昔日文章

  Have you ever traced the history of your family back a few generations?  In our Chinese culture, there was a practice of placing the names of the children in the ancestral “temple” （祠堂） in the village or town where the family supposedly came from.  I was told that I came from Guangdong（廣東新會潮連）.  It is my desire to someday go and visit the place. As I mentioned in my last article, the parish where I now am pastor will be celebrating her 150th anniversary of the founding of the parish.  Do you know when your parish was founded?  Or, for that matter, when was the diocese of Hong Kong founded?  I will give you the answer to the second question in the next article.  You have one week to find out. Anyway, 150 years ago, people were beginning to settle in this part of the United States.  Actually, it was not that simple.  The United States became a country in 1776.  At that time, North America was settled and claimed by various countries from Europe.  Because of the difference in weapons, the Native Americans had no means of defending themselves from the modern weapons of Europe.  This is very much like what happened in the late 1800’s in China, though China could have done something if the Qing government had not mismanaged her affairs.  (We can discuss this at another time.)  In the US, the settlers revolted against the British and became its own country on July 4, 1776, with 13 colonies as the basic states.  She now has 50 states and Nebraska is practically in the middle of the whole country. In the area where I live, it was the Wild West where the buffaloes roamed.  The territory was sold by the French to the United States in 1803 in what was called the Louisiana Purchase.  The country began to settle and to develop the land west of the Missouri.  It was this westward push that led to the European settlement at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri River and was named Plattsmouth, literally the mouth of the Platte at Missouri.  Among those who lived there were Catholics settlers.   In 1862 the Catholic settlers in Plattsmouth built their first church and in 1863 dedicated it as St. John the Baptist Church.  Since then it has blossomed into two parishes with a Catholic grade school.  The two parishes joined together in the 1971 and formed the current Holy Spirit Church and St. John the Baptist Grade School with over 650 families.  Most people in the original parishes were farmers.  But they have become the minority.  Many of my current parishioners work in the city of Omaha and the nearby US air force base called Strategic Command which is responsible for coordinating the defense of the entire North America.  For the first time as a priest, I work with more non-farm workers than farmers.   I have been a pastor of two other parishes that celebrated their 100th anniversary while I was pastor there.  Each had a story of its own.  Each had its unique contribution in the area.  I am eager to be a part of the rediscovery of the rich experience of the past in order to 1) appreciate what we now have, and 2) to look ahead to what God is calling us to do for the future.   In a similar way, I encourage you to appreciate what you have received and pray that God will direct you to do your part for the future generations that will come after you.  “When much is given, much will be asked of you.”  (Lk. 12:48).      

Last week, I witnessed a ridiculous scene on a bus. A little girl was non stop crying and no matter how her mother pampered her, the annoying cry continued.  Then I overheard the conversation: "It's my fault to let you ride on a bus while the weather is so hot.  The weak air conditioning makes you uncomfortable and mommy will never let you feel that way again", then there was silence. Is this called love or life? I do not grow up with fancy toys or most advanced games, but definitely I am one of the happiest kids in the world. Being brought up in a highly disciplined way, I was once in the mist, too, not understanding why everything has to be done in a certain way.   Gradually I find it is a fortune to learn to be thankful instead of doubting every little details in life. Can you recall when is the last time saying thank you?  One may think it is only a tiny act but who knows that may change the world!  I am grateful to have fantastic parents, who have given me the best of everything.  Never can I say enough "thank you" to their hard work, love and care.  I am still learning to be a better person and hope one day they will find the foundation they laid for me has become a solid house - The house of gratitude!   Cherish what you have and live to the fullest to show your thankfulness.

Last week we received a newsletter from our little boy’s nursery. One of the news items said, “We have arranged our 2012 Graduation celebration for the children who will be leaving us for Big School in September 2012.” The graduation will take place in late July. I suppose by this time you, as a Primary 6 student, might have received a similar notice from your own school. Are you very excited? Graduation means that we have completed a course of academic study at a school. In Hong Kong, most schools host a graduation ceremony to celebrate the efforts they have made. What will the programme be like at your graduation ceremony? It normally includes some speeches, performances such as singing, dancing and drama, and the award of school certificates.  After six years of primary school, what do you think are the most precious things? Friendship, good academic performance or the commitment of your teachers? Perhaps you can draw a list. I remember when we were in Primary 6, we asked our classmates and teachers to write us some lines in our autograph books. It is still well kept in my “treasure box” and has given me a lot of sweet memories. In this last article, may I congratulate you on your graduation by quoting the following poem from an unknown author: Glossary: Graduation:  畢業 Speeches: 演說 Award: 頒發 Certificates: 證書 Autograph books: 紀念冊        

  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!