|
|
各位教友： 記得四旬期第三主日的第一篇讀經裡，我們聽過十誡；而《羅馬書》也提到：法律的精華已刻在我們心上 ( 羅2:15-16 ) ；在《論教會在現代世界牧職憲章》第十六節中曾說過：「人擁有天主在其心內銘刻的法律，而人性尊嚴就在於服從這法律；在來日，人將本著這法律而受審」。 前幾天，有位教友告訴我，他夫妻二人領聖體後，返回座位，發覺擱在位子上裝有奉獻的信封，竟不翼而飛，他的話令我大吃一驚。最初，我們猜想：或許是一個好心人，代其把信封放進了奉獻袋，以助他們能在領聖體後，專心一意地祈禱，不用分心關注那「地上的財寶」，但在點算奉獻款項時，我們發覺這推論竟落了空。 在教堂裡發生這樣的事情，實在令人黯然神傷，足證現今這個混沌的世道，的確極需要我們去宏揚基督的信仰，以及遵守那刻在心中的十誡之一：毋偷盜。若在教堂內失去了互信及安寧的感覺，我們的信仰將寸步難行、前路坎坷。 或許聖週及四旬期間，有不少往來探訪的人仕，他們中不少大抵是單純地來體驗一下復活節的宗教儀式，然而，不排除當中或許有雞鳴狗盜之徒、順手牽羊之輩，我們還是小心為上的好。 若問：在教堂內怎樣杜絕這些鼠竊行為？我想最好的方法是：你們出來領聖體時，切勿留下任何財物在位子上；我們是一個信仰小團體，守望相助是我們的特色，對陌生人，我們仍應友善，但也需留意任何異樣的行為，並作出舉報。 讓我們一起努力，維護這個以基督信仰為本的堂區，千萬不可任由罪惡隨意橫行滋長。 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) |
|
Dear Parishioners: Two weeks ago we heard the first reading about the famous story of the Ten Commandments. Revelation tells us that this is Law is written in our heart (Rm. 2:15-16) and also the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World tells us “that man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. His dignity lies in observing this law, and by it he will be judged” (GS 16). It came to my surprise that a few days ago one of the parishioners came to me after mass to let me know that as he and his wife were coming to receive communion, they left their collection envelop on the pews, when they came back after communion the envelop was gone. At first we thought that maybe a good soul had taken the envelop and put it into the collection bag so they could have more time to meditate and pray after receiving communion instead of caring for this more “worldly” affairs, but after we did the accounting for that weekend we sadly realize that the envelop was all gone. Church is not a place where we expect these things to happen, the whole idea of the church being insecure is just as disturbing as it is sad. This reminds us also how much the world needs to hear the Good News of Jesus and be faithful to the law written in our hearts that clearly says “You shall not steal”. Once trust and peace of mind are lost in a community of faith it can bring sad consequences to the whole congregation. As the days of Holy Week and Easter draw near, I want to invite you all to be aware of the fact that many people may be visiting our Church, some of them with very good reasons like visiting relatives in these times of holidays and also to experience how the same faith experience is celebrated in different communities all around the country but some of them may also be just waiting for the chance to take what does not belong to them. How to avoid this in the future? Well it is very hard to say, however I want to start by inviting you to do the obvious, do not let your personal belonging unattended, specially as you come to receive communion . The second thing I want to suggest is know your congregation. One of the main characteristics of our community is that we are a small community and that can be use to our advantage, be friendly to our visitors as the law of the Lord also requires us to be welcoming to the foreigner just as Israel itself was foreigner in the land of Egypt but also care about some other people belongings and if you see something strange going on please report it. We need to work together to make our community a better place and do not allow the darkness of evil and insecurity destroy the good spirits and the faith in the Risen Lord our community is built upon. Peace in Jesus Fernando Montano MG |