神父講道 – 四旬期第四週 (週二) (2010年3月16日)

恭讀聖若望福音 5:1-16
那時,正是猶太人的慶節,耶穌便上了耶路撒冷。在耶路撒冷靠近羊門有一個水池,希伯來語叫作貝特匝達,周圍有五個走廊。在這些走廊內,躺著許多患病的、瞎眼的、瘸腿的、痲痺的,都在等候水動。因為有天使按時下到水池中,攪動池水;水動後,第一個下去的,無論他患什麼病,必會痊癒。在那裏有一個人,患病已三十八年。耶穌看見這人躺在那裏,知道他已病了多時,就向他說:「你願意痊愈嗎?」那病人回答說:「主,我沒有人在水動的時候,把我放到水池中;我正到的時候,別人在我以前已經下去了。」耶穌向他說:「起來,拿起你的床,行走吧!」那人便立刻痊愈了,拿起自己的床,行走起來;那一天正是安息日。於是猶太人對那痊愈的人說:「今天是安息日,不許你拿床。」他回答他們說:「叫我痊愈了的那一位給我說:拿起你的床,行走吧!」他們就問他:「給你說拿起床來,而行走的那人是誰?」那痊愈的人卻不知道他是誰,因為那地方人多,耶穌已躲開了。事後耶穌在聖殿裏遇見了,他便向對說:「看,你已痊愈了,不要再犯罪,免得你遭遇更不幸的事。」那人就去告訴猶太人:使他痊愈的就是耶穌。為此猶太人便開始迫害耶穌,因為他在安息日作這樣的事。

—基督的福音。

(4th Week of Lent – Tuesday)

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 5:1-16

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Hebrew called Beth-za’tha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, paralyzed.5 One man was there, who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew that he had been lying there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is troubled, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your pallet, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his pallet and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, it is not lawful for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me said to me, `Take up your pallet, and walk.'” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, `Take up your pallet, and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the Sabbath.

—The Gospel of the Lord.

往神父講道目錄

Children of Medjugorje March 2010 Newsletter

March 15, 2010

Dear Children of Medjugorje, praised be Jesus and Mary!

1 – On March 2, 2010, Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross in spite of persistent rain. After the apparition, Mirjana gave the following message:

“Dear children! In this special time of your effort to be all the closer to my Son, to His suffering, but also to the love with which He bore it, I desire to tell you that I am with you. I will help you triumph over errors and temptations with my grace. I will teach you love, love which wipes away all sins and makes you perfect, love which gives you the peace of my Son now and forever. Peace with you and in you, because I am the Queen of Peace. Thank you.”

2 – What should we do when faced with the natural disasters that have surged over the last few months? Being afraid would be the last thing to do! The Gospa gave us all the necessary keys to experience peace in our hearts, but one should get a hold of them this very day, for when misfortune comes and all the material securities collapse, it is already quite late!

Mary tells us, “The one who prays is not afraid of the future, and the one who fasts is not afraid of evil” (January 25, 2001).

“The families that take God the Father as the father of the family, that take me (the Blessed Mother) as the mother of the family, and the Church as their home, these families have nothing to fear about the future, nothing to fear about the secrets.” ( To Mirjana).

“Only by fasting and prayer can you prevent wars, stop wars, and suspend natural laws (1981).

The series of natural disasters may continue. I am not a prophet, but it seems evident. On the night of January 1st, when the Gospa appeared in front of Marija on Podbrdo Hill in the presence of a huge crowd, I was struck to learn that she was surrounded by a legion of Angels. Usually on great feasts, she comes with 3 Angels. I noticed this very unusual detail and I wondered why. Now I understand! More than ever we need heavenly help for this year and the years to come! Read over all the messages of the 2nd of year 2009, you will see that the Gospa strongly warned us. “You have lost yourselves, my children!”…”You are so immersed in sin”… “My heart is seized with great pain when I look into your hears”, etc.

Saint Paul tells us that, “The wages of sin is death”(Rom 6:23). The world is running faster and faster on the way to sin, even to the point of wanting to impose sin to all by laws and all kinds of pressures. God does not send death, but it is us who make it come. A friend of mine was called a “criminal” in the hospital because she did not want to get an abortion for her baby diagnosed with Down syndrome. (Then the little girl was born quite normal). Good is called ‘evil’ and evil ‘good’.

From the messages and the whole school of the Gospa during these last 29 years, it is clear that we must prepare for trials, but with great hope! Be among those who pray constantly, hope, believe, love, and who give courage to people who do not know Jesus yet. Every trial has an end, but God’s love for us doesn’t! The “New Times” which the Gospa refers to in her messages will come in God’s time. We have no idea how great and beautiful they are going to be!

I can see that no visionary is pessimistic about the future, even if they know that the world is going to be distressed for a while. But God will have the last word. The Gospa will fulfill her plan, even by including her own enemies in it!

So, it is high time that we: 1) Really let go of sin, make sure we are in the state of grace (not living in mortal sin) and take the hand of our Blessed Mother to be led by her. 2) Make good and sincere confessions, and reconcile without delay. 3) Receive fervently Holy Communion every time circumstances permit and attend Holy Hour. 4) Carefully put into practice the 10 Words of Life that God gave us through Moses and that Jesus recalled to us in the Gospel (the Decalogue). 5) Change the direction of our lives radically; remember that the goal of our lives is Heaven so put God in the first place instead of earthly well-being or other idols. 6) Practice charity toward all, for “charity covers a multitude of sins” (1Pet 4:8). 7) Choose humility and simplicity of life, constantly praising God, like the Blessed Mother and St Joseph in Nazareth, and prepare the coming of the Lord. Offer every suffering for the conversion of souls, for unrepentant sinners threatened with great despair.

Psalm 46, that describes so well the events of today’s world, brings us a luminous answer:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in distress. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

”And you, who are far from God’s mercy, said the Gospa, convert so that God may not become deaf to your prayers and that He may not be too late for you.” (Aug 25, 2007).

“I will help you triumph over errors and trials, with my grace”, (March 2, 2010).

3 – A little Quiz to live this Lent and be better prepared for Easter:

a – Name at least 7 of the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit according to St. Paul.

b – Name at least 5 of the 7 evils mentioned by Jesus that come out of the heart of man and make him impure.

c – According to the prophet Isaiah, what is the fasting that pleases the Lord? Name at least 4 of the 7 points.

dIn what parable of Jesus do you find a Jew who fasts twice a week?

e – Name 5 of the 7 qualities of Charity, according to St. Paul.

(Answers are in PS 3 but please don’t look at them before you look up the answers real hard!)

4- At the Vatican – Pope Benedict XVI named a Commission to study the phenomenon of Medjugorje, which has become the third most visited sanctuary in Europe. The Commission, connected to the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, would work under the presidency of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former vicar of the Pope for the diocese of Rome. The Cardinal would be an intermediary between Medjugorje and the Pope, keeping him well informed. (The Vatican should still confirm this information). Let’s pray a lot for Cardinal Ruini and for all the people who work on this dossier, since they have a big responsibility before God and before men.

Let’s not forget that, beyond any Commission, it is actually the Gospa herself who holds in her hands the dossier of Medjugorje. But she needs each one of us to hasten the realization of her plan, because the smallest one among us is very important in her plan!

5 – Marthe Robin’s writings on the Passion are now published in French! (See PS) Marthe Robin is a great French mystic, stigmatized for 50 years. She was born in Heaven on February 6, 1981, just before the apparitions in Medjugorje began.

Her cause for beatification was opened in Rome. Here is a word from Marthe that inspires peace amidst the tremors: “I can so much see how His adorable will is realized through everything, even what is not desired by Him, that I can only contemplate and adore in silence”.

6 – The year of Priests: We can recite for a month this prayer composed by St. Thérèse.

“0 Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of your divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the cross; priests, who as a pledge of your own most tender love, will lovingly give your divine Son to the souls of men. May your priests be faithful guardians of your Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for your beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in your school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of your own spotless love.“

7 – Beware! Two important pieces of information to pass on to all: At the The International Meeting for Leaders of Peace Centres and Međugorje Prayer and Charity groups, it was stated that the parish now requires to see the ‘celebret’ of the visiting priests. On arrival to the parish, all priests should present their celebret to the information center, where a copy will be made and filed. The information center will then present the priest with a badge which will allow him to celebrate mass and hear confessions at the parish. If they don’t have it, they won’t be able to celebrate Mass nor hear Confessions.

From the Ministry of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo: Children will need to have their own identity papers. If they are only on their parents’ passports, they will not be admitted to enter the country! As of right now, this decision is solely for Italian pilgrims, although it may be extended to other countries later

Dearest Gospa, what would we do without you!?

But we do not want to let you be without us. We want to be fully yours in pain as in joy! Totus Tuus!

Sister Emmanuel +

(Translated from French)

一言為定 (2010年3月15日)

「除非你們看到神跡和奇事,你們總是不信。」(若4:48)
默西亞的概念,為猶太人,已深入人心。他們認為這位『達味之子』將要復興達味王國。所以,與猶太人有血緣關係的撒瑪黎雅人,亦深明其意義。
這次,耶穌是從撒瑪黎雅地方來到他自己的家鄉加里肋亞。在撒瑪黎雅的時候,耶穌在泉傍,與一婦人交談。當耶穌說出那婦人曾經有過五個丈夫的時候,那婦人異常驚異,便對村民說:「你們來看! 有一個人說出了我所作過的一切事: 莫非他就是默西亞嗎?」 (若4:29)
耶穌感嘆的是,一位異族人,很快便感應出他是默西亞,但自己的同胞,連行了大聖蹟(變水為酒),仍然惘然。
可見,當人們見到出身寒微的耶穌時(『他的父親不是木匠若瑟?』),已封閉了接受耶穌為默西亞的心眼。故當伯多祿說出耶穌為天主子、為默西亞的時候,耶穌對他說:「「約納的兒子西滿,你是有福的,因為不是肉和血啟示了你,而是我在天之父。」(瑪16:17)
信仰的基礎是來自聖神的啟示,不是來自個人的智慧。假若沒有這份從天上來的靈感,我們的心眼仍然是矇閉的。
耶穌在十字架上去世時,只有百夫長(羅馬人)說:「這人真是天主子!」(谷15:39;瑪27:54)
耶穌的救恩是普世性的;幾時人願意開放心靈時,神恩將會 沛降在他的靈魂內。否則,雖然我們面對真理,我們仍然會視而不見,聽而不聞。
梁達材神父