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Monday 12 November 2018

如何不令小子跌倒 How NOT to Cause Little Ones to Fall

如何不令小子跌倒(路17:1-6

大部份的天主教徒都不願意傳福音,他們藉口自己對聖經和教理的知識有限,怕教錯別人,所以不想向身邊的人傳教。但是,所謂「校學相長」,指導別人,受教者固然得益;指導者在教授不同人的過程中,亦可不斷提昇自己的技巧,和澄清一些知識上的破綻。所以指導者不需要在自己的知識完全沒有破綻時,纔去施教,因為在教導別人的過程中,自己也有長進。神父和主教的聖經和教理知識,並不是完全沒有破綻的!

澄清自己的信仰,是一項終身的任務。不傳福音,我們失去了「教而後知困」的機會。讓信仰塵封,不認識耶穌基督的生平言行,不知道基督徒的倫理準則,跟世俗隨波逐流而不感覺到有問題,是大部份天主教徒的寫照。為甚麼?因為不傳福音,信仰沒有被挑戰過而依然塵封;沒有嘗試過遭人拒絕的滋味,所以不覺得信靠天主的可貴;何來下定決心去進修,去加強個人靈修的動機呢?更諷刺的,在這個資訊泛濫,假新聞充斥的社交媒體世界裡,很多天主教徒很樂意把一些來歷不明,似是而非,包裝得很有人生哲理的短訊,不假思索地轉發給群組內的朋友,滿足了傳福音的責任!殊不知他們正犯了第八誡,對真理不負責任!對不起,言重了。

主耶穌基督說得好:「引人跌倒的事是免不了的。」(路17:1)世俗充滿了爭奪和謬論,是免不了的。讓我們不要成為,令信德薄弱者跌倒的人。最好的辦法,就是向外人,宣講耶穌基督的生平言行,讓他們能分沾天主的救恩,而我們自己亦能有所長進,不致陷於世俗的誘惑。亞孟!

生命恩泉


How NOT to Cause Little Ones to Fall (Luke 17:1-6)

Most Catholics are reluctant to evangelize. The lack of biblical and catechetical knowledge is a common excuse. They "fear" that they would teach the wrong things to others. However, when teaching others, the recipients will of course benefit. But in the course of teaching different people, the teachers themselves will continue to upgrade their skills and clarify some blind spots in their knowledge. Thus, it is not necessary for the knowledge to be bulletproof in order to evangelize because catechists also improve in the process. After all, the biblical and catechetical knowledge of priests and bishops is not airtight!

To upgrade one's faith is a life-long assignment. We will lose the motivation to improve when we do not evangelize and meet difficulties. Allowing their faith to gather dust; not knowing the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, or Christian moral principles; going with the flow and do not find it problematic is a rather accurate description of most Catholics. Why? It is because when they do not evangelize, their faith is never challenged and gather dust. They have never been rejected and will not have the chance to feel the goodness of God's consolation. Then from where comes the motivation to study and strengthen their spirituality? Paradoxically, indulging in the world of social media which is flooded with fake news, many Catholics are eager to forward short questionable messages packaged in high sounding philosophical memes to their friends and groups without a thought, perhaps to satisfy their evangelization duty! They have committed the eighth Commandment, being irresponsible towards the truth!

Lord Jesus Christ says it well, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur." (Luke 17:1) It is inevitable for the secular world to be filled with cheatings and fallacies. Let us not become the cause of the fall of those little ones in faith. The best way is to proclaim the words and deeds of Jesus Christ to others so that they may share God's salvation. Then we too will improve and do not fall into temptations of the secular world. Amen.

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