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各位教友 : 在過去數週﹐我一直在與你們分享堂區生活未臻完善之處﹐希望大家能加把勁﹐讓今年更勝往年。這個星期，我希望大家能多點關注堂區生活的另一層面﹕基督徒成人入門聖事禮典 (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)。 有些人可能不知道「基督徒成人入門聖事禮典」 究竟是什麼﹔它其實常被簡稱為「慕道班」(Catechumenate)。 在初期教會﹐「慕道者」(Catechumen) 一詞適用於尚未被引領進入神聖奧跡, 但卻處於準備過程中的人士。這個名詞曾出現在迦拉達人書6 ﹕6 ﹐指的是正在接受基督教理指導的人。同樣詞源的動詞亦曾出現在格林多人前書14:19; 路加福音1:4 ﹔和宗徒大事錄18 ﹕25。 按梵蒂岡第二次大公會議所規定﹐神聖禮儀應恢復慕道期﹕「分為若干階段的成年慕道期﹐應予恢復﹐按地方當權人的判斷而實行。如此使這專為接受適當訓練而定的慕道時期﹐藉著逐次舉行的聖禮﹐而得以聖化。」(禮儀憲章64節) 一般堂區都會在復活期後﹐開始新一屆的慕道班﹐一般為期一年多﹐這將使慕道者能多點了解天主教教理和好好掌握如何實踐我們的信仰。 希望今年將有相當數目的朋友加入慕道班。我們作為基督徒應該責無旁貸﹐努力推介以基督為主的信仰。我們自身的信仰﹐也是經過無數前人教會聖傳和訓道留給我們的﹐由宗徒起始代代相傳的教會傳統亦已成為天主教信仰的核心。 復活節後不久，我們將推動新一屆的慕道班。假若你有親朋戚友希望多點認識天主教信仰﹐又或有志成為天主教徒﹐歡迎你留下他們的芳名。 希望我的再次呼籲能打動你的傳教熱忱﹐事不延遲現在就開始網羅可能感興趣的朋友﹐我們會在復活節後不久﹐便公佈慕道班的開課日期。 主內平安 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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Hello Everybody: In the last few weeks I have been sharing with you some of the areas in the life of the parish that hopefully we can do better this year. This week I want to talk to you about another area that we need to give more attention: The RCIA. Some of you may not know what RCIA stands for. That is a short form for Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and is also known as Catechumenate. In the early Church, the term Catechumen was the name applied to one who had not yet been initiated into the sacred mysteries, but was undergoing a course of preparation for that purpose. The word occurs in Galatians 6:6: and refers to the person who is going under instruction in the doctrine. Other parts of the same verb occur in 1 Corinthians 14:19; Luke 1:4; Acts 18:25. The Second Vatican Council restored the practice of the Catechumenate in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: “The catechumenate for adults, comprising several distinct steps, is to be restored and to be taken into use at the discretion of the local ordinary. By this, means the time of the catechumenate, which is intended as a period of suitable instruction, may be sanctified by sacred rites to be celebrated at successive intervals of time.” (SC 64) In the practice of the parish, we usually start a new class every year a few weeks after Easter that will give the catechumens a bit more than a year to learn about the doctrines and practices of our faith. Hopefully this year will have a good number of people who join the RCIA. It is the duty of every single Christian, to promote the faith in Jesus, we ourselves are the recipients of the traditions and teachings that the previous generations have left us with. The passing on of this tradition is core to the Christian belief. Soon after Easter we will start to promote for the new RCIA program and you can start by inviting your friends and relatives who want to know more about the Catholic faith to put their names down if they want to become Catholics. Once again I appeal to your missionary zeal and start talking to some people who may be interested and we will start to promote the dates for the next program soon after Easter. Peace in Jesus Fernando |