心盲 Spiritual Blindness

四旬期第四主日（甲年）
主題：心盲

今天，讓我們從瞎子的角度，默想福音的教訓。
福音沒有說明瞎子的歲數，祗說「他成年了」（若9:21）。即是說，他已超過二十歲。二十年來在黑暗中生活的滋味，不是我們可以想像到的。瞎子可以做甚麼維生呢？不出所料，福音說瞎子行乞討飯為生（9:8）。瞎眼非常吃虧，因為他不能保護自身及財物的安全，縱使某天乞到很多金錢，也沒有能力保管，一定會被人偷去。所以，瞎子最懂得「天主經」的教導，全心信賴天主，祗求一天的用糧就滿足了。他們吃虧的第二方面，就是他們經常成為別人戲弄的對象。所以，梅瑟所立的法律中，就有禁止「將障礙物放在瞎子面前。」（肋19:14）的條文。瞎子的苦況，真是祗有瞎子纔明白。但值得安慰的，瞎眼的乞丐比較其他的乞丐有一個「好處」，最少他看不見別人的嘴臉，不用仰人鼻息，心裡好過一點。

可是，有一種精神上的痛苦，從他開明悟以來，就不停折磨著他。人是一種好奇的動物，天生喜歡問「為甚麼？」。瞎眼既是與生俱來，胎生瞎子根本不知道瞎眼是怎麼一回事，直到其他人告訴他，或者引領他的手接觸到一些其他人看見，而他看不到的事物和顏色。原來這就是瞎眼！這經驗是痛苦的，因為是一生的痛苦，因為胎生瞎眼當代是不治之症（若9:32）。很自然，這痛苦催逼他尋找答案，以減輕這份痛苦。瞎子跟著會問，為甚麼他是瞎眼的。問了十多年，相信已經有人告訴他，疾病是天主的懲罰，所以他生來瞎眼，是天主的懲罰。可能他相信了這個答案一段時間。之後，他便會開始質疑這答案，繼續問為甚麼天主要懲罰他？他犯過甚麼罪，惹來天主的懲罰？可能他曾想過不是自己的罪，而是父母遺下的罪孽，但他沒法肯定。他找不到令自己滿意的答案，一直被罪惡感折磨，直到今天他遇上了耶穌。耶穌的說話，的確是福音，解除了瞎子多年來的心結。竟然有人在他面前說：「不是他犯了罪，也不是他的父母，而是為叫天主的工作，在他身上顯揚出來。」（9:3）他的心靈真是如釋重負！從此，他可以快快樂樂地繼續盲下去，顯揚天主的工作了。

當然，天主的工作，何止要他心靈得到釋放。天主的工作，要進一步使他看見這個世界！於是耶穌動手抹他的眼睛，並吩咐瞎子完成他開始了的工程，派遣他去「被派遣的」水池洗眼（9:7）！我們不知道是瞎子自己去，還是有人帶他去，還是有人戲弄他，拖他去。無論如何，他按照耶穌的指示去做，「回來就看見了」（9:7）。瞎子看見第一批的人，就是平時施捨給他的人。但為甚麼要爭論呢？明明是我，還有另一個瞎眼的乞丐嗎？好像沒有吧。真希望親眼看見耶穌，親自感謝耶穌使他看見。本來以為群眾帶他去見耶穌，卻把他帶去見另一班人，又再複述一次看見的過程，不知為甚麼又起爭論。為甚麼能看見的人喜歡爭論，認為自己是對，別人是錯呢？瞎子得見光明的過程，還有甚麼值得爭論嗎？竟然有。有人懷疑瞎子並非瞎子！要找他的父母來盤問！其實這邏輯是錯的。倘若瞎子可以是假扮的，那些人憑甚麼肯定瞎子的父母真是他的父母呢？明明是我，明明我是胎生的瞎子，還可以假的嗎？

瞎子第一次看見自己的父母，本來是很快樂，很令人感動的事。可是，就在這第一次，他被父母公開遺棄了！這個天主要他看見的世界，竟然是如此可怕的。有一股勢力，可以迫使做父母的，不敢公開承認自己與親生子女的關係。現在的瞎子，已舉目無親了。不過，還有耶穌！這班人想迫瞎子同意耶穌是罪人，但耶穌對瞎子有恩。所以，瞎子並沒有屈服，據理力爭，為耶穌辯護。瞎子素來不會看人的嘴臉，不懂得顧忌權貴，結果令法利塞人理屈，忿然把他趕出會堂。以後人海茫茫，到那裡可以找到耶穌呢？不用愁！耶穌是會主動找你的！

瞎子的故事，有幾點值得我們反省。
第一，問「為甚麼」是應該的，因為我們的信仰不是迷信，而是合乎理性的。不過，人接受或拒絕真理，並不是出於理性。法利塞人素來在群眾中享有的地位，被耶穌動搖了，於是對耶穌產生偏見。於是在真理前，拒絕了真理，成為有眼無珠的瞎子。我們不要奇怪或者責怪他們為何與耶穌作對。今天的社會，不也是充斥著很多這樣的人嗎？利益所在，他們不惜歪曲事實，虛假宣傳，甚至否定事實。法利塞人曾捍衛猶太人是天主選民的身份，是民族英雄。今天落得如此收場，真令人惋惜。

第二，瞎子接受真理，相信耶穌，不是出於推理，而是出於親身的經驗。福音的眾多故事，包括今天的瞎子故事，告訴我們耶穌會主動尋找我們。在座我們每個人，一定有個別不同的經驗，使我們成為天主教徒，享受成為天主子女的恩寵。瞎子為耶穌的作證，並不是甚麼英雄，他祗是分享自己得救蒙恩的經驗。這個經驗，你有，我有，人人都有，人人不同，是值得分享，擴闊視野，令人讚美天主拯救的多姿多采之處。

最後，耶穌並沒有當場令瞎子看見，而是指示他做餘下的步驟。所以，按照耶穌的指示去做，就是做天主的工作；而做天主的工作，對我們絕對有益。那麼，有甚麼事物會令我們不去做耶穌指示的工作，對我們有益的工作呢？今天執事穿的祭衣不是四旬期慣用的紫色，而是玫瑰紅色。因為今天是「喜樂主日」，表示四旬期已過了一半，還有三個星期就是復活節了！
各位兄弟姊妹，在繼續為復活節做準備之前，是時候檢討過去三個星期的齋戒、祈禱和施捨的功夫做得怎樣了。
天主保祐！

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The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: Spiritual Blindness

Today, let us meditate from the perspective of the born blind.
The gospel does not tell us the age of the blind, only says, "He is of age." (John 9:21) That means he was over 20 years old. It is difficult to imagine his suffering of more than 20 years. What could he do for a living? As expected, he begged. (9:8) Blindness is a special disadvantage because he could not protect his own safety and possession. Even if he was lucky enough to be given more coins than usual in one day, he did not have the ability to keep them safe. The coins would be easily stolen. Thus, the blind know the Lord's Prayer well. They totally rely on God and are happy to ask only for their daily bread. The second disadvantage was that they were always made fun of. That was why Moses stipulated in the law to forbid people to "put a stumbling block before the blind." (Leviticus 19:14) Only the blind know their own plights. But a blind has one advantage over the other beggars. They do not see the faces of other people. They don't need to please them. They feel better.

But there is a spiritual suffering torturing him ever since he began understanding. Man is a curious animal, always asking why's. Being born blind, this beggar did not know what blindness was until others told them, or made his hands touch things or colours which others saw and he was unable to see. This is blindness! This experience was painful because it would be life-long. It was incurable at that time. (John 9:32) Naturally, this pain urged him to seek answers to relieve the pain. He would ask why he was born blind. After asking for ten odd years, somebody must have told him that illness was a punishment from God. His being born blind was God's punishment. Probably he believed this explanation for a while. Then, he might start questioning that answer and continue to ask why God punished him. What sins had he committed to deserve this punishment? Perhaps it crossed his mind that it might not be his sins but his parents'. He was not sure. He could not find a satisfactory answer and he had been tortured by a sense of guilt until he met Jesus. Jesus' word is truly good news. It unknotted his burden. Somebody spoke in front of him, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him" (9:3). His heart and soul were relieved. From now on, he would continue to be blind happily, manifesting the works of God!

Of course, God's works are more than relieving the souls. God's works would make him see this world! Thus, Jesus anointed his eyes with clay and told him to continue the work he had started, sent him to the Pool of the Sent to wash his eyes (9:7)! We do not know whether the blind man went himself, or led by somebody or being made fun of and dragged there. No matter what, he followed Jesus' instruction "and came back seeing" (9:7). The first batch of people he saw were those who had seen him before as a beggar. But why did they argue? It was me! Was there another blind beggar? He really wanted to see Jesus and thank him in person. The beggar thought that the crowd were bringing him to see Jesus only to find that it was another group of people. He repeated his healing story once more and they started arguing. Why did the non-blind like arguing, thinking that they were right and the others were wrong? Was there anything worth arguing about his healing? To his surprise, there was! Some people even questioned his being born blind and wanted to interrogate his parents! This was illogical. If he faked blindness, what made them so sure that the parents they summoned were really his parents? It was me. I was born blind. Could I fake this?

It was supposed to be a happy and touching moment for him to see his parents for the first time. However, he was openly forsaken by his parents in this first encounter! The world God made him see turned out to be such a terrible place. There was some evil forcing parents to openly deny their relationships with their children. Now, this blind man had no family members. But he had Jesus. This group of men wanted to force him to declare that Jesus was a sinner. But Jesus had cured his blindness. Thus, this blind man did not bend. He defended Jesus with evidence. He had never given people face and avoided offending authority. Consequently, the Pharisees failed to rebuke him and angrily drove him away. Now, where could he go to find Jesus in this wide wide world? Don't worry! Jesus took the initiative to seek him!

In this story of the born blind, there are a few points which are worth reflecting.
First of all, we should ask why's because our faith is not superstitious. It is reasonable. But people do not accept or reject truth out of rationality. The Pharisees used to enjoying prestige among the people. But their status was shaken by Jesus. They held grudges against him. Thus, they rejected the truth in front of the Truth, thus making themselves the ‘seeing' blind. We should not be surprised or blamed them for going against Jesus. Aren't there a lot of such people in our society today? Clinging onto their benefits, people do not stop short of twisting facts, promulgating fake news and even denying reality point blank. The Pharisees were once heroes defending the Jewish identity of the Chosen People of God. It is a pity to see them fall.

Secondly, the blind did not accept the truth and believe in Jesus out of logical reasoning but of personal experience. Many stories in the gospels, including this story of the born blind, tell us that Jesus went out to seek us. All of us must have gone through different experiences to become Catholics, to enjoy the grace of becoming God's children. This blind man who bore witness for Jesus was not a hero. He only shared his redemption experience. You and me, everybody has such experiences. These experiences are worth sharing to expand our vision, making people praise God for the variety of ways He redeems us.

Lastly, Jesus did not cure the blind man on the spot but instructed him to perform the remaining steps. Thus, following Jesus' instruction is to do God's works and doing God's works does us good. Thus what would prevent us from following Jesus' instructions, doing works that benefit us? Today, my vestment is not the usual Lenten colour of purple but rose colour. It is because today is the Lætare Sunday. That means half of the Lent season is passed. There remain three more weeks before Easter!
Brethren, before we continue to prepare for Easter, it is time we evaluated how well we have fast, prayed and given alms in the last three weeks.
God bless.

【愛的喜樂】五至七章 Amoris Lætitia Chapters 5-7

二零一七年三月廿四日
屯門贖世主堂
主題：【愛的喜樂】中的艱難

一位神父對【愛的喜樂】宗徒勸諭了，作出了一個一針見血的分析。他認為該文件在鋪排上，先提出聖經及耶穌的教訓，屬理想的部份；繼而討論當今婚姻及家庭所面對的種種困難，屬具體的部份。所以，全書九章之中，單數的章是理論的，理想的；雙數的章是現實的，具體的。事實上，人生在世，總離不開具體的柴米油鹽。但正如一齣電影的對白所說：「做人如果沒有夢想，跟鹹魚有甚麼分別？」人總要有理想，支持他向前邁進，支持他成長成熟。所以理想與現實，是不可分割，互相輝映。如何平衡理想與現實，是生活的藝術。

周神父邀請我與大家分享【愛的喜樂】第4至7章，共202段。始終我功力有限，所以這是一件「不可能的任務」。但責任上我總覺得無論如何表面化，也應作個撮要。上星期已經草草處理過第四章，今晚讓我首先撮要餘下的三章，然後分析一個個案，再作分享。
第五章題為「果實纍纍的愛」，顧名思義，觸及愛的開枝散葉，迎接新生命，因為愛是充滿創造力的。所以第五章談及懷孕期的愛和作為父母的愛。而且，還突破血緣的局限，鼓勵「領養」，提出以家庭的愛，治療被遺棄者的創傷。最後，更拉闊父母的愛到跨代的愛，指出青少年與長者相處，如何令彼此的生命更豐盛。
說過理想之後，第六章的「牧民建議」又返回現實世界，處理一些具體的問題：包括混合婚姻，婚前的培育，新婚的陪伴，履行負責任的家庭計劃，如何陪伴分居和離婚的教友，家中有同性戀傾向的成員與及鰥寡等問題。
第七章「加強子女的教育」提出教育下一代的重要性。雖然現代社會已把大部份的教育工作交給學校，但家庭始終是一個愛的團體，是一個最有效的培育場所，這不是一般學校可以取代的。不出所料，第七章提出倫理道德及信仰的陶成。但令人意外的，第七章運用了8段文字談及「性教育的必要」，父母應教導子女言談衣著端莊、如何表達愛與尊嚴、欣賞和尊重自己和別人的身體。

我對第4至7章，總算有所交代。再強調一次，聽兩次十多分鐘的講道，是不能取代自己閱讀原文的。上星期與大家分享了一個理想的處境，今晚打算和大家分享另一個並不理想的處境，請大家參考「愛之歌」的教導，看看如何應對。

個案：
父母教養兒子與女兒，通常是有分別的。做母親的，通常不會讓男孩子做家務，將來結婚後，理所當然由太太或者工人負責做。可能因為這個原因，很多男人變成不願長大的大孩子，在不知不覺的情況下，這些男人娶的妻子，很有母親的影子，娶了一個照顧他一切起居飲食的女性！結婚初期是美好的，但後來，發覺太太原來比母親更有「控制慾」。以為千辛萬苦，逃離母親的「魔掌」，到頭來卻是自掘墳墓。多可憐啊！就在捱受這痛苦的時候，身邊出現了一位善解人意，又需要呵護的女同事…
請大家與身邊的人分享，這段婚姻會面對甚麼困難，甚麼危機？可以渡過嗎？請按「愛之歌」分享意見，限時兩分鐘。

這個案牽涉到家庭教育的問題，這是當年的事，過去了的事，是不能改變的事實。但家庭教育塑造了一個人的性格，一個人與天主的關係，影響著現在和未來。如今發生在自己身上的事，某程度上是性格所造成，倘若發生在別人身上，會由另外一個方向發展。但不要悲觀，因為這些危機，很多時候是天主所賜予的「救贖機遇」，使我們從性格的缺憾中，解放出來。教宗說：「家庭呈現的不是問題，而是呈現了契機。」（AL#7）

所有人都是母親懷胎十月所生的，所以作為母親的，很自然會捨不得放手，讓子女自由地成長，很容易陷入「控制子女」的陷阱。教宗說：「福音提醒我們子女不是家庭的財產，他們有自己的人生。」（AL#18）
現代人希望生活質素好，便進行計劃生育，把子女的數目減少到最低限度。從前「家庭計劃指導會」的口號是「兩個就夠晒數。」子女的數目少了，父母所有的期望自然集中在一兩名子女身上，對子女造成了極大的壓力。【愛的喜樂】有以下的忠告：「儘管子女不是十全十美，要是他們就因此感覺到父母不愛他們，或不被關心，這會為子女造成極深的創傷，並會使他們在成長路上困難重重。」（AL#263）

回到上述個案的現場，在「婚外情」的陰影下，兩夫妻的生活又會怎樣呢？為了這「婚外情」的危機，免不了會爭吵，會互相指摘。怎麼辦？保祿宗徒的「愛之歌」有何指示？

「不輕易發怒」
基督徒不應該發怒嗎？耶穌不是教導我們，「若有人掌擊你的右頰，你把另一面也轉給他」（瑪5:39）嗎？其實，發怒是人類與生俱來的三種情緒之一，是有適當用途，給我們勇氣抵抗不公義的事物，缺乏憤怒，就不能把不公義領回正軌。而且，福音記載了耶穌兩次發怒。第一次在「治好枯手人」，第二次在「清理聖殿」。可見發怒並不一定是壞事。可是，憤怒的殺傷力很大，聖經相對地有多一些章節告誡我們不要心存怒火，不要把發怒變成習慣。聖保祿宗徒就有一句有名的忠告：「不可讓太陽在你們含怒時西落。」（弗4:26）更進一步，「當有人困擾我們，我們心裡首先應感恩，為對方設想，呼求天主解救和醫治他們。」（AL#104）為甚麼要為對方設想？為甚麼要為對不起自己的人祈禱？因為她是自己的配偶，是「二人成為一體」的另一半。與配偶作對，就是與自己作對。你還不懂聖經的教訓嗎？彼此心平氣和，纔能找到出路。

「不因人家的犯罪而幸災樂禍，而以真理為樂
看見壞人失敗跌倒，可能有人會鼓掌。看見自己的仇人、敵人失敗跌倒，或者有人會鼓掌。看見自己的對手失敗跌倒，有體育精神的你縱使不扶他一把，總不會幸災樂禍吧！所以，誰會看見自己失敗的時候鼓掌呢？難道你與自己有仇嗎？
夫妻因婚外情反目成仇，第一個原因，就是人不能面對現實，逃避責任，把一切錯誤推到配偶身上。人真是「賴亞當的子孫」！第二個原因，就是平日缺乏做「以真理為樂」的事，就是做與「因人家的犯罪而幸災樂禍」相反的事，就是「當我們看到對方的尊嚴獲得肯定，他們能力和成就獲得欣賞，我們會因他們的益處而歡欣。」（AL#109）「看到別人萬事順遂，他就會感到高興，從而光榮天主。」（AL#110）平時，你有沒有肯定自己配偶的尊嚴，抑或在人前數自己配偶的不是：「是我紓尊降貴下嫁給他」、「我知道她是為了我的錢纔嫁給我」呢？平時，你能夠在自己配偶身上找到值得讚賞的能力和成就嗎？會見到她得益而感到高興，並且光榮天主嗎？這樣做，就是保祿宗徒所說的「以真理為樂」。

「凡事包容、凡事相信、凡事盼望、凡事忍耐」
教宗說：『凡事包容』「是與言語相關，可以解作對別人的缺點『保持緘默』。這意味著不要妄下判斷，並控制自己的衝動，不要作出嚴厲苛刻的判斷。」（AL#112）
對於『凡事包容』的演繹，【愛的喜樂】第113段寫得很好，讓我把全文讀出，作為今晚分享的總結。教宗說：「彼此相愛相屬的夫婦必會為對方說好話，嘗試展現對方美好的一面，而不注目於其軟弱和過失。在任何時候，他們寧願緘默不語，也不願損害對方的名聲。這不是表面的行為，而是誠於中，形於外的行動；這亦非避重就輕，假裝看不到對方的問題和弱點，而是能夠保持心胸廣闊，從對方的角度體諒這些軟弱和過失，明白到這些缺失並不構成對方整個人。在關係上有不如意的事情，並不代表整個關係不好。我們應坦然接受：每一個人都是光明與黑暗縱橫交貫的個體。對方不只是那些使我煩惱的事，絕不止於此。因此，我不要求對方的愛十全十美才欣賞它。我愛的是對方的真貌和潛力，以及其所有局限。然而，即使對方的愛有其缺陷，也不表示這愛是不真實和虛假的。他的愛是真實的，但有其局限，亦有其世俗的一面。如果我期望過高，早晚會發現對方不能扮演神明的角色，也無法滿足我所有的需要。有愛的人會包容缺陷，面對所愛的人表現的缺點，懂得保持沉默。」（AL#113）

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March 24, 2017
Holy Redeemer's Church
Theme: Difficulties in Amoris Lætitia

A priest made an incisive analysis of Amoris Lætitia. The layout of the document talks about the teachings of the Scriptures and Jesus first. This is the ideal part. Then it talks about all sorts of difficulties the families have to confront. This is the concrete part. Thus, among the nine chapters of the document, the odd number chapters are theoretical and idealistic, while the even number ones are realistic and concrete. Indeed, life cannot do away with concrete "wood, rice, oil and salt". But like a line in a popular movie which reads, "If a man lacks dreams, how is he different from a salted fish?" There must be ideals in a man to sustain him in moving ahead, in growing and maturing. Therefore, dreams and reality are inseparable and reinforcing each other. Balancing dreams and reality is the art of living.

Fr. Milanese invited me to share chapters 4 to 7 of Amoris Lætitia, a total of 202 paragraphs. With my limited capability, it is a "Mission Impossible". Still I feel that it is my responsibility, no matter how superficial it will be, to summarize them. Last week, I managed to scratch the surface of Chapter 4. Now, let me summarize the remaining three chapters first. Then I will analyze a case as a sharing.
The title of Chapter 5 is "Love made Fruitful". It touches on the fruitfulness of love and about welcoming new life because love is creative. Thus, Chapter 5 mentions the period of pregnancy, the love of a mother and a father. Moreover, it breakthroughs the confines of blood relations and encourages adoption, how the familial love heals the wounds of being abandoned. Lastly, it stretches parental love across the generations, pointing out how young and old people living together may enrich each other's lives.
After talking about the ideals, Chapter 6 returns to reality with "Some Pastoral Perspectives" to deal with some concrete problems, including mixed marriages, preparation of the engaged for marriage, the accompaniment of couples in first years of married life, issues of responsible parenthood, of accompanying abandoned, separated or divorced persons, families with homosexual members and widowhood.
Chapter 7 looks "Towards a Better Education of Children". Although modern society has delegated the major educational tasks to schools, family is a community of love and thus an effective training ground which ordinary schools cannot replace. Without surprise, Chapter 7 discusses the formation of morality and faith. What surprises all is an 8-paragraph manifesto on "The Need for Sex Education". Parents ought to teach children modesty in clothing and speeches, how to express love and dignity; to appreciate and respect their own bodies and others'.

Let me stress once more. Listening to two twenty-minute homilies cannot replace reading the text. Last week I shared an ideal case with you. Tonight, I want to discuss a less than ideal case and see how to handle it with the guidance of the Ode of Love.

Case:
Parents raise boys and girls in different ways. Mothers usually do not allow boys to do house chores. After marriage, the wife or the domestic helper will take care of them. Probably because of this, many men do not want to grow up. Imperceptibly, many a man chooses a "mother figure", a female who takes care of everything for him, to be his wife. The first years of marriage were wonderful. But gradually, the man discovered that his wife is a worse "control freak" than his mother. How pitiful it is that he worked so hard to escape the control of his mother only to jump into the snare of another. Just when he was suffering, an understanding female colleague, who needs to be taken care of, appeared ...
Share what difficulties, what crisis this marriage is facing. Will it survive? Follow the teachings of the Ode of Love. You have two minutes.

This case involves the problems of familial education. These were things of the past which we cannot change. However, the personality of a man and his relation with God are shaped by family. It is affecting the present and the future. To a certain extent, what happens to a person is caused by his personality. If this happens to other people, it will take another route. Don't be pessimistic. It is because in many cases, crises are redemptive opportunities God gives us to liberate us from the defects of our personality. The Pope says, "Families are not a problem; they are first and foremost an opportunity." (AL#7)

All men were born of women. As a mother, it is natural not to let go their children to develop freely. It is easy to fall into the trap of "Controlling their children". The Pope says, "The Gospel goes on to remind us that children are not the property of a family, but have their own lives to lead." (AL#18)
Modern people want good quality in life. Therefore they practise family planning to keep the number of children to the bare minimum. In the last century, the war cry of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong was "Two are enough". When the number of children is small, parents would invest all their expectations on one or two children, thus exerting tremendous pressure on them. Amoris Lætitia has this to say, "When children no longer feel that, for all their faults, they are important to their parents, or that their parents are sincerely concerned about them, this causes deep hurt and many difficulties along their path to maturity." (AL#263)

Let's return to the case. In the shadow of "extra-marital affair", what would married life be like? Within this crisis of "extra-marital affair", arguing and fingerpointing are inevitable. What shall they do? What enlightenments does Ode of Love has for them?

Love is not irritable or resentful
Should Christians not be angry? Doesn't Jesus teach us, "If any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39)? In fact, angry is one of the three basic emotions humanity is born with. Its proper use is to give us courage to fight against injustice. Without anger, we are not able to right injustice. Moreover, the gospels tell us that Jesus was angry twice. The first time was at the cure of the man with a withered hand. The second time was at the cleansing of the Temple. So, anger is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the destructive power of anger is huge. Therefore, there are relatively more Bible passages warning against anger and not to make it a habit. St. Paul gave us a famous advice, "Do not let the sun go down on your anger." (Ephesians 4:26) Furthermore, "Our first reaction when we are annoyed should be one of heartfelt blessing, asking God to bless, free and heal that person." (AL#104) Why should we be considerate? Why should we pray for an unfaithful spouse? It is because he/she is my spouse, the other half of the One Flesh. If we curse our spouse, we curse ourselves. Do you still not understanding the teaching of the Bible? Keeping calm is the only way to find a solution.

Love does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right
When we see a bad guy fall, probably some people will applaud. If we see our enemy fall, perhaps some of us may rejoice. If we see our rivals fall, sportsmanship does not allow you to rejoice! Who on earth will rejoice when we fall? Are you an enemy of yourself? Why does an extra-marital affair turn a couple into enemies? Reason#1, men cannot face the reality and evade responsibility. They blame the spouse. Men are truly descendants of Adam! Reason#2, we are not doing "rejoices in the right" enough, the opposite of "rejoicing at wrong". That is, "we rejoice at the good of others when we see their dignity and value their abilities and good works." (AL#109) "Sees that others are happy, they themselves live happily and in this way give glory to God." (AL#110)
In your daily life, do you affirm the dignity of your spouse, or enumerate his/her inadequacies before others? "I marry below myself to him." "I know she married me for my money." In your daily life, do you find any ability or achievements in your spouse that is worth praising? Do you feel happy and give glory to God when your spouse are doing well? This is what St. Paul says, "rejoices in the right."

Love bears all things, believes all things etc.
The Pope says, "It (love bears all things) has to do with the use of the tongue. The verb can mean ‘holding one's peace' about what may be wrong with another person. It implies limiting judgment, checking the impulse to issue a firm and ruthless condemnation." (AL#112)
Amoris Lætitia 113 interprets "love bears all things" very well. Let me quote it in full as a conclusion to the homily tonight. The Pope says, "Married couples joined by love speak well of each other; they try to show their spouse's good side, not their weakness and faults. In any event, they keep silent rather than speak ill of them. This is not merely a way of acting in front of others; it springs from an interior atti¬tude. Far from ingenuously claiming not to see the problems and weaknesses of others, it sees those weaknesses and faults in a wider context. It recognizes that these failings are a part of a bigger picture. We have to realize that all of us are a complex mixture of light and shadows. The other person is much more than the sum of the little things that annoy me. Love does not have to be perfect for us to value it. The other person loves me as best they can, with all their limits, but the fact that love is imperfect does not mean that it is untrue or unreal. It is real, albeit limited and earthly. If I expect too much, the other person will let me know, for he or she can neither play God nor serve all my needs. Love coexists with imperfection. It ‘bears all things' and can hold its peace before the limitations of the loved one."

從安樂窩中解放出來 Liberation from our Comfort Zone

四旬期第三主日（甲年）
主題：從安樂窩中解放出來

人類的適應能力很強，為了生存，他們會改變自己，甚至改造環境。為了得到源源不絕的食物供應，他們會開墾土地，治理河道，種植各種穀物蔬菜，蓄牧雞鴨牛羊。他們從穴居到建屋圍城，並發展文化法律，團結一起應付惡劣的大自然環境。為了獲得團體的保護，他們願意放棄部份的自由，遵守法律。他們發明了燈，不再依賴太陽提供照明，增加了生產力。做這一切的目的祗有一個，就是為了生存，為了安居樂業。不過，在改造環境和改變自己的過程中，有時會作了錯誤的抉擇，結果對自己造成了傷害。例如，邁長的工作時間，固然增加了收入，卻影響了健康和家庭生活。今天的福音，要求我們反省生活上所作的抉擇，是使我們更親近天主，還是遠離天主？

撒瑪黎雅人與猶太人是世仇，因為撒瑪黎雅人是以色列國被亞述征服後，亞述帝國進一步種族清洗，強迫以色列人與外族通婚的後裔，他們的血統並不純正。後來猶大國被巴比倫征服，前車可鑒，他們堅守梅瑟法律，為了保持自己的民族血統純正，拒絕與外族通婚。猶太人對自己的血統引以為榮，瞧不起撒瑪黎雅人。撒瑪黎雅人豈會示弱，在新的統治者如波斯，希臘帝國統治之下，處處與猶太人作對。

在地理上，猶太省在南，加里肋亞省在北。如果直接北行，必須經過撒瑪黎雅省。如果你怕撒瑪黎雅人找麻煩，你會繞道而行。路加福音曾記載過耶穌和門徒被撒瑪黎雅人拒絕，門徒非常氣憤，他們想呼求天上的火降下，毀滅那些不識抬舉的撒瑪黎雅人，被耶穌制止，並繞路走了（路9:53-56）。為甚麼今次耶穌不繞道而行呢？繞道而行固然免了麻煩，不受被拒絕的屈辱。但是，耶穌知道這次是收割的時機，如果不進入村莊，便會錯過了傳福音，使撒瑪黎雅人更親近天主的機會了，所以他和門徒要冒這個被拒絕的險，進入撒瑪黎雅人的村莊。

好了，既然傳福音，當然要找多人聚集的地方。福音說耶穌「順便坐在泉旁」（若4:6）其實並非「順便」，因為村民總要來這裡汲水。地點是對了，但時間卻錯了。第六時辰是正午十二時，天氣酷熱，在一般的情況下，不會有人來打水的，卻徧徧來了一個撒瑪黎雅婦人。很明顯，那個撒瑪黎雅婦人是為了避開其他村民，纔會等到這個時候出來汲水。她改變自己的生活習慣，很明顯是不願意聽別人對她說的閒言閒語。其實，這是一種十分消極的做法。妳不願意聽，別人就不會說嗎？問題在於她有沒有決心和能力改善自己的處境。
我們不得不承認，作為一個二千年前的中東婦女，她所能做的事是非常有限的。與中國人差不多，女子一生要「三從：在家從父，出嫁從夫，夫死從子。」但事實並非如此簡單，「在家從父」，但父親可以把女兒賣掉，解決財政困難。「出嫁從夫」，但男人可以三妻四妾，甚至運用「七出之條」休妻！「夫死從子」，但沒有兒子，或者兒子不孝又如何呢？
耶穌與婦人的對話，進展良好，那婦人愈來愈願意和耶穌說話，直到耶穌說：「叫妳的丈夫來。」（4：16）這句話正中她的要害，婦人一句「我沒有丈夫」（4：17），立刻關上對話的大門。「我沒有丈夫」有四種可能。一，她待字閨中；二，她是棄婦；三，她是寡婦；四，她與男人同居。是哪一種情況呢？

耶穌當然知道，他說：「妳曾有過五個丈夫，而妳現在所有的，也不是妳的丈夫。」（4:18）這反映了古代婦女的不幸，她們不能在社會上獨立存在，她們必須附屬男人，這男人可以是她的父親/家主、丈夫或者兒子。這個婦人曾有五個丈夫，即是說，她曾經歷五次喪夫或被休棄的組合，甚至六個男人也祗是與她同居而沒有名份，在其他人的眼中，她是「狐狸精」！無論是那一種境況，她對自己的命運已經放棄了，她沒有打算改變、改善她的處境，她的婚姻狀況，直到救主耶穌基督的出現。這個婦人可有甚麼出路呢？在今天的福音中，我們看到很多撒瑪黎雅人因婦人的作証而信了耶穌。所以，這撒瑪黎雅婦人有可能成了耶穌的門徒，跟隨耶穌上耶路撒冷。

除了個人，一個民族也會做出苟且偷安的有害決定。「在這座山上崇拜天主」（4:20）原來以色列十二支派經過達味和撒羅滿統一成為以色列王國。可惜撒羅滿王死後，王國分裂成北方的以色列國和南方的猶大國。撒羅滿王興建的聖殿在南國的首都耶路撒冷，倘若讓人民繼續往耶路撒冷崇拜天主，北國便會喪失民心。於是，北國的君王雅洛貝罕出於政治理由，打造了兩隻金牛，興建了祭壇，自立自聖了一批司祭，告訴人民不用再前往耶路撒冷崇拜天主了！（列上12：26-33）二百年來，天主不斷差遣先知勸導他們悔改無效。結果，二百年後，北國以色列亡國於亞述帝國手中。

各位兄弟姊妹，四旬期是親近天主的好時機。今天的福音提醒我們，為了更親近天主，不要害怕跳出自己的安樂窩；拿出決心，放棄阻礙我們親近天主的舒適安逸生活，繼續禁食、祈禱和施捨吧。
天主保祐！

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  Third Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: Liberation from our Comfort Zone

Our adaptability is very strong. For the sake of survival, we change ourselves and even modify our environment. In order to ensure the continuous supply of food, we cultivate the land, change the course of rivers, plant crops and vegetables, graze cattle and keep poultry. From living in caves to building houses and cities, men develop culture and laws to stand together to ward off the hostility of the nature. In order to gain protection from the community, men were willing to forsake some of their freedom to obey the law. They invented lamps so that they didn't have to rely on the lighting of the sun, thus increasing their productivity. They have done all these for one single purpose: to survive, to lead a stable life. However, in the course of changing ourselves or the environment, sometimes we make wrong choices and thus do harm to ourselves. For example, extended working hours increases incomes but harms our health and family relations. The gospel today demands us to reflect if our choices bring us closer to God or farther away from God.

Samaritans and Jews were enemies because after the Israel Kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians, the Assyrians enforced mixed marriages as a means of ethnic cleansing. Samaritans were offspring of these mixed marriages. Later, the Judah Kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians. Jews had learned from the Israelites. In order to maintain the purity of their blood, they strictly observed Mosaic laws and forbade mixed marriages. Thus, the Jews were proud of the purity of their blood and despised Samaritans. Of course the Samaritans would fight back. They always stirred up troubles with the Jews under the new conquerors such as the Persians and Greeks.

Geographically, Judah was in the south and Galilee the north. If a Jew wants to go straight to the north, he has to go through Samaria. If he does not want troubles from Samaritans, he needs to take a longer route. The gospel of Luke records an incident in which the Samaritans did not receive Jesus and his disciples. The disciples were angry and wanted to bid fire come down from heaven to burn the Samaritans. Jesus rebuked them and went on to another village. (Luke 9:53-56)Why did Jesus not take another route this time? Of course, taking another route would save the trouble and the hard feelings of rejection. But Jesus knew that it was time for harvesting. If they did not enter the village, they would miss the opportunity of evangelization, thus depraving the Samaritans an opportunity to come closer to God. Therefore, Jesus and his disciples took the risk of rejection and entered the Samaritan village.

Since it was evangelization, you should choose a location frequented by many people. Jesus had chosen well. He sat down beside Jacob's well (4:6). The location was right but the timing was wrong. It was the sixth hour, i.e. twelve noon. It was hot and usually nobody came to draw water at this hour. But a Samaritan woman did come! Obviously she wanted to avoid other villagers such that she waited until this hour to come and draw water. She changed her living habit because she did not want to hear the gossips about her. In fact, this was rather passive. Even if you don't want to hear, will the others stop the gossiping? The problem was whether she had the determination and ability to change her situation.
We have to admit that for a woman living 2000 years ago in the Middle East, there was little she could do. Similar to her Chinese counterparts, the life of a woman was dominated by three men: her father before marriage, her husband after marriage and her son after the death of her husband. But things were not so simple. Before marriage, a father might sell the daughter off to repay debts. A husband was allowed to have concubines (in the case of Chinese men)or to write a certificate of divorce to put her away. In case a husband had died, he might leave the widow no son or an ungrateful son.
The dialogue between Jesus and the woman proceeded smoothly. The woman was more and more willing to open up until Jesus said, "Go, call your husband" (4:16). This was her Achilles' heel. The woman shut herself off immediately with "I have no husband" (4:17). There were four possibilities: 1) she was unmarried; 2) she was divorced; 3) she was widowed and lastly she was cohabiting with a man. Which one?

Of course, Jesus knew. He said, "You have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband." (4:18)This shows the unfortunate fate of women in ancient times. They could not exist independently in the society without men. The man could be her father/master, husband or son. This woman had had five husbands. That is to say, she had undergone a combination of 5 widowhoods or divorces. Even worse, she might have cohabited with six different men without any legal status. She was the Seductress in the eyes of the public! Whatever the case, she had resigned before her fate. She had given up and did not intend to change, to improve her situation, her marital status until Jesus Christ came into her life. What choice could she make? The gospel today tells us that many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her testimony. Therefore, this Samaritan woman might have become one of his disciples and followed him to Jerusalem.

Not only individuals, a people can also make choices harmful to themselves. The Samaritan woman said, "Our fathers worshipped on this mountain." (4:20)What happened? The 12 tribes of Israel were unified by Kings David and Solomon into a kingdom. Unfortunately, after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom was split into the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah. King Solomon had built the Temple in Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom after the breakup. If the king allowed the people to offer sacrifices at Jerusalem, their hearts would go back to the house of David. So, King Jeroboam built two golden calves, made altars and appointed priests himself and told the people it was no longer necessary to worship God in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:26-33). For more than two centuries, God sent prophets to exhort them to no avail. Consequently, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians two hundred years later.

Brethren, Lent is a good opportunity to come closer to God. The gospel today reminds us not to be afraid to get out of our comfort zone to come close to God. Make up your resolution. Forsake the comforts that prevent you from coming close to God. Continue to fast, pray and give alms.
God bless.

【愛的喜樂】第四章 Amoris Lætitia Chapter 4

日期：二零一七年三月十七日
地點：屯門贖世主堂
時間：晚上八時三十分，苦路善功後

每個人的閱讀心得不同。本人雖然是一位執事，亦不能完全表達教會的立場。且看目前，正有四位樞機要求教宗澄清，【愛的喜樂】宗徒勸諭的一些有關離婚者領聖事的指示。所以，以下的分享，是不完全的，是不能取代你們自己的閱讀的。

社會上流行一種說法：「長痛不如短痛。」這是絕對錯的。「預防勝於治療」總是對的，這份文件是積極的。與其眼巴巴看著50%的婚姻以離婚收場，不如多做「預防」的牧靈工作。教宗說：「我們對於家庭最重要的牧靈任務是堅固他們的愛，幫助他們醫治創傷，並努力遏止我們這時代的悲劇蔓延。」（AL#246）又說：「今天，對挫敗的人的牧靈關懷固然重要，但更為重要的，是藉著牧靈工作穩固婚姻，從而預防婚姻受到破壞。」（AL#307）

不要被這份文件的名稱誤導你。教會文憲名命的習慣是把文件的拉丁文版本的第一二個字，作為文件的名稱。翻譯成中文後就不一定是第一二個字了。名為【愛的喜樂】令人誤以為愛是喜樂的。的確，愛能帶來喜樂，但愛也包含著很多的痛苦在其中。而且，愛到深處的時候，真是痛苦的。甚至可以說，「愛得不痛，未算真愛。」耶穌就是一個活生生的好例子了。名為【愛的喜樂】第二個令人誤會之處，令人以為這文件祗處理「愛」的喜樂部份，而忽略了「愛」的其他部份，包括「了解、尊重和委身」，這些行動都會帶來不便和痛苦的。

第四章「婚姻之愛」可稱為整份文件的核心部份。這一章共有76段，佔全書325段的23%，接近四份之一，其重要性可見一斑。是的，男女兩方經過婚姻的盟誓，長相厮守，建立家庭，生兒育女，對建設社會，至為重要。所以文件用了四份一的篇幅討論婚姻之愛。

這一章以默想聖保祿宗徒致格林多前書第十三章的「愛之歌」開始，繼而指出夫婦的愛如何幫助二人成長。有人說，「結婚是戀愛的墳墓。」天主教認為是大錯特錯。「結婚其實是戀愛步向成熟。」既然婚姻是一個成長的過程，所以是「一生一世、同甘共苦」的。如何「同甘」呢？

因為「愛」是喜樂的，因為「愛」很美（想不到珠寶商的廣告可以如此符合真理！）。在文件中，「美」出現過24次。教宗說：「美就是對方的『崇高價值』，那不是指身體或心理方面的吸引力，它使我們欣賞人的神聖，而不會感到非得要擁有對方〔sic不可〕。」（AL#127）如何使這份喜樂，這份美交流呢？是透過「交談dialogue」。而且，交流交談並不局限於言語的渠道，也包括情慾上的和情緒上的。很難想像一份教會的訓導，可以如此坦白地討論男女的情慾問題，可見我們這位教宗絕非一個「離地」的神學家，而是一個有非常豐富牧民經驗的慈父。

「苦」從何來呢？當其中一方過份自我中心，沒有理會對方的需要和感受時，當暴力出現的時候，當控制慾膨漲的時候，痛苦隨之而來了。最後，教宗無可避免地觸及獨身的問題，與及人口老化所引發的問題。醫療技術的進步，使兩夫婦一起生活不祗三四十年而是七十年八十年。當人老珠黃，激情不再的時候，倘若夫婦的愛尚未相應地成熟到「忠誠地守護在對方身旁，滿載柔情蜜意」的地步（AL#164），這樣的生活如何痛苦，可想而知！

教宗深明「家家有本難唸的經」的道理，他拒絕以理想化的標準，判斷婚姻中每天的愛的經驗。他說：「不應在兩個有限的人身上，加上巨大重擔，要他們完美重現基督與教會的結合，因為婚姻之為標記，包含『一個動態的過程，人逐步整合天主的恩賜而慢慢向前邁進。』」（AL#122）

如果聽起來難懂，不要怪責教宗，怪祗怪中文翻譯上的困難。教宗指出，天主教徒的婚姻是「基督愛教會」的標記。他在文件中不斷關顧到每個人的局限，每段婚姻的不完美之處。不過，教會對天主是滿懷希望的。賴天主的助祐，夫妻倆與天主合作，他們的婚姻會日漸完美成熟；他們的婚姻生活，會更彰顯基督對教會的愛。

探監的時候，我會聽到很多不幸的故事。很多懲教所服刑的所員，都是來自破碎的家庭，少年時自暴自棄，誤交損友，吸毒，販毒等等，有點兒千篇一律。不過，其中亦發現到天主奇妙的救恩。
話說一位所員，全家並沒有宗教信仰。父親是個紀律部隊人員，性情剛烈，可想而知。母親是個缺乏安全感的女人，竟然在丈夫當值的時候，不斷打電話給他。結果招來家庭暴力，最後離婚收場。當時這個所員年紀尚少，未能處理這些家庭壓力，結果走上自暴自棄之路，最後在獄中度過十三個月。所謂「長痛不如短痛」是騙人的，所謂的「短痛」之後，還有很多後遺症。起初，母親探望這位所員的時候，她很憤怒，覺得她今日如斯地步，全是母親一手造成。過了一段時間，想通了，明白不全是母親的錯。而且，拋下她母女倆的父親亦開始探望她。一次，父母不約而同，先後一起出現，三人一同談話的感覺很感動。一家修和了。讚美天主，連沒有信仰的家庭，在經過離異和牢獄的洗禮之後，得以啟發出彼此的關懷而達致修和，重建一個愛的團體。天主應受讚美，因為祂能把罪惡痛苦，轉化為美善。

教宗強調婚姻的本質，使夫妻二人成為終身的結合，正是因為：「婚姻必然是混雜歡樂與辛勞、張力與憩息、困苦與釋放、滿足與渴求、煩惱與愉悅」（AL#126）要安然渡過這種種風浪，惟有憑著愛。讓我們與教宗一起，默想聖保祿宗徒在格林多前書十三章所撰寫的「愛之歌」。

「愛是含忍的。」
我們缺乏耐性，我們衝動，是因為對方不符合我的期望，因為我以自我為中心，忘記了天主在對方身上有天主的計劃。做母親的覺得「他應該要讀醫科，月入數十萬；做平面設計是沒出息的…」；做父親覺得「我是家庭入息的支柱，一切由我話事！」其實，輕易使用暴力，無論是言語上或身體上，反而洩露出自己的無能。空手道高手的忍耐力，與他們的段數成正比。他們明白自己的殺傷力有多大。同樣，「天主的『含忍』流露於祂對罪人的慈悲，亦展現了祂真正的權能。」（AL#91）

「愛是慈祥的。」
原來不但收禮物會帶來快樂，施予也會帶來樂趣。愛不停在甜言蜜語，愛必須付諸實行。教宗說：「愛…使我們得以體驗施予的喜樂，以及慷慨的自我交付是何等高貴偉大，以至我們不問回報，而祗想付出與服事。」（AL#94）

「愛不嫉妒。」
別人有的東西，我不一定需要擁有，因為我不需要。所以，「人有我無」不一定會產生嫉妒。但倘若對方的擁有威脅到我們的時候，我們的負面反應就是嫉妒。教宗說：「真的愛驅使我們欣賞別人的成就，而不會視之為威脅。愛使我們擺脫嫉妒之苦，而體會到每一個人都獲不同的恩賜，踏上不同的人生旅程。」（AL＃95）

「愛不自大。」
為甚麼我們需要吸引眾人的注意力呢？需要別人來肯定自己的價值呢？我在別人面前炫耀我的聖經知識，我的虔誠，我更聰明，我更有見地，有人脈…我比其他人更重要、更偉大！教宗說：「然而，真正使我們偉大的是愛，我們因此關顧和扶助弱勢的人。」（AL#97）

「不作無禮的事。」向對方做出無禮的事，是出於缺乏尊重。這是十分基本的人與人來往的規矩。教宗說：「越是親密和深摰的愛，越是要求我們尊重對方的自由，靜待對方敞開心扉。」（AL#99）與無禮缺乏尊重相反，我們要練習以溫柔可親的目光（a kind look），彼此相處。請大家以一個溫柔可親的目光，看看坐在你右邊的教友30秒。

因時間所限，請各位自己研讀有關「愛之歌」其餘的部份。【愛的喜樂#101-119】

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  Homily on Amoris Lætitia Chapter 4
March 17, 2017
Holy Redeemer Church
After Stations of the Cross

Each of us reads and understands differently. Therefore, though I am a permanent deacon, my interpretation may not represent the official teachings of the Church. Look, at the moment, even four Cardinals are demanding the Pope to clarify his instructions on administering sacraments to divorced Catholics. Therefore, the following sharing cannot replace your own reading of Amoris Lætitia.

It is a cliché to say that "It is better to suffer short and acute pains than chronic ones". This is absolutely wrong. "Prevention is better than cure" is always true and this document is very proactive. Seeing more than 50% of marriages end up in divorce, would it not be better to do preventive pastoral works? The Pope says, "Our most important pastoral task with regard to families is to strengthen their love, helping to heal wounds and working to prevent the spread of this drama of our times." (AL#246) Further on, he continues to say, "Today, more important than the pastoral care of failures is the pastoral effort to strengthen marriages and thus to prevent their breakdown." (AL#307)

Don't be misled by the title of this document. The Church makes use of the beginning two words of the Latin version to be its title. After translation into Chinese, it is not necessarily the first two words. The title "The Joy of Love" may make people think that love is joyful. Indeed, love brings joy but there are also a lot of pains in love. Furthermore, when our love is deep, it can be painful. We can even say, "If love doesn't hurt, it is not true love." Jesus is the best model. The title can mislead in a second way. It makes people think that the document only talks about the joyful parts of love and ignores other elements such as understanding, respect and commitment. These actions will bring inconvenience and pains as well.

Chapter 4 of Amoris Lætitia is the core of the whole document. There are 76 paragraphs, about 23% of the total of 325 paragraphs. Its importance is shown by its length of nearly a quarter of the whole document. Indeed, a man and a woman make a marital vow, promising to stay together for life to build a family and raise children. This is important for the society. Thus, the document spends a quarter of its length to discuss marital love.

This chapter begins with a meditation of the "Ode of Love" in chapter 13 of St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians. Then it points out that marital love helps the couple to grow. Some people say, "Marriage is the grave of dating". Again, the Church deems it totally wrong. "Marriage is dating goes mature" Since marriage is a process of growth, it is lifelong, it is sharing joys and pains together. How do you share joy together in marriage?

It is because love is joyful. It is because love is beautiful (This sounds like a jewellery commercial!) "Beauty" appears 24 times in the document. The Pope says, "Beauty --- that ‘great worth' which is other than physical or psychological appeal --- enables us to appreciate the sacredness of a person, without feeling the need to possess it." (AL#127) How does this joy, this beauty interflow? It is through dialogue. Furthermore, this interaction, this dialogue is not confined to verbal channels. It also includes the erotic and emotional dimensions. It is difficult to imagine how a Church document can touch upon these erotic issues. We can see that our Pope is not a high-sounding theologian but a compassionate father with a lot of pastoral experiences.

Where do pains come from? When one party becomes very ego-centric, ignoring the feelings and needs of the other party. When violence appears and the desire to control inflates, pains will follow. In the end, the Pope touches on the question of celibacy and the problems of ageing. With the advances in medical sciences, a couple will not spend only thirty to forty years together but seventy to eighty. When the body ages and can no longer fire up passions, life would be unimaginably painful if the love between husband and wife has not matured to the stage of being in "faithful and loving closeness." (AL#164)

The Pope knows well "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way". He refuses to impose an ideal standard on the daily experiences of love in marriage. "There is no need to lay upon two limited persons the tremendous burden of having to reproduce perfectly the union existing between Christ and his Church, for marriage as a sign entails ‘a dynamic process…, one which advances gradually with the progressive integration of the gifts of God'". (AL#122)

If it sounds difficult to understand, don't blame the Pope. Blame the translation. The Pope points out that for Catholics, marriage is a sign of "Christ loving the Church". In the document, he continuously shows his concerns for the limitations of the individuals, the imperfections of marriages in real life. But the Church is full of hope. Relying on the grace of God, the couple cooperate with God. Their marriage will become perfect and mature daily. Their married life will be more able to manifest Christ's love for the Church.

When I visit the prisons, I usually hear many tragic stories. Many inmates came from broken families. They are resentful, make bad friends, abuse drugs and engage in trafficking etc. All these sound pretty stereotyped. However, sometimes we may discover God's amazing redemption.
An inmate came from a secular family. The father is a disciplinary civil servant, very hot tempered. The mother is an insecure woman. She even continuously called up her husband when he was on duty. This ended up in domestic violence and at last divorce. The inmate was too young to handle these family stresses and kicked off a train of regrettable incidents. At last, the inmate spent 13 months in jail. "It is better to suffer short and acute pains than chronic ones" cheats. Following the "short and acute pains" are many complications. At first, the inmate was angry with the mother when she visited. It was all her faults. After a while, the inmate began to see more clearly and understood that it was not all her faults. The father began to visit the inmate. Once, the father and mother came one after another and the three of them spoke and wept together. That visit was touching and the family was reconciled. Praise be to God. Even an unbelieving family is able to develop mutual concern, attain reconciliation and rebuild a loving community. God should be praised because He is able to transform evil and pains into joy.

The Pope stresses that the essence of marriage in which the couple commit to each other for life comes from the fact that "Marriage is an inevitable mixture of enjoyment and struggles, tensions and repose, pain and relief, satisfactions and longings, annoyances and pleasures." (AL#126) Only love can help us safely weather through these ups and downs. Let us join the Pope in meditating the "Ode of Love".

"Love is patient"
We lack patience. We are impulsive because the other party does not meet our expectations, because we are self-centred and forget that God has His plan for this person. Being a mother, she feels that "he should study medicines to earn hundreds of thousands. Two-dimensional design is not lucrative…" As a father, he thinks that "I am the bread-winner of the family. I should call the shot!" In fact, easily resorting to violence, whether it be verbal or physical, only reveals our impotence. The patience of a Karate master is proportional to his dan rank. He understands how destructive his power can be. Similarly, "God's patience, shown in his mercy towards sinners, is a sign of his real power." (AL#91)

"Love is at the service of the others"
Not only is receiving happy but giving brings happiness too. The Pope says, "Love is shown more by deeds than by words. It ... allows us to experience the happiness of giving, the nobility and grandeur of spending ourselves unstintingly, without asking to be repaid, purely for the pleasure of giving and serving." (AL#94)

"Love is not jealous"
Things others have, I may not need to possess because I don't need to. Thus, "have vs. have not" does not necessarily engender jealousy. But when what others possess poses a threat to us, our negative reaction will be jealousy. The Pope says, "True love values the other person's achievements. It does not see him or her as a threat. It frees us from the sour taste of envy. It recognizes that everyone has different gifts and a unique path in life." (AL#95)

"Love is not boastful"
Why do we need to become the centre of everybody's attention? Do I need other people to affirm my own value? I show off my biblical knowledge, my piety, my being smarter, more insightful and great connections etc. In short, I am more important and greater than the others! The Pope says, "Yet what really makes us important is a love that understands, shows concern, and embraces the weak." (AL#97)

"Love is not rude"
We are rude out of a lack of respect. But respect is the most basic rule of human interaction. The Pope says, "The deeper love is, the more it calls for respect for the other's freedom and the ability to wait until the other opens the door to his or her heart." (AL#99) We need to practise the opposite of rudeness and lack of respect by gazing others with a kind look. Let us now turn and gaze at the one on your right with a kind look for thirty seconds.

Due to a lack of time, please read Amoris Lætitia #101-119 to discover the rest of the Ode of Love.

如何把天主展示人前 How to show God before people

Second Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: How to show God before people

I'm sure somewhere somehow, you must have met such non-believers as the following. They are your good friends, relatives or your employers. They are not bad people but they do not believe in God and challenge you, saying, "If your God appears right now in front of me, then I will believe in him! Now show me your God." Of course, it is very unlikely that God would really appear in front of such non-believers. But this challenge is real. How do we present a convincing proof of the existence of God in front of non-believers? Before answering this question, let us look at what happened when God really appeared to believers. Today, let us meditate on the story of Transfiguration.

The gospel today begins with "After six days ..." (Matthew 17:1) So, what happened six days before? Well, it was the famous story of Peter's Declaration in which Jesus was doing an opinion poll, asking his disciples what they thought he was. Then representing his fellow apostles, Simon Peter declared that Jesus was Christ, the Son of the living God (16:16) As a reward, Jesus gave Simon a new name, Peter, making him the rock on which he would build his Church. Afterwards, Jesus began telling his disciples how he would die and three days later would come back to life. The disciples were shocked and Peter tried to persuade Jesus not to save the world with his crucifixion! Jesus rebuked Peter and called him Satan ... Jesus found that his disciples were unable to imagine what resurrection is all about. So after six days, Jesus transfigured in front of them to show them the glory of resurrection to assure them.

Several questions arose. First of all, why didn't Jesus show his glory to all the disciples but to only three? This comes back to the original challenge. Why does our God not show up to all peoples but chooses to reveal Himself to only a few? Wouldn't it be more efficient for Him to reveal to all peoples once and for all? Why did God choose a handful of men and take more than two thousand years to spread the gospel and still the end of evangelization is nowhere in sight? Why did God take such an inefficient approach? We Christians are the chosen few on earth and our mission is to bear witness to God.
Well, the time will come when Jesus Christ shall reveal His glory to all peoples on earth. That will happen at the end of the world. But before that, it is the mission of us all to bear witness to the merciful face of God. But if you continue to ask why me and not him, I am afraid only God knows.

Secondly, among so many Old Testament characters, why did Moses and Elijah show up in Jesus' Transfiguration? In particular, why did King David not show up? His appearance would show that Jesus was his descendant, thus proving that Jesus was the Messiah-king. Or why did Abraham not show up? All monotheistic religions treat him as the Father of their faith, the ancestor of all these religions. This is a significant question because it shows that Christianity is a universal religion.
Unlike some religions which are closely related to their ethnicity, their races and blood lines, we Catholics accept people from all over the world. That is why we are called Catholics. Had David shown up, Jesus became a Messiah-king who would drive away the Romans to gain Jewish independence. Had Abraham shown up, our religion would only be a branch of Judaism or monotheistic and would not accept atheists or pantheists. Moses and Elijah showed up because Moses represented the liberator who cemented a covenant between God and a law-abiding people. Moses was the law-giver. As long as we keep God's commandments, we are God's people wherever we came from. Elijah represented all prophets who were spokesmen of God. As long as we listen to and believe in God's words, we are God's people whatever our blood lines are.

Lastly, how does the gospel describe the glory of Jesus? "His face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light." (17:2) Of course, Jesus is God and light radiates from him. But we are only mortals. Can we shine like him? The answer is a "Yes" because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Therefore, the bright light Jesus radiated was his great love. That is to say, love makes us shine. Remember that Jesus told us to be the "light of the world" (Matthew 5:14) and he told us, "to let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (5:16) The light Jesus shone was his love. His love is great because he loves us until it hurts, until it kills him on the cross. We are capable of loving people though to a lesser extent. Our light may not be as bright but still, it is through our actions as Catholics, as God's people that people may see the work of God, may see God and glorify Him. Now, we have the answer to the question at the beginning of the homily. How do we present a convincing proof of the existence of God in front of non-believers? It is through the good work we do.

What work are we good at doing as Catholics? What work do we do in Lent? Fasting, prayers and almsgiving! In fasting, we empty ourselves so that we may receive more grace from God. In prayers, we open ourselves to welcome God into our hearts, listen to God and receive His consolation. In almsgiving, we reach out to the needy in whom we may find God because Jesus promised us that we may be able to serve him in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the sick and the imprisoned (25:35-36, 40).

Last year, we recited the Jubilee of Mercy prayer which read "Jesus is the visible face of the invisible Father." Brethren, we were baptized and made adopted children of God. Ask ourselves. How do we show up the face of God, like Jesus did? Lent is the right time to repent and return to our Heavenly Father. How do we manifest the glory of the Father, like Jesus did in the gospel today? It is through fasting, prayers and almsgiving. Start from now. We will be able to shine a little bit and glow brighter each day. In Easter Vigil, I am sure our lights will shine brightly when all the lights of the Church are switched off.
God bless!

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四旬期第二主日（甲年）
主題：如何把天主展示人前

我相信大家一定會遇上過之下的人物。他們都是你的好朋友、親戚或者僱主。他們不是壞人，但他們不相信天主，而且挑戰你說：「假如你的天主在我面前顯現，我便會相信祂。現在，請祂顯現吧！」當然，天主真的現身給這些無信的人的機會，微乎其微。可是，對於這個挑戰，我們不應置之不理。它是一個認真的挑戰。我們應如何在無信者的面前，給予一個令他們口服心服的天主真實存在的證明呢？在回答這個問題之前，且看天主真的顯現時，究竟會發生甚麼事。今天，讓我們默想「耶穌顯聖容」的故事。

今天的福音以「六天以後…」（瑪17:1）開始。那麼，六天之前發生了甚麼事？就是有名的「伯多祿宣認耶穌為默西亞」的故事。故事中，耶穌做一個簡單的民意調查，詢問門徒在他們的心目中他是誰。西滿伯多祿代表門徒說：「你是默西亞，永生天主之子。」（16:16）為此，耶穌給西滿一個新名字，伯多祿，在這磐石上，耶穌要建立祂的教會。之後，耶穌告訴門徒祂的救世大計。祂要被殺，三天後祂要復活。門徒聽了，簡直是晴天霹靂。伯多祿亦嘗試勸諫耶穌不要用這個方法救贖世界。結果耶穌罵他是撒殫…耶穌發覺門徒未能想像復活是甚麼一回事，於是六天後，耶穌在他們面前顯聖容，以復活的光輝加強他們的信心。

問題來了。首先，為甚麼耶穌祗顯聖容給這三個門徒而不是所有的門徒呢？這又回到原本的問題來。為甚麼天主不顯現給全人類，卻祗把自己啟示給一小撮人呢？一次過顯現給所有人不是更有效率嗎？且看，祂挑選了幾個人，花了二千年傳福音，直到今天，福傳的工作仍沒完沒了！為甚麼天主採取這個沒有效率的方法呢？我們天主教徒，就是被挑選的幾個在世上為天主作證的人。
放心，總有一天耶穌基督會向地上所有的民族顯示祂的榮耀，到時將會是世界的末日。但在末日前，我們的任務就是為天主的慈顏作見証。如果你問我為何天主偏偏選中我，恐怕我祗能說：「天曉得！」

第二，在眾多的舊約人物之中，為何出現在耶穌顯聖容的是梅瑟和厄里亞？尤有甚者，為何不是達味聖王？倘若他出現，便彰顯出耶穌達味的後裔，是默西亞的身份。或者為何不是亞巴郎？世上所有一神宗教皆奉他為「信德之父」，是這些一神宗教的共同祖先。
要知道，不像世上的某些宗教，它們祗接納某些族裔、種族和血統的人為教徒，我們天主教是「至公」的教會，我們接納世上所有的人為教徒。所以我們稱為「公教」，我們的周刋稱為「公教報」。倘若達味聖王出現，耶穌祗是一個驅逐羅馬人，爭取猶太獨立的默西亞；倘若亞巴郎出現，我們的宗教祗會是猶太教的分支或不能接納無神論馭泛神論的人一神宗教。梅瑟和厄里亞出現，因為梅瑟作為一個解放者，撮合了天主與守誡命的民眾之間的盟約。他頒佈天主的法律。無論你來自何方，祗要你遵守天主的法律，你就是天主的子民。厄里亞代表了先知，他們是天主的代言人。不論你的血統如何，祗要你聽從和實行天主的教訓，你就是天主的子民。

最後，福音如何表達耶穌的榮耀呢？「他的面貎發光有如太陽，他的衣服潔白如光。」（17:2）耶穌是天主，他當然能發光。那麼，我們也能發光嗎？能！因為「天主是愛」（若一4:8，16）。因此，耶穌發出的光是他偉大的愛。即是說，愛使我們發光。請記住，耶穌說：「你們是世界的光。」（瑪5:14）還說：「你們的光也當在人前照耀，好使他們看見你們的善行，光耀你們在天之父。」（5:16）耶穌發出的光是祂的愛。祂的愛是偉大的，因為祂愛到受傷，愛到死在十字架上。雖然我們的愛不及耶穌，但我們總有能力去愛。我們的光輝不及耶穌，但我們總可以藉我們作為教徒，作為天主子民的善行，令世人可以看見天主的工作，看見天主，從而光耀。現在，我們已經回答了起初所提出的問題了。我們如何在無信者面前，令他們口服心服地証明天主的存在呢？就是透過我們的善行。

天主教徒擅長做甚麼呢？在四旬期我們做甚麼呢？禁食、祈禱和施捨！透過禁食，我們空虛自己，好能承能天主更多的恩寵。藉著祈禱，我們敞開我們的心扉，迎接天主進入我們的內心，聽從天主的說話，接受祂的安慰。慷慨地施捨，我們向有困難的人伸出援手，因為耶穌基督曾許諾，當我們「饑者食之，渴者飲之，裸者衣之，收留旅人，照顧病人，探望囚者。」時，我們在服事耶穌。（25:35-36，40）

去年我們誦唸「慈悲禧年禱文」時，我們唸：「耶穌是不可見的天父可見的面容。」各位兄弟姊妹，我們領洗成為天主的義子，我們自問：「我們怎樣有如耶穌一樣，彰顯天父的面容呢？四旬期正是悔改，回歸父家的好時機。我們如何彰顯天父的光榮，有如耶穌今天在福音所描述的一樣？是透過禁食、祈禱和施捨。從現在開始，我們就能發出一點光，它日復一日地更光亮。到了復活前夕，縱使關掉整座聖堂的燈光，我們的光足以照亮四周。
天主保祐！

天主子的誘惑 Temptation of the Son of God

四旬期第一主日（甲年）
主題：天主子的誘惑

耶穌基督是真人真天主，這是基督信仰的核心部份。祂是真實的人，否則，祂的死祗不過是一齣戲，是沒有贖罪價值的了。祂又是真實的天主，否則，祂的死不足以補償古往今來世人所犯的罪過。因此，福音記載了耶穌饑餓、耶穌疲倦、耶穌為朋友的死哭泣、耶穌發怒、耶穌害怕與及耶穌受試探。這些都是確實的，與我們沒有分別的經歷。今天的福音，讓我們反省如何面對試探。

究竟甚麼是試探誘惑呢？讓我們從反面來思考吧！當你肚飽的時候，食物不能誘惑你。當你是億萬富翁的時候，你不會被區區數百萬元所誘惑。當你已經有一段美滿婚姻的時候，第三者不能誘惑你。當你是一國之君的時候，權力不能誘惑到你。但你會追求長生不老，永遠享受你的權力和人民對你的敬仰。大家知否西方大部份偉大的音樂家所寫的最後一首音樂作品是甚麼？是安魂曲，因為到了那個時候，再沒有甚麼足以表達他的音樂造詣了。從以上所舉的例子，大家會明白到，祗要人一息尚存，他們必須滿足各種各樣的需要，有生理上的、心理上的、社會的、文化的和靈性上的需要。滿足這種種需要是重要的，否則人不能成長，不能發揮天賦的潛質。誘惑就是「想」以不正確的手段，不符合天主旨意的方法來滿足這些需要。注意，誘惑本身不是罪，但付諸實踐就成為罪了。例如，在婚姻生活中的性行為既可以滿足性的需要，加強夫婦之間的恩愛，促進夫妻二人心靈的成長，並且生兒育女，這是美好的，符合天主旨意的。但在婚姻之外滿足性需要的念頭，就是誘惑。付諸實行就犯罪，甚至犯法了。所以，當誘惑出現時，是成聖還是成魔，祗是一念之差。

不要以為耶穌基督是天主，對誘惑會無動於衷。基督兼有天主性和人性，所以誘惑對祂會有一種微妙的吸引力。在三次的試探之中，魔鬼就說過兩次：「你若是天主子」（瑪4:3，6）。固然，可能魔鬼想核實眼前的這個人是否又是天主派來的一位先知，抑或是天主子。不過，撒殫肯定會感覺到在它面前的不是一個凡人。所以，這兩個試探，一定是同時誘惑耶穌基督的天主性和人性的。

人性方面的誘惑，比較容易理解。肚子餓了，當然渴望有食物充飢。既然輕而易舉，有能力做的事情，為甚麼不露一手，反而要沉著氣不做呢？在天主性方面，我們不是天主，故此祗能推測，不能肯定。我估計對基督天主性的誘惑，在於運用神力，解決人性的需要和舒緩人性的痛苦。倘若這樣做，便握剎了人性的潛質。饑餓是辛苦的，忍耐也是辛苦的。可是，饑不擇食，與動物有甚麼分別呢？故此，變麵餅來充饑，豈不把人貶為動物嗎？人可以為了尊嚴，寧願餓死，也不吃「嗟來之食」；人亦可以為了理想，爭取應得合理的權益而絕食。這些都是人性的光輝，人性的潛能。倘若運用神力，使自己感覺不到饑餓，耶穌四十天的守齋，祗是一場表演，就變成沒有價值了。你可能覺得為了顯示自己是天主子的身份，從聖殿頂躍下很無聊。但請你想想，如果耶穌三個小時在十字架上，沉不住氣，跳了下來，後果有多麼嚴重！

耶穌的榜樣，給我們甚麼啟示？ 首先，耶穌對抗誘惑的方法，十分簡單直接。祂沒有使用法力，消滅魔鬼，或者與魔鬼進行辯論。祂祗引用聖經，而且祂所引用的，全部出自【申命紀】，是以色列人作為生活指標的法律書。耶穌引用【申命紀】說：「人生活不祗靠餅，而也靠天主口中所發的一切言語。」（瑪4:4，申8:3）開宗明義，提醒我們必須熟悉聖經，熟悉天主的教導，纔能抗拒誘惑的挑戰。

其次，耶穌心中充滿著愛，以愛化解誘惑。用聖保祿宗徒的教訓來印証，他說：「愛是含忍的…不誇張，不自大，不作無禮的事，不求己益…」（格前13:4-5）所以，在生活中，我們應該充滿忍耐，不要衝動，不隨便發怒，這是充滿著愛的表現。不以自我為中心，要求人人按自己的意思行事。要知道別人也是按天主的肖像所造，要尊重他，給他足夠的時候和空間去發展。不是按你的意願發展，而是按天主的意願去發展。所以耶穌引用【申命紀】說：「不可試探上主，你的天主！」（瑪4:7，申6:16）
最後，作為基督徒，我們應以天主為生活的中心，不應出賣靈魂，與惡勢力妥協，與魔鬼妥協。所以，耶穌再一次引用【申命紀】，揭露魔鬼的真面目，並斥責魔鬼說：「你要朝拜上主，你的天主，惟獨事奉祂。」（瑪4:10，申6:13）

各位兄弟姊妹，四旬期是回心轉意，重投天父懷抱的好機會。第一，勤讀聖經，在福音中找到生活的力量。第二，關愛別人，不要再自我中心，好像那些坐在車箱內，低著頭打機的人一樣，他們看不到站在他們面前的孕婦！與人相處時，多忍耐，給他們時間發展，不要強加自己的意願到別人身上。最後，全心投靠天主，戒除惡習，不與惡勢力交往和妥協。
天主保祐！

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First Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: Temptation of the Son of God

Jesus Christ is truly human and truly divine. This is the core of Christianity. He is truly human. Otherwise, his death was a show and not redemptive. He is truly divine. Otherwise, his death was not able to redeem all the sins past, present and in the future. Thus, we read in the gospel that Jesus was hungry, tired, wept for the death of his friend, was angry, afraid and was tempted. These are all genuine experiences not different from ours. With the gospel reading today, let us reflect on how to deal with temptations.

What is temptation? Let us think along from a negative perspective! If you are full, food cannot tempt you. If you are a zillionaire, you will not be tempted by a few million dollars. If you already have a fulfilled married life, the seductress has no place. If you were a king, no more authority is able to tempt you. You would only look for the elixir which extends your life forever so that you might enjoy your power and awe of your subjects forever. Do you know what the last piece of music written by most Western composers was? It is Requiem because by that time, there was nothing more which could showcase his musicianship better. From these examples above, we can conclude that as long as our hearts beat, we have to satisfy all sorts of needs: physiological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs. Meeting these needs is important. Otherwise, men cannot develop and their potentials cannot be actualized. Temptation is the idea to meet these needs in an improper way, in a way against the will of God. Notice that temptation in itself is not a sin. Putting it into action is. For example, conjugal love in married life satisfies the sexual needs on one hand, strengthens the friendship of the spouses, enhances their spiritual growth and makes babies on the other. This is good and fulfils God's will. However, the thought of gratifying sexual needs outside of marriage is a temptation. Putting it into action commits a sin and even a crime. Thus, whenever temptation emerges, the decision to act or to resist turns you into a demon or a saint.

Do not think that Jesus Christ is divine and thus is immune to temptations. Jesus Christ is both human and divine. Thus temptation is trickier. Among the three temptations, the Devil spoke twice "If you are the Son of God" (Matthew 4:3, 6) Of course, probably the Devil wanted to verify that the man was yet another prophet sent by God or the Son of God. But Satan must have sensed that the man standing in front of it was no ordinary man. Thus, these two temptations must be enticing both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.

On the humanity, it is easier to understand. You are hungry. Of course you want to eat to release the tension. When something can be done as easily as a snap of your fingers, why refrain from doing it? On the divinity, it is beyond us to contemplate. We can only speculate. I opine that the temptation to Christ' divinity was to make use of his divine power to satisfy the needs and relieve the pains of his humanity. Had Christ done so, he would have suppressed the potentials of humanity. Both hunger and patience are painful. But if we are fed whenever we are hungry, we are no different from animals. Then, doesn't turning stones into bread to feed us downgrade us to animals? A Chinese idiom came from a story in which a man refused relief and subsequently starved in dignity when a rich man bade him rudely over for some congee in a famine. Men go hunger strikes to fight for ideals and reasonable human rights. These are the pride and potentials of humanity. Had Jesus made use of his divine power to make himself not hungry, his fasting for forty days and nights would have only been a show and become worthless. You might find proving your identity as the Son of God by jumping down from the top of the Temple trivial. Please think again. After hanging on the cross for three hours, had Jesus become impatient and jumped down from it, the consequences would have been disastrous!

What have we learned from Jesus' exemplar?
First of all, Jesus resisted temptation in a simple and direct way. He did not make use of his divine power to destroy the Devil or argue with it. He simply quoted the Bible and all his answers came from Deuteronomy, the Torah of the Israelites. From the start, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy to tell us that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3) We must know the Bible, know the teachings of God in order to resist the challenges of temptations.

Secondly, Jesus is full of love. He neutralized temptations with love. This is further supported by the teaching of St. Paul who said, "Love is patient ... is not boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way ..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) Thus, in our daily life, we should be patient, not impulsive and not easily irritable. This is how love is manifested. Do not be egocentric and demand people to follow our wills. We need to know that others were also created in the image of God. Respect them. Give them adequate time and space to develop, not according to your will, but according to God's will. So, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy, saying "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." (Matthew 4:7, Deuteronomy 6:16) Lastly, as Christians, we should make God the centre of our life. We shouldn't betray our souls and make a deal with the Devil. Thus, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy once more to reveal the true face of the Devil and rebuked it, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." (Matthew 4:10, Deuteronomy 6:13)

Brethren, Lent is a good opportunity to turn around to embrace the Father again. Firstly, study the Bible and draw strength from the Gospels. Secondly, care about the others. Don't be self-centred like those who play mobile games and ignore pregnant women standing right before them. Be patient and give people time to grow. Don't impose your will on others. Lastly, go to God. Kick bad habits and make no deals with evil powers.
God bless!