昔日文章

Young people are always encouraged to have aspirations about their futures. What is your aspiration? Can you make it a reality? While some people think that a high ambition can boost young people’s motivation to work hard, some are concerned that having a grand aspiration is simply building “castles in the air”.  A castle is a strong and large building which was built by European kings or noblemen in the Middle Ages. Since it is constructed of massive stones, it is impossible to make a castle in the sky. Thus, the expression “castles in the air” implies that the plans or ideas are simply fantasies which are completely unrealistic.  This English expression is believed to have been translated from a French essay written by Michel de Montaigne, a famous French philosopher, in the 16th century.  “… a mere building of castles in the air …”  However, some scholars think that it has a variant, “castles in Spain”. This was originally “chateaux en Espagne” which appeared in a French poem as early as the 13th century. Since Spain was ruled by the Islamic Moors（信奉伊斯蘭教的摩爾人）, it would be difficult to build castles there. Thus, the French poet used this metaphor to refer to an idle fancy.  Interestingly, the expression “castles in the air” has a similar phrase in the Chinese language. However, the architecture is a Chinese-style pavilion or tower. The Chinese idiom, 空中樓閣, originated from a book about the philosophy of Zhu Xi （朱熹）in the Song dynasty（13th century）.   Glossary   Aspirations  志願 Ambition  抱負 Motivation  動機 Noblemen  貴族 Fantasies  空想 Philosopher  哲學家 Idle fancy  無聊的幻想 Pavilion  亭；閣  

1. 姊代母職，責無旁貸 當弟弟張文達於1990年被捕，其後判刑，至1993年由一名死囚變成終身囚犯，到2016年獲釋，張信儀（May姐）一直陪伴年邁的雙親走過沒有小兒子在身邊的這條苦路，而自最掛心文達的母親也於2011年逝世後，May 姐代替媽媽，要讓當時身繫獄中的小弟弟知道無論他做過甚麼，無論外人怎樣看待他， 家人永遠是支持他的後盾。 「姊代母職，不過是順勢而行，責無旁貸。」May姐說：「媽媽也這樣堅強，她離去後，我一定要接她的棒。」 文達入獄後，May姐與媽媽、大弟風雨不改地到赤柱監獄探望；這些與母親互相扶持的日子，讓她看到媽媽的辛苦及對小兒子的支持—— 張母須定時服去水丸防腳腫，但為免頻頻如廁，她於探監的日子會暫停服藥，寧願步履蹣跚、辛苦步行。  但為何這些年間，爸爸角色似乎缺席？Ma y姐表示，父親在文達入獄後確實從未探望，但他不是不關心，而是因為太痛心，爸爸曾說：「我不探文達，是因為太傷心，我只當他移民。」對張爸爸而言，從探監後的家人口中知道小兒子平安，已比一切重要。 父母相繼在弟弟仍在獄中時離世，卻教May姐最遺憾。 文達出獄後，May姐由他決定是否向親戚朋友承認犯罪入獄的事，而當弟弟選擇坦承一切，這位姊姊尊重且支持其決定。為她而言，這廿六年根本從未有一刻以弟弟為恥，亦從來不會因別人的眼光而難堪，「反而最擔心、憂慮的是文達還有沒有將來」。 「每一個母親最大的希望是子女過得好。當剪掉臍帶的一刻，雖象徵母親要放開這個自己孕育的生命，但她這九個月與胎兒一起的存在感，對胎兒愛護、包容的這些記憶，卻會存留一生一世。」現在，她最想向文達說，他從前的生命是媽媽所給予；重生後，他要好好過自己的「新」生命。（鄒）  2. 不能永遠跟你在一起 「如果將來我去世，你要好好照顧自己，我不能永遠跟你在一起的。」李淑群每次跟兒子何展鵬說這話，他都會默不作聲， 「他大概不開心吧」。 展鵬小時在主流學校讀了一年，老師說他追不上成績，李淑群便帶他去評估，證實他患有輕度智障。當時她帶展鵬去見不同人士、申請入讀特殊學校，還要上班，「沒人幫到我，過得很辛苦」。 雖然辛苦，但李淑群沒有嫌棄兒子，反而更愛錫他。她一直慢慢教導展鵬，沒有放棄。可幸展鵬一向很乖，「他從小到大都沒試過闖禍，不會令我惹麻煩」。現年三十五歲的展鵬性格乖巧，在特殊學校任清潔及照顧兒童工作十多年。李淑群表示從小便教他做人不要怕吃虧，他也很聽教，因此前任校長亦讚他「聽教聽話，不會講是非，比正常人做得還要好」。 看著兒子有自己工作、同事對他好， 還在彌撒中任輔祭，李淑群十分放心，「現在難得請到假，又有點餘錢，我會帶他去朝聖」。她如數家珍地說出曾與兒子到過的地方，但她同樣擔心自己的身體不能再照顧兒子多久，「我上年十一月做了大手術，差點回天家」。雖然她感恩天主的安排及教友的祈禱讓她平安渡過， 但是也不無憂慮：「我年紀已大，去世後展鵬會很淒涼，到時真的要教友幫忙看顧他了。」（妤）  3. 我要與時間競賽 我要與時間競賽 看見郭慧敏（Kannaz），你不會想到她有如此經歷—— 曾遇嚴重交通意外、罹患抑鬱症，更三次患癌（最近一次於2015年）。但對話裡，她絲毫沒有埋怨，卻有更多感恩，感恩病情發現得早、感恩手術順利、感恩天使處處……  「困難中不可能沒有眼淚，但感謝天主，在不同時間派遣不同的天使陪伴」，就如最近一次癌症手術後她需要進行三十多次電療；當想到電療後的不適，她主動問朋友可否陪診，結果一呼百應。 生命， 有太多未知數， 對於跨過多次生死邊緣的Kannaz，孩子的成績已非最重要，她看重的是他們的自理能力。「我要催促他們快些成長，學習獨立，因為，我可能要與時間競賽」。  天主不會給你承受不起的十字架， 但祂給Kannaz的這個毫不輕鬆——她病得最嚴重時，初上幼兒班的女兒同時被誤診為亞氏保加症，其後亦發現女兒心臟有問題，幸運地天主於女兒五、六年級時派遣兩位天使般的班主任「守護」她， 在班主任鼓勵下一向不懂與人相處的女兒放膽結交更多朋友，升上中學後又參加管樂團，更成為首席；其心臟問題亦暫時可用藥物紓緩。「女兒似我，常追求完美，但我想她明白，可以努力，但結果不由我們控制」。 她希望，當子女看到媽媽很認真地活好每天，盡力做好每一個角色：母親、妻子、鋼琴老師，甚至病人的時候，他們會自豪地以媽媽為榜樣。她又在臉書開了一個專頁，分享其積極生活態度、音樂世界、信仰點滴。 際此母親節，Kannaz想向所有媽媽說：「無論你怎樣忙，也要愛錫自己，給自己留點私人空間，才會有力量去面對挑戰！」（鄒）   4. 保持距離的感情 在寶血兒童村服務的Angel，主要看守十二位小五至中二宿生，負責督促及照顧她們。 當時，剛畢業的Angel希望投身兒童及青少年社會服務行業，便到了兒童村求職。為兒童村的在學女孩來說，難免會當她如媽媽般依賴、寄託。但Angel強調，跟女孩子不是媽媽和女兒的關係，「我始終不是她們的媽媽，免得她們會過份留戀」。 即使Angel須與女孩保持界線，但亦有一點點難忘事刻在她心裡。記得入職初期，有名中二女生性格比較暴躁，會破壞東西、摔門來發洩，跟Angel的關係也不太好。Angel提醒過女孩們七點便要回到家舍，但有天那女生遲遲未回，Angel怕她在寒冬中沒暖水爐洗澡及不能吹乾頭髮，便一直等她歸來。那女生整頓好一切後，跟Angel說：「姐姐，我很內疚，對不起。」自此以後，那女孩改變對A n g e l的態度，凡事都跟Angel有商量，令她很安慰。 她表示需要與女孩的關係且收且放，「我不會特意疼她們，但只要她們做好本份、遵守規則我便會讚賞」。Angel偶然也會在週末帶女孩出外逛逛、跟她們聊心事、玩桌上遊戲；就算隔著距離，但無形的線仍然牽引著雙方。（妤） 後記：「母親們即使在最惡劣的時刻也見證溫柔、無條件地奉獻，以及希望的力量。」這是教宗方濟各在去年天主之母節所說的。 今期「不一樣的媽媽」講述的，是幾位「媽媽」如何在困難中仍不懈地守護「子女」的故事。當你時常抱怨母親如何嘮叨、如何平凡、如何不明白你，請謹記，平凡實在是個恩寵，仍有母親在你身邊嘮叨更是種福氣……  每位母親愛孩子的方式也許並不一樣，但她們希望付出的，卻是一樣的、無條件的愛。  

What would you do if you were Monique?  Monique and Veronique are only two years apart, they are both mom’s darlings（心肝寶貝）. Monique can handle（處理）all schoolwork at a very young age while Veronique has learning disability（學習障礙）, so she is forever behind（落後）at school, and is very forgetful too. She has no idea what is going on, she seems to be in the dark（不知道） most of the time. No one compares the two sisters, it is only Veronique who always compares herself with her elder sister and is always frustrated（受挫）.  One time Monique tried to help Veronique with her mathematics homework, at times she understood, a t t i m e s , she made careless mistakes, at times she forgot the formulae（公式）. Monique tried and tried but that made Veronique infuriated（大怒）and broke into tears.  What would you do if you were Monique?    Learning disability can be out grown（年紀長大而減少） when one gets older. Perhaps my younger sister would be easier to teach at an older age and I had to give up（放棄）for the time being. I should be the one who throws a temper（發怒）and not her. My parents should get her professional（專業）help because I would be too amateur（外行）to handle this task.  I would try to feel her feelings. Not being able to understand quickly and forgetting about what one just understood must be very frustrating. I’d explain to my sister that God is fair, everyone has something unique（獨特）and I’d invite her to think about the things she excels（超越）at. Not everyone has to perform well at school. God loves us equally（相同地）and the most important is to accept our own weaknesses and be humble about our strengths. If teaching her was too difficult for myself, I’d say something else to distract（轉移） her from her depression（沮喪）.     

Mother Nature   This Sunday is Mother’s Day in Hong Kong. Have you got any ideas for celebrating this special day with your mum? As we all know, the basic meaning of the word “mother” is the woman who gave birth to a child. In many cultures, this form of address is used to describe a quality that protects or nurtures something. Back in ancient times, the meaning of this term was extended to become a personification of nature.  Such a spectacular waterfall was created by Mother Nature herself.  Nature is personified as a woman who is the source of all the animals and plants in the world, and who cares for them while they are growing. Like our mother, nature gives us life, and provides us with food, water, and air.  The expression “Mother Nature”（大自然母親；大自然）can be traced to a goddess, Gaia, in Greek mythology. Gaia（also spelled Gaea）is the great mother of all creation, such as the sky, the sea and the mountains.  The character of Mother Nature（also called “Mother Earth”）often appears in animation films and literature. Charles Ghigna, an American children’s author with Father Goose as his penname, wrote the following funny poem called “What Will Mother Nature Wear?”  What will Mother Nature wear?  She always keeps us guessing.  With each new season of the year,  She likes to change her dressing.  What will Mother Nature wear?  Green? Or gold? Or white?  She often likes to change her clothes –  Sometimes overnight!  On today’s Mother’s Day, let us appreciate the beauty and love of Mother Nature together !   p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #2c2728} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 11.0px MHeiHK; color: #2c2728} span.s1 {font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000} table.t1 {border-collapse: collapse} td.td1 {padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px} Glossary p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #2c2728} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; line-height: 12.1px; font: 11.0px MHeiHK; color: #2c2728} span.s1 {font: 12.0px Helvetica; color: #000000} table.t1 {border-collapse: collapse} td.td1 {padding: 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px 5.0px}   Form of address  稱呼 Nurtures  養育 Personification  擬人法 Source  根源 Mythology  神話 Creation  天地萬物 Animation films  動畫電影 Appreciate  欣賞