修道生活的原則與基礎
《神操》23〈原則與基礎〉：
「人受造的目的，是為讚美、崇敬事奉我們的天主，因此而拯救自己的靈魂。世界上的一切都是為人而造的，為幫助他追求他所以受造的目的。結論是：對於取用世物，常該看自己受造的目的；它們能夠幫助多少，便取用多少；能夠妨礙多少，便放棄多少。
因此，我們對於一切受造物，在不被禁止而能自由選擇的事上，必須保持平心和不偏不倚的態度，就是：在我們這方面，並不重視健康甚於疾病，不重視財富甚於貧窮，不重視尊榮甚於屈辱，也不重視長壽甚於短命，其他一切，莫不如此。
總而言之，我們所願意、所選擇的，只是那更能引我們達到受造的目的事物。」
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「對於取用世物，常該看自己受造的目的；它們能夠幫助多少，便取用多少；能夠妨礙多少，便放棄多少。」我對這番話很有同感，修道生活就是要不斷作出取捨，要在善用及妄用中取得平衡並不容易。對事物的依戀，往往成為我們修德成聖的障礙。
多年來，我在互聯網上獲得許多教會資訊，被人稱作「活百科全書」，我也感到自豪，並樂此不疲，但我慢慢發現自己偏重理性，不大懂得表達個人感受。在今年的週年避靜中，天主邀請我捨棄偏重理性的喜好。執著或捨棄，往往在一念之間，不過，從中所獲得的果實卻有天淵之別。
「我已選擇耶穌。」在明供聖體中，在神聖救主面前，我反覆默念自己的選擇。選擇耶穌，就是選擇十字架，意味著要面對痛苦和困難、犧牲自己、死於舊我。其實修道生活就是一條一生不斷選擇耶穌基督的道路，就是以喜樂的心投向基督、參與十字架的冒險之旅。
新年伊始，我願效法善牧基督，空虛自己，順聽天主的聲音，好能承行祂的聖意。亞孟。
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friday, June 19, 2009
Pope's Letter on Year for Priests
Pope's Letter on Year for Priests
"The Priesthood Is the Love of the Heart of Jesus"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the letter Benedict XVI sent to the priests of the world on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.
On Friday, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, Benedict XVI will inaugurate this Jubilee Year for Priests during Vespers in the Vatican Basilica.
* * *
Dear Brother Priests,
On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 - a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy - I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests" in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus", the saintly Cure of Ars would often say. This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as "friends of Christ", whom He has called by name, chosen and sent?
I still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person. I also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. Yet the expression of St. John Mary also makes us think of Christ's pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I am also led to think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?
There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgement of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realisation of the greatness of God's gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. Here the teaching and example of St. John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Cure of Ars was quite humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: "A good shepherd, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy". He spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: "O, how great is the priest! ... If he realised what he is, he would die. ... God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host". Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the Sacraments, he would say: "Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put Him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest. ... After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he fully realise what he is". These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the Sacrament of the Priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: "Were we to fully realise what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love. ... Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth. ... What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods. ... Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshipping the beasts there. ... The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you".
He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: "There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there". As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ's presence and to bear witness to His saving mercy: "[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!". With this prayer he entered upon his mission. The Cure devoted himself completely to his parish's conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care. Dear brother priests, let us ask the Lord Jesus for the grace to learn for ourselves something of the pastoral plan of St. John Mary Vianney! The first thing we need to learn is the complete identification of the man with his ministry. In Jesus, person and mission tend to coincide: all Christ's saving activity was, and is, an expression of His "filial consciousness" which from all eternity stands before the Father in an attitude of loving submission to His will. In a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Certainly this is not to forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but neither can we overlook the extraordinary fruitfulness of the encounter between the ministry's objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister. The Cure of Ars immediately set about this patient and humble task of harmonising his life as a minister with the holiness of the ministry he had received, by deciding to "live", physically, in his parish church: As his first biographer tells us: "Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed".
The pious excess of his devout biographer should not blind us to the fact that the Cure also knew how to "live" actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organised popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the "Providence" (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.
His example naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of co-operation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, "that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, 'loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour'". Here we ought to recall the Vatican Council II's hearty encouragement to priests "to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of the dignity of the laity and of the special role they have to play in the Church's mission. ... They should be willing to listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes, and acknowledge their experience and competence in the different fields of human activity. In this way they will be able together with them to discern the signs of the times".
St. John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. "One need not say much to pray well" - the Cure explained to them - "We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to Him, let us rejoice in His sacred presence. That is the best prayer". And he would urge them: "Come to communion, my brothers and sisters, come to Jesus. Come to live from Him in order to live with Him. ... "Of course you are not worthy of him, but you need him!". This way of educating the faithful to the Eucharistic presence and to communion proved most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Those present said that "it was not possible to find a finer example of worship. ... He gazed upon the Host with immense love". "All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass" - he would say - "since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God". He was convinced that the fervour of a priest's life depended entirely upon the Mass: "The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!". He was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice: "What a good thing it is for a priest each morning to offer himself to God in sacrifice!"
This deep personal identification with the Sacrifice of the Cross led him - by a sole inward movement - from the altar to the confessional. Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this Sacrament. In France, at the time of the Cure of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion. Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence. He thus created a "virtuous" circle. By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become "a great hospital of souls". His first biographer relates that "the grace he obtained [for the conversion of sinners] was so powerful that it would pursue them, not leaving them a moment of peace!". The saintly Cure reflected something of the same idea when he said: "It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God Himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to Him". "This good Saviour is so filled with love that He seeks us everywhere".
We priests should feel that the following words, which he put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: "I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite". From St. John Mary Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the Sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the centre of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the "dialogue of salvation" which it entails. The Cure of Ars dealt with different penitents in different ways. Those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God's forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the "flood of divine mercy" which sweeps everything away by its vehemence. If someone was troubled by the thought of his own frailty and inconstancy, and fearful of sinning again, the Cure would unveil the mystery of God's love in these beautiful and touching words: "The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, He already knows that you will sin again, yet He still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: He even forces Himself to forget the future, so that He can grant us His forgiveness!". But to those who made a lukewarm and rather indifferent confession of sin, he clearly demonstrated by his own tears of pain how "abominable" this attitude was: "I weep because you don't weep", he would say. "If only the Lord were not so good! But He is so good! One would have to be a brute to treat so good a Father this way!". He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God's own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor. To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God's love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with Him and dwelling in His presence: "Everything in God's sight, everything with God, everything to please God. ... How beautiful it is!". And he taught them to pray: "My God, grant me the grace to love You as much as I possibly can".
In his time the Cure of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord's merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love. Thanks to the Word and the Sacraments of Jesus, John Mary Vianney built up his flock, although he often trembled from a conviction of his personal inadequacy, and desired more than once to withdraw from the responsibilities of the parish ministry out of a sense of his unworthiness. Nonetheless, with exemplary obedience he never abandoned his post, consumed as he was by apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. He sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism: "The great misfortune for us parish priests - he lamented - is that our souls grow tepid"; meaning by this that a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living. He himself kept a tight rein on his body, with vigils and fasts, lest it rebel against his priestly soul. Nor did he avoid self-mortification for the good of the souls in his care and as a help to expiating the many sins he heard in confession. To a priestly confrere he explained: "I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place". Aside from the actual penances which the Cure of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus' own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the "precious cost" of redemption.
In today's world, as in the troubled times of the Cure of Ars, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, "modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses". Lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: "Are we truly pervaded by the Word of God? Is that Word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that Word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this Word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?". Just as Jesus called the Twelve to be with Him, and only later sent them forth to preach, so too in our days priests are called to assimilate that "new style of life" which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and taken up by the Apostles.
It was complete commitment to this "new style of life" which marked the priestly ministry of the Cure of Ars. Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Letter "Sacerdotii nostri primordia", published in 1959 on the first centenary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, presented his asceticism with special reference to the "three evangelical counsels" which the Pope considered necessary also for priests: "even though priests are not bound to embrace these evangelical counsels by virtue of the clerical state, these counsels nonetheless offer them, as they do all the faithful, the surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection". The Cure of Ars lived the "evangelical counsels" in a way suited to his priestly state. His poverty was not the poverty of a religious or a monk, but that proper to a priest: while managing much money (since well-to-do pilgrims naturally took an interest in his charitable works), he realised that everything had been donated to his church, his poor, his orphans, the girls of his "Providence", his families of modest means. Consequently, he "was rich in giving to others and very poor for himself". As he would explain: "My secret is simple: give everything away; hold nothing back". When he lacked money, he would say amiably to the poor who knocked at his door: "Today I'm poor just like you, I'm one of you". At the end of his life, he could say with absolute tranquillity: "I no longer have anything. The good Lord can call me whenever he wants!". His chastity, too, was that demanded of a priest for his ministry. It could be said that it was a chastity suited to one who must daily touch the Eucharist, who contemplates it blissfully and with that same bliss offers it to his flock. It was said of him that "he radiated chastity"; the faithful would see this when he turned and gazed at the tabernacle with loving eyes". Finally, Saint John Mary Vianney's obedience found full embodiment in his conscientious fidelity to the daily demands of his ministry. We know how he was tormented by the thought of his inadequacy for parish ministry and by a desire to flee "in order to bewail his poor life, in solitude". Only obedience and a thirst for souls convinced him to remain at his post. As he explained to himself and his flock: "There are no two good ways of serving God. There is only one: serve him as he desires to be served". He considered this the golden rule for a life of obedience: "Do only what can be offered to the good Lord".
In this context of a spirituality nourished by the practice of the evangelical counsels, I would like to invite all priests, during this Year dedicated to them, to welcome the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church, not least through the ecclesial movements and the new communities. "In his gifts the Spirit is multifaceted. ... He breathes where He wills. He does so unexpectedly, in unexpected places, and in ways previously unheard of, ... but he also shows us that He works with a view to the one body and in the unity of the one body". In this regard, the statement of the Decree "Presbyterorum Ordinis" continues to be timely: "While testing the spirits to discover if they be of God, priests must discover with faith, recognise with joy and foster diligently the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, whether these be of a humble or more exalted kind". These gifts, which awaken in many people the desire for a deeper spiritual life, can benefit not only the lay faithful but the clergy as well. The communion between ordained and charismatic ministries can provide "a helpful impulse to a renewed commitment by the Church in proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of hope and charity in every corner of the world". I would also like to add, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation "Pastores Dabo Vobis" of Pope John Paul II, that the ordained ministry has a radical "communitarian form" and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their bishop. This communion between priests and their bishop, grounded in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and made manifest in Eucharistic concelebration, needs to be translated into various concrete expressions of an effective and affective priestly fraternity. Only thus will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated.
The Pauline Year now coming to its close invites us also to look to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who represents a splendid example of a priest entirely devoted to his ministry. "The love of Christ urges us on" - he wrote - "because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died". And he adds: "He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him Who died and was raised for them". Could a finer programme be proposed to any priest resolved to advance along the path of Christian perfection?
Dear brother priests, the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney (1859) follows upon the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes (1858). In 1959 Blessed Pope John XXIII noted that "shortly before the Cure of Ars completed his long and admirable life, the Immaculate Virgin appeared in another part of France to an innocent and humble girl, and entrusted to her a message of prayer and penance which continues, even a century later, to yield immense spiritual fruits. The life of this holy priest whose centenary we are commemorating in a real way anticipated the great supernatural truths taught to the seer of Massabielle. He was greatly devoted to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; in 1836 he had dedicated his parish church to Our Lady Conceived without Sin and he greeted the dogmatic definition of this truth in 1854 with deep faith and great joy". The Cure would always remind his faithful that "after giving us all he could, Jesus Christ wishes in addition to bequeath us His most precious possession, His Blessed Mother".
To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Cure of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to His Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: "In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world". Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by Him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!
"The Priesthood Is the Love of the Heart of Jesus"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the letter Benedict XVI sent to the priests of the world on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.
On Friday, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, Benedict XVI will inaugurate this Jubilee Year for Priests during Vespers in the Vatican Basilica.
* * *
Dear Brother Priests,
On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 - a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy - I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests" in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus", the saintly Cure of Ars would often say. This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as "friends of Christ", whom He has called by name, chosen and sent?
I still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person. I also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. Yet the expression of St. John Mary also makes us think of Christ's pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I am also led to think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?
There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgement of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realisation of the greatness of God's gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. Here the teaching and example of St. John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Cure of Ars was quite humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: "A good shepherd, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy". He spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: "O, how great is the priest! ... If he realised what he is, he would die. ... God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host". Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the Sacraments, he would say: "Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put Him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest. ... After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he fully realise what he is". These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the Sacrament of the Priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: "Were we to fully realise what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love. ... Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth. ... What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods. ... Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshipping the beasts there. ... The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you".
He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: "There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there". As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ's presence and to bear witness to His saving mercy: "[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!". With this prayer he entered upon his mission. The Cure devoted himself completely to his parish's conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care. Dear brother priests, let us ask the Lord Jesus for the grace to learn for ourselves something of the pastoral plan of St. John Mary Vianney! The first thing we need to learn is the complete identification of the man with his ministry. In Jesus, person and mission tend to coincide: all Christ's saving activity was, and is, an expression of His "filial consciousness" which from all eternity stands before the Father in an attitude of loving submission to His will. In a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Certainly this is not to forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but neither can we overlook the extraordinary fruitfulness of the encounter between the ministry's objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister. The Cure of Ars immediately set about this patient and humble task of harmonising his life as a minister with the holiness of the ministry he had received, by deciding to "live", physically, in his parish church: As his first biographer tells us: "Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed".
The pious excess of his devout biographer should not blind us to the fact that the Cure also knew how to "live" actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organised popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the "Providence" (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.
His example naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of co-operation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, "that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, 'loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour'". Here we ought to recall the Vatican Council II's hearty encouragement to priests "to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of the dignity of the laity and of the special role they have to play in the Church's mission. ... They should be willing to listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes, and acknowledge their experience and competence in the different fields of human activity. In this way they will be able together with them to discern the signs of the times".
St. John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. "One need not say much to pray well" - the Cure explained to them - "We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to Him, let us rejoice in His sacred presence. That is the best prayer". And he would urge them: "Come to communion, my brothers and sisters, come to Jesus. Come to live from Him in order to live with Him. ... "Of course you are not worthy of him, but you need him!". This way of educating the faithful to the Eucharistic presence and to communion proved most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Those present said that "it was not possible to find a finer example of worship. ... He gazed upon the Host with immense love". "All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass" - he would say - "since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God". He was convinced that the fervour of a priest's life depended entirely upon the Mass: "The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!". He was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice: "What a good thing it is for a priest each morning to offer himself to God in sacrifice!"
This deep personal identification with the Sacrifice of the Cross led him - by a sole inward movement - from the altar to the confessional. Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this Sacrament. In France, at the time of the Cure of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion. Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence. He thus created a "virtuous" circle. By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become "a great hospital of souls". His first biographer relates that "the grace he obtained [for the conversion of sinners] was so powerful that it would pursue them, not leaving them a moment of peace!". The saintly Cure reflected something of the same idea when he said: "It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God Himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to Him". "This good Saviour is so filled with love that He seeks us everywhere".
We priests should feel that the following words, which he put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: "I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite". From St. John Mary Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the Sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the centre of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the "dialogue of salvation" which it entails. The Cure of Ars dealt with different penitents in different ways. Those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God's forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the "flood of divine mercy" which sweeps everything away by its vehemence. If someone was troubled by the thought of his own frailty and inconstancy, and fearful of sinning again, the Cure would unveil the mystery of God's love in these beautiful and touching words: "The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, He already knows that you will sin again, yet He still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: He even forces Himself to forget the future, so that He can grant us His forgiveness!". But to those who made a lukewarm and rather indifferent confession of sin, he clearly demonstrated by his own tears of pain how "abominable" this attitude was: "I weep because you don't weep", he would say. "If only the Lord were not so good! But He is so good! One would have to be a brute to treat so good a Father this way!". He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God's own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor. To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God's love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with Him and dwelling in His presence: "Everything in God's sight, everything with God, everything to please God. ... How beautiful it is!". And he taught them to pray: "My God, grant me the grace to love You as much as I possibly can".
In his time the Cure of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord's merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love. Thanks to the Word and the Sacraments of Jesus, John Mary Vianney built up his flock, although he often trembled from a conviction of his personal inadequacy, and desired more than once to withdraw from the responsibilities of the parish ministry out of a sense of his unworthiness. Nonetheless, with exemplary obedience he never abandoned his post, consumed as he was by apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. He sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism: "The great misfortune for us parish priests - he lamented - is that our souls grow tepid"; meaning by this that a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living. He himself kept a tight rein on his body, with vigils and fasts, lest it rebel against his priestly soul. Nor did he avoid self-mortification for the good of the souls in his care and as a help to expiating the many sins he heard in confession. To a priestly confrere he explained: "I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place". Aside from the actual penances which the Cure of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus' own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the "precious cost" of redemption.
In today's world, as in the troubled times of the Cure of Ars, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, "modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses". Lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: "Are we truly pervaded by the Word of God? Is that Word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that Word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this Word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?". Just as Jesus called the Twelve to be with Him, and only later sent them forth to preach, so too in our days priests are called to assimilate that "new style of life" which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and taken up by the Apostles.
It was complete commitment to this "new style of life" which marked the priestly ministry of the Cure of Ars. Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Letter "Sacerdotii nostri primordia", published in 1959 on the first centenary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, presented his asceticism with special reference to the "three evangelical counsels" which the Pope considered necessary also for priests: "even though priests are not bound to embrace these evangelical counsels by virtue of the clerical state, these counsels nonetheless offer them, as they do all the faithful, the surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection". The Cure of Ars lived the "evangelical counsels" in a way suited to his priestly state. His poverty was not the poverty of a religious or a monk, but that proper to a priest: while managing much money (since well-to-do pilgrims naturally took an interest in his charitable works), he realised that everything had been donated to his church, his poor, his orphans, the girls of his "Providence", his families of modest means. Consequently, he "was rich in giving to others and very poor for himself". As he would explain: "My secret is simple: give everything away; hold nothing back". When he lacked money, he would say amiably to the poor who knocked at his door: "Today I'm poor just like you, I'm one of you". At the end of his life, he could say with absolute tranquillity: "I no longer have anything. The good Lord can call me whenever he wants!". His chastity, too, was that demanded of a priest for his ministry. It could be said that it was a chastity suited to one who must daily touch the Eucharist, who contemplates it blissfully and with that same bliss offers it to his flock. It was said of him that "he radiated chastity"; the faithful would see this when he turned and gazed at the tabernacle with loving eyes". Finally, Saint John Mary Vianney's obedience found full embodiment in his conscientious fidelity to the daily demands of his ministry. We know how he was tormented by the thought of his inadequacy for parish ministry and by a desire to flee "in order to bewail his poor life, in solitude". Only obedience and a thirst for souls convinced him to remain at his post. As he explained to himself and his flock: "There are no two good ways of serving God. There is only one: serve him as he desires to be served". He considered this the golden rule for a life of obedience: "Do only what can be offered to the good Lord".
In this context of a spirituality nourished by the practice of the evangelical counsels, I would like to invite all priests, during this Year dedicated to them, to welcome the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church, not least through the ecclesial movements and the new communities. "In his gifts the Spirit is multifaceted. ... He breathes where He wills. He does so unexpectedly, in unexpected places, and in ways previously unheard of, ... but he also shows us that He works with a view to the one body and in the unity of the one body". In this regard, the statement of the Decree "Presbyterorum Ordinis" continues to be timely: "While testing the spirits to discover if they be of God, priests must discover with faith, recognise with joy and foster diligently the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, whether these be of a humble or more exalted kind". These gifts, which awaken in many people the desire for a deeper spiritual life, can benefit not only the lay faithful but the clergy as well. The communion between ordained and charismatic ministries can provide "a helpful impulse to a renewed commitment by the Church in proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of hope and charity in every corner of the world". I would also like to add, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation "Pastores Dabo Vobis" of Pope John Paul II, that the ordained ministry has a radical "communitarian form" and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their bishop. This communion between priests and their bishop, grounded in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and made manifest in Eucharistic concelebration, needs to be translated into various concrete expressions of an effective and affective priestly fraternity. Only thus will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated.
The Pauline Year now coming to its close invites us also to look to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who represents a splendid example of a priest entirely devoted to his ministry. "The love of Christ urges us on" - he wrote - "because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died". And he adds: "He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him Who died and was raised for them". Could a finer programme be proposed to any priest resolved to advance along the path of Christian perfection?
Dear brother priests, the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney (1859) follows upon the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes (1858). In 1959 Blessed Pope John XXIII noted that "shortly before the Cure of Ars completed his long and admirable life, the Immaculate Virgin appeared in another part of France to an innocent and humble girl, and entrusted to her a message of prayer and penance which continues, even a century later, to yield immense spiritual fruits. The life of this holy priest whose centenary we are commemorating in a real way anticipated the great supernatural truths taught to the seer of Massabielle. He was greatly devoted to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; in 1836 he had dedicated his parish church to Our Lady Conceived without Sin and he greeted the dogmatic definition of this truth in 1854 with deep faith and great joy". The Cure would always remind his faithful that "after giving us all he could, Jesus Christ wishes in addition to bequeath us His most precious possession, His Blessed Mother".
To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Cure of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to His Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: "In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world". Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by Him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
情人節隨想
'For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.'
John 3:16
去年情人節當日收到以上這個電郵，今年仍然適用。它提醒我，惟有天主才是我們的情人，我們也是祂的情人，我們應當忠貞於祂。這令我想起教宗本篤十六世曾對一班準備晉鐸的修生說：「你們不要被其他東西誘惑，只讓耶穌、讓為教會服務的願望吸引你們。」
教宗在另一場合也曾說過：「為了與基督共融、默想聖容；為了在兄弟手足的身上、在日常事務中認出上主的聖容，就需要『純潔的手和純潔的心』。」如同聖女小德蘭向耶穌聖容祈禱時說：「印有耶穌聖容的心」。
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life.'
John 3:16
去年情人節當日收到以上這個電郵，今年仍然適用。它提醒我，惟有天主才是我們的情人，我們也是祂的情人，我們應當忠貞於祂。這令我想起教宗本篤十六世曾對一班準備晉鐸的修生說：「你們不要被其他東西誘惑，只讓耶穌、讓為教會服務的願望吸引你們。」
教宗在另一場合也曾說過：「為了與基督共融、默想聖容；為了在兄弟手足的身上、在日常事務中認出上主的聖容，就需要『純潔的手和純潔的心』。」如同聖女小德蘭向耶穌聖容祈禱時說：「印有耶穌聖容的心」。
Sunday, January 25, 2009
慈親指引
慈親指引 (莊宗澤神父創作)
慈親指引 聖善的母親 望教導使我心專注於主
耶穌將我輩 託付於妳手 求庇護使我都聽妳指引
在眾多聖母歌中，除了玉潔冰情、極溫良的母親外，我最喜歡的還包括這一首，有一段日子每天念玫瑰經後都會唱它。我很喜歡它的歌詞，每次唱著唱著都感覺和聖母媽媽很親近。
今早在聖母像前默想玫瑰經的榮福奧蹟時，我彷彿看見全體修院的弟兄圍在聖母身旁，有的站著，有的跪著敬禮她。那時候，我在心中將弟兄們都託付在聖母的保護下，使我們在聖召路上，都成為她的孝子，以及成為充滿聖德的司鐸和牧者。
雖然我不懂得很多有關聖母的事蹟(在這方面我很羨慕修院的弟兄，他們懂得很多，常向人傳誦聖母，且用美麗的詞彙來禮讚她)，我對聖母媽媽只懷著一份單純的信賴。在祈禱中，我想到自己加入教會和回應聖召，聖母雙手一直牽引著，心中祈求聖母媽媽繼續眷顧，使我在修道路上，透過每天聖言和聖事的滋養，加強對上主的渴慕，日漸肖似基督，成為上主忠信的僕人。
慈親指引 聖善的母親 望教導使我心專注於主
耶穌將我輩 託付於妳手 求庇護使我都聽妳指引
在眾多聖母歌中，除了玉潔冰情、極溫良的母親外，我最喜歡的還包括這一首，有一段日子每天念玫瑰經後都會唱它。我很喜歡它的歌詞，每次唱著唱著都感覺和聖母媽媽很親近。
今早在聖母像前默想玫瑰經的榮福奧蹟時，我彷彿看見全體修院的弟兄圍在聖母身旁，有的站著，有的跪著敬禮她。那時候，我在心中將弟兄們都託付在聖母的保護下，使我們在聖召路上，都成為她的孝子，以及成為充滿聖德的司鐸和牧者。
雖然我不懂得很多有關聖母的事蹟(在這方面我很羨慕修院的弟兄，他們懂得很多，常向人傳誦聖母，且用美麗的詞彙來禮讚她)，我對聖母媽媽只懷著一份單純的信賴。在祈禱中，我想到自己加入教會和回應聖召，聖母雙手一直牽引著，心中祈求聖母媽媽繼續眷顧，使我在修道路上，透過每天聖言和聖事的滋養，加強對上主的渴慕，日漸肖似基督，成為上主忠信的僕人。
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
保祿的心 基督的心
保祿書信是今年週年避靜的主題和內容，斐神父給我們講解和看了保祿書信的大部份內容。每天上午及下午都有一小時的道理，就是讀保祿書信，除了早禱、晚禱、彌撒、明供聖體外，其餘時間都讓我們自己看保祿書信和默想。「保祿的心 基督的心」是避靜的主題，每天以不同的保祿書信分不同專題講解，如：聖召、培育、祝聖/奉獻、使命、苦難、信德、望德、愛德、君王、司祭、先知。
最難得的是，透過這次避靜，可以將保祿的書信一篇篇慢慢讀，讀完再讀，不明白的時候可以向神父請教。自己默想時，都會用保祿書信來默想，每次擷取一兩節來默想，然後每天晚上寫靈修日記，記下默想及反省心得。我覺得很充實。
今次避靜，最觸動我的是保祿面對各種迫害、困難和十字架時的反應。他面對各種困難並沒有退縮，反而勇敢背起他的十字架，跟隨基督。縱然保祿三次求主叫那根刺遠離他，但他知道天主藉那根刺讓他明白，天主的恩寵為他夠用。我想起自己也有一些十字架，如讀書、發聲、與團體的關係等等，我也這樣跟神師分享，但我知道要依靠天主的恩寵，將十字架變成甘飴的十字架來面起，需要勇氣和願意。保祿的這份經驗鼓勵我要勇敢地走上去。
我心中渴望如保祿所說：「在我身上，帶有耶穌的烙印。」(迦6：17)保祿常以耶穌基督的十字來誇耀，這一點也提醒我要在生活中擁抱十字架。保祿在另一處說：「基督耶穌已奪得了我」(斐3：12)我回想自己的信仰路，我的心是否已讓耶穌基督奪得了，還是有其他東西成了我跟隨耶穌的阻礙？保祿自述：「怎樣以極度的謙遜，含著眼淚，歷經猶太人為我所設的陰謀，而忠信事奉主。」(宗20：19)在默想後，我許下今後要常以保祿精神來自勉，在生命末刻仍能夠像保祿一樣忠信事主。
我對聖保祿宗徒的熱愛有增無減，他對教會及羊群的關心，流露出父親及母親的心懷，堪作每位牧者的模範，我願意他常作我修道生活的模範及指引。
最難得的是，透過這次避靜，可以將保祿的書信一篇篇慢慢讀，讀完再讀，不明白的時候可以向神父請教。自己默想時，都會用保祿書信來默想，每次擷取一兩節來默想，然後每天晚上寫靈修日記，記下默想及反省心得。我覺得很充實。
今次避靜，最觸動我的是保祿面對各種迫害、困難和十字架時的反應。他面對各種困難並沒有退縮，反而勇敢背起他的十字架，跟隨基督。縱然保祿三次求主叫那根刺遠離他，但他知道天主藉那根刺讓他明白，天主的恩寵為他夠用。我想起自己也有一些十字架，如讀書、發聲、與團體的關係等等，我也這樣跟神師分享，但我知道要依靠天主的恩寵，將十字架變成甘飴的十字架來面起，需要勇氣和願意。保祿的這份經驗鼓勵我要勇敢地走上去。
我心中渴望如保祿所說：「在我身上，帶有耶穌的烙印。」(迦6：17)保祿常以耶穌基督的十字來誇耀，這一點也提醒我要在生活中擁抱十字架。保祿在另一處說：「基督耶穌已奪得了我」(斐3：12)我回想自己的信仰路，我的心是否已讓耶穌基督奪得了，還是有其他東西成了我跟隨耶穌的阻礙？保祿自述：「怎樣以極度的謙遜，含著眼淚，歷經猶太人為我所設的陰謀，而忠信事奉主。」(宗20：19)在默想後，我許下今後要常以保祿精神來自勉，在生命末刻仍能夠像保祿一樣忠信事主。
我對聖保祿宗徒的熱愛有增無減，他對教會及羊群的關心，流露出父親及母親的心懷，堪作每位牧者的模範，我願意他常作我修道生活的模範及指引。
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
聖女傅天娜：求賜仁慈待人的恩寵
上次提到我很喜歡聖女傅天娜這篇禱文：
求賜仁慈待人的恩寵
主啊，我願意完全被你歸化，成為你的仁慈的活肖像。我願天主最偉大的特性，也就是你奧妙無比的慈悲，藉著我的心與靈魂傳達到近人身上。
主啊，請幫助我，使我的眼目仁慈，不會因外表而懷疑或判斷別人，反之要在近人的靈魂裏尋找美善，並援救他們。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的耳朵仁慈，注意近人的需要，別對他們的痛苦漠不關心。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的口舌仁慈，絕不口出惡言，並對眾人說出安慰和寬恕的話。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的雙手仁慈，時常行善，只會幫助近人，把艱難和辛苦的工作留給自己。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的雙足仁慈，趕快協助近人，克服自己的勞累。服務近人時，我才獲得真正的休息。
求你幫助我，賜我仁慈的心，使我親自感受近人的一切痛苦。我要向所有人廣施愛心，對濫用我的好意的人，我也會誠懇相待。我願被關閉在耶穌最慈愛的聖心內，緘默地忍受我的痛苦。主啊，願你的慈愛存留我心。
求賜仁慈待人的恩寵
主啊，我願意完全被你歸化，成為你的仁慈的活肖像。我願天主最偉大的特性，也就是你奧妙無比的慈悲，藉著我的心與靈魂傳達到近人身上。
主啊，請幫助我，使我的眼目仁慈，不會因外表而懷疑或判斷別人，反之要在近人的靈魂裏尋找美善，並援救他們。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的耳朵仁慈，注意近人的需要，別對他們的痛苦漠不關心。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的口舌仁慈，絕不口出惡言，並對眾人說出安慰和寬恕的話。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的雙手仁慈，時常行善，只會幫助近人，把艱難和辛苦的工作留給自己。
主啊，求你幫助我，使我的雙足仁慈，趕快協助近人，克服自己的勞累。服務近人時，我才獲得真正的休息。
求你幫助我，賜我仁慈的心，使我親自感受近人的一切痛苦。我要向所有人廣施愛心，對濫用我的好意的人，我也會誠懇相待。我願被關閉在耶穌最慈愛的聖心內，緘默地忍受我的痛苦。主啊，願你的慈愛存留我心。
Thursday, November 20, 2008
修生、脩身(三)
(22/10)
「我原是一切聖徒中最小的，竟蒙受了這恩寵，得向外邦宣佈基督那不可測量的豐富福音。」(弗3：8)這是聖保祿宗徒的自白，而我也是團體中最小的一個(相對於團體中自幼領洗的弟兄，我只是三年新教友)，但竟蒙天主召選跟隨祂，理當感謝主恩，更應忠誠侍主，恆心到底。
同樣，在今天的福音中(路12：39-48)，耶穌對我們也有要求，要我們作祂忠心的僕人，「給誰的多，向誰要的也多，交託誰的多，向誰索取的也格外多。」(路12：48)，所以我們也要隨時準備好向天主交賬。
(5/11)
「你們中不論是誰，如不捨棄他的一切所有，不能做我的門徒。」(路14：33)
午後默想這節經文時，心中迴響著有什麼東西，是我應該捨棄呢？
我想大概是「虛榮」吧！一直以來，虛榮心常把我自己看得太重要，覺得自己較旁人優勝，常找機會表現自己。正是這份虛榮心讓自己自視過高，所以我要好好習練謙遜，捨棄這份虛榮心，在生活中承行天主在我身上的旨意。
(8/11)
「以愛去擁抱十字架」是林神父在月省中給我們眾多分享中，最吸引我的一個很重要的訊息。
為我來說，我的十字架是缺乏耐性，常希望可見到成果。但實際上，許多事情需要年月的累積和磨練，才能結出果實。
所以，透過修院七年的培育(人格成長、靈修、神哲學訓練、牧民體驗、團體生活等)，正是要我們學習等待，透過神長的鼓勵和鞭策，我們需要虛心學習，放低自己，讓天主聖神在我們身上工作，成為祂(陶匠)手中的器皿，彰顯主榮。
神父在彌撒中提醒我們要把自己的心放在耶穌基督內，而不是把耶穌基督放在我們心內，實在很有意思，值得細細默想箇中奧妙。
聖女傅天娜說得好，要用耶穌的眼睛觀察，用祂的耳朵聆聽，以祂的口宣講，用祂的手腳生活信仰。
「我原是一切聖徒中最小的，竟蒙受了這恩寵，得向外邦宣佈基督那不可測量的豐富福音。」(弗3：8)這是聖保祿宗徒的自白，而我也是團體中最小的一個(相對於團體中自幼領洗的弟兄，我只是三年新教友)，但竟蒙天主召選跟隨祂，理當感謝主恩，更應忠誠侍主，恆心到底。
同樣，在今天的福音中(路12：39-48)，耶穌對我們也有要求，要我們作祂忠心的僕人，「給誰的多，向誰要的也多，交託誰的多，向誰索取的也格外多。」(路12：48)，所以我們也要隨時準備好向天主交賬。
(5/11)
「你們中不論是誰，如不捨棄他的一切所有，不能做我的門徒。」(路14：33)
午後默想這節經文時，心中迴響著有什麼東西，是我應該捨棄呢？
我想大概是「虛榮」吧！一直以來，虛榮心常把我自己看得太重要，覺得自己較旁人優勝，常找機會表現自己。正是這份虛榮心讓自己自視過高，所以我要好好習練謙遜，捨棄這份虛榮心，在生活中承行天主在我身上的旨意。
(8/11)
「以愛去擁抱十字架」是林神父在月省中給我們眾多分享中，最吸引我的一個很重要的訊息。
為我來說，我的十字架是缺乏耐性，常希望可見到成果。但實際上，許多事情需要年月的累積和磨練，才能結出果實。
所以，透過修院七年的培育(人格成長、靈修、神哲學訓練、牧民體驗、團體生活等)，正是要我們學習等待，透過神長的鼓勵和鞭策，我們需要虛心學習，放低自己，讓天主聖神在我們身上工作，成為祂(陶匠)手中的器皿，彰顯主榮。
神父在彌撒中提醒我們要把自己的心放在耶穌基督內，而不是把耶穌基督放在我們心內，實在很有意思，值得細細默想箇中奧妙。
聖女傅天娜說得好，要用耶穌的眼睛觀察，用祂的耳朵聆聽，以祂的口宣講，用祂的手腳生活信仰。
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