Jin. Since the death of Bishop Shi Hong Chen of Tian Jin, in 2005, Tian Jin diocese has to invite other bishops, such as Bishop Jin to administer the sacraments.
The 8 new priests come from Cang Zhou (He Bei), Tai Yuan (Shan Xi) and Xi An (Shaan Xi). Two other priests were ordained in Wu Han diocese, Hu Bei province, whose Bishop Dong Guang Qing, died in May. Maryknoll missionary Fr Peter Barry, said he hoped the new priests would be “good shepherds for the flock”. One of the newly ordained priests say: “I give myself to Our Lady because without her presence the vocation would be in danger, without prayer the priest would lose vitality”. After the Ordination Bishop Jin administered the Sacrament on Confirmation to about 100 lay people. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2007 - righe 21, parole 247)
OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Randwick Racecourse will host World Youth Day evening Vigil and World Youth Day Mass, as twinning between young people across Ocean continues
Sydney (Agenzia Fides) - The organisers of World Youth Day announced with joy that the government of New South Wales has said Randwick Racecourse is willing to host the World Youth Day evening Vigil and World Youth Day Mass. The situation was uncertain because representatives of the horse racing world protested that a suspension of the races could cause them economic damage.
However the questions is now settled: “We are deeply grateful and happy that an agreement has been reached ”, said the representatives of the WYD organising Committee Comitato.
The local authorities considered Randwick Racecourse ideal for two main events of World Youth Day evening Vigil and World Youth Day Mass in July 2008.
In the meantime twinning between young Australians and young people in the poorest islands of Oceania to help the latter take part in WYD: recently a group of young Australians from New South Wales made a pilgrimage to Tonga, as part of a programme of cultural and religious exchange involving also Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. A group of 125 young people will take part in their first ever WYD 2008 in Sydney next year. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 19/11/2007 righe 25 parole 251)
路21：34-36 (其他經文──達7：15-27)
恭讀聖瑪竇福音4:18-22
往神父講道目錄
瑪4：18-22 (其他經文──羅10：9-18)
(來源: 信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍)
恭讀聖路加福音21:12-19
路21：12-19 (其他經文──達5：1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28)
到，沒有一塊石頭留在另一塊石頭上，而不被拆毀的。」他們遂問說：「師傅！那麼，什麼時候要發生這些事？這些事要發生的時候，將有什麼先兆？」耶穌說：「你們要謹慎，不要受欺騙！因為將有許多人，假冒我的名字來說：就是我（默西亞）；又說：時期近了。你們切不可跟隨他們。你們幾時聽見戰爭及叛亂，不要驚惶！因為這些事必須先要發生，但還不即刻是結局。」耶穌遂又對他們說：「民族要起來攻擊民族，國家攻擊國家；將有大地震，到處有饑荒及瘟疫，又將出現可怖的景象，天上要有巨大的凶兆。」
OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Randwick Racecourse will host World Youth Day evening Vigil and World Youth Day Mass, as twinning between young people across Ocean continues
一個窮苦學生，為了付學費，挨家挨戶地推銷貨品。
耶穌舉目一望，看見有錢的人把獻儀投入奉獻箱裡。他又看見一個貧苦的寡婦，把兩文錢投入裡面，遂說：「我實在告訴你們：這個窮寡婦比眾人投入的都多，因為眾人都是拿他們多餘的投入，作為給天主的獻儀；而這個寡婦卻是從她的不足中，把她所有的一切生活費都投進去了。」
