主題：充滿聖神的力量
耶穌基督受難後三日復活，花了四十天的時間，顯現給一百二十位特選的門徒，派遣他們到世上去，為祂的言行事蹟作見證，宣揚天主與罪人和好的福音。耶穌基督升天後，門徒依從祂的吩咐，留在耶路撒冷，等候天父的恩許（宗1:4）。十日後，即逾越節後五十日，稱為五旬節的日子，當一百二十位門徒聚集在一起的時候，聖神降臨在每個信徒的頭上。原本是膽怯的門徒，變得勇敢大膽；原本是不善辭令，必須發言便你推我讓的門徒，變得雄辯滔滔，並且說起不同的語言。他們在聖神的催促之下，跑到街上，向來自世界各地，說不同語言的朝聖者 ，宣揚耶穌基督的復活，天主與罪人和好的福音。一日之間，有三千人加入這個一百二十人的團體。這個三千一百二十人的團體，就是教會。聖伯多祿宗徒說，我們都是活石，建成一座屬神的殿宇（伯前2:5）。聖保祿宗徒教導我們，說教會是耶穌基督的奧體，每個信徒都是這個奧體的細胞（格前12:27）。天主聖子藉聖神降孕，生於童貞聖母瑪利亞，聖誕節就是紀念耶穌基督的生日；今天我們慶祝聖神降臨節，其實也是慶祝耶穌基督的奧體，即教會的生日；教會正式出生了，聖神的時代亦開始了。
今天選讀的福音，有一句說話重覆了。對！就是「願你們平安」（若20:19，21）。但耶穌基督所賜予的平安，不是消極的「沒有憂慮，高枕無憂」的平安，或者「完成責任，心安理得」的平安。即是說，耶穌基督不會賜給我們用之不盡的金錢、或者永遠沒有病痛的健康、或者沒有敵人、人見人愛的性格、或者在政治上有所成就，獲得領導人頒發的「免死金牌」等。對不起，都不是這些，因為這一切都祗能滿足人性物質上的需要和心理上部份的需要！請不要忘記，人是按天主的肖像所造。（創1:26）他的需要，不是有限的物質和心理所能充分滿足的；祗有無限的天主，纔能滿足到無限的靈性需要。所以，祗有天主纔能使我們得到真正的平安，天主的平安！
怎樣可以領受這份平安呢？
今天，站在我們面前的六位，耶穌基督所揀選的少年人，他們將會領受「堅振聖事」，完成入門聖事。領受「堅振聖事」就是領受天主聖神，接受耶穌基督的派遣，使世界得救。讓我們重溫對天主聖神的認識。
聖神是天主聖三的第三位，是聖父聖子共發的真理之神、愛德之神。在天主聖三之中，聖神好像風一樣，是最難捉摸的一位。這樣，祂表現出天主不是一個人類發明的概念，一個人類可以操控、可以賄賂的神明。聖神好像風一樣，我們祗能看到祂經過所留下的痕跡，而看不到祂。祂留下的痕跡是甚麼？按聖保祿宗徒的教訓，就是「聖神的果子」，共有九個，包括：仁愛、喜樂、平安、忍耐、良善、溫和、忠信、柔和、節制（迦5:22-23）當我們行為上事事表現出對人關心慈悲（仁愛）、時常充滿喜樂、對成敗處於泰然（平安）、待人接物並不急功近利，而是審時度勢而行（忍耐）、凡事從積極的角度想（良善）、有一顆正直的心（溫和）、信守諾言（忠信）、行事小心翼翼（柔和）、恰到好處（節制）。這一切，都是信徒在聖神的推動下，纔在本事做到的成績。這樣做，便能幫助世人與天主修和，我們便履行基督徒的使命了。
大家可記得「聖神七恩」嗎（依11:2-3）？聖神就是藉著這七種能力，幫助我們履行使命，造出上述的九個果效。「上智」幫助我們愛慕天上的事多於世俗的事。「聰敏」幫助我們明白做耶穌的門徒應該做甚麼。「超見」幫助我們明辨是非，有能力作出正確的選擇，避免罪惡。「剛毅」給我們勇氣，戰勝恐懼，耐心行事。「明達」有能力認識基督的真理和教會訓導的價值。「孝愛」謙遜地信靠天主和教會。「敬畏天主」對天主的大能肅然起敬。
今天的福音說，我們要領受耶穌基督的派遣，就有這份平安。（若20:21）耶穌基督派遣我們去做甚麼呢？去完成祂開始了，但仍未完成的救世工程！這是一份重大的使命，所以耶穌基督賜予我們聖神，幫助我們完成這艱巨的任務。（20:22）我們怎樣完成耶穌基督的救世工程呢？祂的任務是促進世界與天父和好，所以我們要幫助所接觸到的人，與天父和好。首先，我們要寬恕別人，天主就會藉著我們的寬恕，去寬恕世人，與世人和好（20:23）。你們可記得耶穌基督被釘在十字架上時，不也是請求天父寬恕那些傷害祂的人嗎（路23:34）？對於那些冥頑不靈，不肯承認自己有錯的人，我們無從寬恕他們，天父也不能藉著我們的寬恕與世人和好，天父要另外想辦法了。
讓我們開放自己，擁抱聖神，讓聖神的能力充滿我們。
天主保祐！
Feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Year A)
Theme: Empowered by the Holy Spirit
On the third day of His Passion, Jesus Christ has risen from his death. He spent forty days to appear to the chosen 120 disciples, sent them to the world to bear witness of His words and deeds and to proclaim the gospel of God's reconciliation with sinners. After His ascension, the disciples followed the Lord's instruction to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father. (Acts 1:4) Ten days later, that is 50 days after the Feast of Passover, when the 120 disciples were gathered in one place, the Holy Spirit descended on them. The disciples who had been timid turned bold. They had been weak in speech and been reluctant to speak out became apologetic and started speaking in different tongues. On the urge of the Holy Spirit, they went out and started proclaiming to pilgrims from all over the world the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gospel of reconciliation. In one day, 3000 were added to the 120 community. This 3120 community was the beginning of the Church. St. Peter said, "Like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house." (1 Peter 2:5) St. Paul taught that the Church, "Now you are the (Mystical) Body of Christ and individually members of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27) The Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrate the Descent of the Holy Spirit. We also celebrate of the birth of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church. The Church exists officially. It is the beginning of the Era of the Holy Spirit.
In the gospel reading today, one sentence is repeated. Yes! It is "Peace be with you." (John 20:19, 21) But the peace which Jesus gives is not the negative kind of "no worry", nor the feeling of relief due to the fulfilment of one's duty. That is to say, Jesus does not give us an inexhaustible amount of wealth, or health without illnesses, or a pleasant personality which attracts all friends but no enemy; or political achievements so that the emperor grants you immunity to death. Sorry! None of these because all these can only satisfy material needs or some of the psychological needs of humanity. Don't forget. Men were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Men's needs cannot be adequately satisfied by finite material or psychological stuff. Only the infinite God can satisfy our infinite spiritual needs. Therefore, only God can give us genuine peace, God's peace!
How do we receive this peace?
Today, standing before us are six youngsters chosen by Jesus Christ. They will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation to complete the Rite of Christian Initiation. Receiving Confirmation is to receive the Holy Spirit and the commission of Jesus Christ to save the world. Let us revise what we know about God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Love proceeds from the Father and the Son. Within the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit is like the wind, the most difficult to grasp. In this way, He shows that God is not a concept invented by men. God is not a deity which can be manipulated or bribed by men. The Holy Spirit is like the wind. We cannot see Him but can only see the traces He has left behind. What are the traces He has left behind? St. Paul teaches that it is the Fruits of the Holy Spirit. There are nine, namely love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) When in all our doing, we show care and mercy (love), are always full of joy, indifferent to success or failure (peace). When we deal with people and things, we do not look for quick fix but work according to time and tides (patience), look at things in a positive manner (kindness), with an uprightness of heart (goodness), honour our promises (faithfulness), proceed cautiously (meekness) and take the middle way (self-control). All these are the achievements of Christians empowered by the Holy Spirit. In this way, we can help humanity to reconcile with God. We are fulfilling our Christian mission.
Do you remember the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3)? With these seven powers, the Holy Spirit helps us accomplish our mission, producing the Nine Fruits. Wisdom helps us love heavenly things more than secular things. Understanding helps us understand what a follower of Jesus should do. Counsel helps us discern right from wrong, to make the right choices and avoid evil. Fortitude gives us courage to overcome fear and work patiently. Knowledge helps us know the truth of Christ and the teachings of the Church and all the underlying values. With piety, we humbly trust God and the Church. Before the glory and wonder of God, we stand with awe, with the Fear of God.
The gospel today says, we receive Jesus' commission and have this peace (John 20:21). What did Jesus send us to do? To accomplish the salvation project He had started and yet to be completed. This is a demanding mission. So Jesus Christ gives us the Holy Spirit to help us complete this challenging undertaking. How do we accomplish this redemptive project of Jesus Christ? His mission is to reconcile the world to God. Therefore, we have to help the people we meet reconcile with the Father. First of all, we must forgive. With our forgiveness, God can forgive and reconcile with men (20:23). Do you remember when Jesus was nailed to the cross, He prayed to God to forgive those who killed him (Luke 23:34)? For those who are stubborn and refuse to acknowledge their faults, we have no way to forgive them. Without our forgiveness, the Father cannot reconcile with men. He has to look for some other ways.
Let us open up ourselves to embrace the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit empower us.
God bless!
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