信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍
6月27日 (週五) 瑪8：1-4 (其他經文──列下25：1-12 詠137)
當耶穌從山上下來，有許多群眾跟隨他。看，有一個癩病人前來叩拜耶穌說：「主！你若願意，就能潔淨我。」耶穌就伸手撫摸他說：「我願意，你潔淨了吧！」他的癩病立刻就潔淨了。耶穌對他說：「小心，不要對任何人說！但去叫司祭檢驗你，獻上梅瑟所規定的禮物，給他們當做證據。」
默 想──Ø 從前，有很多癩病人、痲瘋病人、瞎子、跛子……；今天，我們有很多的抑鬱病人、思覺失調病人、狂躁症病人、妄想症病人、精神分裂症病人……。
Ø 若我是抑鬱病者，對主說：「主！你若願意，就能使我痊癒。」情況將會怎樣？難道耶穌今天已沒有能力嗎？大家也清楚，以上所列的精神病不能單單靠藥物，而耶穌正正是一位心靈醫師。
Ø 有很多人，在心靈方面有傷痕，最終是藉著接觸到耶穌，才能找到自己，問題是，怎樣才能給耶穌撫摸？
Medjugorje – Our Lady’s Message of June 25, 2008
Dear children! Also today, with great joy in my heart, I call you to follow me and to listen to my messages. Be joyful carriers of peace and love in this peaceless world. I am with you and I bless you all with my Son Jesus, the King of Peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.
親愛的孩子們，今天，我仍是滿懷高興，呼喚你們跟隨我，聆聽我的訊息。在這欠缺平安的世界中，你們要作散播和平與愛的快樂人。我與你們同在，我與我的聖子耶穌，和平的君王，一起祝福你們眾人。感謝你們回應我的召喚。
我太累了, 沒有勇氣再起來…
恭讀聖瑪竇福音 7:21-29
那時候，耶穌對他的門徒說：「不是凡向我說『主啊！主啊！』的人，就能進天國；而是那承行我在天之父旨意的人，才能進天國。到那一天，有很多人要向我說： 主啊！主啊！我們不是因你的名字說過預言，因你的名字驅過魔鬼，因你的名字行過許多奇蹟嗎？那時，我必要向他們聲明說：我從來不認識你們；你們這些作惡的 人，離開我吧！
「所以，凡聽了我這些話而實行的，就好像一個聰明的人，把自己的房屋建在磐石上：雨淋，水沖，風吹，襲擊那座房屋，它並不坍塌，因為基礎是建在磐石上。凡 聽了我這些話而不實行的，就好像一個愚昧的人，把自己的房屋建在沙土上：雨淋，水沖，風吹，襲擊那座房屋，它就坍塌了，且坍塌得很慘。」
耶穌講完了這些話，群眾都驚奇他的教訓，因為他教訓他們，正像有權威的人，不像他們的經師。
—這是基督的福音。
(12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Thurs.)
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
—The Gospel of the Lord.
信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍
6月26日 (週四) 瑪7：21-29 (其他經文──列下24：8-17 詠78)
耶穌對他的門徒說：「不是凡向我說『主啊！主啊！』的人，就能進天國；而是那承行我在天之父旨意的人，才能進天國。到那一天，有很多人要向我說：主啊！主啊！我們不是因你的名字說過預言，因你的名字要驅過魔鬼，因你的名字行過許多奇蹟嗎？那時，我必要向他們聲明說：我從來不認識你們；你們這些作惡的人，離開我吧！
「所以，凡聽了我這些話而實行的，就好像一個聰明的人，把自己的房屋建在磐石上：雨淋，水沖，風吹，襲擊那座房屋，它並不坍塌，因為基礎是建在磐石上。凡聽了我這些話而不實行的，就好像一個愚昧的人，把自己的房屋建在沙土上：雨淋，水沖，風吹，襲擊那座房屋，它就坍塌了，且坍塌得很慘。」
耶穌講完了這些話，群眾都驚奇他的教訓，因為他教訓他們，正像有權威的人，不像他們的經師。
默 想──Ø 為何耶穌的教訓有權威？因為祂是耶穌？非也。耶穌的教訓常結連上生活，是可捉摸、易明，會在每天中實行的事。
Ø 經師們卻只重梅瑟法律，這些法律有些發展到很教條，或很抽象，和生活脫節的。例如安息日不能治病。
Ø 當年的群眾很容易分辨哪些是上主的旨意，就是和生活有關的事。當然也有不少人知而不行。只是不斷說「主啊！主啊！」
Ø 太陽底下無新事，我們今天的情況也一樣。就是能否知而實行呢？
Ø 我們的困難究竟在哪裡？
很有深度的六個字 ..
生命中總有挫折，那不是盡頭，只是在提醒你：該轉彎了！
(初念淺，轉念深)
「明明已經是綠燈了，前面那輛車為什麼還愣著不動，搞什麼鬼？」
我狠狠地按了兩聲罵人的喇叭，前面的車才大夢初醒般地往前開去。 「台北的交通都是這些人害的，到底是不是色盲？紅燈要闖，綠燈卻要停在那裡。會不會開車啊？」我對著車裡的友人發牢騷，好像自己是全世界最會開車的人。
隔了幾天 「叭．．．」 「叭什麼叭？」後面那一部像催命鬼似的車，對我不懷好意地猛按喇叭，我恍惚了一下，抬頭一看原來已經是綠燈了，很無奈地踩了油門。
昨天媽媽生病。住進了加護病房。哥哥正和我商量甚麼時候讓媽媽開刀的事。 一方面想著她年紀這麼大，動手術會不會危險？可是如果不動心術，擺著勢必惡化，心裡的掙扎難以言喻，剛剛暫時的失神是因為正在思索這件事，才沒看到紅綠燈，後面那部車幹嘛沒耐心，又不是趕投胎。我獨自開著車，心裡咕噥著。
人，容易什麼事都從自己的角度出發，直到明白了真相。
在書上看到這麼一則故事：
作者在紐約地鐵搭車的時候，有一個小男孩在車廂裡又哭又鬧，而看起來像爸爸的男人，卻坐在原處文風不動。 大家對這個現象非常反感，但都敢怒不敢言。作者挺身而出質問那個男人：「你沒看到你的孩子這麼吵鬧嗎？你應該管管他啊！」
男人這才回過神來：「對不起！我這孩子的媽媽兩個鐘頭前在醫院過世，我正在想以後要怎麼辦？所以．．．真的對不起！」作者突然間好後悔自己的殘忍。
似乎， 我們總是很輕易地去責怪別人。 也總是認為別人為什麼不明就裡，不能體諒我們呢？
「設身處地」是很容易懂的道理，實踐起來卻不容易。
但是，我們也不要因為這樣而沮喪，畢竟我們都是凡人，我們都有立即的情緒，只是當我們要採取行動前，是否可以再寬容地想一下，或許對方面臨人生的重大困境或抉擇。
「初念淺， 轉念深。」
第一個念頭是對事件的情緒反應，通常較膚淺，也容易造成誤會；但一轉念，腦海裡會為對方找尋可能的理由。
如此，心情一寬，憤怒也就消失無蹤了，很多不必要的紛爭就不會發生 。
嗯，以後我在紅綠燈下可得有一點點耐心，因為前一輛車的主人，可能正在經歷一齣驚濤駭浪的故事呢！
生命中總有挫折，但那不是盡頭，只是在提醒你：
該轉彎了！
(資料來源: 網上搜集)
（梵蒂岡電臺訊）教宗本篤十六世在向參加魁北克第49届國際聖體大會的青年們的錄像講話中說：“聖體聖事爲與主的愛的相會。”教宗的錄像講話于21日晚間舉行的晚禱聚會中播放過了。他在講話中重申聖體聖事奧秘爲每一位教友生活的中心。他也勉勵教友青年向他們的同代人展示福音訊息的美好。
教宗首先告訴青年們，在聖體聖事中，可以最優越的方式與主耶穌相會，發現他無限的大愛幷獲得所需要的力量來建設自己的生命。教宗說：“耶穌是將自己完全奉獻出來的楷模，他爲我們展示了追隨他的路。”教宗勉勵青年們，以聖體聖事來堅定自己的生活。他也告訴大家，爲了領受聖言和聖體，首先需要接納天主的寬恕。隨後，教宗說，天主聖子向人類啓示了聖父的面容，那是愛與希望的面容。他請青年不要害怕宣講基督，向他們同代人展示，基督不阻礙人的生活和自由，相反地，他將真正的生命獻給了人類，幷使人自由，能够與邪惡抗爭，使每一個人的生命都更加美好。教宗强調，人在領受了天主的聖言幷受到主的身體滋養後，他的生命便會有內在的轉變，他也從主那裏收到自己的使命。教宗重申：“是主派遣你們到世界上，做和平的使者和基督愛的訊息的見證人。”教宗也請所有的信友不要忘記，主日彌撒是與主的愛的相會。
（梵蒂岡電臺訊）天主教聖經協會從6月24日起到7月3日在坦桑尼亞首都達累斯薩拉姆舉行第7届全體大會，“天主聖言爲修好、正義、和平的泉源”是與會人士研討的主要課題。天主教聖經協會是教宗保祿六世于1969年成立，爲了回應梵蒂岡第二届大公會議中所呈現的渴望：使更多人能够容易地獲得聖經。今天，這個協會有327個成員，來自129個國家。天主教聖經協會主席帕里亞主教和我們談了這個大會：
答：我們選擇在非洲舉行第7届全體大會，爲了向這個大洲和這裏有非凡發展的天主教會表達我們的關懷與友誼，因爲這個大洲常被國際社會遺忘。這次大會有雙重意義，就是：深入探討聖經爲修好、正義、和平的泉源這個主題，同時也要爲明年舉行的非洲主教會議作出貢獻。這個主教會議的主題是：教會與爲修好和正義服務。
問：因此，是要從天主的聖言中重新發現非洲修好、正義的泉源…………
答：正是這樣。也因爲教宗願意在11年前舉行首次非洲主教會議後再舉行第二次會議。在這11年中，毫無疑問，非洲天主教會有了非凡的發展，但這個大洲也出現了許多的問題，我們想到那裏的戰爭、種族衝突、饑餓和缺水的悲慘情况。這便是爲什麽教宗感到迫切需要召集新一輪的非洲主教會議，使教會認識這個大洲的新情况。我們相信，如果各地方教會和所有教友重新發現天主聖言的力量，便能够恢復教會生活的活力。越是認識天主聖言，各地方教會和所有信友也越能做鹽和光以及新人類的酵母。這是非洲所需要的。我們這次的大會還有一個大公的特性，因爲基督教聖經協會的高層代表也以觀察員的身份出席我們的會議。看到這兩個機構一同爲傳揚聖經努力，真令人欣慰。
恭讀聖瑪竇福音 7:15-20
那時候，耶穌對他的門徒說：「你們要提防假先知！他們來到你們跟前，外披羊毛，內裡卻是兇殘的豺狼。你們可憑他們的果實辨別他們：荊棘上豈能收到葡萄？或 者蒺藜上豈能收到無花果？這樣，凡是好樹都結好果子；而壞樹都結壞果子；好樹不能結壞果子，壞樹也不能結好果子。凡不結好果子的樹，必要砍倒，投入火中。 所以，你們可憑他們的果實辨別他們。」
—這是基督的福音。
(12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Tues.)
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.”
—The Gospel of the Lord.
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Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55
zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often?
When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only
partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe
some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was
stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand.
Bob? Bob from Church? Jack sunk farther into his trench coat. This was
worse than the coming ticket. A cop catching a guy from his own church.
A guy who happened to be a little eager to get home after a long day at
the office. A guy he was about to play golf with tomorrow.
Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw every Sunday, a man
he’d never seen in uniform.
“Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like this.”
“Hello, Jack.” No smile.
“Guess you caught me red-handed in a rush to see my wife and kids.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Bob seemed uncertain. Good.
“I’ve seen some long days at the office lately. I’m afraid I bent the
rules a bit – just this once.”
Jack toed at a pebble on the pavement. “Diane said something about roast
beef and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?”
“I know what you mean. I also know that you have a reputation in our
precinct .” Ouch. This was not going in the right direction. Time to
change tactics.
“What’d you clock me at?”
“Seventy. Would you sit back in your car please?”
“Now wait a minute here, Bob. I checked as soon as I saw you. I was
barely nudging 65.” The lie seemed to come easier with every ticket.
“Please, Jack, in the car”
Flustered, Jack hunched himself through the still-open door. Slamming it
shut, he stared at the dashboard. He was in no rush to open the window.
The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled away on the pad.
Why hadn’t he asked for a driver’s license?
Whatever the reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat
near this cop again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left.
There was Bob, a folded paper in hand Jack rolled down the window a mere
two inches, just enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.
“Thanks.” Jack could not quite keep the sneer out of his voice.
Bob returned to his police car without a word. Jack watched his retreat
in the mirror. He unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one
going to cost?
Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a ticket.
Jack began to read:
“Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had a daughter. She was six when killed
by a car. You guessed it – a speeding driver. A fine and three months in
jail, and the man was free. Free to hug his daughters, all three of
them. I only had one, and I’m going to have to wait until Heaven before
I can ever hug her again.
A thousand times I’ve tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I
thought I had. Maybe I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. Pray
for me. And be careful, Jack, my son is all I have left.
Bob”
Jack turned around in time to see Bob’s car pull away and head down the
road. Jack watched until it disappeared. A full 15 minutes later, he
too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying for forgiveness and
hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.
Life is precious. Handle with care. Drive safely and carefully.
Remember, cars are not the only things recalled by their maker.
信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍
6月25日 (週三) 瑪7：15-20 (其他經文──列下22：8-13；23：1-3 詠119)
耶穌對他的門徒說：「你們要提防假先知！他們來到你們跟前，外披羊毛，內裡卻是兇殘的豺狼。你們可憑他們的果實辨別他們：荊棘上豈能收到葡萄？或者蒺藜上豈能收到無花果？這樣，凡是好樹都結好果子；而壞樹都結壞果子；好樹不能結壞果子，壞樹也不能結好果子。凡不結好果子的樹，必要砍倒，投入火中。所以，你們可憑他們的果實辨別他們。」
默 想──Ø 「你們可憑他們的果實辨別他們。」其實這一句也可改為「我們可憑我們的果實辨別我們。」因為我們實在不認識自己。
Ø 我們怎樣才能知道自己的果實呢？這是最困難的地方。我們很容易辨別人們，就是不懂得辨別自己。
Ø 大家認為怎樣才能辨別自己呢？
News video: Click HERE.
“The Eucharist Is Not a Meal Among Friends”
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave via satellite Sunday at the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. The congress was held in Quebec City. The homily was given in English and French.* * *
Lord Cardinals,
Excellencies,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,While you are gathered for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, I am happy to join you through the medium of satellite and thus unite myself to your prayer. I would like first of all to greet the Lord Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec, and the Lord Cardinal Jozef Tomko, special envoy for the congress, as well as all the cardinals and bishops present. I also address my cordial greetings to the personalities of civil society who decided to take part in the liturgy. My affectionate thought goes to the priests, deacons and all the faithful present, as well as to all Catholics of Quebec, of the whole of Canada and of other continents. I do not forget that your country celebrates this year the 400th anniversary of its foundation. It is an occasion for each one of you to recall the values that animated the pioneers and missionaries in your country.
“The Eucharist, gift of God for the Life of the World,” this is the theme chosen for this latest International Eucharistic Congress. The Eucharist is our most beautiful treasure. It is the sacrament par excellence; it introduces us early into eternal life; it contains the whole mystery of our salvation; it is the source and summit of the action and of the life of the Church, as the Second Vatican Council recalled (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” No. 8).
It is, therefore, particularly important that pastors and faithful dedicate themselves permanently to furthering their knowledge of this great sacrament. Each one will thus be able to affirm his faith and fulfill ever better his mission in the Church and in the world, recalling that there is a fruitfulness of the Eucharist in his personal life, in the life of the Church and of the world. The Spirit of truth gives witness in your hearts; you also must give witness to Christ before men, as the antiphon states in the alleluia of this Mass. Participation in the Eucharist, then, does not distance us from our contemporaries; on the contrary, because it is the expression par excellence of the love of God, it calls us to be involved with all our brothers to address the present challenges and to make the planet a place where it is good to live.
To accomplish this, it is necessary to struggle ceaselessly so that every person will be respected from his conception until his natural death; that our rich societies welcome the poorest and allow them their dignity; that all persons be able to find nourishment and enable their families to live; that peace and justice may shine in all continents. These are some of the challenges that must mobilize all our contemporaries and for which Christians must draw their strength in the Eucharistic mystery.
“The Mystery of Faith”: this is what we proclaim at every Mass. I would like everyone to make a commitment to study this great mystery, especially by revisiting and exploring, individually and in groups, the Council’s text on the Liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” so as to bear witness courageously to the mystery. In this way, each person will arrive at a better grasp of the meaning of every aspect of the Eucharist, understanding its depth and living it with greater intensity. Every sentence, every gesture has its own meaning and conceals a mystery. I sincerely hope that this Congress will serve as an appeal to all the faithful to make a similar commitment to a renewal of Eucharistic catechesis, so that they themselves will gain a genuine Eucharistic awareness and will in turn teach children and young people to recognize the central mystery of faith and build their lives around it. I urge priests especially to give due honor to the Eucharistic rite, and I ask all the faithful to respect the role of each individual, both priest and lay, in the Eucharistic action. The liturgy does not belong to us: it is the Church’s treasure.
Reception of the Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament — by this we mean deepening our communion, preparing for it and prolonging it — is also about allowing ourselves to enter into communion with Christ, and through him with the whole of the Trinity, so as to become what we receive and to live in communion with the Church. It is by receiving the Body of Christ that we receive the strength “of unity with God and with one another” (Saint Cyril of Alexandria, In Ioannis Evangelium, 11:11; cf. Saint Augustine, Sermo 577).
We must never forget that the Church is built around Christ and that, as Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Albert the Great have all said, following Saint Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:17), the Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church’s unity, because we all form one single body of which the Lord is the head. We must go back again and again to the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, where we were given a pledge of the mystery of our redemption on the Cross. The Last Supper is the locus of the nascent Church, the womb containing the Church of every age. In the Eucharist, Christ’s sacrifice is constantly renewed, Pentecost is constantly renewed. May all of you become ever more deeply aware of the importance of the Sunday Eucharist, because Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day when we honor Christ, the day when we receive the strength to live each day the gift of God.
I would also like to invite the pastors and faithful to a renewed care in their preparation for reception of the Eucharist. Despite our weakness and our sin, Christ wills to make his dwelling in us, asking him for healing. To bring this about, we must do everything that is in our power to receive him with a pure heart, ceaselessly rediscovering, through the sacrament of penance, the purity that sin has stained, “putting our soul and our voice in accord,” according to the invitation of the Council (cf. “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” No.11). In fact, sin, especially grave sin, is opposed to the action of Eucharistic grace in us. However, those who cannot go to communion because of their situation, will find nevertheless in a communion of desire and in participation in the Mass saving strength and efficacy.
The Eucharist had an altogether special place in the lives of saints. Let us thank God for the history of holiness of Quebec and Canada, which contributed to the missionary life of the Church. Your country honors especially its Canadian martyrs, Jean de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues and their companions, who were able to give up their lives for Christ, thus uniting themselves to his sacrifice on the Cross.
They belong to the generation of men and women who founded and developed the Church of Canada, with Marguerite Bourgeoys, Marguerite d’Youville, Marie of the Incarnation, Marie-Catherine of Saint Augustine, Mgr Francis of Laval, founder of the first diocese in North America, Dina Belanger and Kateri Tekakwitha. Put yourselves in their school; like them, be without fear; God accompanies you and protects you; make of each day an offering to the glory of God the Father and take your part in the building of the world, remembering with pride your religious heritage and its social and cultural brilliance, and taking care to spread around you the moral and spiritual values that come to us from the Lord.
The Eucharist is not a meal among friends. It is a mystery of covenant. “The prayers and the rites of the Eucharistic sacrifice make the whole history of salvation revive ceaselessly before the eyes of our soul, in the course of the liturgical cycle, and make us penetrate ever more its significance” (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, [Edith Stein], Wege zur inneren Stille Aschaffenburg, 1987, p. 67). We are called to enter into this mystery of covenant by conforming our life increasingly every day to the gift received in the Eucharist. It has a sacred character, as Vatican Council II reminds: “Every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree ” (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” No. 7). In a certain way, it is a “heavenly liturgy,” anticipation of the banquet in the eternal Kingdom, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Christ, until he comes (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:26).
In order that the People of God never lack ministers to give them the Body of Christ, we must ask the Lord to make the gift of new priests to his Church. I also invite you to transmit the call to the priesthood to young men, so that they will accept with joy and without fear to respond to Christ. They will not be disappointed. May families be the primordial place and the cradle of vocations.
Before ending, it is with joy that I announce to you the meeting of the next International Eucharistic Congress. It will be held in Dublin, in Ireland, in 2012. I ask the Lord to make each one of you discover the depth and grandeur of the mystery of faith. May Christ, present in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit, invoked over the bread and wine, accompany you on your daily way and in your mission. May you, in the image of the Virgin Mary, be open to the work of God in you. Entrusting you to the intercession of Our Lady, of Saint Anne, patroness of Quebec, and of all the saints of your land, I impart to all of you an affectionate Apostolic Blessing, as well as to all the persons present, who have come from different countries of the world.
Dear friends, as this significant event in the life of the Church draws to a conclusion I invite you all to join me in praying for the success of the next International Eucharistic Congress, which will take place in 2012 in the city of Dublin! I take this opportunity to greet warmly the people of Ireland, as they prepare to host this ecclesial gathering. I am confident that they, together with all the participants at the next Congress, will find it a source of lasting spiritual renewal.
[Translation of the French portions by ZENIT]
恭讀聖路加福音 1:57-66,80
依撒伯爾滿了產期，就生了一個兒子。她的鄰居和親戚聽說上主向她大施仁慈，都和她一同歡樂。到了第八天，人們來給這孩子行割損禮，並願意照他父親的名字叫 他匝加利亞。他的母親說：「不，要叫他若翰。」他們就同她說：「在你親族中沒有叫這個名字的。」他們便給他的父親打手勢，看他願意叫他什麼。他要了一塊小 板，寫道：「若翰是他的名字。」眾人都驚訝起來。匝加利亞的口和舌頭立時開了，遂開口讚美天主。於是，所有的鄰居都滿懷敬畏之情；這一切事就傳遍了全猶大 山區，凡聽見的人都將這事存在心中，說：「這孩子將成為什麼人物啊？」因為上主的手與他同在。這小孩漸漸長大，心神堅強。他住在荒野中，直到他在以色列人 前出現的日期。
—這是基督的福音。
(Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist)
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke 1:57-66,80
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.
—The Gospel of the Lord.
信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍
6月24日 (週二) 路1：57-66, 80 (其他經文──依49：1-6 宗13：22-26 詠139)
依撒伯爾滿了產期，就生了一個兒子。她的鄰居和親戚聽說上主向她大施仁慈，都和她一同歡樂。到了第八天，人們來給這孩子行割損禮，並願意照他父親的名字叫他匝加利亞。他的母親說：「不，要叫他若翰。」他們就同她說：「在你親族中沒有叫這個名字的。」他們便給他的父親打手勢，看他願意叫他什麼。他要了一塊小板，寫道：「若翰是他的名字。」眾人都驚訝起來。匝加利亞的口和舌頭立時開了，遂開口讚美天主。於是，所有的鄰居都滿懷敬畏之情；這一切事就傳遍了全猶大山區，凡聽見的人都將這事存在心中，說：「這孩子將成為什麼人物啊？」因為上主的手與他同在。這小孩漸漸長大，心神堅強。他住在荒野中，直到他在以色列人前出現的日期。
默 想──Ø 在廿一世紀，天主介入的事情好像越來越少。很難想像有一小孩在出生時有異象，或是父母早已決定他是奉獻給神的人，因為將來要做教宗。
Ø 其實，自從基督降生後，天國已經開始了，最大的啟示已經完成了，所以，不再需要有啟示。
Ø 天主通過耶穌基督，已經告訴了我們，這個世界是怎樣的，我們要怎樣做，也是清清楚楚的。
Ø 剩下的是，我們是否願意參與。若是願意，在天國中，我們比洗者若翰還要大呢！(瑪11：11)
Gospel Commentary for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM CapROME, JUNE 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- This Sunday’s Gospel contains a number of ideas but they all can be summarized in this apparently contradictory phrase: “Have fear but do not be afraid.” Jesus says: “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear rather him who has the power to make both the soul and the body perish in Gehenna.” We must not be afraid of, nor fear human beings; we must fear God but not be afraid of him.
There is a difference between being afraid and fearing and I would like to take this occasion to try to understand why this is so and in what this difference consists. Being afraid is a manifestation of our fundamental instinct for preservation. It is a reaction to a threat to our life, the response to a real or perceived danger, whether this be the greatest danger of all, death, or particular dangers that threaten our tranquility, our physical safety, or our affective world.
With respect to whether the dangers are real or imagined, we say that someone is “justifiably” or “unjustifiably” or “pathologically” afraid. Like sicknesses, this worry can be acute or chronic. If it is acute, it has to do with states determined by situations of extraordinary danger. If I am about to be hit by a car or I begin to feel the earth quake under my feet, this is being acutely afraid. These “scares” arise suddenly and without warning and cease when the danger has passed, leaving, if anything, just a bad memory. Being chronically afraid is to be constantly in a state of preoccupation, this state grows up with us from birth or childhood and becomes part of our being, and we end up developing an attachment to it. We call such a state a complex or phobia: claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and so on.
The Gospel helps to free us from all of these worries and reveals their relative, non-absolute, nature. There is something of ours that nothing and no one in the world can truly take away from us or damage: For believers it is the immortal soul; for everyone it is the testimony of their own conscience.
The fear of God is quite different from being afraid. The fear of God must be learned: “Come, my children, listen to me,” a Psalm says, “I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (33:12); being afraid, on the other hand, does not need to be learned at school; it overtakes us suddenly in the face of danger; the things themselves bring about our being afraid.
But the meaning itself of fearing God is different from being afraid. It is a component of faith: It is born from knowledge of who God is. It is the same sentiment that we feel before some great spectacle of nature. It is feeling small before something that is immense; it is stupor, marvel mixed with admiration. Beholding the miracle of the paralytic who gets up on his feet and walks, the Gospel says, “Everyone was in awe and praised God; filled with fear they said: ‘Today we have seen wondrous things’” (Luke 5:26). Fear is here simply another name for stupor and praise.
This sort of fear is a companion of and allied to love: It is the fear of offending the beloved that we see in everyone who is truly in love, even in the merely human realm. This fear is often called “the beginning of wisdom” because it leads to making the right choices in life. Indeed it is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit! (cf. Isaiah 11:2).
As always, the Gospel does not only illumine our faith but it also helps us to understand the reality of everyday life. Our time has been called “the age of anxiety” (W.H. Auden). Anxiety, which is closely related to being afraid, has become the sickness of the century and it is, they say, one of the principal causes of the large number of heart attacks. This spread of anxiety seems connected with the fact that, compared with the past, we have many more forms of economic insurance, life insurance, many more means of preventing illness and delaying death.
The cause of this anxiety is the diminishing — if not the complete disappearance — in our society of the holy fear of God. “No one fears God anymore!” We say this sometimes jokingly but it contains a tragic truth. The more that the fear of God diminishes, the more we become afraid of our fellow men!
It is easy to understand why this is the case. Forgetting God, we place all our confidence in the things of this world, that is, in the things that Christ says “thieves can steal and moths consume” — uncertain things that can disappear from one moment to the next, that time (and moths!) inexorably consume, things that everyone is after and which therefore cause competition and rivalry (the famous “mimetic desire” of which René Girard speaks), things that need to be defended with clenched teeth and, sometimes, with a gun in hand.
The decline in fear of God, rather than liberating us from worry, gets us more entangled in worry. Look at what happens in the relationship between children and parents in our society. Fathers no longer fear God and children no longer fear fathers! The fear of God is reflected in and analogous to the reverential fear of children for parents. The Bible continually associates the two things. But does the lack of this reverential fear for their parents make the children and young people of today more free and self-confident? We know well that the exact opposite is true.
The way out of the crisis is to rediscover the necessity and the beauty of the holy fear of God. Jesus explains to us in the Gospel that we will hear on Sunday that the constant companion of the fear of God is confidence in God. “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!”
God does not want us to be afraid of him but to have confidence in him. It is the contrary of that emperor who said: “Oderint dum metuant” — “Let them hate me so long as they are afraid of me!” Our earthly fathers must imitate God; they must not make us afraid of them but have confidence in them. It is in this way that respect is nourished: admiration, confidence, everything that falls under the name of “holy fear.”
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
* * *
Father Raniero Cantalamessa is the Pontifical Household preacher. The readings for this Sunday are Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33.
往神父講道目錄
