「你們如果住在我內，而我的話也存在你們內，如此，你們願意什麼，求罷！必給你們成就。」(若15:7)
『葡萄樹的比喻』說明信徒的超性生活和超性作為，完全是由於與基督相連，就如枝與幹的相連一樣。其效果便是：「你們願意什麼，求罷！必給你們成就。」
瑪竇福音有雷同的記述：「若你們中二人，在地上同心合意，無論為什麼事祈禱，我在天之父，必要給他們成就，因為那裡有兩個或三個人，因我的名字聚在一起，我就在他們中間。」(瑪18:19-20)
無論是個人或團體的祈禱，基督的臨在，至為重要。
祈禱的効能，不應多疑，因為「你們的父，在你們求他以前，已知道你們需要什麼！」(瑪6:8)
耶穌所渴望見到的，是我們的靈魂充滿生機，常活在聖言中、活在愛德中。每次行完聖蹟後，耶穌都習慣對當事人說：「你的信德救了你！」可見，耶穌重視的，是人超性的生命。
梁達材神父
恭讀聖若望福音 15:1-8
那時，耶穌對門徒說：「我是真葡萄樹，我父是園丁。凡在我身上不結實的枝條，他便剪掉；凡結實的，他就清理；使它結更多的果實；你們因我對你們所講的話，已是清潔的了。你們住在我內，我也住在你們內。正如枝條若不留在葡萄樹上，憑自己不能結實；你們若不住在我內，也一無所能。我是葡萄樹，你們是枝條；那住在我內，我也住在他內的，他就結許多的果實，因為離了我，你們什麼也不能作。誰若不住在我內，便彷彿枝條，丟在外面而乾枯了，人便把它拾起來，投入火中焚燒。你們如果住在我內，而我的話也存在你們內，如此，你們願意什麼，求吧！必給你們成就。我父受光榮，即在於你們多結果實，如此你們就成為我的門徒。」
—基督的福音。
(5th Week of Easter – Wednesday)
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 15:1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
—The Gospel of the Lord.
聖蒙福 三十三天祈禱奉獻 －第十六天
敬禮聖母的真諦 No.228
奉獻前的準備工作
在第一週內，行祈禱、作善功，要求認清自己，悔恨罪過；並滿懷謙遜地去做。為達到這目的，若願意的話，可在這一週的六日內想想自己惡劣的本性，視自己如同 蝸牛、螺螄、蛤蟆、笨豬、懶蛇、山羊；或根據聖伯納這三句名言：「你曾是腥臭之驅；現在是便溺之器；將成蛆蟲之食。」你們祈求基督與聖神光照自己說： 「主，叫我看見。」（路18:41）或說：「我切望能認識我。」或唸「伏求聖神降臨…」和〈聖神禱文〉。我們亦應向聖母求助，向她祈求那為所有基礎的恩 寵，為此，也要每日唸〈光耀海星〉和聖母禱文。
師主篇 卷二 第5章
自我檢討
我們不可過於依靠自 己，因為我們時常缺乏聖寵，並且麻木不仁。我們的光明有限，而且一有疏忽，就失去了光明。我們屢次也不感到自己內心是那樣地愚昧。多次辦事不好，還原諒自 己。有時我們被私慾心牽引著做一件事，竟說這是出於為善的好心。別人的小過失，我們看的清楚；我們的大毛病，反看不見。別人對我們無禮，立時就覺出來，當 做大事；我們待人無禮，反不知覺。一個人若公平地審斷自己，他判斷別人必不敢苛刻了。
——————————————————–
Total Consecration by St. Louis Marie de Montfort – DAY 16
Luke 13:1-5
Examples inviting Repentance
And there were present, at that very time, some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answering, said to them: Think you that these Galileans were sinners above all the men of Galilee, because they suffered such things? No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them: think you, that they also were debtors above all the men that dwelt in Jerusalem? No, I say to you; but except you do penance, you shall all likewise perish.
True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Nos. 81 and 82
We Need Mary in order to Die to Ourselves
Secondly, in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the senses of the body incline us to do. We must see as if we did not see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use them. This is what St. Paul calls “dying daily”. Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain and does not bear any good fruit. If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable. All our good works will be tainted by self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices and our best actions will be unacceptable to God. Consequently when we come to die we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that we do not possess even one spark of that pure love which God shares only with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with Jesus Christ in him.
Thirdly, we must choose among all the devotions to the Blessed Virgin the one which will lead us more surely to this dying to self. This devotion will be the best and the most sanctifying for us.
Prayers for the First Week Preparatory Period
信仰生活互動坊、塔冷通心靈書舍
若15：1-8 (其他經文──宗15：1-6 詠122)
耶穌對門徒說：「我是真葡萄樹，我父是園丁。凡在我身上不結實的枝條，他便剪掉；凡結實的，他就清理，使它結更多的果實；你們因我對你們所講的話，已是清潔的了。你們住在我內，我也住在你們內。正如枝條若不留在葡萄樹上，憑自己不能結實；你們若不住在我內，也一無所能。我是葡萄樹，你們是枝條；那住在我內，我也住在他內的，他就結許多的果實，因為離了我，你們什麼也不能作。誰若不住在我內，便彷彿枝條，丟在外面而乾枯了，人便把它拾起來，投入火中焚燒。你們如果住在我內，而我的話也存在你們內，如此，你們願意什麼，求吧！必給你們成就。我父受光榮，即在於你們多結果實，如此你們就成為我的門徒。」
默 想
2009-5-8
【天亞社．中國廣州訊】華南廣東省廣州教區九十四歲的譚天德神父，在牢獄中度過人生三分之一的歲月，並給予天主教囚友精神上的支持，其中兩人後來更成為「地下」教會的主教。
譚神父於四月廿三日安息主懷，在四月廿七日的葬禮〔圖〕上，逾千名中外教友向他們心目中的「聖人」表達最後的敬意。譚神父於一九八三年獲釋後，在廣州市耶穌聖心主教座堂服務逾廿五年。
殯葬彌撒於主教座堂舉行，信眾隨後到殯儀館辭別譚主教遺體，他的骨灰同日安葬於廣州天主教墳場。
譚神父不僅得到廣州教友的愛戴，他的名字對華北與他素未謀面的神父來說也並不陌生。
據河北省邯鄲教區彭鑒道神父說，這是因為曾經受過譚神父善表影響的囚友，到處宣揚他的偉大和忠貞。譚神父在獄中的表現使他們「充滿了信心，也增長了他們的信德」。
與譚神父一同在東北黑龍江省勞改農場度過艱苦歲月的修生中，包括近年為信仰而在拘留期間致命的兩位「聖人級的主教」：山東省煙台及周村教區高克賢主教和河北省永年教區韓鼎祥主教，他們分別於二零零五及零七年去世。
彭神父在其博客上寫道，八十年代他在修院讀書，當時尚未晉牧的院長高克賢神父經常憶述譚神父在勞改營對修生們的信仰提醒及支持。
據高主教的見證，勞改營不准囚犯相聚交談，更不允許宗教宣傳。譚神父每到復活節和聖誕節，就會在自己手上寫道「今天是瞻禮，多唸經！」默默地鼓勵修生和教友勿忘天主。
影響高主教最深的是，譚神父在吃飯時故意將饅頭皮藏起來，當外出勞動時到荒山偷偷採摘野葡萄，擠成葡萄汁，與幾位可靠的神父和修生悄悄地開彌撒。不過最終被人告發，譚神父因此被加長刑期。不過他滿不在乎，並在自傳中說：「我為此而感到榮幸。」
彭神父指出，譚神父的堅貞信仰影響了勞改營中許多司鐸和修生，使他們出獄後繼續為信仰作見證，紛紛投身於教會的重建工作，也使文化大革命後才進修院的新一代神職人員都對譚神父的聖德十分景仰。
當年與譚神父同處一個勞改營的教友對天亞社說，他當時在武裝排任班長，注意到譚神父每天勞動後都很晚回來，於是跟蹤並發現他進入勞改墳場，在那裡劃十字聖號，然後用拉丁文為亡者誦唸《天主經》和《煉獄禱文》。
自得悉此囚犯是神父後，這位教友和其他三名教友同伴決定不動聲色地暗中保護他，認為他將是他們在勞改營裡「靈魂上的良師」。
為譚神父主持殯葬彌撒的廣州教區甘俊邱主教向天亞社說，譚神父「在平凡中活出自己的信仰和聖召」，他很關心年輕神父、修女和修生的培育，又親切地接待到教堂參觀的人，向他們講解教會道理。
譚神父一九一五年出生於廣東省，三四年進入在香港的華南總修院（今聖神修院）。他於四一年在廣州晉鐸，五三年因信仰被捕，兩年後被判往勞改營。經歷三十年牢獄生涯後，於八三年獲釋，回到廣州服務。
廣州教區在甘主教領導下，有兩位老神父、十五位年輕神父、卅四位修女，牧養四萬教友。
【完】（天亞社英文新聞見CH07126.1547期2009年4月30日）
2009-5-8
【天亞社．香港訊】中國天主教愛國會一位領袖指出，內地幾個教區已選出主教候選人，唯教會當局需要作謹慎的審查。
愛國會副主席劉柏年說，江蘇海門、內蒙古呼和浩特、陝西三原、浙江台州及湖北武漢五個教區，已向中國天主教主教團報告選舉結果，等待批覆。這些選舉於去年或更早時間進行，有關結果經省教務委員會核准後，再呈交設於北京的主教團。
據悉，三原教區兩位教廷認可的主教均已退休，其餘四個教區都沒有主教。
劉氏說，很難說今年將有幾位主教獲得批准及祝聖，因為中國教會已不像前幾年處於青黃不接的情況，目前的主教大部分都是四十多歲。所以他說：「我們必須慎重一些，不是選舉了就馬上祝聖。」
他指出，選聖主教「關乎一個教區以後幾十年的事情」，有些教區往往在選舉主教後才出現不同意見，因此審查時要慎重考慮候選人各方面的條件，多聽取意見，有成見的話要調查和解釋清楚。
劉柏年又表示，候選主教已獲得教宗認可與否，不是主教團考慮的因素之一。他解釋：「中梵沒有外交關係，也沒有正常溝通渠道，我們還是一如既往，祇要候選主教條件符合的話，就批准祝聖。」他續說，候選主教是否向羅馬申請認可乃「他們自己的事情」。
中國主教團規定，主教候選人獲批准後，應在三個月內祝聖就任。
梵蒂岡一直批評中國教會祝聖未獲教宗批准的候選人為主教。教宗本篤十六世於零七年六月卅日致中國天主教徒的牧函說，這些主教沒有教宗任命，是不合法的。
政府認可的「公開」教會最近一次的主教祝聖，已是零七年十二月廿一日西北部寧夏教區李晶助理主教。
一些中國教會觀察家指出，由於零八年八至九月舉行北京奧運會及殘疾人奧運會，所有主教祝聖活動因而暫停下來，但他們卻不明白為何至今還未有新主教誕生。
另外，劉柏年說，選舉愛國會及主教團領導層的全國天主教代表大會將於下半年召開，但具體日期尚未落實。
【完】（天亞社英文新聞見CH07107.1547期2009年4月29日）
2009-5-8
【天亞社．香港訊】儘管北京教會當局勸諭教友避免跨區域朝聖，仍有數千教友於五月初前往華東上海教區的佘山聖母朝聖地。
五月一日，來自上海及周邊的安徽、福建、江蘇和浙江省逾三千名朝聖者，聚集山上慶祝聖母月開始，參與由上海教區金魯賢主教在聖母大殿主禮，廿多位神父共祭的彌撒。令年的朝聖者與去年同日約千人相比明顯回升。
二零零七年六月，教宗本篤十六世在致中國天主教徒的牧函中，特別提到佘山聖母朝聖地，並把五月廿四日定為「為在中國之教會祈禱日」，使佘山成為各方焦點。
每年五月是佘山的朝聖高峰期〔圖〕，僅是零七年四月卅日至五月一日兩天，人數便達一萬一千人。由於教宗牧函提到佘山，令當局擔憂翌年大量朝聖者會蜂擁而至。
零八年，政府認可的中國天主教愛國會和中國天主教主教團（一會一團）曾發出《關於善度聖母月的通知》，勸諭教友避免跨省（市）朝聖，但沒有提及教宗牧函。
今年四月十四日，一會一團再發出類似通告，要求朝聖活動以各自地區進行為主。
通告說，教友進行跨區域朝聖時，需由省愛國會及教務委員會和教區統一組織協調，並與朝聖地所在的省、市愛國會及教務委員會和教區聯繫，聽從安排，取得同意後才進行。
愛國會副主席劉柏年告訴天亞社，該通知「不是不准」跨區域朝聖，而是提醒教友在出發前，先與當地聯繫，以確保朝聖活動安全、穩妥進行。
去年，上海市政府在五月份於佘山及周邊一帶實施交通管制。今年亦再度由四月卅日至五月卅一日，實施特殊交通限制，並可能根據現場情況調整每天的管制時間。
有些教區因而改變朝聖計劃。據教會消息人士五月四日說，天津教區四月初發出通告，邀請約四十名信眾於五月廿二至廿七日前往上海教區佘山等地朝聖，但有關行程在五月初突然被取消。
消息人士又說，華東江西教區因為一會一團的指示，要求堂區不要組織前往佘山。
劉柏年表示，一會一團今年再度發出聖母月通知，是為了建議不同的祈禱意向。他說，今後很有可能每年都這樣做。
今年的祈禱意向包括為地震和其他自然災害罹難者，及救援人員祈禱。它亦邀請教友祈求天主賞賜「堅定信仰，勤奮工作，銳意進取」的精神，以面對世界經濟的劇烈動盪。
為回應普世教會六月開始的「司鐸年」，通告請教友為更多聖召祈禱，求賜司鐸忠於聖召，並使修士修女以其聖善的奉獻生活為福音做見證。
「聖保祿年」即將結束，通告也請教友繼續為教會的福傳事業祈禱。
【完】（天亞社英文新聞見CH07156.1548.2009年5月6日）
Denver, Colo., May 12, 2009 / 12:48 am (CNA).- Renowned Catholic thinker Dr. Alice von Hildebrand has criticized Theology of the Body speaker Christopher West, saying his approach has become too self-assured. She criticized his presentations as irreverent and insensitive to the “tremendous dangers” of concupiscence.
Also cautious of West’s remarks on his recent interview with ABC television were Mary Shivanandan and Fr. José Granados, both Catholic authors and theologians.
The news segment showed him calling for Catholics to complete “what the sexual revolution began.” He also described “very profound” historical connections between Hugh Hefner and Pope John Paul II.
West spoke to CNA on Friday, claiming the report somewhat sensationalized his views. He also denied several characterizations conveyed by the news story, explaining that he believed Hefner to be right in rejecting “the disease of Puritanism” but radically wrong in beginning the “pornographic revolution.”
He had told ABC that Hefner had a “yearning,” an “ache” and a “longing” for love, union and intimacy.
In a Monday interview CNA spoke about West with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, a Catholic philosopher and theologian who is professor emerita of Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Dr. von Hildebrand said she knew the “gist” of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and believed it was “very indebted” to her husband Dietrich von Hildebrand’s 1927 book “In Defense of Purity.” She said there is obviously an “abysmal difference” between the views shared by her husband and John Paul II and those presented by Christopher West.
Reporting that she had seen CNA’s follow-up interview with West, Dr. Von Hildebrand was very critical of the speaker.
“My feeling is that Christopher West has become famous because he started discussing the Theology of the Body, which is extremely appealing topic. The difficulty is that, in the meantime, he became so famous that I do believe he has become much too self-assured and has lost sight of the extreme sensitivity of the topic.”
This is “very troubling” because what she calls the “intimate sphere” is something “very mysterious, very profound, something that has a direct relationship with God.”
“My feeling is that his vocabulary and his way of approaching it totally lacks reverence.”
“Reverence is the key to purity,” she told CNA.” The intimate sphere “is not a topic of public discussion” but is “extremely serious.”
“It seems to me that his presentation, his vocabulary, the vulgarity of things that he uses are things that simply indicate that even though he might have good intentions he has derailed and is doing a lot of harm.”
She said people should not forget that we have been “profoundly affected” by original sin.
“In paradise there was perfect harmony between Adam and Eve. There was no concupiscence.”
“After original sin, not only were we separated from God and condemned to losing eternity. On top of it, every single human faculty was affected. Our intelligence was darkened. Our will was weakened. And all of a sudden, we had the dreadful experience of something called concupiscence.
Before the Fall, there was no inner temptation to impurity between Adam and Eve even though they were naked, she explained. After they sinned, the two started to look at one another with concupiscence.
The Fall had consequences that are “so serious” that it was only the Redemption and the grace of God could remedy.
The fight against concupiscence is “not an easy process,” Dr. von Hildebrand continued. “It is something that calls for holiness, which very few of us achieve. It is a sheer illusion to believe that by some sort of new technique we can find the solution to the problem.”
While one can lead a holy life in marriage, she said to become a saint is “a long and difficult process that calls for a spirit of penance, a readiness to sacrifice.”
“The tragedy of original sin is that all the beautiful male qualities of strength, courage, objectivity, nobility, a chivalrous attitude towards women, degenerated. The danger created by original sin is that many men use their strength and become brutal and abuse women or look at women as mere objects of pleasure.
“Eve was also profoundly affected by original sin,” she added.
“To my mind the conflict between man and woman can only be healed by striving for holiness,” she said. “There are many things Christopher West does not mention.”
Additionally, she charged that West does not mention the Old Testament figures who fell to sexual sin: David, King of Israel, who was blessed in “an extraordinary way” but ordered the murder of the husband of a woman with whom David committed adultery.
“Adulteries lead to murder. It is one of the most abominable stories you can imagine,” she said, explaining the Prophet Nathan’s rebuke of David led to the composition of Psalm 50.
She said it was upsetting to her as a youth to learn that a young man who prayed for “the straight and honest heart so that I may serve my people” went on to have 750 concubines.
“How can you be so good when you’re twenty, and lead such an abominable life when you’re seventy?” she asked. “As far as I can tell, this is something that Christopher West forgets, in this sphere which is extremely dangerous.”
She reported that a priest friend of hers had told her 90 percent of the sins that men accuse themselves of involve the Sixth Commandment against adultery.
Christopher West’s approach makes him forget that sex is “an extreme danger.” Though sex can be sanctified, that sanctification implies “a humility, a spirit of reverence, and totally avoiding the vulgarity that he uses in his language.”
“I’m shocked and horrified by the words that he uses. His mere mention of Hugh Hefner is to my mind an abomination.”
Mary Shivanandan, a theologian who authored the book “Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage in the Light of John Paul II’s Anthropology,” was also critical of West’s remarks.
“The sublime teaching of John Paul II’s theology of sexuality is not well served by West’s comparison to Hugh Hefner and his playboy bunnies,” she told CNA in a Monday e-mail. “The late pope had a profound reverence for God’s plan for human love, which such a comparison, no matter how well intentioned, can only diminish and degrade.”
Also providing comment for CNA was Fr. José Granados, a theologian who co-authored with Supreme Knight of Columbus Carl Andersen a book on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body titled “Called to Love.”
Fr. Granados said West’s suggestion that John Paul II took the sexual revolution a step further was “highly inadequate and open to serious misunderstanding.” He explained that Puritanism shares with pornography a negative vision of the body, viewing it without reference to the dignity of the person and to God’s plan for man.
“It is deprived of its symbolism and its language,” he said. While Puritanism attempts to silence the body and its urges, the sexual revolution exalts them “as an absolute.”
“Pornography is in no sense an attempt to recover the beauty of the body and sexuality, but a sign of despair regarding this beauty and the possibility of finding meaning in human love,” he said.
John Paul II’s Theology of the Body recovers “the meaning of the body” with reference to love and to man and God, Fr. Granados told CNA.
“The Pope’s proposal is not just about sexuality, but about the truth of love as the foundation of the person’s dignity and the meaning of reality; and about the family as the place where the person finds himself and his way towards happiness.
“Moreover, one of the results of the sexual revolution is precisely the pansexualism that surrounds our society. We cannot respond with a different kind of pansexualism, with a sort of ‘Catholic sexual revolution,’ which in the end promotes a similar obsession with sex, even if ‘holy’.”
「我把平安留給你們，我將我的平安賜給你們。」(若14:27)
在舊約，『平安』表示完美、健康、幸福、愉快、恩賜等。它的相反辭便是『戰爭』、『罪惡』。
「那裡有正義，那裡有上主的和平」（詠85:11）
耶穌自己就是我們的和平：「因為基督是我們的和平，他使雙方合而為一；他以自己的肉身，拆毀了中間阻隔的牆壁，就是雙方(猶太人和外邦人)的仇恨，並廢除了由規條命令所組成的法律，為把雙方在自己身上造成一個新人，而成就和平。」（弗2:14-15）
耶穌的門徒剛聽到耶穌的允諾：「我必不留下你們為孤兒。」現在他還說：「我把平安留給你們，我將我的平安賜給你們。」這平安，就是所有猶太人梦寐以求的幸福。聽到這許諾，那有不雀躍萬分！
耶穌的期望，是每一位他的子女都能享受到圓滿無缺的喜樂。從『國王設婚宴』的比喻，可見一斑：「你快出去，到城中的大街小巷，把那些貧窮的、殘廢的、瞎眼的、瘸腿的，都領到這裡來‥‥到大道上和籬笆邊，勉強人進來，好坐滿我的屋子。」(路14:21-23)
耶穌沒有遺忘我們每一個人！
「不要作個無信的人！」
梁達材神父
