Wednesday, August 24, 2016

用信德的眼光,從有形可見的事物中,看見無形和不可見的事物

「你們原來並不是走近了那可觸摸的山,那裏有烈火、濃雲、黑暗、暴風、號筒的響聲以及說話的聲音,當時那些聽見的人,都懇求天主不要再給他們說話,因為他們承擔不起所吩咐的事:『即使是一隻走獸觸摸了這山,也應用石頭砸死;』並且所顯現的是這麼可怕,連梅瑟也說:『我很是恐慌戰憟。』然而你們卻接近了熙雍山和永生天主的城,天上的耶路撒冷,接近了千萬天使的盛會,和那些已被登錄在天上的首生者的集會,接近了審判眾人的天主,接近 了已獲得成全的義人的靈魂,接近了新約的中保耶穌,以及衪所灑的血:這血比亞伯爾的血說話說的更好。」(希12:18-24)

上列經文獨特的地方,在於作者能夠從以色列的一個歷史片段中, 看見那震撼人靈的,不可見而又最真實的景象。讓我詳加說明。

當尊威全能的天主顯現給我們這些卑微和可朽壞的人的時候,祂能使人驚怕得魂不附體。希伯來人書的作者根據出谷紀第十九章和申命紀第四章的記載,述及以色列人在西乃山經驗到天主雅威在烈火,濃雲,號角的響聲中降到山上 (希 12:18; 出19:16-20;申4:11) 。 那可怕的情景甚至連梅瑟也恐慌戰慄。(希 12:21)

希伯來人書的作者努力地要讓他的讀者明白,以色列人在西乃山上的經歷,發生在一個特別的禮儀之地,也可以說是一個「特別的祭壇」,一個「可觸摸的」(18 節)和有形可見的祭壇。原來這經歷竟能奧妙地讓我們窺見天堂的聖殿,即那不能觸摸的,不能看見的天上神聖的聖殿和祭壇。是那些人在慶祝這天上的盛會呢?是「千萬天使」,「已登記在天上的首生者」,「已被成全的正義者」,「審判眾人的天主」和「新約的中保耶穌」。他們在天主和聖子都臨在的盛會裡做甚麼?他們在喜樂地欽崇天主。

這兩個地方,雖然一個在人間,一個在天上,一個看得見,一個看不見,但卻奧妙地緊密相連: 西乃山在指向著天上的聖殿,西乃山的禮儀在天上的禮儀中達到了高峯。希伯來人書的作者藉著信德的目光,讓此奇景盡入眼簾!從西乃山,他看到了象徵着天上耶路撒冷的熙雍山(「你們卻是走近熙雍山和永生天主的城,天上的耶路撒冷」(22節)) ; 從以色列,他看到了勝利的教會,因為以色列本來就是那戰爭中的教會不可或缺的一部份。在以色列的中保梅瑟身上,他看見了「新約的中保耶穌」。最重要的是,在卑微和可朽壞的人的恐懼中,特別是在西乃山上被嚇得半死的以色列人的驚怕中,他看見了天上欽崇天主的喜樂。

希伯來人書的作者從現在中看到將來;從平凡中看到卓越;從可見的事物中看到不可見的事物;從人間俗世中看到超凡脫俗、天上神聖的一切;因為他以信德的目光細察事物 - 「信德是所希望之事的擔保,是未見之事的確證」。(11:1) 他所看見發生在西乃山上的事物,我們同樣地在彌撒聖祭禮儀中也要看見,因為在彌撒中,我們已身處天堂!讓我們以天主教教理其中震撼性的一則來為這反思作總結(留意當中教導與剛論述的經文多麽相似):

「在人間的禮儀中,我們預嘗並參與那在天上聖城耶路撒冷所舉行的禮儀,我們以朝聖者的身分向那裡邁進,那裡有基督坐於天主的右邊,作為聖所及真會幕的臣僕;我們偕同天朝全體軍旅,向上主歡唱光榮的讚歌 …。」《天主教教理 1090》

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

With the Eyes of Faith We See the Invisible In the Visible

You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them, for they could not bear to hear the command: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, "I am terrified and trembling." No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:18-24)

What’s really remarkable about this Hebrews passage is the author’s ability to see the invisible and awe-inspiring reality underlying a setting that many people see as just another chapter of Israel’s history. Let me explain.

God, who is majestic and omnipotent, can be frightening when He appears to us lowly mortals, so we learn from the passage. Referring to Israel’s experience at Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4, the author of Hebrews recalls the terrifying scene of epiphany when Yahweh descended upon the mountain with a dramatic display of fire and smoke and blaring trumpets (Heb 12:18; Ex 19:16-20; Deut 4:11) - a scene that made even Moses tremble (Heb 12:21).

The author of Hebrews takes great pains to convince his readers that what Israel experienced at Mt. Sinai, a special place of liturgy, or “a special altar” if you will, which “could be touched” (v.18) or seen, mysteriously gives us a glimpse into the sacred sanctuary of heaven – the heavenly altar - that cannot be touched or seen. Who are the people celebrating this celestial liturgy of heaven? “Countless angels”, “the firstborn enrolled in heaven”, “the spirits of the just made perfect”, “God the judge of all”, and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant” (vv. 22-24). What are they doing up there in the presence of God and His Son? Worshiping with great joy.

The two places, one earthly and the other heavenly, one visible the other invisible, are somehow closely intertwined – Mt. Sinai pointing to the sacred sanctuary of heaven, the Mt. Sinai liturgy culminating in the heavenly liturgy. And the author of Hebrews, with his eyes of faith, sees it! He sees Mt. Zion, which symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem (“you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (v. 22)), in Mt. Sinai. He sees the Church Triumphant in Israel, an integral part of the Church Militant. He sees “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant”, in Moses, the mediator of Israel (v. 24). Above all, he sees the joy of heavenly worship in the fear that the lowly mortals, particularly the Israelites on Mt. Sinai, exhibit on seeing God.

The author of Hebrews sees the future in the present, the invisible underlying the visible, the sacred through the earthly, the extraordinary out of the ordinary because he sees through the eyes of faith – faith which “is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (11:1). What he sees as happening at Mt. Sinai, we also need to see as happening in the Mass liturgy because at Mass, we are already in heaven! Let’s conclude this reflection with an astounding statement extracted from the Catechism which bears much resemblance to the Hebrews passage that is being discussed:

In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of glory to the Lord…(CCC 1090).

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Young People: Don't Just Concentrate on Your Wedding Day and Forget the Life-Long Commitment You Are About to Enter Into

Short-term preparations for marriage tend to be concentrated on invitations, clothes, the party and any number of other details that tend to drain not only the budget but energy and joy as well. The spouses come to the wedding ceremony exhausted and harried, rather than focused and ready for the great step that they are about to take. The same kind of preoccupation with a big celebration also affects certain de facto unions; because of the expenses involved...Here let me say a word to fiancés. Have the courage to be different. Don’t let yourselves get swallowed up by a society of consumption and empty appearances (Amoris Laetitia, n. 212).

Those who are prepared to read Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia carefully will be pleasantly surprised to discover some of the useful and pragmatic ideas that the Holy Father often comes up with. They are not only innovative and daring, but also very much in line with traditional Church values.

If you are about my age, you may find yourself inundated with wedding invitations involving the younger generation of family members and friends. Some of these weddings can be extremely lavish. But what bothers me the most is not so much the cost involved but the time required of me. Sometimes it may take a whole day to join some of these celebrations (morning Mass, hanging around after Mass just to pass the time because the locations of the venues are such that the guests really can't go anywhere, then evening banquet). It gets worse when for some reason the organizers decide to let the banquet process drag out for as long as possible so that the guests really can't leave until well after 11:30 p.m. All the while throughout the duration of a very long evening, you are forced to listen to so-called "professional MCs" whom the married couple has paid an astronomical amount to hire. As far as I am concerned, the manner they speak and conduct themselves is as annoying as some of the radio DJs that I've always shunned.

Instead of using all the resources and energy to deal with the peripheral issues, young couples preparing to get married are challenged by the Holy Father to opt "for a more modest and simple celebration in which love takes precedence over everything else" (n. 212). They "should be encouraged to make the liturgical celebration a profound personal experience and to appreciate the meaning of each of its signs". Quoting St. John Paul II, the Holy Father's exhortation is for all marrying couples to be aware that "[t]he body, created with a God-given meaning, 'becomes the language of the ministers of the sacrament, aware that in the conjugal pact there is expressed and realized the mystery that has its origin in God himself'" (n. 213). The Holy Father hits the nail right on the head when he points out that “many [young people] concentrate on their wedding day and forget the life-long commitment they are about to enter into” (n. 215).

Young people, don't get me wrong, I'm honored to receive your wedding invitation. But invite me, or any guest for that matter, only if you want my presence on the day you enter the life-long commitment to live out in your bodies the sacred mystery of the one-flesh union of Christ and the Church. If your invitation is serious and meaningful, you need to show me that before getting married you've invested the time needed to understand this "great mystery" that made St. Paul awestruck (Ephesians 5:32), the meaning of the liturgy that you invite me to participate in and, most of all, the significance of the marriage vow that you invite me to hear when you utter it so affectionately and determinedly to your future spouse. Professional MCs, lavish meals, and top-notch banquet halls? Well, they are....peripherals.

Remember, marriage is not just "a single moment that then becomes a part of the past and its memories". Rather, married couples use their bodies to speak an “uninterrupted continuity of liturgical language”. The liturgy of matrimony in a way doesn't end when the wedding ceremony is finsihed because “conjugal life becomes in a certain sense liturgical” (n.215). This liturgical language is not a "careless whisper" (George Michael). It is a language of love from time immemorial: a language that Adam spoke on his first encounter with Eve - "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman' (Genesis 2:23); a language that turned into a full-blown lovers' concerto in the Song of Songs; a language that was brought to its consummating outro on the Cross, the marriage bed of Christ and the Church, where the New Adam uttered in his very last breath the final words of love: "It is finished!" (John 19:30).

Saturday, August 6, 2016

2016-2017年度《慕道再慕道》一年課程招生

為鼓勵更多新領洗者和教友進一步認識天主教信仰和聖經,2016-2017年度的《慕道再慕道》,將重新編排,讓參加者在一年內完成全部課程。全新一年課程由2016年九月九日起至2017年六月十六日止,每月第二及第三個星期五晚上7:45-9:45在聖鮑斯高禮堂用粵語舉行。講者Edmond Lo (多大神學碩仕) 按教會傳統和教導,為參加者解釋天主教教理和分享聖經的喜樂 。課程特別針對一般人對天主教信仰的誤解或誣告,如「迷信聖母」、「拜偶像」、「彌撒禮儀繁冗,充滿迷信」、「不可離婚和反對避孕的教導太保守」等,讓教友正確明白教會的教導。《慕道再慕道》歷來廣受教友歡迎,並有影碟發行、網上錄音和網頁。請把握良機,從速報名。

可網上報名:2016-17 慕道再慕道網上報名
或往中華殉道聖人堂諮詢處登記。詳情請參考宣傳海報及章程。

請幫助宣傳,介紹親友們參加。謝謝!



課程時間表:

1 09/09/16 對天主的渴求
2 10/14/16 天主給人類的啟示
3 10/21/16 論聖經,看其他宗教
4 11/11/16 我信全能者天父,天地萬物的創造者(一)
5 11/18/16 我信全能者天父,天地萬物的創造者(二)
6 12/09/16 天主的選民:以色列的聖祖
7 12/16/16 天主的選民:梅瑟和律法
8 01/13/17 天主的選民:從若蘇厄到耶穌基督
9 01/20/17 我信耶穌,天主的獨生子(論聖母上)
10 02/10/17 我信耶穌,天主的獨生子(論聖母下)
11 02/17/17 耶穌的言行(二):真福八端,愛的誡命
12 03/09/17 耶穌蒙難被釘十字架
13 03/16/17 耶穌下降陰府,復活升天,要光榮再來,審判生者死者
14 04/06/17 我信聖神
15 04/21/17 我信聖而公教會(一)
16 05/12/17 我信聖而公教會(二)
17 05/19/17 彌撒聖祭
18 06/09/17 聖事(一)
19 06/16/17 聖事(二)