昔日文章

Fear exists in our daily life. I am sure everyone has experienced different kinds of anxiety and threat. The feeling is of course unpleasant, but do you think one can live peacefully without any of those unwelcome happenings? I am inferior to many little things in my childhood - water, grass, stormy evenings, darkness and more. Personality is a unique sign of every individual. I am not an extrovert（個性外向）in the first place, however in the process of overcoming different kinds of fear, I gradually become more out-going and confident. My alma mater（母校）is known for producing elite sports talent and every girl is required to learn swimming. I do well in all other fields except swimming. The fear of drowning is like a shadow that follows me always. Until my piano teacher requested me to take swimming lesson for a better physical development, this became a turning point（轉捩點）of my childhood. In the beginning it was a nightmare and it took a while for me to trust the coach and myself. Later on the coach told my parents that she had never come across a student like me; so timid but at the same time very determined to overcome difficulties. Most thankful to my coach, she discovered my potential and ability to do something that I have never thought of. Ever since of her encouragement, I had enjoyed a few years of tough training in a swimming team. Although I did not swim for glory and medals, I had gained the most valuable award of life. Hard work pays off, obstacles（障礙）strengthen your will power and endurance is the path to success.  Working as a musician today, besides hours of practice, I have to be brave and accept all challenges that may happen unexpectedly including natural hazards（危害）. Believe in yourself and to endeavor a happy life. 

In our daily life, we spend a lot of time to wait for something. Early in the morning, we wait for bus to go to school or go to work. During the rush hours, it may take us longer to wait especially when traffic is congested （擠塞）.  One day, I experienced a very long queue in the bank and waited a long time just to renew my bank passbook. The other day, I made a call to an airline company for ticket revalidation and it was a pity for me to wait more than an hour for the line to be connected. Have you ever dialed up to a hotline for a service provider? Once you get connected, you are guided step by step to a specific category and sometimes it may take you over several minutes to obtain the required information or service. This is just like another kind of call waiting that a telephone can provide. If you encounter something ‘to wait’, so be patient （耐心） as it may bring you hope or trap you to anxiety. Students are so anxious waiting for their examination results and employees are so eager for promotion. One very important thing that can never wait （耽擱）too long - that is an ‘opportunity’ （機會）, once you get it, grasp it immediately. Do not hesitate and wait or it may slip away. I have read a famous quote from an American Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church (1966-1969), Fulton J. Sheen. "Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is timing, it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles （原則） and in the right way."

Nowadays the most common leisure activity in Hong Kong is watching television. Almost all households have at least one television set. After a hard day's work or study, most people want to relax in front of the television. "Television" (or "TV") is also called "telly" in British English. Do you spend your free time watching TV? What television programmes do you like most? There is a variety of television programmes ("programs" in American English) or shows in Hong Kong such as news, sports, and documentaries. Most children prefer children's programmes, particularly cartoons. Why do many children like watching cartoons? Probably this is because cartoons on the television are funny, not dull, and full of fantasy. Children laugh merrily when the cartoon figures do funny things and make funny jokes. Children's imaginations come to life when they see something impossible in the cartoons.  In Hong Kong, a lot of families watch soap operas (or "soaps" informally) while having their dinner. A soap opera or a serial is a series of television drama about the daily lives and problems of a group of people. It consists of many episodes and runs over a long period. In Hong Kong, soaps are normally broadcast from Monday to Friday every week. However, a survey said that children of all ages are watching television or playing on a computer more than ever. Experts believe that watching too much TV will increase the risk of health problems including obesity, and might be changing children's brains as they develop. How many hours do you spend watching TV every day? Experts recommended that children aged seven to twelve years old should be limited to one hour of TV a day.  Glossary: Programmes:節目 Documentaries:紀錄片 Soap operas:肥皂劇 Serial:連續劇 Episocles:集

As mentioned in an earlier article, Pope Benedict will canonize 7 saints on October 21, 2012, two of which will be Sts. Marianne and Kateri. I will write on the two this and next week. St. Kateri, named after St. Catherine, was born in 1656 to a Catholic Algonquin（阿岡昆族）mother and a Mohawk（莫霍克族）father in the present state of New York. Kateri became an orphan in the year 1660, when the smallpox（天花）epidemic nearly destroyed the entire village, taking the lives of her parents and brother. Kateri was then adopted by an uncle who had great hatred for the Christian people. The smallpox disease left Kateri with scarred skin and really terrible eyesight. Kateri moved to a new village with her uncle and his family. After the smallpox epidemic had happened, they burned the old village and moved to Kahnawake (10 miles from Montreal, Quebec, Canada). It was in Kahnawake that Kateri saw for the first time the men they called the Blackrobes. The Blackrobes were the Catholic priests, also known as the Jesuits（耶穌會）. Their job was to convert as many natives as they could into becoming Christian. For many years Kateri avoided the Blackrobes but watched with great interest as they did their work. Kateri secretly wished to be baptized a Christian but feared her uncle’s reaction, so she waited until she could no longer bear to be anything but a Christian. On Easter in 1676, Kateri was baptized. She felt very close to God and spent many hours praying and talking to God. Over the next few years Kateri refused to marry, believing that she was married to God and no man could replace the Lord in her eyes and heart. Many people ridiculed her and her religious beliefs but Kateri would not be scared or threatened into leaving Christianity. She was very devoted to God and the Blackrobes. Kateri escaped from her uncle and the village one day to go north to learn more about Christianity, with the help of her brother-in-law and a Huron Indian. Once she arrived at her destination, Kateri wanted to become a nun. The Blakrobes said that she was too young to do this, but Kateri proved to them that she was ready, and so they allowed her to become a sister of the mission. Kateri was very happy to spend her life as a servant of God. As the years went on, Kateri became sick with another illness, tuberculosis （肺癆）had infected her making her weak and very ill. Over time, the disease took away all of Kateri’s strength and finally it took her life. Kateri died on April 17, 1680 at the mission of Laprairie at the age of twenty-four. Those who were with her when she died said that Kateri’s scars disappeared and she became very beautiful. This was attributed as the first miracle for the cause of her canonization. Her remains are interred at St. Francis Xavier Mission at Kahnawake. （This author has the privilege of offering Mass at the Church several times.） Since her death many miracles have been claimed due to her intercession. The second miracle officially attributed to her was the 2006 healing of five-year old Jake Finkbonner, when his parents prayed to her as the little boy's face was being eaten away alive from a vicious flesh-eating bacterium. He was cured and remains so today. She is affectionately known as the Lily of the Mohawks （莫霍克的百合花）. This article is mainly taken from the web sites: http://www.lily-of-the-mohawks.com/ http://digitaljournal.com/article/316478 - ixzz26k1btKAG