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各位教友： 作為神父，除了照顧教友的靈修，還需料理神父宿舍的各種雜項。因此，每星期我均會去一趟超級市場，購買所需的各類物品，偶而遇到一些教友，他們臉上訝異的表情使我莞爾良久。 近期，我們堂區替教友登記認購 Michaelite Fathers 製作的巴斯卦羔羊朱古力，我也預留了些儲存空間，存放復活節的朱古力蛋及賓尼兔，這些巴斯卦羔羊、賓尼兔、復活蛋等復活節禮物中，我做了以下的整繕在此與你共享。 首先，出谷紀第12章3 至11節裡，記載了巴斯卦羔羊的源由：天主在逾越節，通過梅瑟，令以色列人吃羊，並從埃及人手中救出以色列民。因而，傳統上，天主教把巴斯卦羔羊喻為耶穌基督，紀念衪為我們受苦而死。 另外，在神話故事裡，賓尼兔會帶著盛滿彩蛋、糖果及玩具的籃子，在復活節前一晚，去那些有孩子的家庭裡，把籃子放在特定的地方，又或把它藏起來，好讓孩子們早上醒來時四出尋找，以增添節日的樂趣。這傳統源自十六世紀的德國西南部，而於十八世紀，德國人更用麵粉及糖，造出了第一隻可口的復活節賓尼兔。 至於蛋，則曾是一些非教徒，為慶祝春天裡，萬物重現生機的方式，後來被教友採用，以小雞從蛋中孵出的境象，喻意信仰上的新生，就如基督從墓穴中復活一樣。 教宗大額我略曾號令神職人員，廣泛吸吶舊有的宗教禮儀及節日慶典，融會貫通於基督信仰中，復活蛋就是其中之一，東正教及東方天主教會的神師，還會祝聖復活蛋，派給信友；信友也會帶著復活籃往教堂，籃子裡則盛滿了蛋及巴斯卦食物。 還有，宗教傳說中，瑪利亞瑪達肋納曾帶著一籃熟蛋去耶穌的墓穴，還與其他婦女分享，當她看見復活的基督時，她籃子裡的蛋就曾奇妙地轉成光亮的紅色。 這許許多多的故事及有關喻意，就留待你默想時再慢慢揣摩吧，勿忘記本主日將是Michaelite神父們製作的巴斯卦羔羊禮盒裝朱古力的最後訂購日呀！ 主佑! 莫靖龍神父 (此乃莫神父 致教友的信之意譯，書信內容以英文為準) |
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Hello everybody: As you may or may not know, besides the pastoral needs of the parish, a Priest has to look after the daily needs of the presbytery that is why I have been doing my groceries shopping every week usually on Mondays or Fridays. Sometimes I have run into some of you and it is funny to see some reactions as if a priest does not belong in a Supermarket. These later weeks I have been spaces being reserved on the shelves for heaps of chocolates in the shape of eggs or rabbits (hares or bunnies as you may like to call them). Then two weeks ago we received the annual promotion from the “St Michael’s Congregation’ in North Ryde about their “chocolate Paschal Lambs’ and we started to do the promotion here in the parish. Among all the choices that we have, I start asking myself what would be the insight a parish priest should give to the congregation, so I started to do some small research about the different symbolisms attached to the Paschal Lamb, the Easter Bunny and the Eggs for Easter. I found a lot of information but it will be hard for me to put everything in this little column. The Paschal Lamb is a lamb which the Israelites were commanded to eat with peculiar rites as a part of the Passover celebration. The Divine will is first recorded in Exodus 12:3-11, where God is represented as giving instructions to Moses to preserve the Hebrews from the last of the plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians. In the Catholic tradition the Paschal Lamb prefigured symbolically Christ, "the Lamb of God", who redeems us by the shedding of His blood, and particularly the Eucharistic banquet, or new Passover. In the Gospel of St John, Jesus dies on the day and the time when the Paschal Lamb was offered in the temple for the remission of sins. (Jn 19:30) The Easter Bunny is a mythical character depicted as an anthropomorphic rabbit. In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house for the children to find when they wake up in the morning. The Easter Bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have its origins in southwestern Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 1600s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s, and were made of pastry and sugar. The egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the earth in Pagan celebrations of spring and was adopted by early Christians as a symbol of the rebirth, just a new life emerges from an egg when the chicken hatches out, so the Easter Egg it is meant to signify Jesus coming out of the Tomb in the fullness of life. Pope Gregory the Great ordered his missionaries to use old religious sites and festivals and absorb them into Christian rituals where possible, the Easter egg is not the exception, in some Christian traditions the eggs are even part of the liturgy now. In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are blessed by the priest at the end of the Paschal Vigil, and distributed to the faithful. Each household also brings an Easter basket to church, filled not only with Easter eggs but also with other Paschal foods. A pious legend says that says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned brilliant red when she saw the risen Christ As you can see there are lots of stories and symbolisms, I leave it with you to meditate on those and also I want to remind you that if you want to buy some Easter Chocolate Paschal Lambs today will be the last week to do so before we place the order with the Michaelite fathers. Peace in Jesus Fernando Montano MG |