I don't like the idea of chain letter because it is a waste of resources. In particular, they are noises in the Internet, jamming those authentic stress messages. Therefore, I am cautious in treating forwarded messages/emails, in particular those asking me to forward them to my friends. In many cases, I received them because my friends simply pressed the forward button without thinking. As a responsible user of the Internet, I would try to spend some time to verify the information before I forward them. In many cases, I ended up not pressing the forward button.
Today, before I sat down to write this blog, I received an email asking me to help a certain Mr. Wong Pui Miu (王培淼), a Catholic who received a Bachelor of Education degree from CUHK and was supposed to be a primary school teacher. However, because of some medical blunders at birth and cerebral palsy (suggesting that he is suffering from some physical disfigurement), no headmaster is willing to hire him etc. As usual, I was skeptical and did a little research on the Internet. This time, my skepticism was proved wrong.
Mr. Wong left a Lunar New Year greeting message in Guest Book of the homepage of Tsuen Wan Catholic Primary School while he was still looking for a teaching post half a year after graduation. The next thing I could find is an entry in the HKEdcity forum 歧視不存在，世界更可愛！ in 2005, expressing his despair after six years of struggle and mentioned of suicide. 14 people responded and poured in words of consolation and encouragement. After this, I found his name, if he has been using his real name, in signature campaigns and comments to news items of current social, educational and political issues. He supported Cardinal Zen's position against the Patriotic Church in mainland China etc. So, Mr Wong is real and is struggling to make ends meet.
Life has been difficult for a disfigured university graduate in Hong Kong! Being a Catholic does not seem to relieve much of the hardship he has to endure. Modern society provides convenient and comfortable life. But time is in short supply. People focus on the first impression which takes less than 10 seconds to establish. Once it is cast, you are done. Modern society is highly competitive. Disfigured people are in great disadvantage because they look unhealthy. Their packaging is not marketable.
Jesus did not start with an impressive packaging. He was only a carpenter's son from Galilee. Luckily, Jesus was able to work miracles and exorcise demons. Moreover, he revealed his glory to his core apostles in Transfiguration to boost their faith. However, he was crucified by the Romans. Therefore, Christianity did not start with an impressive packaging. Only through God's intervention in time does Christianity prove its worth. However, time is in short supply in interpersonal interactions in the modern society. How Christians reveal the face of the transfigured Jesus within 10 seconds is a real challenge to us all. It is truly an impossible mission. But for God, nothing is impossible. The transfigured face of Jesus is a promise which God will honour us all at the end of the world. Then, our disfigured faces, including Mr. Wong's will be transformed into their perfection. Meanwhile, we continue to live with a disfigured human face with faith in God who always beats the powerful with the lowly and weak to prove that He is our God. Our faith is fueled by the stories of Gideon leading 300 men to defeat Midianites; David defeating Goliath etc. When God is with us, what powers on earth can triumph over us?
Dear Lord, shine forth your glory through your people. Amen.
Monday, 17 March 2014
Sunday, 9 March 2014
「悔改」即打破因循
四旬期第一主日（甲年）
主題：「悔改」即打破因循
「聖誕期」剛結束了大概兩個月，不覺又到了「四旬期」。顧名思義，四旬即四十日。當年，耶穌接受若翰的洗禮後，便進入曠野四十日，接受魔鬼的試探、考驗，為將來傳福音建立天國作好準備。同樣，教會亦為候洗者安排四十日的最後淨化，幫助他們好好準備在復活前夕領受洗禮。已經洗禮的我們，就用這四十天的時間，一方面陪伴候洗者淨煉，領洗重生；另一方面也好像耶穌一樣整裝待發，在五旬節聖神降臨後，向世界宣講福音。
讓我們來默想今天第一篇讀經中創世紀所記載人類墮落的故事。首先，我們要撇開性別歧視的問題，不要把責任全部推卸在女人身上。在聖經中，人類所說的第一句話，亦是男人對女人說的第一句話，不是「這真是我骨中之骨，肉中之肉」嗎？既然做夫妻，「有福同享，有難同當」是理所當然的，豈可獨善其身呢？其次，會說話的蛇祗會在「寓言故事」中纔會出現。所以，創世紀的故事是一個「寓言故事」，告訴小朋友為甚麽蛇用肚爬行，告訴男人為甚麽在天主所創造的美好世界中還要如此辛苦地工作，告訴女人為甚麽要服從男人等等。脫去這些外衣之後，我們可以了解故事的真正意義。人是天主的肖像，人渴望永恆，想超越作為受造物的有限。就算沒有魔鬼，這心魔始終是揮之不去的，因為人是天主的肖像。其實天主是明白這一切的，在時機成熟，天主會提昇我們的存在。怪祗怪原祖沒有耐性等待，所以不要怪魔鬼。渴望相似天主，扮天主是人類的死穴。
在今天的福音的故事中，耶穌以血肉之軀抗拒魔鬼的誘惑，為人類勝回一仗，証明人類是有能力抵抗誘惑的。誘惑是甚麽呢？我認為誘惑是來自需要和渴望得不到滿足。要生存就要滿足生存的需要，例如生理上的需要，安全的需要。人要生活就需要愛、需要尊嚴、渴望實現潛能、渴望超越自我、渴望天主等等。誘惑就是嘗試以不正當的手段來滿足需要，走捷徑來滿足合理的渴望。
為我們的益處，耶穌留下三個試探的經驗。其實在耶穌的公開生活中，這些誘惑以新的形式，不斷出現。例如，魔鬼誘惑耶穌將石頭變餅充飢，可以理解成為以經濟手段，解決貧窮的問題。耶穌在伯達尼宴會上，有個女人用昂貴的香水為他洗頭，猶達斯就表示不滿，認為浪費了可以救濟窮人的機會。耶穌抗絕這個誘惑，為那個女人的行為辯護。耶穌在抗拒魔鬼的試探時，祗引用【申命紀】的教訓，指出人不單祗要解決物質上的貧乏，亦要處理靈性上的貧乏。吃過知善惡樹的果子，人有了判辨是非的能力。祗要按聖經的教訓，就足夠對抗魔鬼的試探了。
教宗方濟各在今年的四旬期文告中說得十分清楚明白：耶穌以他的貧乏，令我們富足，所以基督徒有責任令身邊貧乏的人富足。今天的貧乏有三：第一，物質上的貧乏。就算這最簡單的貧乏，經濟手段亦不能滿意地解決。所謂「不患寡而患不均。」解決物質上的貧乏有賴我們按公義分配社會上的資源。第二種貧乏是倫理上的貧乏。教宗列出四種現代人容易陷入的奴役：酒精、毒品、賭博和色情。另外，有些人覺得生存沒有意義，與及在社會上受到歧視和剝削。第三種貧乏是靈性上的貧乏。現代人離棄天主，拒絕天主的愛，遇上困難時不懂得轉向天主求助。教會有責任幫助人脫貧，不但脫離物質上的貧乏，更要出力消滅社會性的罪惡並以福音恢復人類靈性上的富足。
具體地說，四旬期是我們打破因循、慣性和惰性，向天主開放的好時機。生活習慣固然是好的，既省力又舒適，但容易令人偷懶，容易放棄基督徒的價值，容易隨波逐流。守齋、祈禱和施捨不是我們格外多做的克己。這些原本是我們平時都做的事，祗不過四旬期，我們打破因循，改變了優次而已。所以，今年的克己，除了做慣了的守齋、施捨和祈禱外，不妨多做一件事：不要推卸責任。天主問亞當為何食禁果，亞當把責任推到天主和女人身上；天主問女人的時候，女人把責任推在蛇的身上。這真是人類的劣根性。大家都見到推卸責任不但不能解決闖出來的禍，更會將問題擴大。
所以，今年四旬期，如果是自己做錯事，就不要賴人。做錯了捱罵是應該的，並要虛心聆聽，不要爭辯。耶穌在真福八端不是教訓過我們「是就說是，非就說非，其他的都是出於邪惡」嗎？善後工作固然不要連累他人，但亦不要驕傲，應要謙遜地接受別人的幫助。
如果你是另外一種極端，凡事都攬到自己身上話，你就應該把責任放回應該負責任的人身上。「做好人」固然好受，但你正在剝削他人成長成聖的機會。今年試一試「做醜人」的滋味吧！
願耶穌陪伴我們在四旬期克己，洗心革面。到復活節一起做新人。天主保佑。
First Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: To repent is to break our routines
Just two months after Christmas, we have reached the season of Lent. Lent lasts for 40 days. After baptism, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness to undergo tests from Satan in order to equip himself for evangelization and the building up of the kingdom of heaven. In like manners, those who will receive baptism are going through the final stage of purification, to prepare themselves for baptism to start a new life on Easter Vigil. For us who were baptized, not only are these 40 days a good time to accompany those awaiting baptism to go through their final purification, it is also a preparatory time for Christians to reorganize themselves to proclaim the gospel to the whole world after Pentecost.
Let us begin by a meditation on the story of the Fall of our first parents in Genesis. First of all, strip the story of sexual discriminatory elements and do not put the blame of the Fall on women. Isn’t the first sentence man spoke in the Bible, a sentence spoken toward the woman “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23)? Being spouses, we should “share the same prosperities and plights”. How can we wash our hands and leave the others to blame? Secondly, a talking serpent can only appear in fables. Therefore, the Genesis story is only a fable, explaining to children why snakes crawl on the belly, consoling men why they still have to work so hard when God had created a good world and telling women why they should submit to their husbands etc. Removing these literary strappings, we will be able to understand the true meaning of the story. God created man in his image. Therefore, man longs for eternity, longs to transcend the limitations of being a creature. Even if there were no Satan, man would never be able to shake off this obsession because he is an image of God. God understands all these. It is a matter of time when God will elevate our being. Our first parents just could not wait. Longing to be like God, to play God are our Achilles heels.
In the gospel reading today, we read of how Jesus overcame the temptation of Satan in his humanity. Jesus won back for human one battle, proving that human beings are able to resist temptation. So, what is temptation? I think temptation comes from needs and desires unfulfilled. In order to survive, we need to meet our needs: physiological needs, security needs. To live, a man needs love and dignity. He desires to actualize his potentials, to transcend himself and he longs for his Creator. Temptation is an attempt to satisfy these needs with inappropriate means, to fulfill reasonable longings with shortcuts.
For our sake, Jesus left us three temptation experiences. In fact, these temptations resurfaced in new forms during his public ministry. For example, Satan persuaded Jesus to turn stones into bread to feed his hunger. This can be understood as solving the problem of poverty with economic means. In Bethany, a woman washed the hair of Jesus with expensive ointment. Judas protested that it was a waste of money which could have relieved many poor people. Jesus rejected this temptation and defended the action of the woman. In combating the Devil, Jesus only quoted the teaching of Deuteronomy, pointing out that not only does man have to solve the problem of material poverty, but he also needs to handle his spiritual poverty. After eating the fruit on the tree of knowledge of good and evil, man has the ability to judge right from wrong. It is enough to follow the teachings of the Bible to resist temptations.
Pope Francis made it clear in his Lenten message: Jesus enriches us with his poverty. Therefore, Christians have the responsibility to make people living in destitution enriched. Nowadays, there are three types of destitution. Firstly, it is material destitution. Even for this simplest form of destitution, economic means are inadequate to handle it satisfactorily. We need to allocate resources in the society in a fair and just manner. Secondly, it is moral destitution. The Pope listed four types of slavery for modern men: alcohol, drugs, gambling and pornography. Besides, there are people who find life meaningless and those who are discriminated and exploited. The third is spiritual destitution. Modern men have abandoned God, have rejected his love. They would not seek help from God in times of difficulties. The Church has the duty to deliver people from material poverty. Moreover, she needs to eradicate structural evils in the society and restore the spiritual rich of men with the gospel.
To put it into practice, Lent is a season for us to break our routines, habits and inertia. It is a good opportunity to open ourselves to God. Habits are good. They make life efficient and comfortable. However, they also make us lazy and abandon our Christian values to follow the crowd. Fasting, prayers and almsgiving are not extra things we do for the sake of self-renunciation. These are ordinary things a Christian should do in his daily life. In Lent, we break our daily routines and give these three a higher priority. Therefore, for the purpose of Lenten self-renunciation, on top of fasting, prayers and almsgiving, I invite you to do one more thing: do not put the blame on others. When God gave Adam an opportunity to explain his disobedience, Adam put the blame on God and the woman. When God asked the woman, she put the blame on the serpent. What a human nature! We can see that not only did this passing the buck fail to solve the problem, it intensified the problem.
Therefore, during this Lent, if it is your fault, do not blame the others. Being scolded is to be expected. Listen with humility and do not argue back. Hasn’t Jesus taught us that “let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”? Of course, we should not bring in others to clean up our mess. Yet, don’t be arrogant. We should humble ourselves to receive the generosity of other’s help.
If you are on the other extreme of the spectrum such that you always take on yourself others’ faults, you should lay the responsibility where it is due. It feels good to be the good guy but you are taking away others’ opportunity to grow and to sanctify. This Lent, try to be the bad guy.
May Jesus our Lord accompany us in our self-renunciation in Lent so that we may rise together a new man in Easter. God bless.
主題：「悔改」即打破因循
「聖誕期」剛結束了大概兩個月，不覺又到了「四旬期」。顧名思義，四旬即四十日。當年，耶穌接受若翰的洗禮後，便進入曠野四十日，接受魔鬼的試探、考驗，為將來傳福音建立天國作好準備。同樣，教會亦為候洗者安排四十日的最後淨化，幫助他們好好準備在復活前夕領受洗禮。已經洗禮的我們，就用這四十天的時間，一方面陪伴候洗者淨煉，領洗重生；另一方面也好像耶穌一樣整裝待發，在五旬節聖神降臨後，向世界宣講福音。
讓我們來默想今天第一篇讀經中創世紀所記載人類墮落的故事。首先，我們要撇開性別歧視的問題，不要把責任全部推卸在女人身上。在聖經中，人類所說的第一句話，亦是男人對女人說的第一句話，不是「這真是我骨中之骨，肉中之肉」嗎？既然做夫妻，「有福同享，有難同當」是理所當然的，豈可獨善其身呢？其次，會說話的蛇祗會在「寓言故事」中纔會出現。所以，創世紀的故事是一個「寓言故事」，告訴小朋友為甚麽蛇用肚爬行，告訴男人為甚麽在天主所創造的美好世界中還要如此辛苦地工作，告訴女人為甚麽要服從男人等等。脫去這些外衣之後，我們可以了解故事的真正意義。人是天主的肖像，人渴望永恆，想超越作為受造物的有限。就算沒有魔鬼，這心魔始終是揮之不去的，因為人是天主的肖像。其實天主是明白這一切的，在時機成熟，天主會提昇我們的存在。怪祗怪原祖沒有耐性等待，所以不要怪魔鬼。渴望相似天主，扮天主是人類的死穴。
在今天的福音的故事中，耶穌以血肉之軀抗拒魔鬼的誘惑，為人類勝回一仗，証明人類是有能力抵抗誘惑的。誘惑是甚麽呢？我認為誘惑是來自需要和渴望得不到滿足。要生存就要滿足生存的需要，例如生理上的需要，安全的需要。人要生活就需要愛、需要尊嚴、渴望實現潛能、渴望超越自我、渴望天主等等。誘惑就是嘗試以不正當的手段來滿足需要，走捷徑來滿足合理的渴望。
為我們的益處，耶穌留下三個試探的經驗。其實在耶穌的公開生活中，這些誘惑以新的形式，不斷出現。例如，魔鬼誘惑耶穌將石頭變餅充飢，可以理解成為以經濟手段，解決貧窮的問題。耶穌在伯達尼宴會上，有個女人用昂貴的香水為他洗頭，猶達斯就表示不滿，認為浪費了可以救濟窮人的機會。耶穌抗絕這個誘惑，為那個女人的行為辯護。耶穌在抗拒魔鬼的試探時，祗引用【申命紀】的教訓，指出人不單祗要解決物質上的貧乏，亦要處理靈性上的貧乏。吃過知善惡樹的果子，人有了判辨是非的能力。祗要按聖經的教訓，就足夠對抗魔鬼的試探了。
教宗方濟各在今年的四旬期文告中說得十分清楚明白：耶穌以他的貧乏，令我們富足，所以基督徒有責任令身邊貧乏的人富足。今天的貧乏有三：第一，物質上的貧乏。就算這最簡單的貧乏，經濟手段亦不能滿意地解決。所謂「不患寡而患不均。」解決物質上的貧乏有賴我們按公義分配社會上的資源。第二種貧乏是倫理上的貧乏。教宗列出四種現代人容易陷入的奴役：酒精、毒品、賭博和色情。另外，有些人覺得生存沒有意義，與及在社會上受到歧視和剝削。第三種貧乏是靈性上的貧乏。現代人離棄天主，拒絕天主的愛，遇上困難時不懂得轉向天主求助。教會有責任幫助人脫貧，不但脫離物質上的貧乏，更要出力消滅社會性的罪惡並以福音恢復人類靈性上的富足。
具體地說，四旬期是我們打破因循、慣性和惰性，向天主開放的好時機。生活習慣固然是好的，既省力又舒適，但容易令人偷懶，容易放棄基督徒的價值，容易隨波逐流。守齋、祈禱和施捨不是我們格外多做的克己。這些原本是我們平時都做的事，祗不過四旬期，我們打破因循，改變了優次而已。所以，今年的克己，除了做慣了的守齋、施捨和祈禱外，不妨多做一件事：不要推卸責任。天主問亞當為何食禁果，亞當把責任推到天主和女人身上；天主問女人的時候，女人把責任推在蛇的身上。這真是人類的劣根性。大家都見到推卸責任不但不能解決闖出來的禍，更會將問題擴大。
所以，今年四旬期，如果是自己做錯事，就不要賴人。做錯了捱罵是應該的，並要虛心聆聽，不要爭辯。耶穌在真福八端不是教訓過我們「是就說是，非就說非，其他的都是出於邪惡」嗎？善後工作固然不要連累他人，但亦不要驕傲，應要謙遜地接受別人的幫助。
如果你是另外一種極端，凡事都攬到自己身上話，你就應該把責任放回應該負責任的人身上。「做好人」固然好受，但你正在剝削他人成長成聖的機會。今年試一試「做醜人」的滋味吧！
願耶穌陪伴我們在四旬期克己，洗心革面。到復活節一起做新人。天主保佑。
First Sunday of Lent (Year A)
Theme: To repent is to break our routines
Just two months after Christmas, we have reached the season of Lent. Lent lasts for 40 days. After baptism, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness to undergo tests from Satan in order to equip himself for evangelization and the building up of the kingdom of heaven. In like manners, those who will receive baptism are going through the final stage of purification, to prepare themselves for baptism to start a new life on Easter Vigil. For us who were baptized, not only are these 40 days a good time to accompany those awaiting baptism to go through their final purification, it is also a preparatory time for Christians to reorganize themselves to proclaim the gospel to the whole world after Pentecost.
Let us begin by a meditation on the story of the Fall of our first parents in Genesis. First of all, strip the story of sexual discriminatory elements and do not put the blame of the Fall on women. Isn’t the first sentence man spoke in the Bible, a sentence spoken toward the woman “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23)? Being spouses, we should “share the same prosperities and plights”. How can we wash our hands and leave the others to blame? Secondly, a talking serpent can only appear in fables. Therefore, the Genesis story is only a fable, explaining to children why snakes crawl on the belly, consoling men why they still have to work so hard when God had created a good world and telling women why they should submit to their husbands etc. Removing these literary strappings, we will be able to understand the true meaning of the story. God created man in his image. Therefore, man longs for eternity, longs to transcend the limitations of being a creature. Even if there were no Satan, man would never be able to shake off this obsession because he is an image of God. God understands all these. It is a matter of time when God will elevate our being. Our first parents just could not wait. Longing to be like God, to play God are our Achilles heels.
In the gospel reading today, we read of how Jesus overcame the temptation of Satan in his humanity. Jesus won back for human one battle, proving that human beings are able to resist temptation. So, what is temptation? I think temptation comes from needs and desires unfulfilled. In order to survive, we need to meet our needs: physiological needs, security needs. To live, a man needs love and dignity. He desires to actualize his potentials, to transcend himself and he longs for his Creator. Temptation is an attempt to satisfy these needs with inappropriate means, to fulfill reasonable longings with shortcuts.
For our sake, Jesus left us three temptation experiences. In fact, these temptations resurfaced in new forms during his public ministry. For example, Satan persuaded Jesus to turn stones into bread to feed his hunger. This can be understood as solving the problem of poverty with economic means. In Bethany, a woman washed the hair of Jesus with expensive ointment. Judas protested that it was a waste of money which could have relieved many poor people. Jesus rejected this temptation and defended the action of the woman. In combating the Devil, Jesus only quoted the teaching of Deuteronomy, pointing out that not only does man have to solve the problem of material poverty, but he also needs to handle his spiritual poverty. After eating the fruit on the tree of knowledge of good and evil, man has the ability to judge right from wrong. It is enough to follow the teachings of the Bible to resist temptations.
Pope Francis made it clear in his Lenten message: Jesus enriches us with his poverty. Therefore, Christians have the responsibility to make people living in destitution enriched. Nowadays, there are three types of destitution. Firstly, it is material destitution. Even for this simplest form of destitution, economic means are inadequate to handle it satisfactorily. We need to allocate resources in the society in a fair and just manner. Secondly, it is moral destitution. The Pope listed four types of slavery for modern men: alcohol, drugs, gambling and pornography. Besides, there are people who find life meaningless and those who are discriminated and exploited. The third is spiritual destitution. Modern men have abandoned God, have rejected his love. They would not seek help from God in times of difficulties. The Church has the duty to deliver people from material poverty. Moreover, she needs to eradicate structural evils in the society and restore the spiritual rich of men with the gospel.
To put it into practice, Lent is a season for us to break our routines, habits and inertia. It is a good opportunity to open ourselves to God. Habits are good. They make life efficient and comfortable. However, they also make us lazy and abandon our Christian values to follow the crowd. Fasting, prayers and almsgiving are not extra things we do for the sake of self-renunciation. These are ordinary things a Christian should do in his daily life. In Lent, we break our daily routines and give these three a higher priority. Therefore, for the purpose of Lenten self-renunciation, on top of fasting, prayers and almsgiving, I invite you to do one more thing: do not put the blame on others. When God gave Adam an opportunity to explain his disobedience, Adam put the blame on God and the woman. When God asked the woman, she put the blame on the serpent. What a human nature! We can see that not only did this passing the buck fail to solve the problem, it intensified the problem.
Therefore, during this Lent, if it is your fault, do not blame the others. Being scolded is to be expected. Listen with humility and do not argue back. Hasn’t Jesus taught us that “let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”? Of course, we should not bring in others to clean up our mess. Yet, don’t be arrogant. We should humble ourselves to receive the generosity of other’s help.
If you are on the other extreme of the spectrum such that you always take on yourself others’ faults, you should lay the responsibility where it is due. It feels good to be the good guy but you are taking away others’ opportunity to grow and to sanctify. This Lent, try to be the bad guy.
May Jesus our Lord accompany us in our self-renunciation in Lent so that we may rise together a new man in Easter. God bless.
Monday, 3 March 2014
The Femininity of God
All the 73 books in the Bible were written by male authors and the Author behind these is God. Therefore, it is understandable that God is presented mostly in masculine images. However, Genesis 1:26 makes it clear that God created human beings in His image, male and female. Therefore, we cannot ignore the feminine images of God in the Bible. We will not search in vain for feminine images of God and in the readings today, we found one in Isaiah 49:15.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
It is both consoling and revealing to read it. Consoling because we may rest assured that God will not abandon us. Revealing because the human situations can make life difficult. In particular, working women are torn between career and child-rearing in our modern society so much so that they my forget their children. Living standards are so high that many couples have to work in order to maintain a decent life. They are not working for a luxurious way of life, just a more comfortable and convenient one. In view of the structural exploitation gradually built up these days, some families even could not keep their heads above waters no matter how hard they have tried in earning a living. Whether you work to keep your heads afloat or to enjoy luxury, it is now well-known that these families have to pay a price --- their children, if they have any, suffer the most. When we look back, Jesus' teaching is once again revealing.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Let us put down, for a while, the criticism against the Church's teaching on women. The Church has on intention to impose her view on non-believers. But I am sure feminists definitely do not buy this. Women, and women alone, are capable of bearing children. They are indispensable and there can be no substitutes. Therefore, following the logic of Natural Law, the highest achievement a woman can have is to give birth to children and rear them in cooperation with her spouse. This is exactly what feminists don't want to buy. Many of them see this as a male conspiracy to enslave them. Both sides are right. In predominantly patriarchal societies, giving birth and rearing children were the highest vocation for a woman. It became so oppressive that some women did rebel. After all, there has been a long and respectable tradition in the Catholic Church, of women becoming nuns, partly in order to run away from this obligation. These nuns must have been the first feminists!
Had they just run away from their obligations, some of them would not be canonized. The crucial factor is that they were responding to the call of God to serve Him and the needy. They attain Christian perfection as religious nuns, not as wives. However, married life should not be despised. In the last century, the Catholic Church honoured family life with what it deserves. Family life is hard and another form of martyrdom. A humourous story circulates in the Church. A pope had dinner with his mother. The conversation drifted onto the topic of sacraments. The pope casually said that the sacrament of Holy Orders was more respectable than matrimony. His mother immediately retorted that with her matrimony, there would not be a pope at this moment lecturing her. The pope squeezed an embarrassing smile on his face and turned into a good baby of his mother.
Here, rationality fails. There can never be any hard and fast rules to help strike the right balance between making money and serving God, though we cannot serve both God and mammon (6:24). Many people are able to serve God and the needy with their money. This is the reality of life. Most of the time, we are working both for God and for money. But we need wisdom to discern when we have overworked for money and to stop to work for God. To put it in another way, our children should be good reminders that we should not overwork ourselves at their expenses. Here lies the wisdom which only God and give.
I, for one, am a perfectionist and sometimes work towards a goal whatever it takes, even beyond my means. For example, I did not go to Church this morning but returned to school to do something which could only be done there. I had attended mass last night but somebody had paid a price for me. My mother could not attend mass. Thinking back, the thing which I did in school this Sunday morning might not worth the effort I put into it. Yet, I craved for getting the thing done before Monday!
Dear Lord, Forgive me for my craving. Grant me the wisdom to discern when and where I should stop to turn to Your righteousness. Amen.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
It is both consoling and revealing to read it. Consoling because we may rest assured that God will not abandon us. Revealing because the human situations can make life difficult. In particular, working women are torn between career and child-rearing in our modern society so much so that they my forget their children. Living standards are so high that many couples have to work in order to maintain a decent life. They are not working for a luxurious way of life, just a more comfortable and convenient one. In view of the structural exploitation gradually built up these days, some families even could not keep their heads above waters no matter how hard they have tried in earning a living. Whether you work to keep your heads afloat or to enjoy luxury, it is now well-known that these families have to pay a price --- their children, if they have any, suffer the most. When we look back, Jesus' teaching is once again revealing.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Let us put down, for a while, the criticism against the Church's teaching on women. The Church has on intention to impose her view on non-believers. But I am sure feminists definitely do not buy this. Women, and women alone, are capable of bearing children. They are indispensable and there can be no substitutes. Therefore, following the logic of Natural Law, the highest achievement a woman can have is to give birth to children and rear them in cooperation with her spouse. This is exactly what feminists don't want to buy. Many of them see this as a male conspiracy to enslave them. Both sides are right. In predominantly patriarchal societies, giving birth and rearing children were the highest vocation for a woman. It became so oppressive that some women did rebel. After all, there has been a long and respectable tradition in the Catholic Church, of women becoming nuns, partly in order to run away from this obligation. These nuns must have been the first feminists!
Had they just run away from their obligations, some of them would not be canonized. The crucial factor is that they were responding to the call of God to serve Him and the needy. They attain Christian perfection as religious nuns, not as wives. However, married life should not be despised. In the last century, the Catholic Church honoured family life with what it deserves. Family life is hard and another form of martyrdom. A humourous story circulates in the Church. A pope had dinner with his mother. The conversation drifted onto the topic of sacraments. The pope casually said that the sacrament of Holy Orders was more respectable than matrimony. His mother immediately retorted that with her matrimony, there would not be a pope at this moment lecturing her. The pope squeezed an embarrassing smile on his face and turned into a good baby of his mother.
Here, rationality fails. There can never be any hard and fast rules to help strike the right balance between making money and serving God, though we cannot serve both God and mammon (6:24). Many people are able to serve God and the needy with their money. This is the reality of life. Most of the time, we are working both for God and for money. But we need wisdom to discern when we have overworked for money and to stop to work for God. To put it in another way, our children should be good reminders that we should not overwork ourselves at their expenses. Here lies the wisdom which only God and give.
I, for one, am a perfectionist and sometimes work towards a goal whatever it takes, even beyond my means. For example, I did not go to Church this morning but returned to school to do something which could only be done there. I had attended mass last night but somebody had paid a price for me. My mother could not attend mass. Thinking back, the thing which I did in school this Sunday morning might not worth the effort I put into it. Yet, I craved for getting the thing done before Monday!
Dear Lord, Forgive me for my craving. Grant me the wisdom to discern when and where I should stop to turn to Your righteousness. Amen.
Monday, 24 February 2014
Love your enemies and yourself
Resources are scarce. All of us fight for resources to survive. Therefore, we have rivals and comrades. Rivals threaten our survival. They are enemies. Sometimes, rivals gang together to form a more powerful fighting unit. We are comrades. Therefore, it is possible to turn enemies into comrades. However, situations are fluid. Our comrades may turn around and become our enemies. We need skills to discern the situation and to engage with these enemies cum comrades.
Many strategists have offered different approaches and solutions. Inferior ones have been eliminated in the course of history and what remain are strong contenders. Not only must these strategies offer immediate benefits and solutions, they must also supply a relevant and sustainable world view to be convincing. Of course, I buy Christianity. The teachings of Jesus sound crazy. How can you offer your enemies another cheek? How can you yield to exploitation? How can you pray for your enemies and love them?
Jesus' teachings pierce directly into the heart of the problem. It is a matter of perception. Enemies are created by our own perception. In fact, our worst enemy is ourselves. When someone strikes my right cheek and I instinctively strike back without thinking, I fall prey to my own weaknesses. I must be the cause of my neighbour's anger so that he strikes me. Otherwise, why targets me? Even if it is a misunderstanding, it is the best strategy for me to offer my left cheek to pacify his anger out of LOVE. If we exchange a strike for a strike, might wins and both of us become victims. We return to the laws of the jungle and our future is grim. Therefore, I buy Jesus' teaching. I may not be able to end violence forever but the world will run a better course.
My sweet Lord, I am weak. Let Your grace infuse me and strengthen me to make this world a better place to live in. Amen.
Many strategists have offered different approaches and solutions. Inferior ones have been eliminated in the course of history and what remain are strong contenders. Not only must these strategies offer immediate benefits and solutions, they must also supply a relevant and sustainable world view to be convincing. Of course, I buy Christianity. The teachings of Jesus sound crazy. How can you offer your enemies another cheek? How can you yield to exploitation? How can you pray for your enemies and love them?
Jesus' teachings pierce directly into the heart of the problem. It is a matter of perception. Enemies are created by our own perception. In fact, our worst enemy is ourselves. When someone strikes my right cheek and I instinctively strike back without thinking, I fall prey to my own weaknesses. I must be the cause of my neighbour's anger so that he strikes me. Otherwise, why targets me? Even if it is a misunderstanding, it is the best strategy for me to offer my left cheek to pacify his anger out of LOVE. If we exchange a strike for a strike, might wins and both of us become victims. We return to the laws of the jungle and our future is grim. Therefore, I buy Jesus' teaching. I may not be able to end violence forever but the world will run a better course.
My sweet Lord, I am weak. Let Your grace infuse me and strengthen me to make this world a better place to live in. Amen.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Evolution to higher levels of existence
Dinosaurs had been the apex of evolution until a rock from the outer space hit the planet so badly that they became extinct. This opened up the opportunity for mammals to evolve and among the mammals, man climbed to the apex of evolution. To this day, the Homo Sapiens continues to modify the environment intrusively to make it more habitable. To reinforce their safety, they live in communities and develop rules of engagement to reduce conflicts, to live in harmony to enhance their further evolution. Here we are today living according to rules and laws to settle disputes, to safeguard freedom. With freedom, we are able to find the best ways to enhance existence. Threats to freedom threaten our very existence.
Laws define the minimum requirements. Among different sets of laws, the Ten Commandments prove to be one of the best systems. Of course, new precepts have been developed to handle new situations. But the basic spirit remains. Times and again, this basic spirit has been obscured and in need of polish. On the other hand, laws must be transcended in order for us to move forwards to higher levels of existence. Morality and virtues emerge and develop.
Even if you do not believe in a god, or a kingdom of heaven, the challenges Jesus brought up against his contemporary Jews are relevant even today. The gospel reading today is a continuation of the Beatitudes he lay down at the beginning of Matthew 5. People have a tendency to stick to the letters of the law and ignore its spirit. It is the easiest and seems to be the safest thing to do. But Jesus refuses to settle for the minimum. He exercises his authority to demand nothing less than the perfect (Matthew 5:48). If we follow the rules imposed from the outside, we are not free. Only when we follow the principles from within, from our conscience are we truly free. Prophets in the Old Testament mentioned about God writing his Laws in our hearts. Kant contrasts between heteronomy and autonomy of will. Without freedom, be it physical or mental, man will not be able to obtain the best resources to develop his potential. That is why we need to defend our freedoms of thoughts, expressions and association. I repeat, threats to freedom threaten our existence.
Jesus is both challenging and revolutionary at the same time even to this day.
Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:38)
For any modern man, the mass media are like the air he breathes, the food he eats. Not only do media inform and entertain, they also scrutinize the performance of the government. Today in Hong Kong, we are experiencing an unprecedented wave of suppression upon the media. Investors in mass media of Hong Kong cannot ignore the market in mainland China. Inevitably, they bow to political and economic pressures. They shall have to pay a heavy price should they choose to speak the truth which the Central Government finds difficult to tolerate. It is truly challenging to speak simply the truth. To survive, they need to speak the truth diplomatically. It is truly revolutionary to speak simply the truth which might instigate the people to overthrow the government which might need to resort to greater violence in order to keep total control over the governed. Upholding Jesus' teachings faithfully will incur the wrath of the governments, many of which serve the interests of a minority.
As a Catholic, we look forward to the kingdom of heaven beyond the present life. We will not lose hope in the promises of God in whom we have faith. We work hard to bring the blessings of the kingdom of heaven on earth, to relieve the sufferings of the needy.
Sweet Jesus, may our good will be accomplished according to your will. Amen.
Laws define the minimum requirements. Among different sets of laws, the Ten Commandments prove to be one of the best systems. Of course, new precepts have been developed to handle new situations. But the basic spirit remains. Times and again, this basic spirit has been obscured and in need of polish. On the other hand, laws must be transcended in order for us to move forwards to higher levels of existence. Morality and virtues emerge and develop.
Even if you do not believe in a god, or a kingdom of heaven, the challenges Jesus brought up against his contemporary Jews are relevant even today. The gospel reading today is a continuation of the Beatitudes he lay down at the beginning of Matthew 5. People have a tendency to stick to the letters of the law and ignore its spirit. It is the easiest and seems to be the safest thing to do. But Jesus refuses to settle for the minimum. He exercises his authority to demand nothing less than the perfect (Matthew 5:48). If we follow the rules imposed from the outside, we are not free. Only when we follow the principles from within, from our conscience are we truly free. Prophets in the Old Testament mentioned about God writing his Laws in our hearts. Kant contrasts between heteronomy and autonomy of will. Without freedom, be it physical or mental, man will not be able to obtain the best resources to develop his potential. That is why we need to defend our freedoms of thoughts, expressions and association. I repeat, threats to freedom threaten our existence.
Jesus is both challenging and revolutionary at the same time even to this day.
Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matthew 5:38)
For any modern man, the mass media are like the air he breathes, the food he eats. Not only do media inform and entertain, they also scrutinize the performance of the government. Today in Hong Kong, we are experiencing an unprecedented wave of suppression upon the media. Investors in mass media of Hong Kong cannot ignore the market in mainland China. Inevitably, they bow to political and economic pressures. They shall have to pay a heavy price should they choose to speak the truth which the Central Government finds difficult to tolerate. It is truly challenging to speak simply the truth. To survive, they need to speak the truth diplomatically. It is truly revolutionary to speak simply the truth which might instigate the people to overthrow the government which might need to resort to greater violence in order to keep total control over the governed. Upholding Jesus' teachings faithfully will incur the wrath of the governments, many of which serve the interests of a minority.
As a Catholic, we look forward to the kingdom of heaven beyond the present life. We will not lose hope in the promises of God in whom we have faith. We work hard to bring the blessings of the kingdom of heaven on earth, to relieve the sufferings of the needy.
Sweet Jesus, may our good will be accomplished according to your will. Amen.
Monday, 10 February 2014
地鹽世光---形哀矜
常年期第五主日（甲年）
主題：地鹽世光---形哀矜
今天的福音，記載了大家十分熟悉的比喻。耶穌要求所有的基督徒做「地上的鹽，世界的光」。這個比喻給我們很大的空間去默想，去進入耶穌基督內心的深處，體會耶穌的心意。
古代沒有雪櫃保存食物，鹽就是當時最有效的防腐劑。食物會腐爛，人亦會犯罪腐敗。鹽既然有防腐的作用，就起了象徵對抗罪惡的意義。古代沒有味精，鹽是當時最常用的調味料。綜合上述兩種思想，做「地上的鹽」表示做基督徒要防腐，要對抗罪惡；要有味，有人情味，言行帶有宗教味。
古代沒有電燈照明，燈油火蠟就是當時的照明工具。注意，在福音中的光從來並不象徵「真理」。耶穌用光來代表「慈悲的服務」，因為祗有愛，而不是真理，纔能帶來生命。做「世界的光」表示基督徒不怕「蝕底」，在其他人不願意作出犧牲時，仍樂意為人服務，使其他人認識天父對他們的大愛，從而光榮天主。這樣就是奉教做基督徒的真正意義。
教會為了幫助信友落實耶穌的教訓，根據瑪竇福音25章的記載及當代的實際需要，而設計了七種「形哀矜」。「哀矜」即是「出於慈悲的服務」。【要理問題】第198條這樣記載：「形哀矜就是飢者食之，渴者飲之，祼者衣之，收留旅人，照顧病人，探望囚者，埋葬死者。」
慈悲的服務，可以說是基督徒的獨特標記和使命。今天，我想和大家特別回顧一下第四與第六種哀矜，看看這些慈悲的服務如何滿足時代的需要。
第四種「收留旅人」的慈悲服務，舊約時代就有亞巴郎接待三個天使而得子的記載。打從四世紀開始，羅馬帝國奉基督宗教為國教，人民可自由地信奉耶穌基督，不再受到迫害，往耶路撒冷朝聖就成為懺悔做補贖的一種方式，於是接待這些朝聖者亦成為第四種哀矜的新形式。從七世紀開始，耶路撒冷由回教徒統治。十一世紀的教宗，號召各路諸侯解放耶路撒冷，是為十字軍東征。對於戰敗被虜的軍人，就要賠錢贖身。所以，第六種慈悲的服務就不單祗「探望囚者」，更以 「贖回被虜」的形式進行。到十二世紀，就有兩個修會成立，專門履行這種贖囚的慈悲服務，修會會士甚至用自己來交換被虜的人。另一方面，因為上耶路撒冷的路途凶險，便有著名的「聖殿騎士修會」的成立，去保護這些朝聖者。第四種的慈悲服務亦因時代的需要，而增加了新形式。
今年是「學習年」，教區鼓勵大家學習梵二大公會議的精神。其中的一個精神，亦是教會傳統以來所秉持精神，就是觀察、審度「時代的徵兆」，然後調度教會的資源，去服務臨現在處於水深火熱的兄弟姊妹身上的耶穌基督。今天在繁榮的都市中，第四種接待無家可歸的耶穌的慈悲服務以照顧露宿者的工作繼續，而真福德蘭修女所創辦的「仁愛傳教女修會」便是其中的佼佼者。
其實，無論是遠在趕建冬季奧運場館被剝削的外勞，抑或轟動全香港，甚至全世界的「虐待外籍家庭佣工事件」都使我們明白到，慈悲的服務在今天已不能停滯在施捨救濟的層次了，因為很多欠缺慈悲的行為，已經用法律將它制度化、系統化。在香港，三十多萬離鄉別井的外佣釋放了很多婦女的勞動力，使香港在這三十多年來經濟得到持續增長，大部份市民的生活水準得到提高。他們就好像亞巴郎所接待的天使，帶給亞巴郎一個兒子。讓我們捫心自問，她們放下自己的父母兒女，來香港照料我們的父母兒女，打理所有家頭細務。香港對這些外佣的接待有人情味嗎？我們給她們的是法例規定但比最低工資還要低的月薪，我們給他們住的是沒有私隱的雜物房和24小時隨傳隨到的服務。香港的法例和執法人員，既無能力制止中介公司的剝削，又不鼓勵被虐外佣報案。這些都是香港一部份的「時代徵兆」。我們可以坐視不理嗎？凡此種種制度性、結構性的不仁不義現象，已經不能用施捨救濟形式的「收留旅人」可以應付了。作為香港的天主教徒，我們應該做甚麽，我們可以做甚麽呢？
剛才提到的私隱問題，其實與第三種「裸者衣之」的哀矜有關。衣服不單是為了保暖，更有保護尊嚴的意義。今天的傳媒，尤其是互聯網上色情泛濫，與及政府肆無忌憚的監聽行為，正在不斷對個人私隱和尊嚴，造成極大的傷害。看來，「裸者衣之」的哀矜，亦要提昇到更高的層次了。
各位主內的兄弟姊妹，原來領洗奉教，不單祗是尋求心靈的慰藉，還要在地上做鹽做光，建設天國。信耶穌不單祗是導人向善，還要接受挑戰，服侍臨現在被剝奪尊嚴的人和寄人籬下的外佣身上的耶穌。讓我們祈求耶穌，賜我們慈悲的心，好能認清時代的徵兆，尋找到耶穌的所在，從而獲取祂為我們安排了的恩典。天主保祐。
5th Ordinary Sunday (Year A)
Theme: "To be Salt of the Earth, Light to the World" --- Corporal Works of Mercy
In the gospel reading today, we heard of two familiar parables. Jesus demands all Christians to become “the salt of the earth, the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). These parables give us large latitude to meditate, to enter into the depths of Christ’s heart and to contemplate his will.
In ancient times, there was no refrigerator to keep the food. Salt was the most effective preservative. Food decays and man sins and corrupts. Since the salt is able to preserve, it also symbolizes the fighting against evil. Nor was there any monosodium glutamate in ancient times. Salt was the most common material to spice up the dishes. Combining the two ideas together, "to be the salt of the earth" suggests that Christians should fight against evils and to spice up the miserable lives of the others. Their actions should carry a Christian taste/air.
In ancient times, there was no electric lamp to light up the places, only candles and oil lamps. Beware, light never means "truth" in the gospels. Jesus uses light to represent “works of mercy” since only love, not truth, can give life. To be the light of the world, Christians are not afraid to walk an extra mile. They are willing to sacrifice when others are not. They are eager to serve the needs of the needy so that the others may know the great love God has for them and thus gives glory to God. This is the true meaning of being a Christian.
To help the faithful practise Jesus’ teaching, the Church follows the demands of Christ in Matthew 25 and caters for contemporary needs to come up with seven “corporal works of mercy”. Looking up any standard catechism books will yield: to feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to harbour the harbourless; to nurse the sick; to visit the captive and lastly to bury the dead. Works of mercy can be said to be the trademark and the mission of Christians. Today, I would like to look back at the 4th and the 6th corporal works of mercy and see how they have met contemporary needs.
In the Old Testament, Abraham showed hospitality to three angels and obtained a son, Isaac. This was a form of “harbouring the harbourless”. Since the 4th century when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, people had enjoyed religious freedom without fear of persecutions. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem became a new form of doing penance. Showing hospitality to these pilgrims became a new expression of harbouring the harbourless. Since the 7th century, Jerusalem was ruled by Muslims. Popes in the 11th century called upon European princes to liberate Jerusalem. This was the Crusades. When they were defeated and captured, ransom had to be paid. So, the 6th corporal work of mercy did not just visit the prisoners but found a new expression in ransoming the captive. In the 12th century, two religious communities, the Trinitarians and the Order of Our Lady of Ransom, were established to serve this purpose. Some of them even gave themselves up in place of captives who could not pay the ransom. On the other hand, the road to Jerusalem had become more treacherous. The famous Knights Templars was established to protect those pilgrims. To meet the contemporary needs, the 4th corporal work of mercy took up another new expression.
In this "Year of Learning", the Diocese encourages us to learn the spirits of Vatican II. One of the spirits, which has always been upheld by the Church, is to scrutinize the "signs of the time" (GS 4) and allocate the resources of the Church to serve the Jesus present in the needy. Today, in hectic urban cities, the work of harbouring the harbourless continues in the form of serving the homeless Jesus. One of the most outstanding ones is the Missionaries of Charity established by the Blessed Mother Teresa.
Indeed, whether it be the exploitation of imported labourers who help build the Winter Olympic stadiums or the shocking news of torturing an Indonesian domestic helper in Hong Kong, such news makes us understand that today works of mercy cannot remain in almsgiving level. It is because many such merciless behaviours have become institutionalized and systematic. In Hong Kong, more than three hundred thousand “harbourless” foreign domestic helpers have released the female productivity. For the last three decades, Hong Kong has experienced a steady economic growth and the living standards of most citizens have been raised. These domestic helpers are like the angels whom Abraham had shown hospitality and was given a son. Let us sincerely ask ourselves. These domestic helpers have left their parents and children at home to come over here to take care of our parents and children and do all the house chores. Does Hong Kong treat them reasonably well? We pay them according to legislation and yet below the minimum wages. We house them in store rooms without privacy and gain access to their services 24 hours a day. The law of Hong Kong and its enforcers fail to stop the exploitation of the agencies and discourages the domestic helpers from coming forth to report abuses. This is just a part of the signs of the time in Hong Kong. Can we turn a blind eye to it? All these structural evils cannot be dealt with in the form of almsgiving works of mercy. As Catholics in Hong Kong, what must we do, what can we do?
We have just mentioned privacy in passing. In fact, it is related to the merciful work of clothing the naked. Not only do clothes keep us warm, they also protect the dignity of a person. Today, the media, in particular the Internet, are flooded with pornography and the states are recklessly eavesdropping the citizens. Such behaviours are invading privacy and damaging the people. It is time we raised the merciful work of clothing the naked to a higher level.
Dear Brethren, to be baptized and belong to the Catholic Church is more than seeking the consolation of our souls. It also means we should be salt and light to build up the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only does believing in Jesus guide us to do good, but we also are challenged to serve the Jesus who is present among those whose dignity is trampled, among those domestic helpers who are sharing our roof. Let us pray to Jesus to give us a merciful heart so as to discern the signs of the time, to meet Jesus and receive the grace he has prepared for us. God bless.
主題：地鹽世光---形哀矜
今天的福音，記載了大家十分熟悉的比喻。耶穌要求所有的基督徒做「地上的鹽，世界的光」。這個比喻給我們很大的空間去默想，去進入耶穌基督內心的深處，體會耶穌的心意。
古代沒有雪櫃保存食物，鹽就是當時最有效的防腐劑。食物會腐爛，人亦會犯罪腐敗。鹽既然有防腐的作用，就起了象徵對抗罪惡的意義。古代沒有味精，鹽是當時最常用的調味料。綜合上述兩種思想，做「地上的鹽」表示做基督徒要防腐，要對抗罪惡；要有味，有人情味，言行帶有宗教味。
古代沒有電燈照明，燈油火蠟就是當時的照明工具。注意，在福音中的光從來並不象徵「真理」。耶穌用光來代表「慈悲的服務」，因為祗有愛，而不是真理，纔能帶來生命。做「世界的光」表示基督徒不怕「蝕底」，在其他人不願意作出犧牲時，仍樂意為人服務，使其他人認識天父對他們的大愛，從而光榮天主。這樣就是奉教做基督徒的真正意義。
教會為了幫助信友落實耶穌的教訓，根據瑪竇福音25章的記載及當代的實際需要，而設計了七種「形哀矜」。「哀矜」即是「出於慈悲的服務」。【要理問題】第198條這樣記載：「形哀矜就是飢者食之，渴者飲之，祼者衣之，收留旅人，照顧病人，探望囚者，埋葬死者。」
慈悲的服務，可以說是基督徒的獨特標記和使命。今天，我想和大家特別回顧一下第四與第六種哀矜，看看這些慈悲的服務如何滿足時代的需要。
第四種「收留旅人」的慈悲服務，舊約時代就有亞巴郎接待三個天使而得子的記載。打從四世紀開始，羅馬帝國奉基督宗教為國教，人民可自由地信奉耶穌基督，不再受到迫害，往耶路撒冷朝聖就成為懺悔做補贖的一種方式，於是接待這些朝聖者亦成為第四種哀矜的新形式。從七世紀開始，耶路撒冷由回教徒統治。十一世紀的教宗，號召各路諸侯解放耶路撒冷，是為十字軍東征。對於戰敗被虜的軍人，就要賠錢贖身。所以，第六種慈悲的服務就不單祗「探望囚者」，更以 「贖回被虜」的形式進行。到十二世紀，就有兩個修會成立，專門履行這種贖囚的慈悲服務，修會會士甚至用自己來交換被虜的人。另一方面，因為上耶路撒冷的路途凶險，便有著名的「聖殿騎士修會」的成立，去保護這些朝聖者。第四種的慈悲服務亦因時代的需要，而增加了新形式。
今年是「學習年」，教區鼓勵大家學習梵二大公會議的精神。其中的一個精神，亦是教會傳統以來所秉持精神，就是觀察、審度「時代的徵兆」，然後調度教會的資源，去服務臨現在處於水深火熱的兄弟姊妹身上的耶穌基督。今天在繁榮的都市中，第四種接待無家可歸的耶穌的慈悲服務以照顧露宿者的工作繼續，而真福德蘭修女所創辦的「仁愛傳教女修會」便是其中的佼佼者。
其實，無論是遠在趕建冬季奧運場館被剝削的外勞，抑或轟動全香港，甚至全世界的「虐待外籍家庭佣工事件」都使我們明白到，慈悲的服務在今天已不能停滯在施捨救濟的層次了，因為很多欠缺慈悲的行為，已經用法律將它制度化、系統化。在香港，三十多萬離鄉別井的外佣釋放了很多婦女的勞動力，使香港在這三十多年來經濟得到持續增長，大部份市民的生活水準得到提高。他們就好像亞巴郎所接待的天使，帶給亞巴郎一個兒子。讓我們捫心自問，她們放下自己的父母兒女，來香港照料我們的父母兒女，打理所有家頭細務。香港對這些外佣的接待有人情味嗎？我們給她們的是法例規定但比最低工資還要低的月薪，我們給他們住的是沒有私隱的雜物房和24小時隨傳隨到的服務。香港的法例和執法人員，既無能力制止中介公司的剝削，又不鼓勵被虐外佣報案。這些都是香港一部份的「時代徵兆」。我們可以坐視不理嗎？凡此種種制度性、結構性的不仁不義現象，已經不能用施捨救濟形式的「收留旅人」可以應付了。作為香港的天主教徒，我們應該做甚麽，我們可以做甚麽呢？
剛才提到的私隱問題，其實與第三種「裸者衣之」的哀矜有關。衣服不單是為了保暖，更有保護尊嚴的意義。今天的傳媒，尤其是互聯網上色情泛濫，與及政府肆無忌憚的監聽行為，正在不斷對個人私隱和尊嚴，造成極大的傷害。看來，「裸者衣之」的哀矜，亦要提昇到更高的層次了。
各位主內的兄弟姊妹，原來領洗奉教，不單祗是尋求心靈的慰藉，還要在地上做鹽做光，建設天國。信耶穌不單祗是導人向善，還要接受挑戰，服侍臨現在被剝奪尊嚴的人和寄人籬下的外佣身上的耶穌。讓我們祈求耶穌，賜我們慈悲的心，好能認清時代的徵兆，尋找到耶穌的所在，從而獲取祂為我們安排了的恩典。天主保祐。
5th Ordinary Sunday (Year A)
Theme: "To be Salt of the Earth, Light to the World" --- Corporal Works of Mercy
In the gospel reading today, we heard of two familiar parables. Jesus demands all Christians to become “the salt of the earth, the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). These parables give us large latitude to meditate, to enter into the depths of Christ’s heart and to contemplate his will.
In ancient times, there was no refrigerator to keep the food. Salt was the most effective preservative. Food decays and man sins and corrupts. Since the salt is able to preserve, it also symbolizes the fighting against evil. Nor was there any monosodium glutamate in ancient times. Salt was the most common material to spice up the dishes. Combining the two ideas together, "to be the salt of the earth" suggests that Christians should fight against evils and to spice up the miserable lives of the others. Their actions should carry a Christian taste/air.
In ancient times, there was no electric lamp to light up the places, only candles and oil lamps. Beware, light never means "truth" in the gospels. Jesus uses light to represent “works of mercy” since only love, not truth, can give life. To be the light of the world, Christians are not afraid to walk an extra mile. They are willing to sacrifice when others are not. They are eager to serve the needs of the needy so that the others may know the great love God has for them and thus gives glory to God. This is the true meaning of being a Christian.
To help the faithful practise Jesus’ teaching, the Church follows the demands of Christ in Matthew 25 and caters for contemporary needs to come up with seven “corporal works of mercy”. Looking up any standard catechism books will yield: to feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to harbour the harbourless; to nurse the sick; to visit the captive and lastly to bury the dead. Works of mercy can be said to be the trademark and the mission of Christians. Today, I would like to look back at the 4th and the 6th corporal works of mercy and see how they have met contemporary needs.
In the Old Testament, Abraham showed hospitality to three angels and obtained a son, Isaac. This was a form of “harbouring the harbourless”. Since the 4th century when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, people had enjoyed religious freedom without fear of persecutions. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem became a new form of doing penance. Showing hospitality to these pilgrims became a new expression of harbouring the harbourless. Since the 7th century, Jerusalem was ruled by Muslims. Popes in the 11th century called upon European princes to liberate Jerusalem. This was the Crusades. When they were defeated and captured, ransom had to be paid. So, the 6th corporal work of mercy did not just visit the prisoners but found a new expression in ransoming the captive. In the 12th century, two religious communities, the Trinitarians and the Order of Our Lady of Ransom, were established to serve this purpose. Some of them even gave themselves up in place of captives who could not pay the ransom. On the other hand, the road to Jerusalem had become more treacherous. The famous Knights Templars was established to protect those pilgrims. To meet the contemporary needs, the 4th corporal work of mercy took up another new expression.
In this "Year of Learning", the Diocese encourages us to learn the spirits of Vatican II. One of the spirits, which has always been upheld by the Church, is to scrutinize the "signs of the time" (GS 4) and allocate the resources of the Church to serve the Jesus present in the needy. Today, in hectic urban cities, the work of harbouring the harbourless continues in the form of serving the homeless Jesus. One of the most outstanding ones is the Missionaries of Charity established by the Blessed Mother Teresa.
Indeed, whether it be the exploitation of imported labourers who help build the Winter Olympic stadiums or the shocking news of torturing an Indonesian domestic helper in Hong Kong, such news makes us understand that today works of mercy cannot remain in almsgiving level. It is because many such merciless behaviours have become institutionalized and systematic. In Hong Kong, more than three hundred thousand “harbourless” foreign domestic helpers have released the female productivity. For the last three decades, Hong Kong has experienced a steady economic growth and the living standards of most citizens have been raised. These domestic helpers are like the angels whom Abraham had shown hospitality and was given a son. Let us sincerely ask ourselves. These domestic helpers have left their parents and children at home to come over here to take care of our parents and children and do all the house chores. Does Hong Kong treat them reasonably well? We pay them according to legislation and yet below the minimum wages. We house them in store rooms without privacy and gain access to their services 24 hours a day. The law of Hong Kong and its enforcers fail to stop the exploitation of the agencies and discourages the domestic helpers from coming forth to report abuses. This is just a part of the signs of the time in Hong Kong. Can we turn a blind eye to it? All these structural evils cannot be dealt with in the form of almsgiving works of mercy. As Catholics in Hong Kong, what must we do, what can we do?
We have just mentioned privacy in passing. In fact, it is related to the merciful work of clothing the naked. Not only do clothes keep us warm, they also protect the dignity of a person. Today, the media, in particular the Internet, are flooded with pornography and the states are recklessly eavesdropping the citizens. Such behaviours are invading privacy and damaging the people. It is time we raised the merciful work of clothing the naked to a higher level.
Dear Brethren, to be baptized and belong to the Catholic Church is more than seeking the consolation of our souls. It also means we should be salt and light to build up the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only does believing in Jesus guide us to do good, but we also are challenged to serve the Jesus who is present among those whose dignity is trampled, among those domestic helpers who are sharing our roof. Let us pray to Jesus to give us a merciful heart so as to discern the signs of the time, to meet Jesus and receive the grace he has prepared for us. God bless.
Monday, 3 February 2014
We are all dedicated to the Lord
When infant mortality was high, people in the countryside usually presented their babies, especially male ones to be adopted by the local deities, be it an ancient tree or a mythical rock at the entrance of the village. The parents even called their babies piggies, doggies or calves, wishing that these babies would survive and be able to grow up healthily and strongly. We do not have any systematic studies on how widespread such practices have been and how successful they have been. We do not know how those parents, whose babies were presented to be adopted and yet eventually died prematurely, would react. Most likely, they had only themselves to blame. Anyway, I suspect that such practices were rather universal since parental love is universal. When it was beyond their power to guarantee the lives of their babies, parents would resort to the supernatural.
The Israelites had similar practices for a variety of reasons. They also presented their firstborn male to the Lord. On the eighth day after birth, the baby would be circumcised and given a name. Without a name, you are nothing in front of all! On the fortieth day, the baby boy would be presented/dedicated to the Lord. It seemed that parents did not have to present the other sons and the daughters. Once they had secured the safety of their firstborns, they might think that the rest would follow.
We may take it for granted that all the Israelites did this without exception. However, the Bible does not mention what happened to those who did not present their firstborn males to the Lord for whatever reasons. No calamities or "punishments" have been recorded for someone failing to do this. Therefore, it is legitimate for us to accept other hygienic, social-medical reasons side by side with religious reasons for the Israelites to adopt such a practice.
The official, religious reason for the presentation of the firstborn males to the Lord dated back to the Exodus story. In order to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites, the Lord killed all the firstborn males, human as well as cattle. Firstborns were signs of fertility. By killing the firstborns, the Lord claimed once more that He is the author of life in case the Egyptians had forgotten that. Moreover, the Lord taught the Israelites to celebrate the feast of Passover to prevent their firstborns from being killed in this tenth plague. In the end, the Lord claimed the possession of all the firstborn males of human and cattle of the Israelites because it was He who spared their firstborns while releasing them from slavery (Exodus 13:2, 15). So, the Israelites went beyond the simple survival reason on the individual level and raised it to a tribal/national level. Similarly, circumcision was given more than a hygienic reason. Circumcision becomes God's blanding on the flesh, marking the Israelites out among all peoples on earth. All such customs and practices reminded the Israelites of their identity and reinforced their relationship with the Lord.
The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity "downgraded" himself to become human. He became vulnerable and constrained within time and space. Through this custom, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity reunited again with the Godhead. In this process, the humanity He carries is raised and transformed. When the Church celebrates this feast 40 days after Christmas, she reminds her children that through baptism, we presented ourselves totally to God. Since Christ, the presentation has not been limited to firstborn males. All of us, men and women, firstborns and all the siblings can be dedicated to the Lord, to partake in his divinity. Therefore, let our lives be worthy of such a grace.
Dear Lord, You uplift our humanity. There is nothing better than singing praises to You, saying thank you to You. Amen.
The Israelites had similar practices for a variety of reasons. They also presented their firstborn male to the Lord. On the eighth day after birth, the baby would be circumcised and given a name. Without a name, you are nothing in front of all! On the fortieth day, the baby boy would be presented/dedicated to the Lord. It seemed that parents did not have to present the other sons and the daughters. Once they had secured the safety of their firstborns, they might think that the rest would follow.
We may take it for granted that all the Israelites did this without exception. However, the Bible does not mention what happened to those who did not present their firstborn males to the Lord for whatever reasons. No calamities or "punishments" have been recorded for someone failing to do this. Therefore, it is legitimate for us to accept other hygienic, social-medical reasons side by side with religious reasons for the Israelites to adopt such a practice.
The official, religious reason for the presentation of the firstborn males to the Lord dated back to the Exodus story. In order to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites, the Lord killed all the firstborn males, human as well as cattle. Firstborns were signs of fertility. By killing the firstborns, the Lord claimed once more that He is the author of life in case the Egyptians had forgotten that. Moreover, the Lord taught the Israelites to celebrate the feast of Passover to prevent their firstborns from being killed in this tenth plague. In the end, the Lord claimed the possession of all the firstborn males of human and cattle of the Israelites because it was He who spared their firstborns while releasing them from slavery (Exodus 13:2, 15). So, the Israelites went beyond the simple survival reason on the individual level and raised it to a tribal/national level. Similarly, circumcision was given more than a hygienic reason. Circumcision becomes God's blanding on the flesh, marking the Israelites out among all peoples on earth. All such customs and practices reminded the Israelites of their identity and reinforced their relationship with the Lord.
The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity "downgraded" himself to become human. He became vulnerable and constrained within time and space. Through this custom, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity reunited again with the Godhead. In this process, the humanity He carries is raised and transformed. When the Church celebrates this feast 40 days after Christmas, she reminds her children that through baptism, we presented ourselves totally to God. Since Christ, the presentation has not been limited to firstborn males. All of us, men and women, firstborns and all the siblings can be dedicated to the Lord, to partake in his divinity. Therefore, let our lives be worthy of such a grace.
Dear Lord, You uplift our humanity. There is nothing better than singing praises to You, saying thank you to You. Amen.
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