昔日文章

  趙老師：以下哪一個句子是對的？
A. We're opened until six.
B. We're open until six.
 哈利：第一句（A）是對的。
 趙老師：為甚麼你選A句呢？
 哈利：因為We're opened應用被動語態（passive voice）。所以我選A句。
 趙老師：錯了。B句是對的，而A句是錯的，為甚麼呢？因為B句open在句子中不是動詞，而是形容詞。Open作為形容詞意思是「營業」，而we're open until six，意思是我們營業至六時。
 哈利：原來open可以用作形容詞。
 趙老師：當然可以，以下為open作為形容詞的各種不同意思：
1. not closed　開著的，例如：
Who left the window open?
誰把窗戶開著？ 
2. if a shop is open, you can go into it and use it 
開門營業，例如：
What time does the pharmacy open?
那藥房何時開門營業？ 
3. finished and ready for people to use 
已完成並可供使用的。例如：
When will the new library be open?
新圖書館何時啟用？ 
4. not surrounded by buildings or walls or not covered
例如：
I walked across the open country side.
我走過廣闊的郊野。 
5. honest and not keeping any secret
坦率的，不隱瞞的。例如：
We try to be open with each open. 
哈利：完全明白。  

  As we all know, Hong Kong is one of the most populous cities in the world. Most of us live in a flat in a high-rise building. While the term “flat” is commonly used in Britain, Singapore and Hong Kong, the term “apartment” is preferred in the USA.  
According to the Hong Kong government statistics, about 30 per cent of the population live in public rental housing estates. Are you living in one of them? In Britain, this kind of public housing is called “council housing”. In the USA, they are called “housing projects”. In Canada, public housing is referred to as “community housing”. 
The buildings are so high that lifts are available for residents to go up and down. Lifts are called “elevators” in American English. Don’t get confused with escalators which are moving staircases. When we ride in a lift or on an escalator, we must be very careful to avoid accidents.  
Most of our flats consist of a kitchen, a bathroom including a toilet, a sitting room, and bedrooms. As our living space is very limited, our sitting room (in British English) or living room (in American English) is also used for dining as a family. What other activities do you do in the sitting room?  
Although our homes are rather small, they are still pleasant as long as we keep them tidy and clean. As a part of the lyrics of a famous traditional song, “Home, Sweet Home”, goes:  
Home, home, sweet sweet home,
There’s no place like home,
There’s no place like home.     Glossary: 
High-rise building 高層建築物 
Housing estates 屋邨
 Lifts 升降機
 Escalators 自動扶梯
 Sitting room 客廳  

  Meaning:
a person who has, or seems to have, a dual personality, often one good and one bad 
Source: 
這個成語來自十九世紀英國作家史蒂文生的小說《化身博士》（The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde）。故事中Jekyll博士為了探討人心的善惡，在自己身上試驗了一種藥水，創造出一個名叫Hyde先生的化身；他把自己所有的惡念都給了Hyde先生，把善的都留給自己。結果Hyde先生失去控制，犯下殺人的罪行。Jekyll博士為了阻止Hyde先生繼續犯罪，惟有跟他同歸於盡。後人便以‘a Jekyll and Hyde’來形容一些前後表現迴異，彷彿有雙重人格的人。  

May the souls of all the faithful departed,
Through the mercy of God,
Rest in peace.  Amen.   Last year I wrote about All Saints Day（諸聖節）.   We also looked at what “ghost” was about, that there was no such thing as haunting ghosts. 
This year I will write about November 2, All Souls Day （追思亡者節）.  On that day we pray for all those who have died.  It is similar to our Ching Ming Festival（清明節）.  
Let me begin by going over the Four Last Things（萬民四末）:  Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.  We know that when we die we will be judged.  Those who are perfect will go to Heaven and those who are really bad (with mortal sin) will go to Hell.  But what about those who are not really, really bad (having only venial sins)?  We Catholics believe that we will go to Purgatory（煉獄）.  The word itself is not in the Bible.  The concept is, in various places. I will use one. 
In Mt. 21: 18-34 is the story about a servant who owed his master a huge debt.  He begged his master to give him time.  His master instead forgave the entire debt!  This servant has a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount, but he refused to forgive him his debt.  The master was angry with the first servant and “handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.”  This parable is not just about forgiving others.  It also points to the judgment we will face when we die.  The question is: where is this place of torture where we will not be released “until we pay back the whole debt?”  This could not be Hell where there is no escape.  This “place” is called purgatory where we will be purged, gotten rid of, any debt we still owe to God. 
We already looked at how, at our judgment, any of the sins we have committed AND confessed will no longer be held against us.  What are left, venial sins, penance not done, remain our responsibility.  True, Jesus died for ALL our sins.  But we have to allow Him to take them away from us.  This is God’s justice.  
But God does not simply abandon us if we die not yet perfect.  This is God’s mercy.  He will cleanse us from our imperfections, by His Grace.  This too is part of the amazing story of the Good News of Jesus.  This gives us HOPE.  When we are struggling with ourselves, we don’t give up.  We daily come before Jesus and pray that we would be forgiven “as we forgive those who sin against us.”  We, the Church and the whole world, are in it together. 
On All Souls Day, we particularly remember all the dead and pray for them.  Jesus expects us to.  As the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ（基督的奧體）, our prayers are joined to the suffering and death of Jesus.  He wants us to care not only for our own salvation but for all our hurting brothers and sisters.  Not only do we remember the dead on All Souls Day, but those who have a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus（耶穌聖心）also make an effort to go to Mass and pray for the souls in purgatory on first Fridays of the month.  St. Margaret Mary Alacoque（聖瑪加利大） tells us that if we do that, we will not be deprived of a priest at our death.  What a comforting thought!
   Fr. Thomas Au 區耀邦神父