昔日文章

  During this year’s Lent, I would like to take you through the five steps of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To begin, it is the Sacrament of RECONCILIATION.  It used to be called Penance or Confession.  Now, we are more acquainted with the term “reconciliation”.  To be accurate, Confession and Penance are only two of the 5 parts/steps of the whole Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation – to reestablish a broken relationship.（修和：重新建立一份破碎的關係） The five steps: Examination of Conscience  省察 Sorrow 痛悔 Confession 告明 Absolution 赦罪 Penance 補贖  This week I will focus only on Examination of Conscience. It is important to first look at the word conscience.   Conscience 良心（或良知） Too often, the word conscience is used to mean how I “feel” about something.  If I feel something is wrong then I have done something wrong.  Is that really true?  Why is it that sometimes we do something wrong but it feels good, or we do something good and it feels bad?  This confusion of feelings and knowledge has a lot to do with “concupiscence”「私慾偏情」（天主教教理 405）, the broken sense of right and wrong, because of Original Sin.  It is like seeing things through a pair of sun glasses.  Everything takes on a different color than what they should be. The word itself - “con” = “with”, “science” = “knowledge” – 良知 - means what I “KNOW” to be right or wrong from God’s perspective.  That is why a conscience has to be both properly “informed” and “formed.”   The confusion of our time also has to do with the rejection of the authority of the Church to authentically teach what Jesus intended.  Some people simply made up their own mind on what is right or wrong, regardless of what the Church says.  If I want something to be right, I just decide that it is right for me.  They say history has shown that the Church has made many mistakes, therefore, why is the Church trying to tell me what to do? In other words, we have decided that we are the only ones responsible for what is TRUTH!  Sadly, many people think this way, and that is why so many no longer go to Confession. Work of the Holy Spirit Examination of conscience is also not just what “I think” is right or wrong.  It means placing oneself in the presence of God and asking the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, to show me where I have strayed from the Way of Truth.  Therefore, this is a prayerful experience. I can honestly say that when I was younger, I used to just kneel in the pew and think about my sins.  True, I did think about both the wrongs I did and the good I failed to do.  But mostly it was me looking at myself.  I did not think about the Sacrament being a GIFT from God.  Now, I take the time to first pray to the Holy Spirit because He loves me and wants me to be truthful to myself, for my own good.  It is like a coach making a player look at films of the game played.  He wants the player to see the mistakes as well as the good decisions.  The Holy Spirit wants us to see the mistakes we need to correct, guide us in making better decisions so we continue to grow, all for our own enjoyment of life. Have a blessed Lent!    

  真福雅碧天在上一個世紀的巴西，生於一個典型的天主教家庭內，家中有八位兄弟姊妹，是德國移民的第三代後裔。 家庭的信仰培育，對雅碧天影響很大。作為農民的父母，要子女們都學會信、望、愛三德：對天主要懷信心、盼望及愛慕之情。作為天主教的基督徒，雅碧天很受教，行為舉止都彰顯基督徒的美德：有責任感的服從，不計較犧牲的勤奮、勇氣及自信。無論在家裡或在學校裡，雅碧天都能夠實踐敬天愛人的方針。比如，在家中協助父母的家務時，她懷著犧牲精神，超過了她的本份；與那麼多兄弟姊妹一齊生活，未免會有爭吵，可是當兄長們欺負她時，她卻會懷念耶穌被出賣時的痛苦，故願意忍受；甚至當有些同學故意要試探她的耐性，迫她反抗，她仍不會還手，使對方無計可施。她雖然長得漂亮，但從不會穿著誇張或刻意打扮，反而她保持了樸素及矜持的外表，更顯得她的美。 雅碧天特別愛研讀聖經的道理，雖然她年紀很小，但對天主的事理感到敏感及特別有興趣。她願意為天主的事理作出即時回應，並不會拖拖拉拉的猶豫不決，比如對初領聖體或首辦告解等重要事情，她很重視，懂得作出很深度的準備，所以第一次的領受聖體或修和聖事，都成為她很美麗的經驗，回味無窮。她說：「初領聖體是我一生人最美麗的一天。」因為透過領受聖體，她可以親自經驗天主的愛。在彌撒中的「聖餅」被祝聖，成為了耶穌的身體，使吃聖餅的人，實在是領受基督的聖體。雅碧天很明白：彌撒的設立，是耶穌捨命犧牲前的最後晚餐，所以每次彌撒，她也可以紀念耶穌的聖死及復活！ 雅碧天十二歲時，父親的下屬襲擊她，更企圖侵犯她。雅碧天雖然只有十二歲，她極力反抗，而那位傷害她的人，因為怕她會告發，在爭執中刺傷她的喉而使她喪失性命。雅碧天因保護自己的貞潔而遭害，拒絕苟且偷生的生活態度，這也是殉道。   給師長的話 2013年的普世青年節將於巴西里約熱內盧舉行，其中一位主保就是這位真福雅碧天。期盼青少年學會珍惜及保護自己身體的寶貴價值。   真福雅碧天 Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock  (1919-1931) 【10月17日】