2018-4-29

朋友们，今天的福音摘自《若望福音》的美妙动人又令人深思的第十五章。耶稣宣布祂是葡萄树，我们是枝条。祂是我们赖以生存的动力来源。因此，这个意象与保禄关于基督之体的隐喻紧紧相联。

 

重点在于我们活在祂之内，祂活在我们之内。耶稣是我们超自然生活的来源，没有祂，我们就没有精神生活。如果你离开葡萄树，你就会在精神上死亡；若你与之相接，你就会过着超自然的生活。

 

这具体是什么意思？就是经常沉浸于教会祈祷和与天主的共融之中、与天主经常谈话、多读圣经、深刻领会圣经真理、参与物质与精神上的慈善工作。

 

你还必须参与圣事——尤其是告解和圣餐。通过这些圣事，我们与宽恕我们罪过、振奋我们精神的基督保持着亲密关系。

 

Friends, our passage today is from the beautiful, evocative, and challenging fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus declares that he is the vine and we are the branches. He is the power and energy source in which we live. This vine and branches image is closely related, therefore, to Paul’s metaphor of the Body of Christ.

 

The point is that we live in him and he in us. Jesus is the source of supernatural life in us, and without him we would have none of it. If you are separated from the vine, you will die spiritually; if you are connected to it, you will live a supernatural life.

 

What does this mean concretely? It means a steady immersion in the prayer of the Church and steady communion with God, and speaking to him on a regular basis. It means an immersion in the Scriptures and soaking in the truth of the Bible. It means engaging in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

 

And you must participate in the sacraments—especially confession and the Eucharist. By the sacraments, we stay close to the Christ who forgives our sins and enlivens our spirits.

 

2018-4-30

朋友们，在今天的福音中，耶稣许诺要派圣神来激励、支持和护卫祂的追随者。在受难日前夜，耶稣曾对众门徒说祂与圣父将派来另一位Parakletos（护慰者）。该词由词根kaleo（大声说出）及前缀para（为，或代表）组成，意指有如律师一样代表他人、为人辩护的角色，同时提供支持、护慰和鼓励。

 

耶稣说的是虽然他会抽身而出，但他和圣父会派圣神来作为我们的朋友。正是这位护慰者激励着古往今来的基督徒。

 

当殉道者就义时，圣神在支持着他们；当传教士踏上敌意重重的国土去宣扬信仰时，圣神为他们答辩；当米开朗基罗画西斯廷教堂穹顶画的时候，圣神鼓舞着他；当多玛斯·阿奎那写神学杰作时，圣神指引着他的笔尖。

 

今天圣神在激励着你去做什么呢？

 

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to inspire, strengthen, and defend his followers. Speaking to his disciples the night before he dies, Jesus tells them that he and his Father will send another Parakletos. The word, from kaleo (to call) and para (for, or on behalf of) designates something like an advocate or a lawyer, someone who would plead on behalf of another, offering support and encouragement.

 

Jesus will depart physically from the scene, but he and his Father will send the Spirit as a friend. This is the supporter, the Advocate who will inspire Christians up and down the ages.

 

When the martyrs went to their deaths, it was with the help of the Holy Spirit; when the missionaries went to proclaim the faith in hostile lands, it was the Holy Spirit who pleaded on their behalf; when Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, it was the Holy Spirit who lifted him up; and when Thomas Aquinas wrote his theological masterpieces, it was at the prompting of the Advocate.

 

What is the Advocate prompting you to do today?