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各位教友： 下週日是父親節﹐我在此衷心祝願各位父親能擁有一個愉快的父親節。如近年一樣﹐主教在此期間，呼籲大家捐助「支援神職人員基金」，這教區組織專責照顧已退休和患病的神職人員。 去年﹐該基金籌得逾15萬元善款﹐大部份都是在父親節時收到的﹐這些捐贈極能幫助那些窮他們一生來牧養羊群的退休神職人員。司鐸們一般都會在75歲時退休﹐因其體力已難以應付日常繁重的職責。在巴拉瑪打教區﹐我們現正有18名退休神職人員﹐這包括16位神父和 2位執事。細看這些數據﹐讓我們知道有 4位已超過80歲﹔6位在76至80歲之間﹔4名司鐸和 2位執事在70至75歲之間﹔另有2位65歲以下的司鐸由於身體欠佳而提早退休。 現今很多教區都鬧聖召荒﹐巴拉瑪打教區亦難幸免。很多年老神父還需留守堂區牧養天主子民和宣揚愛的訊息﹕有 3名已年過80﹔4位年屆75至79﹔7位在71至75歲之間﹔8位司鐸和一位執事在65至70歲之間。超過一半的教區神父已年過65﹐他們在不久的將來﹐亦需要我們的關顧。 今年正值「司鐸年」﹐正好藉此良機緬懷前人司鐸﹐曾終其一生勉力宣揚天主的國。我們總會對某些曾經影響我們生命甚或信仰的司鐸﹐勾起絲絲回憶。像每年一樣﹐我邀請大家盡一分力﹐讓他們有機會享受幸福的退休生活﹐再無需為了他人之所需﹐而要隨時中斷他們的祈禱和默想生活。 捐獻信封可在跪凳前或教堂後面拿取。任何捐贈超過兩元﹐皆可申請稅務回扣﹐但不要忘記在收據格子上打勾﹐明年二月底便會奉上收條。我在此衷心感謝大家的慷慨捐獻﹗ 主佑 莫靖龍神父 (此乃莫神父致教友書信之意譯，書信內容以英文為準) |
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Dear Parishioners: Next week is Father‘s Day. I want to send my warmest congratulations to all the Fathers in our community. As you know, the Bishop makes an appeal every year during this time to help the Clergy Support Foundation, which is the organization in charge of looking after retired and sick priests. Last year the foundation raised over $150,000 for this cause, this came mainly through your donations on Father’s day. This will help a lot in looking after those priests who have dedicated their lives to care for us. Priests generally retire at 75, when the years make it harder for them to perform their pastoral duties. In the Diocese of Parramatta there 18 members of the clergy currently retired, this include 16 priests and 2 Deacons. Looking closely at the numbers we can see that 4 of them are priest aged in the 80’s, 6 priests aged 76 to 80, 4 Priests and two deacons aged 70 to 75 and there are two priests under 65 who have retired due to ill health. With many dioceses struggling with get more vocations for the priesthood, our diocese is not exception, and some priests are still looking after parishes regardless their age, there are three priests over 80 still trying to bring the message of love to people in their parishes, there are 4 priests aged 75 to 79, seven more being 71 to 75 and eight priests and one deacon aged 65 to 70. Half the diocesan priests in parishes are over 65. They need our support in the near future. In this year of the Priest, is also important to remember the priests who have worked before us and have dedicated their lives to preach the Kingdom of God. We all have memories of the priests that made an influence in our lives and especially in our faith. As every year, we ask for your help to give them the chance to enjoy a happy retirement and a life of prayer and meditation that sometimes they had to put aside to go and help those in need. Envelops can be found in the pews or at the back of the Church, donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible, please do not forget to tick the box if you wish to claim the tax deduction, your receipt will be issued at the end of February 2010. I thank you all for your generosity. Peace in Jesus Fernando Montano MG |