聖神如何滋潤我們？ How are We Given to Drink of One Spirit?

五旬節主日，甲年
主題：聖神如何滋潤我們？ How are We Given to Drink of One Spirit?

教會把天主拯救世人的工程，安排在一年之中周而復始地慶祝，加深我們對天主的感恩和虔敬。四部福音記載了耶穌基督的言行。於是教會用三年時間，在主日彌撒，每年集中讀一本『對觀福音』的選段。並且在適當的節日，選讀《若望福音》，使信友充分了解主耶穌的言行。今天是五旬節，教會慶祝聖神降臨，也就是教會的『生日』。三年的主日彌撒讀經，完全一樣！惟一不同的，是第二篇讀經。我們宣讀《格林多前書》三篇不同的選段。

感謝方濟會的神父們，他們參照希伯來文、希臘文及拉丁文各個權威版本，把【聖經】翻譯成為中文，幫助我們祈禱默想，讓我們更容易領會天主的旨意。因為文化上的差異，翻譯能夠做到『信、雅、達』，已經是難能可貴了。作為教友，倘若生活上尤有餘力，學習一點希伯來文或者希臘文是有益的。既可以減慢『腦退化』，更可以深刻地理解經文的意義。例如為今天講道而默想時，其中有一句特別觸動自己的經文，是這樣寫的：「又都為同一個聖神所滋潤」（格前12:13）。 聖神啊！祢想借助這句經文，告訴我甚麼呢？在聖神的督促之下，我開始查考希臘文原文，發現金句中的『所滋潤』，原文是『飲/喝』字的被動式。結果我喝醉了！

且讓我們重溫一點『天主聖三』的道理，我們把它濃縮到每個主日彌撒所唸的《信經》之中。關於『聖神』，我們是這樣唸的：「我信聖神，祂是主及賦予生命者，由聖父聖子所其發」。在宇宙存在之前，只有一個全能的天主。若望宗徒在他所寫的書信中，告訴我們：「天主是愛」（若一4:8）。愛是一股外向的力量，天主這股外向的全能力量，便『情不自禁』地創造了一個適合人類生活的宇宙。再次感謝若望宗徒，在他所寫的福音中，他告訴我們當天主發號司令創造的一刻，『祂』與『祂的命令』便成為我們所認知的『聖父』和『聖子』了。『聖父』是宇宙萬物的起源，『聖子』是祂的言語。祂們之間交流著的『愛情』，就是『聖神』，就是滿溢著生命力的『氣息』。《創世紀》告訴們，當上主天主用地上的灰土形成亞當的時候，「…在他鼻孔內吹了一口生氣， 人就成了一個有靈的生物」（創2:7）。何以見得這『一口生氣』就是『聖神』呢？在《創世紀》第五章所記載上古時代的人物，最短命的拉默客〔即諾厄的父親〕，也有777歲。為了解釋為甚麼當今大部份的人類都活不過120歲，《創世紀》的作者/編輯便作出了以下的解釋：「因為人既屬於血肉，我〔天主〕的神不能常在他內；他的壽數只可到120歲」（6:3）。在這兩段經文互相光照之下，我們可以放膽說：『聖神就是聖父聖子之間交流的氣息』。

『氣息/風』是肉眼所見不到的，只可以憑它的運動所引起的環境變化，來推斷它的存在。天主是永生的天主，所以祂的氣息，就是令萬物擁有生命的氣息。亞當的肉體是由塵土所造，最後還要歸於塵土（3:19）。是天主有生命的氣息，使亞當活起來。亞當的一言一行，便反映出聖神在運行中！以後，《舊約》還記載了『聖神』的一些事跡，例如：當「上主的神」降在民長三松身上時，他赤手空拳，把一隻向他咆哮的小獅子撕裂，有如撕裂小山羊一樣（民14:5-6）；當「天主的神」降在以色列第一任君王撒烏耳身上時，他邊行邊說妙語〔預言〕（撒上19:23）。在巴比倫，「至聖神明的精神」降在達尼爾身上，他為驕傲的拿步高王解夢，預言上主對他的懲罰（達4:6; 21-24）。天主聖神有如風，來無蹤、去無跡；祂讓我們看到千變萬化的形態。到了新約時代，耶穌在約但河受洗後，聖神有如鴿子降下，來到祂上面（瑪3:16）；在耶穌升天後的五旬期，聖神以巨響、暴風和散在各人頭上的火舌，使120個門徒說世界各地的不同語言，為復活了的耶穌作見證。憑此林林總總的表現，我們可以推測到『聖神』的臨在和祂的威力！

在默想我們如何『暢飲』天主聖神，祂又如何『滋潤』我們之前，讓我們先從負面看天主聖神與我們的關係，對比出聖神的『滋潤』，為我們是多麼好。 當法利塞人毀謗耶穌基督仗賴魔王驅魔的時候，祂警告說：「凡出言干犯人子的，可得赦免；但出言干犯聖神的，在今世及來世，都不得赦免」（12:24; 32）。聖神是生命的氣息，所以干犯聖神，就是自尋死路，進入一種永遠的『死亡』之中了，應該是非常可怕的。 另一方面，保祿宗徒告訴我們，聖神停留在我們身上時，我們就會結出九個效果，散發出九種高尚的氣質，就是：「仁愛、喜樂、平安、忍耐、良善、溫和、忠信、柔和、節制」（迦5:22-23）。正如在起初，亞當的一言一行，反映出聖神的運行！同樣，我們說話，是聖神在說話（瑪10:20）；我們關愛身邊有困難的人，是聖神藉我們關愛需要幫助的人。這九個超性的效果，使我們容光煥發，心廣體胖，生活無憂無懼。

當人憂鬱的時候，人會暫時離開令他憂鬱的場合。同理，倘若在我們內的聖神憂鬱了，祂會離開我們，我們便會失去上述九種氣質，最終可能會陷入危險的抑鬱裡，以至痛苦萬分！所以，即使我們已經領了『堅振聖事』、領受了聖神，也不要掉以輕心。因為挽留聖神在心中，也要費點心力。倘若我們在靈修上、在祈禱和讀經上鬆懈了，開始不管制自己的口舌，搬弄是非，挑撥離間；發怒、偷竊、爭吵…保祿宗徒說，我們便會令天主的聖神憂鬱（弗4:25-31）。結果，我們自己也抑鬱了！

相反，不要少覷『喜樂』的重要性。假如信從耶穌基督的福音，沒有帶給你喜樂。信主之後，你的生活沒有變得更喜樂，沒有樂趣，沒有意義…這是一個危險的警號！當你覺得『信耶穌』與『不信耶穌』沒有任何分別時，何必每個主日參加彌撒領聖體呢？你的靈修開始鬆懈了…後果你是知道的。另一方面，喜樂的心情能支撐我們渡過人生中更沉重的痛苦；使我們不那麼拘謹，在祈禱時更容易進入『默觀』階段，享受那非筆墨所能形容的『神魂超拔』、『榮福直觀』；陶醉在天主的神聖愛情之中，好像喝醉了酒一樣！難怪在《舊約》，當「上主的神」降臨在先知們身上時，他們開始說『妙語』。在聽眾眼中，先知們看來好像喝醉了酒一樣！同樣在《新約》，當五旬節聖神降臨在120個門徒身上，為耶穌的復活作證時，群眾也誤會他們喝醉了酒（宗2:13），其實他們是陶醉在天主神聖的愛情中！原來傳福音，是可以好像享受醇醪美酒一樣舒暢的！

各位親愛的兄弟姊妹，基督君王在最後審判時說：「我渴了，你們給了我喝的」（瑪25:35），不是考驗我們有沒有幫助有困難的近人，而是邀請我們和近人一起參加聖神的『品酒大會』，在人世間彼此舉杯勸飲，彼此洗腳（若13:14）。因為我的渴望、你的渴望、全人類的渴望，只有天主聖神才能可以滿足，才能得到滋潤，才能得到完全的陶醉！亞孟。
天主保祐！

---

2023反省
圖片鳴謝：doubao.com

可以保持緘默嗎？ Can We Maintain Our Reticence?

【福傳系列（六）】
可以保持緘默嗎？（瑪5:33-37）

讓我們先澄清為甚麼法律接受「發誓」程序。猶太文化對法治，貢獻良多。他們不但留下「十誡」給後世，而且是他們提出「凡殺人的案件，應依據幾個人的口供，纔可處決殺人犯；惟獨一人作證，不足以將人宣判死刑」（戶35:30; 達13:36-41）。倘若真的祇有一個見證人，如何是好？憑甚麼推翻見證人的話，而接受被告喊冤呢？倘若見證人在說真話，難道因為少了一個見證人而讓犯法的人逍遙法外嗎？於是，發誓求天主做見證，成了權宜之計。因為猶太人相信，沒有人膽敢妄呼天主的聖名，來支持自己行不義。兩個見證人合謀行不義，誣告蘇撒納，就是一個好例子，說明即使有兩個見證人，也不能保證裁判是公義的。

於是耶穌基督便杜絕了這個權宜之計，這個「發誓」程序。因為世界之大，除了相信天主的人之外，還有很多不相信天主存在的人；和表面相信，但心裡仍懷疑的人。即使他們按法律條文發誓，他們未必是真心的。他們的心是怎樣，祇有天主知道，法庭是無法確實的！天主子的要求是簡單易行的：「你們的話當是：是就說是，非就說非；其他多餘的便是出於邪惡」（瑪5:37）。

「是就說是，非就說非」，不需要潤飾、加重語氣、畫蛇添足、圓滑地不傷感情、不令當事人尷尬等等，不是最簡單易行嗎？可惜人性受了「原罪」污染，再加上沒有靈性生命的修煉，人總會說些「多餘」的話來潤飾，來加強說服力，令場面不會尷尬…結果，「毒藥」披上了「糖衣」，而真話卻被埋藏在厚厚的「調味料」之下，你們來判斷是否邪惡！

古語有云：「一言既出，駟馬難追」，可見說話是不應隨便出口的。且看，據《對觀福音》的記載，耶穌基督受審時，不是保持緘默，並沒有為自己爭取公義的裁判嗎？所以，我們可以跟隨基督的榜樣，選擇保持緘默。不過，一切應以天主的旨意為依歸，正如達尼爾的例子一樣。上主俯聽了蘇撒納的喊冤，「便感了動了一個青年人的聖善心靈，這青年名叫達尼爾」，為她申冤（達13:45-49）。請注意，這已經超出了「發誓」的範圍，而是憑「良心」說話了。

親愛的朋友，你知否救人的靈魂，是最大的法律嗎？而最大的誡命，不出愛主、愛人。所以關顧身邊的人靈性的死活，實在義不容辭。向他們宣講與天父修和的福音吧！成功與否，由天父決定，不用我們操心。放心大膽宣講吧，我們祇不過是祂的器皿，略盡綿力而已。亞孟。
天主保祐！

---

生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：shop.artuk.org, www.sohu.com, grok.com

[Evangelization Series VI]
Can We Maintain Our Reticence? (Matthew 5:33-37)

Let me clarify why the law accepts the procedure of “Oath-taking”. The Jewish culture contributes a lot to the rule of the law. Not only did they leave the posterity the Ten Commandments, but the Jews also enshrines, “Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required to kill the murderer. A single witness does not suffice for putting a person to death” (Numbers 35:30, Daniel 13:36-41). If there is only one witness, what is to be done? With what can we overturn the words of the witness and accept the not-guilty pledge of the defendant? If the witness speaks the truth, shall we set the culprit free because there is one witness short? Thus, invoking God as a witness became a compromise. The Jews believe that nobody dare to call upon the name of God to support his wickedness. The case of two elders framing Susanna illustrates well that having two witnesses is unable to guarantee a fair judgment.

Jesus Christ wants to eradicate this compromise, this oath-taking procedure. The world is big. Besides people who believe in God, there are many who do not believe in the existence of God and those who believe with reservation. Even if they take oath according to the letters of the law, they may not be genuine. Only God knows their conscience. The court of the law is unable to ascertain! The demand of the Son of God is simple and easy, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’. Anything more is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37).

Isn’t “‘Yes’ means ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ means ‘No’”, no need to embellish, to emphasize, to decorate, not to offense sensibility and not to embarrass etc. simple and easy? Regrettably, humanity is contaminated by the “Original Sin”, together with a lack of spiritual exercises, men tend to embellish, to convince, to be diplomatic … Consequently, poison puts on a sweet coat, and the truth is buried under thick layers of dressings. It is evil, isn’t it?

As an aphorism goes, “A four-horse chariot is unable to chase after a spoken word”. Look! According to the narratives of the Synoptic gospels, when Jesus was on trial, didn’t He remain reticent and did not fight for a righteous judgment? Thus, we can follow the example of Jesus and choose to remain silent. However, God’s will be done, like the case of Daniel. God heard the prayer of Susanna, “stirred up the Holy Spirit of a young boy named Daniel” to fight for her justice (Daniel 13:45-49). Notice that this has already gone beyond “oath-taking” and arrived at “speaking from the conscience”.

Beloved brethren. Don’t you know that the salvation of souls is the supreme law in the Church? The greatest commandment does not go beyond loving the Lord and loving your neighbour. Therefore, there should be no hesitation in taking care of the well-being of the spiritual life of the people around you. Proclaim the gospel of reconciliation to them! There is no need to worry about successes or failures because the Father decides. Proclaim boldly! We are merely His vessels contributing negligible efforts. Amen.
God bless!

猶太人的希望 The Hope of the Jews

【失望/希望系列（五）】
猶太人的希望（谷12:28b-34）

亞巴郎是天主的朋友（達3:35），天主曾應許亞巴郎，他的子孫有如天上的繁星，多得不可勝數（創15:5）；而且天主為他的子孫，預留了安居樂業的土地，客納罕（15:18-21; 17:8）；最重要的，是天下萬民要因他和他的後裔，蒙受祝福（12:3b）。天主是全能的，言出必行，祂必會兌現所有的承諾。但人類存在於時間和空間之中，所以天主的承諾，不會即時兌現。例如，亞巴郎的曾孫若瑟，先被賣到埃及當奴隸，後來當了埃及宰相，幫助埃及和四周的民族，渡過七年的大旱，並安排了父親雅各伯（以色列）一家七十口，遷居埃及，免受大旱之苦（46:27）。定居四百三十年後（出12:40-41），成了一個60萬人的族群（12:37），在埃及當奴隸。以色列人是一個聰明務實的百姓，有食有住，並不以奴役為苦！但奴役始終不是祝福埃及國，所以天主召選了梅瑟解放他們。離開埃及，過了紅海，擺脫了法朗的追捕後，下一步要面對的，就是如何前往客納罕的問題了。60萬人一齊前行，包括婦孺老弱在內，可能要用幾個月的時間。姑且不考慮軍事上如何與沿途的民族交戰，也要思考如何應付60萬人飲食上的需要！的確，在起初，擺脫埃及人的奴役是相當吸引和理想的，不用周詳的計劃，祇憑一鼓作氣，足以成事；但面對一望無際的曠野，何來食物和飲用水呢？難怪群眾抱怨梅瑟，要求返回埃及，甚至死在埃及（14:11-12; 16:1-3）！

雖然猶太人是一個「執拗的百姓」（出32:9; 申9:6），經常背叛天主、試探天主，但不要忘記，第一代基督徒，全部都是猶太人！所以天主對猶太人，仍然懷有希望，不斷給他們回頭悔改的機會。因為猶太人務實，與天主的關係中，「愛」的元素不足，我們可以從經文中找到一些線索。在《梅瑟五書》，「愛」字祇出現過58次，一半集中在《申命紀》； 而在《四福音》，「愛」字出現過109次，幾乎是《梅瑟五書》的兩倍！可見猶太人不是不知道「愛」的重要，但在教義上，猶太教認為全燔祭和犧牲，是與天主來往最重要的事務。所以在今天福音中，耶穌讚賞這位挑戰祂的經師，回答得明智（谷12:34a），明白到遵守「愛」的誡命，遠超過一切教義上最重要的事務（12:33）。

親愛的讀者，這位被耶穌基督讚賞的經師和所有猶太人是有希望的，因為他們離天主的國不遠。至於他們能否進入天國，在於他們能否知行合一！朋友，你和他們一樣是知道愛主愛人的重要，你進入了天主的國沒有？ 天主保祐！

---

生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝： ideogram.ai

Disappointment & Hope Series (V)
The Hope of the Jews (Mark 12:28B-34)

Abraham was God’s friend (Daniel 3:35). God had promised him that his off-springs would be innumerable like the stars in heavens (Genesis 15:5). Furthermore, God had prepared a piece of land, Canaan, for his descendants (15:18-21; 17:8). Most important of all, peoples on earth shall be blessed through him and his descendants (12:3b). God is almighty. He has spoken and it shall be done. He shall honour all His pledges. But humanity exist in space and time. Thus God’s pledges would not be realized instantly. For example, Joseph, the grandson of Abraham was firstly sold into Egypt as a slave and later became the Vizier of Egypt, helping Egypt and surround peoples to survive a seven-year drought and helped arrange the household of his father, Jacob/Israel, a total of 70 people migrate to Egypt to weather through the drought (46:27). After settling in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41), they became a huge ethnic group of 600,000 slaves. The Israelites were a smart and pragmatic people. Where there was food and lodging, it did not bother them to be slaves! But slavery was not a blessing to Egypt either. So God called Moses to liberate them. After crossing the Red Sea and freed from Pharaoh’s chase, moving towards Canaan was the next issue to handle. 600,000 people, including women, children and the aged, might take several months to reach Canaan. Even if they did not have to consider military conflicts with peoples along the way, they still needed to meet the hunger and thirst of 600,000 people! Indeed, in the beginning, freedom from slavery was very attractive and idealistic. There was no need of detailed planning. Guts and hot blood sufficed their success. But looking across the vase wilderness without ends, where came water and food? We should not blame the crowd for demanding a return to Egypt and even died there (14:11-12; 16:1-3)!

Although the Jews are a stiff-necked people (Exodus 32:9; Deuteronomy 9:6), always rebellious and put the LORD God to the test, don’t forget, the first generation Christians were all Jews! Therefore, God still hopes on the Jews and always gives them opportunities to repent and to return. Since they are pragmatic, there is insufficient amount of love in their relationship with God. We are able to find clues in their Scriptures. In the Pentateuch, the word “love” appears 58 times only. Half of them are found in Deuteronomy. Whereas in the canonical gospels, the word “love” appears 109 times, nearly double that in the Pentateuch! Thus, the Jews know the importance of “love” but in their doctrines, offering holocausts and sacrifices are the most important things to do in dealing with God. In today’s gospel passage, Jesus praised the scribe who challenged him for answering with understanding (Mark 12:34a), knowing that observing the commandments of love “is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (12:33).

Beloved readers, this scribe whom Jesus Christ praises and all the Jews are still hopeful because they are not far from the Kingdom of God. Whether they are able to enter depends on whether they can put their knowledge into practice. Friends, both you and they know the importance of loving God and loving neighbour. Have you entered the Kingdom of God?
God bless!

Who Wants To Be Such A King? 有誰願意為王呢？

Solemnity of Christ the Universal King, Year B
Theme: Who Wants To Be Such A King? 有誰願意為王呢？

With a Chinese background, my understanding of kingship would not be identical with the biblical one, if there be such a “biblical kingship” concept. Like most civilizations, the Chinese society has also gone through the evolutionary stage of feudalism. There were kingdoms occupying regions of land/resources as well as subjects under the governance of a mandarin hierarchy headed by a king. Such a structure is necessary in order to handle building projects proportional to the occupied land mass and military campaigns for defence or expansion. Of course, the efficiency and effectiveness of such a structure depends on its designs as well as how the civil servants managed corruptions and power abuses. The Chinese concept of kingship is rather loose. For example, the most powerful players in whatever fields, be it chess and herbal medicine etc., even a horse that has won most races, are entitled kings. With more diversified fields such as poetry, where a “king” title is insufficient to honour all the top players, people would call them “saint”, “fairy” or even “buddha”. In short, when there are players in a field, the most outstanding player would be entitled “king”.

When Yahweh decides not to give up humanity that He created in His own image, He has in mind a long lasting salvation project. Firstly, He befriended some human beings, such as Noah and Abraham, to prepare a path for His only begotten Son to incarnate. He multiplied the descendants of Abraham in Egypt and liberated his 600,000 offspring with earth shaking miracles. Moses was His appointed frontman to execute this project that is a component of a much bigger venture. Then the Israelites, the Chosen People had settled in the Promised Land of Canaan. In the early stage, the 12 tribes were loosely united. In the tradition of Moses, “Judges” arose to unite them to fight against oppressors neighbour. Samuel was the last Judge to unite and settle disputes among the 12 tribes. However, time had changed. The Israelites wanted to follow the examples of other nations. They demanded a king to lead them. Samuel prayed to the Lord who says, “Listen to whatever the people say. You are not the one they are rejecting. They are rejecting me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel explained to the people the privileges of a king and warned them that they would regret and by then the Lord would not answer them (8:11-18)! Perhaps the privileges were too attractive, namely to lord over all his subjects, to take away from his subjects whatever fancies him for his own pleasure. In short, all subjects would become his slaves. The people refused to listen to Samuel’s advice and persisted. At last, Samuel anointed Saul, “a handsome young man. There was no other Israelite more handsome than Saul; he stood head and shoulders above the people” (9:2) to be the first king of Israel. Scrutinizing the history of the Israel kingdom, we find that all Israelite kings were flawed. Saul was disobedient. David was after God’s heart (13:14) but committed adultery and murder. God gave Solomon wisdom (1 Kings 3:12) and he built the first Temple which he populated with idols brought along by his pagan wives and concubines. King Josiah renewed the Covenant with the Lord and started religious reformation (2 Kings 23:1-14) which lasted only 13 years because of his premature death in a military compaign against Egypt (23:29) … Sadly, honourable kingship would only exist in the minds of Plato and Confucius!

Human kingship is doomed from the beginning because human beings do not live longer than 120 years. “The LORD said: My spirit shall not remain in human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3). Since no human king would live forever, finding a legitimate successor constantly occupies the minds of kings. Naturally, kings want to retain sovereignty in order to protect their extended families as well as the wealth and privileges they have accumulated. Besides successors, kingmakers are also another major headache for kings. Kingmakers also have their interests to protect. If they were able to put a man on the throne, they would have no qualm in toppling the present occupant who threatened to remove them in order to install a new one in their favour on the throne. If a government is totalitarian, succession is usually bloody and overthrowing emperors usually involves revolutions/rebellions or civil wars. Democratic governments are better only in this respect. Succession through voting is not bloody. Yet, it does not guarantee true liberty, justice and fraternity because the actual rulers of the country are those wealthy corporations behind the powerbrokers. Alas! The hearts and minds of kings/presidents are divided. Where could we find kings who would dedicate their whole beings for the benefits of the subjects under their rules? I am afraid we couldn’t find any in this world.

The Great Depression followed the First World War. The world was becoming the stage of the two most powerful players: The USA, which represents capitalism, and the USSR, which represents socialism. Alas! Both ideologies trample upon the autonomy and dignity of humanity, the image of God. Both of them are elitist in which a minority access, control and consume more than 90% of the resources of this planet, no worse than the privileges described in the First Book of Samuel above. The majority of humanity are like the beggar Lazarus, “who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table” (Luke 16:21a). Two major power blocs emerged to enslave the majority of humanity. It is a form of modern day slavery, which love and justice are in short supply and God forbids! The Church has the obligation to tell the world what sort of kings she needs. In 1925, Pope Pius XI instituted the Solemnity of Christ the Universal King to remind us that while governments come and go, Christ reigns as King forever. However, what kind of kingship Christ is teaching the world?

In the gospel reading today, we may take a glimpse of Christ’s kingship. Interrogated by Pilate whether He was the King of the Jews (John 18:33) and after a few exchanges, Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world … But as it is, my kingdom is not here” (18:36). That is to say, Christ declines to enslave humanity. Translated in modern jargon, Christ respects our autonomy and our right to private property. Of course, the Son of God has no need of slaves. As for state mandarins and CEO’s of multi-national corporations, are you willing to pocket less and share the fruits of production with the labourers? If you are secular and reject religious spirituality as irrelevant, at least a Chinese aphorism might be more palatable to you. Here is ancient wisdom, namely 「藏富於民to stockpile wealth among the commoners」. While you fatten yourselves, forget not to keep your lambs fat! For the sake of sustainable development for future generations, refrain from 「竭澤而漁fishing by draining the swamps」. Christ is the Universal King whose crown is a crown of thorns and whose throne is the cross.

Beloved brethren! Who wants to be such a king, except the Son of Man prophesized in the books of Daniel and Revelation? “He [the Son of Man] received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14). “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6). This is the kingdom that Jesus refers, a kingdom of priests for the Father, when He replied Pilate (John 18:36). Christ is the supreme High Priest who offers Himself to the Father for the world. Christ the Universal King has made us into a kingdom of priests to offer to the Father for the world. Beloved brethren! Are you ready to join Christ the Universal King?
God bless!

---

2021 Reflection
Picture Credit: young-catholics.com

女人救了亞當，誰來救女人？ The Woman Saved Adam. Who Would Save The Woman?

女人救了亞當，誰來救女人？
The Woman Saved Adam. Who Would Save The Woman?

三月八日慶祝國際婦女節，曾發表過一篇貼文，名為『女人如何救了亞當』，歌頌母性的偉大。因為文字有限，言不盡意，貼文絕無否定/貶低獨身女性對人類大家庭的貢獻。四旬期已接近尾聲，準備進入復活節的高潮。今天安排的兩篇讀經，矛頭直指女性，感覺上殺氣特別重！

《讀經一》講述發生在巴比倫的故事，女主角蘇撒納，「非常美麗，而且敬畏上主」（達13:2），丈夫約雅金是個很富有的猶太人，他的住宅有一個果園（13:4），育有子女（13:30）。故事發生在果園之內，蘇撒納被兩個邪惡的猶太長老誣告陷害，結果天主感動了一個青年人達尼爾的聖善心靈（13:45），為蘇撒納申冤，警惡懲奸，結局大快人心。《福音》的事蹟發生在聖殿，是「耶穌憐憫淫婦」的故事，留給了我們「你們中間誰沒有罪，先向她投石罷」（若8:7b）的名句。結局祇留下天主子和罪婦。

無論在古今中外的社會裡，作為一個女性，既美麗又富有，又有丈夫子女在身邊，蘇撒納的處境是絕對理想和幸福。可惜，仍未能保障她不受罪惡的侵害。福音中的淫婦，既無名無姓，而且祇有她被捕，姦夫卻下落不明；而且，她連喊冤的機會也沒有。可見她代表了社會上備受剝削的苦命人，經常遭受罪惡的虐待！這兩位女性的際遇，足以表達全體女性在社會裡的景況。既然當初女人救了亞當，那麼今天誰來拯救她們呢？

蘇撒納的故事發生在巴比倫的一個果園內，是蠻有象徵性的，這不就是伊甸園內發生的故事嗎？原來撒殫除了使用甜言蜜語之外，牠的代理人也會使用暴力來脅迫受害人的。對於有組織的罪惡，除了投靠慈悲的上主天主外，還有其他出路嗎？福音的故事，是猶太教領袖借淫婦的案件來聚眾攻擊耶穌，卻意外地暴露了法律的局限性和法律專家對法律精神的無知！耶穌用指頭在地上畫甚麼字（8:6b），無從稽考。在明白人心的天主子面前，在場的群眾有誰可以說沒有罪呢？雖然法律來自天主，但執法的人本身都是罪人；他們不但知法犯法，更借法律來迫害異見人士。對於結構化了的罪惡，除了投靠慈悲的上主天主外，還有其他出路嗎？因為終極的結局，無論男或女，是個人與天主的關係，祇有天主纔能定我們的罪。

親愛的諸位，讓我們與聖伯多祿一起向主耶穌祈禱說：「主！惟祢有永生的話，我們去投奔誰呢？」（7:68）亞孟。

---

圖片鳴謝：wikipedia.org

先國家之急而後私讎 Concern National Urgency Before Personal Grudges

先國家之急而後私讎
Concern National Urgency Before Personal Grudges

【聖經】宣揚天主是歷史的主宰，所以是天主為以色列人作戰。例如梅瑟解放以色列人後，選擇走一條「背水一戰」的死路，引誘法魯王「率領600輪精良戰車和埃及所有的戰車」追趕（出14:7），來到紅海。60萬以色列人夾在埃及軍隊與紅海之間。正當埃及軍隊滿以為「我要追擊擒獲，分得獵物，纔心滿意足；我要拔刀出鞘，親手斬滅」（15:9）時，到頭來全軍覆沒有紅海中；天主甚至令日月停頓一整天，直到以色列人擊潰阿摩黎人（蘇10:12-13）。天主經常以少勝多，在基德紅的民眾中，祇挑選三百人，殲滅米德楊的十三萬五千人，「免得以色列對我自誇說：是自己的能力救了目己」（民7:2）。後來，以色列及猶大先後亡國，因為他們不敬拜上主天主了。「崇拜偶像」成了亡國的原因。這就是今天第一篇讀經的背景。故事中的阿匝黎雅和兩個同伴，因拒絕朝拜君王的金像，被拿步高王下令投入火窯中。阿匝黎雅在火窯中祈禱，承認祖先的罪過，就是離棄了上主（達3:29），結果上主將他們「交在無法無天，邪妄無信的仇人手中，又將我們交於一位不義和全世界上最凶暴不仁的君王手中」（3:32）。俗世的史學家，是不會探用這種「拜偶像亡國論」的歷史觀。

中國在先秦時期，亡國是因為經濟和政治改革，追不上其他國家。到了戰國時代，亡國與否便取決於武將能否與宰相合作了。著名的「負荊請罪」故事，就是發生在這個時代。藺相如處處退避廉頗，寬恕他的無禮挑釁，並不是害怕廉頗威猛，而是為大局著想。「強秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者 ，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此（退避廉頗）者，以先國家之急而後私讎也」（史記．廉頗藺相如列傳）。原來「寬恕」可以有非常高尚的目的。

請不要小覷藺相如的「先國家之急而後私讎」是斬釘截鐵的「功利主義」，其實耶穌基督在福音的教訓中，亦採用過不少。作為基督徒，倘若我們有一點藺相如的「先天國之急而後私讎」胸襟，「寬恕七十個七次」（瑪18:22），為了天國，又有何難呢？即使教友祇有半點「先天國之急」的胸襟，教會就不愁缺欠傳教的聖召，不愁沒有人代表基督做「修和大使」了（格後5:20）。

可愛的諸位，中國文化中尚有很多有待發掘的天主啟示，讓我們加倍努力，潛心學習。
天主保祐！

---

圖片鳴謝：master-insight.com

Be A Star 讓我們也成為明星

The Epiphany of the Lord, Year B
Theme: Be A Star 讓我們也成為明星

Today, we meditate on the visit of the Magi to adore the Holy Infant. The Magi came from the east of Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1). They must have been courtier astrologists from the region of Babylon. Of course, Jesus was born during the Roman Empire but the Babylonian influence must have been deep-rooted and developed enough for astrology to thrive. Then why were the Magi interested in Judah/Judaea which was by then no more than a Roman province? Thanks to the contribution of the legendary prophet Daniel who was able to interpret the dream of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Consequently, King Nebuchadnezzar “advanced Daniel to a high post, gave him many generous presents, made him ruler of the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48). Daniel had also served in the Persian Empire until King Darius. That probably explains why the Magi were interested in the rise of a great king in Judaea. Now that we have settled the identity of the Magi, let’s turn our attention to the Star of Bethlehem.

The Star of Bethlehem has captured the fascination of not only the courtier astrologists but also many Christians throughout the ages. Some suggested that it was a comet. However, comets have tails and ancient people thought comets a sign of disasters and doom, not the rise of a Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:5). Others thought that the star was a supernova but it was unlikely because a supernova is visible for centuries and does not move! Moving objects in heavens are planets which are dimly visible to unaided eyes. But they do not appear suddenly. Therefore, the most likely candidate would be a conjunction of planets of our solar system within some special constellations, such as Aries. Astrology teaches that heavenly phenomena would influence the lives of people on earth. Therefore, only astrologists would interpret the rise of a star in Aries as the birth of a new king and only astrologists in pagan palaces would notice this phenomenon while Jews would not because astrology was forbidden by Mosaic Law. Say, when Jupiter, Saturn and even Mars wander in the heavens until they are visually close to each other in Aries, together they look brighter for some time and the brightness would disappear when they move apart. That seems to agree with the description of the appearance and re-appearance of the Star of Bethlehem. Still, it is hard to explain the following behaviour of the Star, “After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was” (Matthew 2:9). Given the distance between Jerusalem and Bethlehem to be 11 km, and the amble speed of a walking camel to be 5 km/h, the Magi saw the Star of Bethlehem move, and led them for two hours to the Holy Infant and then stopped! Could this be the behaviour of planet conjunction? The Star of Bethlehem looked more like a modern drone! So far, no candidate is conclusive.

Balaam, a pagan diviner, had prophesized the rising of the Star of Bethlehem before even the Israelites settled in the Promised Land. Instead of cursing the Israelites as requested by the Moab king, Balaam says, “I see him, though not now; I observe him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise from Israel, that will crush the brows of Moab, and the skull of all the Sethites …” (Numbers 24:17). Curiously, Matthew did not quote this prophecy in the Nativity narrative. Anyway, the Star of Bethlehem announced the arrival of the Prince of Peace on earth. Whether the Star appeared in the constellation of Aries to indicate his kingship is up to interpretation. Indeed, constellations in Chinese astrology mean different things. There are twenty-eight Chinese constellations and Aries corresponds to 「婁」and 「胃」constellations which indicate “peace in the borders” and “fullness of barns” respectively in the Chinese system. Thus, Chinese astrologists would not see the birth of a new king in Judaea as the Magi would! Curiosity apart, we should instead reflect more on the symbolic meanings of the Star. We know that the Star of Bethlehem points to the Holy Infant, the Son of God whom the Father gave to humanity. Jesus Christ is a gift from the Father to whoever receives Him and believes in Him.

Jesus Christ teaches us in the Parable of Talents that we should not keep things for ourselves (Matthew 25:26-27). We should make good use of the graces the Father has given us. Moreover, Jesus teaches, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (5:16). Therefore, we should all be Stars of Bethlehem in our unique stations of life. Some of us may be housewives, domestic helpers, janitors, government officials, IT professionals, artists, journalists, musicians, engineers and homeless. Where we work and live become the heavenly backdrop unique to us. Though people around us might outshine us, do you not know that the visible spectrum is only a small section of the electromagnetic spectrum? We may be able to outshine them in a different section of the spectrum. Therefore, as long as we are able to lead our lives according to the teachings of Jesus, our conscience is clear before the King on the Judgment Day. Now the question becomes what “good deeds” does Jesus want us to do? Feed the hungry, give drinks to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned (25:35-36)? Good of you if you do this. But are you able to attract the people you serve towards Christ? How many of them would believe in Jesus Christ because of your charity? Are there not other charitable organizations and social workers doing the same or even better jobs than us? Perhaps we need to dive deeper into our faith to examine our relationship with Christ to find the clue.

Let us ask ourselves with what attitudes does Jesus want to lead our lives and to serve the needy? We should be familiar with the answer! Jesus wants us to detach ourselves generously from our possessions that can be obstacles for us to approach the Lord (5:3). He wants us to mourn for the sufferings inflicted by sins on innocent people even if they are not our sufferings (5:4). By then, we enter into a solidarity with all the needy and underprivileged. The Holy Infant wants us to be meek like Him not to allow the impulses of self-defence and revenge to take control over us (5:5). He did not strike Herod the Great dead immediately and allowed history to take its full course. Jesus teaches us not to rely on our own strength but thirst and hunger for God to take over the situation and deliver us (5:6). He teaches us to forgive (5:7), to turn another cheek (5:39), to lend without expecting repayment (5:42) and show mercy to those who persecute us (5:44). He wants us to know that there is no other means of redemption and to trust in Him wholeheartedly for the salvation of all humanity (5:8). Be peacemakers and not opportunists to seed conflicts and confusions in order to take advantages of them (5:9) and lastly be assured that He accompanies us and bears most of the brunt for us during persecutions (5:10). Therefore, be not afraid of defamations and persecutions. Be cheerful and glad instead (5:12). Be patient in waiting for God’s righteousness to prevail.

Beloved brethren. All of us are adopted children of God in Christ (Romans 8:15). The Father sends us to be Stars of Bethlehem to bring more souls before Christ. We are too fragile to accomplish this mission without the support of the Holy Spirit. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to disarm our pride and to inflame us with fervent charity. Amen.

---

2023 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikipedia.org

Who Are The Goats? 誰是山羊？

Solemnity of Christ the King of Universe, Year A
Theme: Who Are The Goats? 誰是山羊？

What do you expect to see in a courtroom scene nowadays? The scene consists of a judge, probably a jury panel, a plaintiff, a defendant and advocates from both sides. Charges, pledges, cross-examinations, defences, judgment and finally sentencing would play out in order. Today, in the parable of Sheep and Goats, Jesus Christ gives us a preview of what would happen in the courtroom scene on the Judgment Day. Actually, before the Judgment Day, the heavenly court is extremely busy. Satan acts as the plaintiff accusing each one of us (the defendant) daily before the Father. Jesus Christ acts as our defence advocate (Revelation 12:10; Romans 8:34). The Judgment Day scene will be different because it will be the last courtroom scene. It will be a case of The Son of God vs. the whole humanity. But for sub-cultures and modern societies which are unfamiliar with shepherding, they need to know more about the images of sheep and goats. We need to go back to the Old Testament to learn more about shepherding practices and their symbolism.

The first Israelite king that was able to unite the twelve tribes of Israel was King David who began his career as a shepherd. In time, shepherds became a symbol of kings and government officials. However, not all kings and mandarins were good. Some of them failed to overcome the corruption by authority and became self-seeking and self-fattening at the expenses of the commoners! This is what the first reading talks about today. The Lord God accuses the shepherd-mandarins of power-abuses. “For thus says the Lord God: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them” (Ezekiel 34:11). Why did God revoke the authority delegated to the mandarins? It was because “You consumed milk, wore wool, and slaughtered fatlings, but the flock you did not pasture. You did not strengthen the weak or heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost but ruled them harshly and brutally” (34:3-4). The Lord God would take up again the role of the Shepherd of Israel, in the person of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd shall do what the power-abusive shepherds fail to do, “The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment” (34:16).

We are able to understand the first half of verse 34:16 easily. If we pay attention to the sequence of afflictions in 34:4, namely “sick, injured, stray, lost” and in 34.16, namely “lost, strays, injured, sick”, we will see a chiastic structure! Therefore, we can locate the key message, a Judgment, in the middle: “Thus says the Lord God: Look! I am coming against these shepherds. I will take my sheep out of their hand and put a stop to their shepherding my flock, so that these shepherds will no longer pasture them. I will deliver my flock from their mouths so it will not become their food” (34:10). Another prophet echoes the same judgment by proclaiming, “My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders …” (Zechariah 10:3). The Lord God has spoken at least twice. Shepherd-mandarins! Have you not heard?

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd will make up what shepherd-mandarins have failed. But why does the Good Shepherd want to destroy the sleek and the strong and “shepherd them in judgment” (Ezekiel 34:16b)? Obviously, those sleek and strong sheep must have colluded with the wicked shepherds so that they fatten themselves together. Moreover, when the Good Shepherd appears, there is no need for mandarin-shepherds anymore. They turn into either sheep or goats as well and the Good shepherd will shepherd them all. In older translations, the tone is stronger and reads, “… but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment” (34:16b, KJV)! The Hebrew word רָעָה can be rendered “to shepherd” and “to feed”. The former translation is milder while the latter one sounds a lot harsher! Either way, how would the Good Shepherd destroy the wicked sheep? Didn’t the same prophet speak in God’s stead that “Do I find pleasure in the death of the wicked --- oracle of the Lord God? Do I not rejoice when they turn from their evil way and live?” (18:23)? The only reasonable explanation is that when the Good Shepherd comes finally on the Judgment Day, the fat and strong sheep have not turned from their evil ways!

What do you expect to hear or see in this final courtroom scene where trillions upon trillions of souls coming from all ages and all lands gather? Would angels on Satan side lay bare our sins in front of the whole world while angels on Christ side would report our good works? Then would Christ weigh them on a balance so that everybody is able to see which way the balance tilt? We shall be disappointed. Not a single evil deed shall be mentioned on the Judgment Day. We will not hear of juicy accounts of murders, rapes, thefts, perjuries on individuals; nor evils on a structural level such as genocides, human trafficking, drug trafficking and oppressive governments etc. Instead, we only hear of doing charity or omission to do charity! In this respect, we shall be able to see the mercy as well as the righteousness of Christ the King. Had the Universal King demanded baptism, going to Church, receiving sacraments and studying the Bible etc. as criteria for the admission into heavens, it would have been unfair to those who have never heard of Jesus Christ in time, say years before Christ or in space, say places where missionaries have not yet reached. Had the Universal King demanded some heroic Herculean acts that required elitist intelligence or physical strengths or verbal dexterities etc. it would have been unfair to people with disabilities. No! Everybody is able to meet the demands of the Universal King, namely to feed the hungry, to drink the thirsty, to shelter the homeless, to cloth the naked, to take care of the sick and to visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36). There is no excuse not to do it. Commoners and government officials alike can do it on individual level while people in power can also do it on an even grander scale by passing beneficent policies for the needy and marginalized minorities in the society.

The last thing we need to clarify is the identity of the goats. We should consult the prophetic books and see whom they symbolize with “goats”. There are two, namely “Flee from the midst of Babylon, leave the land of the Chaldeans, be like rams/goats at the head of the flock” (Jeremiah 50:8) and “The he-goat is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn on its forehead is the first king” (Daniel 8:21). We can see that goats and leaders are synonymous in prophetic vocabulary. Therefore, on Judgment Day, corrupted leaders and merchants who colluded with them would be those goats on the King’s left. Until the King comes, they continue their self-fattening and refuse to repent. How pitiful!

Beloved brethren! Do not take chances. Do not think that you can be the good thief accompanying Jesus in His crucifixion. He has told you beforehand how to pass trials in life and given you countless opportunities to do charity. Heed His exhortation. God bless!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: farmsanctuary.org

Have We His Glory In Our Heart? 祂的光榮在我們心中嗎？

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, Year A
Theme: Have We His Glory In Our Heart? 祂的光榮在我們心中嗎？

Like all of us, Matthew was not an eyewitness at the Transfiguration. In other words, Matthew had not seen the glory of the Son of God together with Moses and Elijah. That probably explains why when the risen Lord appeared to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee before the Great Commission and the Ascension, some of them doubted (Matthew 28:17b). Yet, that didn’t disqualify Matthew from the joy of finding himself “worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name” (Acts 5:41) and from his subsequent martyrdom. Our faith comes from the gospel to which the Apostles bore witness and proclaimed, the prophetic message inspired by God (2 Peter 1:21b). In the second reading today, Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, exhorts us to pay attention to this gospel, “as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (1:19b). In other words, the gospel is a light rising and shining in the darkness of our hearts. Sooner or later, this light will glow brilliantly like what happened at the Transfiguration. Now, the question becomes whether the glory of the Son of God is rising and shining in our hearts, motivating us to move ahead towards our sanctification and salvation. Let us meditate on this glory in this Feast of Transfiguration.

How does Matthew make use of the term “glory” in his gospel? Let’s bear in mind that “glory” and “honour” usually go hand in hand in biblical passages when you do a search. They are nearly synonymous. In the case of Matthew, most of the time, he refers to worldly glories, e.g. the glory of the kingdoms of the world (Matthew 4:8); the glory of men (6:2); the glory of Solomon (6:29). When he mentions the glory of the Son of Man, he was rather vague. In narrating what was happening during the Transfiguration in which he was absent, Matthew could only conjure up his imagination, saying, “His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (17:2). We should bear in mind also that Jews believed that nobody could see God and live (Exodus 33:20). Even in the first reading today, Daniel could only mention the clothing and the hair on the head of “the Ancient of Days”, and not His face (Daniel 7:9) Therefore, seeing the face of God and live to tell people is only possible in Christianity!

Let’s consider the other Synoptic Evangelists. In the case of Mark, he does not mention Jesus’ face at all (Mark 9:3) focusing on the clothes only while Luke only says “his face changed in appearance” (Luke 9:29a) without making use of the imagery of the brightness of the sun. All three were not eye-witnesses and the ways they narrate strongly suggest that each Evangelist has their own agenda in mind. In the case of Matthew, he applies similar description to the angel who rolled away the stone blocking the entrance to Jesus’ tomb on the first Easter Sunday, “His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). Perhaps Matthew is trying to illustrate what Resurrection means with the Transfiguration. When Jesus foretold for the first time His Passion and Resurrection, the Apostles were not ready to accept the death of their Master (16:22). Thus, Jesus tried to strengthen the faith of the core group with Transfiguration, telling them not to worry about suffering and death through which glory and honour would come.

Moreover, this is the limit Matthew has in narrating things in the heavenly supernatural realm. And it is exactly our limitation as well, an intrinsic limitation of human language to describe the spiritual realm. Historically, only a handful of mystics have the grace to gain access to the heavenly realm. For example, once Paul shares his own experience, saying, “I know someone in Christ who, fourteen years ago … was caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2). Paul does not write much of his own mystical experiences probably because he does not find it beneficial for his readers. Most of us don’t have this grace to experience those mystical encounters. So how do we overcome this limitation? Perhaps John the beloved disciple might help us because he is the only other author in the Bible to make use of the imagery of a face shining like the sun, “Then I saw another mighty angel … his face was like the sun and his feet were like pillars of fire” (Revelation 10:1). Even the face of a mighty angel shines like the sun, how immensely brighter would the face of the Son of God be. In fact, Jesus Christ would be the source of light in heaven. John says, “The city [new Jerusalem in heaven] had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb” (21:23). In heaven this light/glory is eternal and John’s vision suggests that the glory is the Lamb! John shows us “end-product”. How does it come about? Indeed, without Passion there wouldn’t be Resurrection. So, John links Passion and Resurrection by reminding the readers of another Old Testament symbol, the bronze serpent (John 3:14-15).
[As a digression: Confucianism offers similar teachings. “故天將降大任於是人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。When Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil. It exposes his body to hunger, and subjects him to extreme poverty. It confounds his undertakings. By all these methods it stimulates his mind, hardens his nature, and supplies his incompetencies” (Gaozi II, Mengzi).] So, we shouldn’t take chances to attain glory without sustaining pains and sufferings!

We need to explore deeper how John deals with the concept of glory because we shall partake in the Lord’s glory in heaven. How can we not know what we are entitled to? John always mentions “glory” in Jesus’ miracles. For example, the first miracle in Cana (John 2:11) and the resurrection of Lazarus (11:4, 40). Thus, the glory of God is powerful, life-giving and is more than honour. In the High Priest’ Prayer, Jesus says, “And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:22). What exactly is the glory which Jesus has given us? John has given us the answer at the beginning of his gospel. He says, “… and we saw His glory, the glory as the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (1:14b) In short, we shall partake in the grace and truth of Lord Jesus Christ and they can be powerful!

Finally, we have to ask ourselves again and again. Have the grace and truth of the Lord been awaken in our hearts? Though each of our journeys of sanctification is unique, there should be some common denominators, viz. prayers, bible studies, sacraments and service!
Brethren! Let’s invoke the Holy Spirit to restart the glory of the risen Lord in our hearts, move us ahead to proclaim the gospel of reconciliation so that all tongues shall praise the glory of the Father (Matthew 5:16). Amen.

---

2017 Reflection
Picture Credit: ncronline.org

天主不信神跡 God Does Not Believe In Miracles

天主不信神跡 God Does Not Believe In Miracles（若6:22-29）

很多人高估了神跡的效力，以為施行神跡，便可以解決一切問題，包括經濟、政治、安全和信仰等等。君不見天主分開紅海，讓以色列人安然到達彼岸；在曠野四十年降下「瑪納」，解決了六十萬選民的食用問題；三位猶太青年，拒絕叩拜拿步高王的金像而被投入烈火窯中，天主派遣天使護守他們（達3:49）等等；聖經記載的神跡，就是給讀者一個威力無窮，排除萬難的印象！不是嗎？到了山窮水盡的時候，你祇要向天主呼號，祂必定會出手拯救。但耶穌在今天的福音，否定了這一個立場！

耶穌基督看見群眾有如沒有牧者的羊群，出於憐憫（谷6:34），並且為了顯示自己是來應驗先知有關於默西亞的預言（瑪5:17），便行了一個增餅的神跡，解決了全體群眾生理上的需要。可是，有多少人因此而明白神跡是天主臨現的標記，是與天主相遇的恩寵時刻呢？耶穌看透來尋找祂的群眾的心意，便說了這句：「你們尋找我，並不是因為看到了神跡，而是因為吃餅吃飽了」（若6:26）；他們並不是來尋找天主，而是希望找到一個讓他們衣食無憂的「米飯班主」！無疑，神跡解決了他們目前的問題；可惜他們短視，看不見這個神跡所指向的慈悲天主，並沒有提昇他們對永生的渴求，沒有增加他們的信德！

天主是自由，所以祂素來尊重人的自主，從來不強迫我們相信祂。因此，天主不相信神跡可以增加人類對祂的信德。雖然天主出於慈悲，施行神跡解決我們的困難，但祂並不強求我們因此而相信祂對我們的慈愛。

朋友，不要再要求耶穌立刻顯現在你面前，展示祂的傷痕，證明祂確實復活了，然後纔相信祂！且看在教難時，那些在鬥獸場上，面對痛苦地死去的殉道者，他們沒有嘗試祈求耶穌基督立刻顯現在一群惡犬餓獅之中，免他們被利齒撕裂的凶惡嗎？結果呢？
天主保祐！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com

---

Many people overestimate the effectiveness of miracles, thinking that they are able to solve all sorts of problems, namely economic, political, security and faith etc. Don’t you see how God split the Red Sea so that the Israelites were able to reach the other shore safely; rained down manna in the wilderness for forty years to feed 600,000 mouths? Three Jewish youths who refused to worship the golden statue which King Nebuchadnezzar set up were thrown into a white-hot furnace. Hadn’t God send an angel to protect them (Daniel 3:49)? The miracles narrated in the Bible give readers an impression of solving problems mightily! When all means are exhausted, just call upon God and He will definitely save. But in the gospel passage today, Jesus refuted this position!

When Jesus saw the crowd like sheep without a shepherd, out of compassion (Mark 6:34), and to reveal them that He came to fulfil Messianic prophecies (Matthew 5:17), He worked this multiplication of loaves miracle to meet the physiological needs of the crowd. But how many of them understood that the miracle was a sign of God’s presence, a moment of grace to encounter God? Jesus read their minds and said, “You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26). They did not come to look for God, but hoped to follow a boss who could feed them forever! The miracle had indeed solved their immediate problem but regrettably they were myopic. They did not see the merciful God to whom the miracle pointed. The miracle had not raised their hunger for eternal life and failed to increase their faith!

God is free. Thus He always respects the autonomy of humanity and has never forced us to believe in Him. Thus God doesn’t believe that miracles are able to increase our faith in Him. Although God works miracles to solve our problems out of mercy, He does not demand us to believe in His love consequently.

Friends! Don’t demand Jesus to appear before you, to show you His wounds to prove that He is truly risen in order to believe in Him! Take a look at the ages of persecutions. In the arena, didn’t martyrs who anticipated deaths in excruciating pains try to pray to Jesus Christ, asking Him to appear immediately among bull-dogs and hungry lions to deliver them from the evil of being torn apart? And in the end?
God bless!

Becoming A Child in Old Age 反老還童

Fifth Lenten Season, Year C
Theme: Becoming A Child in Old Age 反老還童

The gospel story today reminds me of a well-known Chinese opera 《感天動地竇娥冤 Heaven and Earth are moved by Dou E’s tragedy》in which a lady was framed for murder. In one version, she was delivered by a righteous magistrate who happened to be her husband. This version echoes the story of redemption of the adulteress in the text today by Jesus. However, the original opera was tragic as well as moralistic. It was written in 13th century as a criticism of the corruption and oppression of the generation. The heroine was beheaded in June. The earth refused to receive her blood, the heavens snowed immediately and a famine followed for three years to prove her innocence. In the end, her father came as a circuit judge to retry the case and rectified her innocence. It’s tragic because justice prevailed too little too late.

You might complain that the adulteress in the gospel story was not innocent, was she? At least the adulteress also accepted herself to be guilty. She had not declared her innocence before Jesus like Susanna did (Daniel 13:42-43). Furthermore, Jesus says, “From now on do not sin anymore.” (John 8:11) Therefore, it is meaningless to dispute anymore whether the adulteress was a victim of structural sins or not. It is also meaningless to speculate that this story should be located in the gospel of Luke and had been misplaced here by accident in John because mercy is one of the main themes of Luke. I opine that Jesus’ words and deeds are full of mercy. Whichever gospel narrates the stories of Jesus, the readers should be able to see mercy. The gospel of Luke does not have the monopoly of mercy! When we read or study the gospel, we only need to ask, “Dear Jesus! What do you want to tell me?” In this story, we need to humbly acknowledge that all of us, including the adulteress, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all the bystanders etc., have sinned and deprived of the glory of God (Romans 8:23).

In the beginning, God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Thus, men should live together in a community in which conflicts and disputes are inevitable. Law was given to us as a guideline to our living in order to maintain fairness and peace. In order to enforce the law, sanction and punishment are instituted. God sanctioned death as a punishment is a mystery but it could be understood as a containment to prevent further spread of crimes/sins (2:17). Stoning has been one such punishment widely practised in the Middle East up to these days. It was carried out and recorded in the Scriptures in cases of blasphemy only. The Bible does not have any record of adultery cases punished by stoning though the law is there. Of course that doesn’t mean it has never been carried out. Punishments in public could also be a deterrence so as to discourage others from committing the same crime/sin. Punishment is a necessary evil!

Regrettably, like the corrupt officials in the tragic opera mentioned above, the scribes and the Pharisees were not eager to see justice done. Here is an example of how they used the law not for the good of the community but abused it to trap Jesus, the Supreme Law-Giver Himself. How sarcastic it is! Of course, Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfil it (Matthew 5:17). He did not come to abolish the practice of stoning or other forms of capital punishments but neither did He come to strike abusers and sinners dead with thunderbolts though He is absolutely entitled to (Romans 12:19)! No! He did not come to abuse His might but to show us the power of mercy. It is easy for us to see Jesus’ mercy towards the adulteress. But today, I would like to invite you to see mercy done to all the bystanders, the Pharisees and the scribes.

All readers are curious about what Jesus was writing on the ground with His finger (John 8:6, 8). Some speculate that Jesus was writing the Ten Commandments because the Lord gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant inscribed by God’s own finger (Exodus 31:18). This speculation shows the role of Jesus as the Supreme Law-Giver. But this is not satisfactory because the Lord prefers to write His laws upon our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), not on stones or on the ground! Others suggest that Jesus was writing the sins of all the people present. This suggestion explains well why the people left one by one, beginning with the elders (John 8:9) But this is incompatible with the role of Jesus as the Supreme Law-Giver who is not the accuser. Satan is (Revelation 12:10). A parishioner has a very good sharing of this piece of text. She said that it didn’t matter what Jesus was writing on the ground. The crucial point is that Jesus gave all the accusers sufficient time to reflect and repent! When the accusers grew impatient and pressed Him further, Jesus gave these self-appointed law-enforcers clear and concise instruction, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

It’s a miracle that none of the bystanders took a stone to throw at the adulteress. God be praised! Wouldn’t it be possible that some “die-hard” sinners happened to be on the spot? I’m sure there must be! But Jesus is truly powerful and merciful. “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more!” (Romans 5:20) All the defences of die-hard sinners melted away. They were able to know their iniquities which they had repressed. They walked away not only because they felt guilty and unworthy to throw a stone but I believe that love began to sprout also in their hearts. Without love, there can be no repentance.
It was a miracle because instantly, Jesus had performed dozens of “heart transplant surgeries” on the spot (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26), beginning from the elderly whose hearts would fail sooner because they had undergone heart-hardening for too long. Now with a heart of flesh, these elderly had become children again. When they returned home, they were justified and were able to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3, Luke 18:13b-14a) because their plan to trap the Supreme Law-Giver had been frustrated. They could have “departed from him for a time” (4:13) and looked for another occasion to come back again! I pray that they repented instead.

Brethren! We are approaching the Passion Sunday. Let’s trust in the mercy of the Lord and repent so that on Easter Vigil, we may die and rise with the Lord. Amen.
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit:medium.com

耶穌的沉默 The Silence of Jesus

常年期第二十主日，甲年
主題：耶穌的沉默

提洛和漆冬，正是位於當今世界注目的黎巴嫩境內。黎巴嫩在聯合國成立後，便脫離了法國的托管，成為一個獨立的國家。阿以衝突，黎巴嫩收容了大批巴勒斯坦難民，埋下後來的內戰危機，之後便是歷史了！
耶穌基督有很豐富的難民經驗，出生後不久，為了逃避大黑落德的追殺，聖家星夜「退避到埃及去了」（瑪2:14）。今天福音的故事，不是發生在以色列境內，而是耶穌與法利塞人和經師衝突之後，「離開那裡，就迅往提洛和漆冬一帶去了」（15:21）。走得那麼快，好像逃難一樣。所以說，耶穌基督有很豐富的難民經驗！當然，耶穌基督並不害怕法利塞人的勢力，祂是出於慈父的憐憫，不想他們心腸硬化，灰心喪志（哥3:21），纔不與他們繼續衝突！

耶穌基督驅魔的能力，毋庸置疑。祂施行神蹟，與信德息息相關。一方面，神蹟可以激發群眾的信德。正如今天的神蹟，使「許多群眾帶著瘸子…頌揚以色列的天主」（瑪15:30-31）。另一方面，當事人的信德，亦是引發神蹟的關鍵（9:22）。但值得一提的，是今天的驅魔故事，當事人並不在場，而是她母親的信德激發了神蹟。這個神蹟確定了為他人的需要代禱，展示出「諸聖想通」的道理；而且，祈禱的力量很大，因為我們所祈求的天主，力量很大（路1:51a）。耶穌基督「隔空」驅魔，天主的威力，可見一斑！

在基督徒眼中，天主子降生成人，拯救世人，無分種族，包括以色列人和外邦人，是毫無疑問的。雖然耶穌親口說：「我被派遣，祇是為了以色列家失迷的羊」（瑪15:24），但這都是為了猶太人信徒的需要而記載下來的。且看這個驅魔故事，是以「頌揚以色列的天主」（15:31）作結，便知道是瑪竇為了猶太信徒而這樣寫的。在以色列人的靈魂裡，深深刻上「選民」觀念的烙印。他們是天主「從萬民中特殊的產業，是司祭的國家，聖潔的國民」（出19:5-6）。另一方面，即使亡國充軍，在異地流離失所，卻是為了讓外邦人認識天主（依45:4-5；耶16:13；則20:41，達3:45）。這種衝破種族疆界的普世性思想，出自以天主眼光看待世界的先知之口，是合理的。他們沒有受制於司祭眼光的約束，這種「進步」的選民觀念，使猶太人即使亡國，仍可以引以為傲。保祿宗徒深明猶太人的一神觀念，成了猶太人信仰耶穌基督的絆腳石，所以在今天的書信中，表達了他對鄉親的情懷。他指望在外邦人中間傳福音的成就，可以刺激到他的同胞，皈依基督（羅11:14）。同樣，瑪竇所記載的耶穌基督雖然受聖父派遣，先向以色列家宣傳福音，但並沒有排斥外邦人的意思。同時，耶穌基督以猶太人身份，在外邦人的地域大顯神威，反而為猶太信徒，爭回不少光彩。和聖保祿一樣，瑪竇也希望願耶穌基督在提洛和漆冬的成功，能刺激更多的同胞皈依！

瑪竇對宗徒們（當然包括自己）的缺點，毫不掩飾。他們擁有「選民」的身份，自尊心強。但提洛和漆冬，始終不是以色列的地方，總不應目中無人。在外邦人的地方，卻容忍不了外邦婦人的糾纏，「就上前求祂說：『打發她走走罷！因為她在我們後面不停地喊叫。』」（瑪15:23）雖然說是「求」，但這個「求」是為了自己，抑或是為了那婦人的需要呢？我對後者有保留。且看今天第一篇讀經的教訓。皈依之後是事奉，事奉之後是愛慕，愛慕之後，纔做守盟約的僕人（依56:6）！門徒跟隨耶穌，為耶穌代勞都做到了（瑪10:5-42）。但他們愛耶穌有多少呢？相信很有限，他們尚未掌握到耶穌基督的心意。倘若他們真心愛耶穌，就應該愛耶穌所愛的人。耶穌基督愛護所有的人，包括門徒們不屑交往的外邦人。他們尚未能做到，他們的「選民自我」仍然很大。耶穌基督的回覆（15:24），直刺那「選民」的自尊心，令他們感覺到這自尊心，怎樣帶來兩難！若要維護「選民的尊榮」，就要忍受糾纏的不便；若要擺脫糾纏，就要放下「選民」的身段！原來做「選民」，竟然帶來這麼多的不便，值得把持不捨嗎？

其實，這個客納罕婦人很大體，她祇在耶穌基督的後面求祂，並沒有在祂面前攔截祂，勉強祂！耶穌基督的反應是有趣的，祂「卻一句話也不回答她」（瑪15:23），好像不理會她，繼續前行考驗她，看她有多少能耐，讓她知難而退。這樣做，好像是為了維護門徒「選民」的脆弱心靈，但這樣做便放棄了救贖普世的宏旨。耶穌究竟在做甚麼呢？耶穌基督是天主，在客納罕婦人未提出要求以前，祂已經知道她需要甚麼（6:8）。所以真心的祈禱，不在多言，能在寧靜中，共主相處，四目交投，就足夠了！就在這個時刻，婦人趁耶穌把門徒陷於兩難時，來到耶穌跟前叩拜求助；不再是為了女兒，而是為自己了：「主，援助我罷」（15:25）! 相信這位客納罕母親，為照顧附魔的女兒，也受了不少苦，照顧者的苦，服務者之苦。但人總不願在人前示弱，喜歡用其他人的困難，做自己的擋箭牌！但來到天主面前，還需要掩飾嗎？耶穌與婦人的對話，好像是耶穌在為難她，歧視她。但那婦人並不示弱，從前已分析過，不再贅述。這裡想補充的，是婦人在祈禱中，雖然救女心切，但仍能細心聆聽到天主對她的講話，找到切入點「反擊」，既維護了自己的尊嚴，亦承認了以色列天主的偉大（15:27）！今天發覺到，原來與天主交談，真的有機會與天主搏鬥（創32:23-33）！

各位兄弟姊妹，雖然在祈禱以前，天主已經知道我們需要甚麼；但天主仍然與我們交談，針對我們的需要，因材施教，操練我們，有如祂今天操練門徒與客納罕婦人一樣。今天且讓我們為黎巴嫩的苦難，向人類救主，呈上我們的祈禱，扭轉當地人民的命運（詠126:4）！
天主保祐！

2017年講道
圖片鳴謝：https://www.orucc.org/on-being-heard-tammy-martens-3-4-18/

---

Twentieth Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: The Silence of Jesus

Tyre and Sidon are located at the focus of the world today, namely Lebanon which attained independence as the French Mandate terminated after the establishment of the United Nations. During the Arab-Israeli Conflicts, Lebanon received many Palestinian refugees which contributed to subsequent civil wars. The rest is history!
Jesus Christ is an experienced refugee. Soon after His birth, the Holy Family "by night and departed for Egypt" in order to hide from the assassination of Herod the Great. (Matthew 2:14) The story today did not take place in Israel. It was after the conflict with the Pharisees and scribes, "Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon" (15:21) like a refugee. That's why I said earlier that Jesus had been an experienced refugee! Of course, Jesus Christ was not afraid of the Pharisees' power. Instead, He showed them fatherly love, not wanting them to harden their heart and discourage them (Colossians 3:21). Thus He did not continue to provoke them!

Jesus' exorcist power is indisputable and working miracles is closely related to faith. On one hand, miracles can enhance people's faith. Like the miracle today, it resulted in "great crowds came to him, having with them the lame … and glorified the God of Israel." (Matthew 15:30-31). On the other hand, the faith of the person concerned was always the key which triggered off miracles (9:22). But there is one thing worth paying attention to. In the exorcism story today, the person concerned was not at the spot. It was her mother who triggered the miracle. Therefore, this miracle affirmed the teachings of intercession prayer and communion of saints. Furthermore, the power of prayer is tremendous because the God we pray to is extremely mighty (Luke 1:51a). Jesus' "remote exorcism" shows just how powerful God can be!

In the eyes of Christians, that the Son of God took flesh and became man to redeem humanity irrespective of races, including both Israelites and Gentiles, is common knowledge. Although Jesus Christ says in His own words, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24), it was for the sake of the Jewish disciples. Look at this exorcism story. It ended with "glorified the God of Israel" (15:31) which shows that Matthew wrote this for the Jewish Christians. Craved deeply in the souls of all Israelites is the concept of the "Chosen People". They were God's "treasured possession among all peoples, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:5-6) On the other hand, they were able to see their captivity as an opportunity to allow the Gentiles to know Yahweh (Isaiah 45:4-5, Jeremiah 16:13, Ezekiel 20:41, Daniel 3:45). It is reasonable for this global mentality, which goes beyond races and regions, to come from prophets who saw with the eyes of God. They were not constrained by the priestly perspective. Such a "progressive" conception of Chosen People empowered the Jews to sustain in exile. Paul the apostle knew too well that the Jewish monotheism would be a stumbling block for Jews to accept Christianity. He showed his passion for his country folks in the epistle we read today. He wished that his successful evangelization among Gentiles might make his race jealous and convert to Christ (Romans 11:14). In the same way, the Jesus in Matthew made it clear that He was sent to the House of Israel. But that does not exclude the Gentiles. At the same time, as a Jew, Jesus Christ manifested His might among the Gentiles, winning back the dignity of the Chosen People. Like St. Paul, Matthew might also want Jesus' success in Tyre and Sidon to provoke more Jews to conversion!

Matthew does not cover up the inadequacy of the Apostles (of course, including he himself). They were proud of their identity as the Chosen People. But after all, Tyre and Sidon were alien lands. They shouldn't be arrogant. In a foreign land, they could not tolerate a foreign woman dogging them, "came and asked Jesus, ‘Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us'" (Matthew 15:23). Did they come and ask for their own sake or for the sake of the woman? I doubt very much about the latter. Let's take a look at the first reading today. After joining comes ministering, after ministering comes loving and only after loving would they become servants holding fast God's covenant (Isaiah 56:6)! The disciples had joined and ministered to Jesus (Matthew 10:5-42). But how much did they love Jesus? I believe that their love is limited. They were still unable to know Jesus' mind. Had they loved Jesus genuinely, they would have loved whomever Jesus loved. Jesus loves us all, including the Gentiles whom the disciples despised. They couldn't. Their Chosen People ego still loomed large. Jesus' response (15:24) pierce through their self-image which put them in a dilemma! To maintain the dignity and glory of being a Chosen People, they had to tolerate the inconvenience of being dogged. To rid themselves of the dogging, they had to let go of their pride as the Chosen People. How inconvenient it is to be God's Chosen People! Is such an identity worth keeping?

In fact, this Canaanite woman knew her position well. She only begging Jesus Christ from behind and did not intercept Him and ram her request down Jesus' throat! Jesus' response was interesting. He "did not say a word in answer to her" (Matthew 15:23). It seems that Jesus ignored her, continued ahead to test her, to see how long she would persist and leave. In doing so, He seemed to have protected the fragile souls of the disciples as the Chosen People. But such an interpretation goes against Jesus' will of universal redemption. What was Jesus doing? Jesus Christ is God. Before the Canaanite woman asked, Jesus had already known what she needed (6:8). Therefore authentic prayers need not to babble. Stay with the Lord in silence. Maintain a blessed gaze. That's enough! The woman seized the moment when Jesus put his disciples in a dilemma, came and did homage to Him begging, not for her daughter but for herself, "Lord, help me" (15:25)! I believe that this Canaanite mother must have suffered a lot attending to her possessed daughter. She suffered as many a care-giver. But people don't want to reveal their weaknesses before others. They like to hide behind other people's vulnerabilities, their fig-leaf! But before God, need we to hide? In the dialogue between Jesus and the woman, it looks as if Jesus was putting obstacles before her, discriminating against her. But the woman was in fact fighting back. I have previously analysed this point and shall not repeat here. But I want to mention one more point. In her fervent intercession for her daughter, the Canaanite woman was able to listen to God's word attentively. She was able to spot a stance to fight back, defending her dignity as well as acknowledging the wonder of the God of Israel (15:27)! Indeed, when you engage with God in prayers, be prepared for a fight (Genesis 32:23-33)!

Brethren! Although the Father already knows what we need even before we ask Him, He is pleased to talk with us, teach us and train us according to our abilities, just like what Jesus did today with the disciples and the Canaanite woman. So, let us pray for the sufferings of Lebanon. Offer our prayers to the Redeemer of humanity to "Restore our captives" (Psalms 126:4)!
God bless!

諸先知之后 Queen of the Prophets

【先知系列之三】
諸先知之后（路2:16-21）

今天我們慶祝天主之母節。雖然聖母身為受造物，但在天主奧妙的安排之下，童貞瑪利亞竟然成為了造物主的母親！這是一端非常重要的「當信道理」，因為它捍衛著天主子耶穌基督，不可分割的天主性與人性。倘若聖母瑪利亞祇是天主子人性部份的母親，那麼，天主子的犧牲祇是祂人性部份的死。這人性部份的死，又怎能消除古往今來，億億萬萬人類的罪債呢？有興趣研究神學的讀者，自己再發掘下去罷！

聖母有另外一個稱號，可能會幫助我們理解多一點「天主之母」的奧妙。那就是在【聖母德敘禱文】中提及的「諸先知之后」。這稱號指出，聖母自己是一位偉大的先知，堪稱先知中的皇后；另一方面，歷代先知有關默西亞的預言，都提及到聖母瑪利亞獨特的角色！

首先，先知向人類宣佈天主的話，而聖母把天主聖言，誕生到世上來。而且，在耶穌基督行第一個神蹟時，聖母對僕役，即所有世人說：「他無論吩咐你們甚麼，你們就作甚麼。」（若2:5）所以先知的稱號，聖母當之無愧。她更是先知中的皇后！

其次，不少先知的預言，指出救世主由童貞女所生。例如：「看，有位貞女要懷孕生子，給他起名叫厄瑪奴耳」（依7:14）；「因為上主在地上正在創造一件新事：女人包圍男人」（耶31:22）「任何人不得由此門而入，因為有上主以色列的天主已由此門而入，為此常應關閉」（則44:2）；「一塊石頭，未經手鑿」（達2:34）等等，指出救世主由童貞女所生。這樣便保證了救世主並非來自人間，從而保證了祂的天主性！當然，在舊約時代，啟示尚未完滿，不能苛求先知們能說出，造物主願意由受造物所生的真理。先知們能夠指示出聖母瑪利亞是卒世童貞的，已經是可貴的成就了！
天主啊！讓我們效法聖母，把祢那「眼所未見，耳所未聞，心所未想」（格前2:9）的恩寵，默存在心中，反覆思想，體會這恩寵是何等甘飴。亞孟。

圖片鳴謝：https://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-176/QueenProphets.htm

生命恩泉

---

"Prophet Series#3"
Queen of the Prophets (Luke 2:16-21)

Today, we celebrate the "Solemnity of the Mother of God". Although the BVM is only a creature, under God's ineffable arrangement, she became the Mother of the Creator! This is an extremely important dogma because it defends the inseparable union of the divinity and humanity of the Son of God. Had the BVM been the mother of only the humanity of the Son of God, then the sacrifice of the Son of God would only have been the death of His humanity. How could the death of this humanity be able to repay the debts of zillions of human beings throughout the ages? Interested readers continue to explore please!

The BVM is honoured with another title which may help us understand more the intricacy of the "Mother of God" dogma. The title, "Queen of the Prophets" is found in the Litany of the BVM. This title points out that the BVM is a great prophet herself. She deserves to be called the Queen of the Prophets. On the other hand, all the Messianic prophecies pronounced by the prophets mention without exception the special role of the BVM!

Firstly, prophets bring God's word to men. The BVM gave birth to the Word of God to all men. Moreover, during Jesus' first miracle, the BVM told the servers, i.e. all humanity, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5) Therefore, the BVM deserves to be called a prophet. She deserves even to be called the "Queen of the Prophets"!

Secondly, many prophecies foretell that the Saviour shall be born of a virgin. For example, "A young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel" (Isaiah 7:14); "The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: woman encompasses man" (Jeremiah 31:22); "No one should come through this gate. Because the Lord, the God of Israel, came through it, it must remain closed" (Ezekiel 44:2) and "A stone was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it" (Daniel 2:34) etc. They point out that the Saviour would be born of a virgin. They guarantee that the Saviour does not come from the created world, thus guarantee the divinity of the Son of God! Of course, revelation is incomplete in the Old Testament. It is not right to demand Old Testament prophets to announce the mystery that the Creator is willing to be born of a creature. Their achievements are already superb when they were able to point out the perpetual virginity of the BVM!
Dear God! Let us imitate the BVM, keep reflecting in our hearts all those graces, those "eye has not seen, and ear has not heard and what has not entered the human heart" (1 Corinthians 2:9)which You have prepared for us. Savour how sweet these graces are. Amen.

中槍青年的護守天使在哪？ Where's the Guardian Angel of Youngster Shot?

中槍青年的護守天使在哪？
十月二日，天主教紀念「護守天使」。繼承著猶太人的傳統（例如，詠91:11）和新約的教訓（例如：瑪18:10；希1:14），天主教一向相信天主為每一個人，無論是得救的人抑或是落地獄的人，派遣一位「護守天使」，不離不棄，終身守護著他們，直到他們上了天堂或者落到地獄為止。
護守天使主要的任務，是引領我們回歸天父的懷抱。一方面，他們保護我們避免邪靈的攻擊；必要時，在合乎天主神聖旨意的情況下，他們可以在物質世界行神蹟，拯救我們脫免凶險！另一方面，他們光照我們的理智intellect，啟導我們的想像力imagination和改變我們的感覺senses。不過，為了尊重天賦的自由意志，即使是天使，也不能改變人類的意志will，每個人仍可以選擇抗拒天主！因此，人是有道德的，並且為自己選擇的行為，負上責任，承擔後果。當然，附魔者又當別論！

從以上的信仰條款，我們肯定開槍的警察，中槍的青年，和他們的護守天使，當時是在現場的。我們自然會問，這兩位護守天使究竟在做甚麼？

1. 示威者的護守天使為甚麼沒有保護示威者，使他不中槍，避免悲劇的發生？
   這個不難回答：可能護守天使令子彈偏離心臟，這一槍沒有奪去他的生命！
   可是，倘若示威者死了又如何？一句「天意」就可以脫身嗎？護守天使的任務就此完成了嗎？你可以保證示威者回歸天父的懷抱嗎？我不知道怎樣回答這追問，惟有謙遜說：「願祢的旨意奉行在人間，如同在天上。」（瑪6:10）
2. 警察的護守天使為甚麼不制止警察開槍？
   這也不難回答：警察的守護天使不能改變警察的意志。警察搶救同袍心切，開槍射擊在他面前揮動鐵通的示威者。他的行為雖然並不專業，但是理直氣壯！
   可是，護守天使還可以光照警察的理智，啟導他的想像力，使他能更有效地搶救自己的同袍。為甚麼會讓這樣不專業的事情發生，令市民對警隊更加絕望，令香港警察成為國際笑柄？有另外一個可能，但我不願意向這個方向繼續默想下去!

其實，不單止每個人有自己的護守天使，在聖經舊約的書卷中，也有提及一個地區，甚至一個國家的護守天使（達10:13，20-21）。我相信香港應該有她的護守天使，但一定不是車公、關帝、黃大仙或者天后，因為他們不會引領香港回歸天父的懷抱。這位香港的護守天使是誰？我不知。或者可以問樞機。從六月九日到今天，已115天了，我相信這位護守天使，仍然在履行天父委派他為香港護航的任務，協調每一個守護香港市民的護守天使，實行天父的全盤大計！
『天主光明的天使，上主派遣您來世上陪伴我。保護我不要陷入魔鬼的羅網，但幫助我常保持天主孩子的身份，祂是我的造主。天主真理的天使，您擁有完美的知識，為真理服務。保護我不要陷入謊言與誘惑，但幫助我認識真理，並常在真理中生活。天主愛的天使，您常讚美耶穌基督，天主唯一聖子，為愛我們犧牲自己的生命。請支持我學習這神聖的愛，學習慷慨的犧牲、溫柔與謙卑的心。我天上的朋友，謝謝您無微不至的保護。在死亡的時刻，帶我到唯一至聖天主前，祂是光明、真理與愛，永生永王！亞孟。』（來自一個默主哥耶的微博）


圖片鳴謝：WhatsApp收到，來自一位Vxxx Lxxx

多餘就是邪惡 More Is Evil

多餘就是邪惡
（瑪5:33-37）

有一位傳媒人說得好：「假的真不了，真的也假不了。」的確，說過千萬次的謊言，即使騙了千千萬萬人，始終都是謊言，是謬論，是不會因為說得多，便會變成事實，變成真理。

本來，「是」就是「是」，「非」就是「非」，是客觀的事實，有需要的話，任何人都可以驗證其真偽。但猶太人的法律太有效率了，祇要兩個人的證言，便可以判別是非。這法律中的漏洞，可想而知；從蘇撒納的故事，更可見一斑（達13:43）。如果祇得一個人又怎麼辦呢？於是他們想出「發誓」的方法，請天主做第二位證人，來滿足法律的要求。這樣做，祇不過是自欺欺人。倘若某君發虛誓，難道慈悲的天主會令他立刻暴斃（宗5:5，10），而不會給他悔改的機會嗎？

耶穌基督反對發誓，因為根本不需要第二位證人。一個人本身的說話，足以判斷他自己。人是天主的肖像，天主說了，萬物便生成。祂肖像的說話，應該也是很有份量的。可惜，出於魔鬼的嫉妒，謊言進入了世界，連天主的肖像，也喪失了原始的恩寵，爾虞我詐，滿口謊言，實在太可悲了。耶穌基督帶來救贖，恢復天主肖像原有的恩寵，更把我們提升到天主義子的地位。作為天主的子女，我們的說話，非同小可，謊言又豈可說出口呢？所以耶穌基督說：「是就說是，非就說非；其他多餘的便是出於邪惡。」（瑪5:37）聽來苛刻，其實，這是作為天主子女應有的自我尊重！
天父啊！讓我們不說多餘的話。亞孟。

生命恩泉

---

More Is Evil
(Matthew 5:33-37)

Once a TV celebrity said, "Being fake can never be genuine and being genuine can never be fake." Indeed, even if a lie is told thousands of times and is able to cheat millions of people, it is a lie, a fallacy. It can never become a reality or a truth no matter how many times it is repeated.

Truth and falsity are objective realities. If needs arise, anybody can verify its truth value. But Jewish laws were too efficient. The witness of two people was sufficient to establish the truth of an incident. The flaw is obvious. It is amply demonstrated in the story of Susanna (Daniel 13:43) What should be done when there was only one person? Well, swear an oath, inviting God to be the second witness to satisfy the demand of the laws. Such a compromise only fools oneself. If somebody dares to take a false oath, would the merciful Lord kill him instantly (Acts 5:5, 10) and does not give him an opportunity to repent?

Jesus Christ opposes swearing. There is no need of the second witness. The word of a person is enough to pass judgment on himself. Men were created in the image of God. God spoke and all things were created. The words of His images should be powerful as well. Unfortunately, out of the jealousy of the Devil, lies entered the world. Even the images of God have lost their original grace and started cheating each other and their mouths are open tombs of lies. How sad it is! Jesus Christ brought us redemption, restoring the original grace of the images of God. Furthermore, he raises our status to be adopted children of God. To be children of God, our words cannot be slight. How then can lies come out from our lips? Thus, Jesus Christ says, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes', and your 'No' mean 'No'. Anything more is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37). Though it souns harsh, it is in fact the self-respect the Children of God should possess!
Heavenly Father! Let us not speak unnecessarily. Amen.

Fifteenth Ordinary Sunday (Year C)

I have not written for a few days. It is because I need to spend more time reading. I feel very dry and have nothing to offer. Therefore, from now on, I will write once a week. What use is it just knowing the truth? Act on the truth.

Today, we read the famous story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus told this parable in response to the challenge of a Teacher of the Law. The scholar knew the law very well. Yet, he failed to see in the proper perspective and act accordingly. Here is the challenge he posed to Jesus.
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25)
I have always thought that "eternal life" is a New Testament concept. I have been wrong. The idea of "eternal life" appears once in Daniel.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).
everlasting life חַיֵּי עוֹלָם
ζωὴν αἰώνιον (Daniel 12:2, Luke 10:25)
Therefore, Luke did not put words into the mouth of a scholar of the Old Testament. The scholar's challenge was a legitimate one.

Unlike the story in Mark, the Jesus in Luke did not give the answer directly. Instead, he asked the scholar what the Law talks about. Here, we come to the famous quotation from Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18b).
"with all your mind" is an addition in the Greek era.
Jesus' answer was very straight forward and truth is embedded in the simplicity.
And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live." (Luke 10:28)
Knowing does not bring us eternal life. Doing does.
The story would have ended here. But how could Luke, a good story teller, let this golden opportunity go? He continues to explore the psychological blind spot of the scholar. What prevented the scholar from doing the right thing? The scholar got the perspective wrong.

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29)
Then Jesus told the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. In the end, Jesus asked the crucial question to bring the scholar back to the proper perspective.
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? (Luke 10:36)
"Who is my neighbour?" is ego-centric. The focus is no us and not on the needy. That is why the perspective is wrong. "Who is the neighbour to the victim?" is altruistic, is other-centered. This is the proper perspective.

Before I leave, I would like to explore a bit to speculate why the priest and the Levite did not lend a helping hand.
One of the more popular explanations is that the priest and the Levite cared more about their priestly duties than the needs of the victim. They did not want to become unclean by touching the bleeding man, thus making them unable to perform their priestly duties for a certain period of time. I find this explanation unsatisfactory.
Firstly, all of them were leaving Jerusalem. They were going down the road, from Jerusalem to Jericho. Therefore, it was unlikely that the priest and the Levite were on their way to perform religious duties. Still, it does not rule out the possibility.
Secondly, priests and Levites had to handle sacrifices. They were responsible for butchering the sacrificial lambs, cutting them up and removing the fat etc. Who else in the Temple should do this, if not the priests and the Levites? Moreover, priests had to examine lepers to determine their illness and pronounced them unclean. To a certain extent, priests always got in touch with uncleanliness. They should enjoy some degree of immunity. Therefore, it is unthinkable that they should refrain from touching and helping a bleeding man, leaving him to die helplessly alone.
More likely, the road was infested with robbers. They saw the bleeding man and perhaps it was a trap. They did not want to fall victim to robbers and left the scene as soon as possible. Of course, nobody can tell. It is pure speculation. The truth is we should lend a helping hand whenever the situation demands.

Dear Lord, help us to go out of ourselves and generously love our neighbour. Let us love You more. Amen.

What can last forever?

Man is mortal. Sooner or later, man dies. Whatever he has earned, he has achieved is no more for him. For this reason, man longs for immortality in order to continue to possess. Some men are more pragmatic. They only want to leave behind a legacy such as a magnifcient building or a philosophical system, which may or may not last forever. But what can last forever?

The Bible uses another phrase: "stands/abides forever". A search through the Bible yields the following items which can last forever: the word of God (Isaiah 40:8, 1 Peter 1:25), the counsel of God (Psalm 33:11), the throne of David (Psalm 89:37), Zion (Psalm 125:1) and the Kingdom of God (Daniel 2:44). Since we are reading the First Epistle of Peter, we will take a look at the word of God.

God created the heavens and the earth with His word (Genesis 1). But the heavens and the earth will pass away one day. Therefore, the heavens and the earth do not guarantee the transcendence of the word of God. For the Israelites, the word of God comes in the form of the law. Jesus once made the following remark about the law.
For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished (Matthew 5:18).
The phrase "until all is accomplished" suggests an end to the law. When all is accomplished, the law is no longer needed. The law will also end one day.
So, why do Jews and Christians have so much confidence in the word of God such that it abides forever? None of them has yet lived forever. Superficially, it can be "proved" logically. The reasoning goes like this. God is eternal. Therefore, God's word is also eternal. God's creation may not be eternal. But God's word is not God's creation. Therefore, God's word is eternal.
The whole reasoning hinges on God Himself. Therefore, I think it is an act of faith to insist that the word of God lasts forever. I am afraid we will never be able to find any convincing empirical evidence to verify or to falsify it. Likewise, we can't prove or disprove the existence of God, though philosophers and theologians have demonstrated their proofs.

Return to Peter. For him, the gospel of Jesus is the word of God. Christians have been born anew through their faith in the risen Jesus. This entails leading a life of holiness. But Peter does not mean the holiness of keeping the commandments of God. Rather, it is a life of charity.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart (1 Peter 1:22).
The holiness of Christian life is demonstrated through charity.

Dear Lord, may we pass on Your love so as to partake in Your eternal life. Amen.

Appendix:
πᾶσα σὰρξ ὡς χόρτος καὶ πᾶσα δό ξα αὐτῆς ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου· ἐξηράνθη ὁ χόρτος καὶ τὸ ἄνθος ἐξ έπεσεν·
τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord abides for ever (1 Peter 1:24-25a, RSV).
Πᾶσα σὰρξ χόρτος, καὶ πᾶσα δόξα ἀνθρώπου ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου,
ἐξηράνθη ὁ χόρτος, καὶ τὸ ἄν θος ἐξέπεσεν,
τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα(Isaiah 40:6b-7).