虛心渴慕天主的慈愛 Humbly desire God's mercy

二月三日
主題：虛心渴慕天主的慈愛

是甚麼事物令人拒絕天主的恩寵呢？黑落德王的故事是一個經典的個案。
權勢削弱了黑落德的自我約束能力。當自己兄弟斐理伯的妻子黑落狄雅，主動投懷送抱時候，黑落德便把梅瑟的法律拋諸腦後，掃到地氈底，肆無忌憚地享受飛來艷福。當若翰洗者履行先知的任務，苦口婆心告誡他的時候，這是天主給予黑落德一個悔改的機會。可惜黑落德沒有理會。之後，黑落德高估了自己的聰明，以為把洗者若翰收監，便可以保護他不受黑落狄雅的謀害。可惜，酗酒進一步削弱了他的自衛能力。他當眾許下的諾言，不但暴露了他心底的淫慾，更把自己推向騎虎難下的處境。最後，黑落德敗於自己的淫慾（貪戀黑落狄雅的女兒）和驕傲（為了誓言和同席的人）之下，殺死了洗者若翰。

從黑落德王的個案，可見遵守天主的誡命，是第一度防線，亦是領受天主恩寵的基本功。現代人，尤其是接受過少許神學訓練的人，很容易看輕罪過，覺得祗要凡事憑良心做人，問心無悔，便不算犯大罪。這是危險的。且看，黑落德也是「好心」監禁洗者若翰，結果做了壞事。所以，第二步必須下苦功修德，培養健康的生活習慣，掌握自己的慾望。孔子曾這樣說：「吾未見好德如好色者。」【論語‧子罕】可見，人不能低估性慾的生命力，我們必須把它昇華，去建設家庭、社會和文化。最後，我們必須存心謙下，不能讓驕傲充昏頭腦，作出後悔莫及的決定。因謙遜而認識到自己的不足，全心渴求天主的恩寵。這樣，天主恩寵必滾滾而來。
天父啊！讓我們能真心渴慕祢的慈愛。亞孟。
生命恩泉

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February 3, 2017
(Mark 6:14-29)
Theme: Humbly desire God's mercy

What makes people reject the grace of God? The story of Herod Antipas is a classic case.
Authority reduced the self-restrain of Herod. When his brother's wife Herodias seduced him, Herod forgot all about the Mosaic Law and swept them under the carpet and enjoyed this unasked for affair. In discharging his prophetic role, John the Baptist reprimanded him. Actually, God was giving Herod an opportunity to repent. It was a pity that Herod ignored it. Then Herod overestimated his own intelligence. He thought that by putting the Baptist in his custody, Herodias would not have any chance to murder the Baptist. Unfortunately, drunkenness further reduced his self-defence. When he vowed in the public, not only was his lust exposed, but he also pushed himself into a dilemma. In the end, Herod was defeated by his own lust (of Herodias' daughter) and pride (of his vow and before his guests) and had the Baptist beheaded.

From the case of Herod, we can see that obeying the commandments is the first line of defence. It is also the foundation of receiving God's grace. Modern people, especially those who have received some superficial theological trainings, do not take sins seriously enough. They feel that when they act according to their conscience without regret, the wrongs are not sins. This attitude is dangerous. Take a look at Herod. He put the Baptist into prison out of good intention. In the end, he killed the Baptist. Thus, the second step is to work really hard to cultivate noble virtues, to build up healthy daily habits and to take control over our desires. Confucius said, "Ego nondum vidi, qui amet virtutem sicut amat pulchram speciem." (Analect IX:17) Thus, men should never underestimate the potency of sexual desires. We have to sublime it to build up our family, society and civilization. Lastly, we need to be humble. Don't allow our mind to be drunk with pride and make regrettable decisions. Let humility make us know our inadequacy and desire God's grace with our whole heart. Then, God's grace will flow non-stop.
Heavenly Father, allow us to truly desire Your mercy. Amen.