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十一月十七日 聖依撒伯爾 匈牙利 (紀念) 最後一天 「在人子顯現的日子裏，也要這樣。」（路17:30） 耶穌會再來，世界便會結束： • 當我們「不料想的時辰」（路12:40）， • 當它是照常買賣（參閲路17:27-28）， • 突然地（參閲路17:24, 31）， • 教會遭受嚴重的「逼害」之後（路21:12）， • 在「大地震，到處有饑荒及瘟疫；將出現可怖的異象，天上要有巨大的兇兆」之後（路21:11）， • 大量「背叛之事」之後（得後2:3）， • 反對基督宗教者被殺死之後（參閲得後2:8）， • 當「許多人的愛情」已經冷淡（瑪24:12）， • 「天國的福音」已經「在全世界宣講」之後（瑪24:14）， • 當「全以色列」獲救（羅11:26），並 • 當教會是「聖潔和沒有污點的」，「沒有瑕疵，沒有皺紋，或其他類似的缺陷」時（弗5:27）。 你現在爲耶穌再來準備好了嗎？你那麼愛他，以致你正在嘗試「催促天主日子的來臨」（伯後3:12）嗎？你是否沒有理由害怕審判之日呢？在愛德、信德、悔改和聖潔中，讓我們「期待著永生的幸福，和救世主耶穌基督的來臨」（在彌撒中，「天主經」後的禱文）。Maranatha!「主耶穌，你來罷！」（默22:20） 禱告：天父，當基督再來時，願他發現我正牧養你的子民（參閲路12:42）。 承諾：「那麼，他們就應知道：這些美物的主宰更是美麗，因爲，全是美麗的唯一根源所創造的。」（智13:3） 讚頌：聖伊撒伯爾（St. Elizabeth）在二十一歲時成了寡婦。在她的丈夫去世後，她賣掉了自己的財產，把收益都送給了窮人。 中文翻譯取材自 One Bread, One Body，由美國 Presentation Ministries 所出版。

Liturgical day: Friday 32nd in Ordinary Time Gospel text (Lc 17,26-37): Jesus said to his disciples, «As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. Then people ate and drank; they took husbands and wives. But on the day Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. Just as it was in the days of Lot: people ate and drank, they bought and sold, planted and built. But on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. »On that day, if you are on the rooftop, don't go down into the house to get your belongings, and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again. I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it may be that one will be taken and the other left. Though two women are grinding corn together, one may be taken and the other left». Then they asked Jesus, «Where will this take place, Lord?». And he answered, «Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather». «People ate and drank, they bought and sold, planted and built » Fr. Austin NORRIS (Mumbai, India) Today, in the Gospel text, the end times as well as the uncertainty of life is highlighted, not to frighten us, but to keep us fore-armed and focused, ready to meet our Creator. The sacrificial nature of the Gospel is seen in its Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as he leads us by example, to be ever ready to seek and do the Will of God. Constant vigilance and preparedness is the hallmark of the ardent disciple. We cannot just be like people who «ate and drank, they bought and sold, planted and built…» (Lk 17:28). We disciples must be ready and watchful, lest we be lulled into spiritual lethargy by the progress of life from one generation to the next and assume that Jesus won't return after all. Secularism has taken strong roots in our society. The onslaught of innovation and ready availability of personal goods and services makes us feel self-sufficient and devoid of God’s presence in our lives. It is only when tragedy strikes that we are awakened from our slumber to look at God amidst our “vale of tears...”. And we must be thankful for these tragic moments, because they surely must serve to strengthen our faith. In the recent months, the attacks on Christian in several parts of the world (including my very own country India), may have shaken our faith. But the Holy Father Francis says: «Christians are ultimately hopeful, however, because at the end, Jesus makes a promise that is a guarantee of victory: ‘Whoever gives his life will be born again’ (Lk 17:33)». This is a truth that we can rely on… The powerful witness of our brothers and sisters who lay down their lives for the faith and the witness to Christ shall not be in vain. And so we labour onwards in the journey of our lives in the sincere hope of meeting our God «on the day the Son of Man is revealed» (Lk 17:30). «Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again» Fr. Enric PRAT i Jordana (Sort, Lleida, Spain) Today, in the context of a prevailing materialist culture, many people behave as they did in Noah's time: «People ate and drank; they took husbands and wives» (Lk 17:27); or as in the days of Lot, when «(...) they bought and sold, planted and built» (Lk 17:28). With such shortsighted vision, the supreme aspiration of many persons is centered in their own physical and temporal life and, consequently, all their efforts are reduced to maintain that kind of life, to protect and enrich it. In the fragment of the Gospel we are commenting today, Jesus wants to step in this fragmentary conception of life that damages the human being and leads it to frustration. And He does it with a conclusive and strong sentence, which may move consciences and force them to come up with some fundamental questions: «Whoever tries to save his life will lose himself, but whoever gives his life will be born again» (Lk 17:33). Pondering over this lesson of Jesus Christ, St. Augustine says: «What are we therefore to say? Will those who do these things all die, that is, those who get married, plant vineyards and build? Not them, but those who boast of all that, those who place all these things before God, those who are willing to offend God for all these things this very moment». In fact, who is losing his life while trying to preserve it, but he who has exclusively lived in the flesh, without letting the spirit drift, or who, with a closed mind, selfishly and totally ignore others? For it is obvious that the life of the flesh will eventually be lost, but our spiritual life, if not shared, is also impaired. Life, per se, tends naturally to growth, exuberance, fructification and reproduction. But, if nobbled and hidden to be ambitiously used with exclusion, it becomes sterile and dies. This is why all the saints, that have taken Jesus, who passionately lived for God and men, as a model, have, in many ways and generously, submitted their lives to the service of God and their fellow men.

十一月十六日 常年期第三十二周星期四 更多「第一手」對天主的認識 「智慧施展威力，從地極直達地極，從容治理萬物。」（智8:1） 《智慧篇》的作者對天主的智慧有如此深刻的領悟，以致將智慧位格化了，並視其為存有多於是天主的一種特質。他說智慧「雖是獨一的，卻無所不能；她雖恆存不變，卻常使萬物更新」（智7:27）。《智慧篇》的作者可能已經有了天主聖三的啓示。 如果上主從來沒有通過教會和聖經，將天主聖三啓示給我們，你會對三位一體略知一二嗎？你與天主的親身經驗有多深呢？你對天主的認識，足以在《智慧篇》寫下一些東西嗎？你可否親自詳述天主，而不需要「抄襲別人的文章」呢？你對主的經驗有多少是「二手」的呢？保祿就福音說：「我不是由人得來的，也不是由人學來的，而是由耶穌基督的啓示得來的。」（迦1:12）你能如他那麼說嗎？ 讓我們把與主的關係放在首位。讓我們： • 每天善用相當的時間聆聽上主， • 更新我們的生命，在基督徒的團體中生活，在那裏上主將成爲我們談話的重點， • 活在教會再步出世界，而不是反之而行， • 見證「天主的奇事」（宗2:11）。 為盡可能深深認識和愛天主而生活吧！ 禱告：天父，因著在你、耶穌和聖神内受洗，請把我沉浸在天主聖三内。願我得以認識你。 承諾：「上主，你的聖言，存留永遠，它堅固而不移，好似蒼天。」（詠119:89） 讚頌：儘管是生活於兩個不同的召叫，一位是八個孩子的母親而另一位是本篤會的修女，聖瑪加利大（St. Margaret）和聖日多達（St. Gertrude）兩位都爲了耶穌基督而奉獻了自己的生命。 中文翻譯取材自 One Bread, One Body，由美國 Presentation Ministries 所出版。

Liturgical day: Thursday 32nd in Ordinary Time Gospel text (Lc 17,20-25): The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come. He answered, «The kingdom of God is not like something you can observe and say of it: ‘Look, here it is! There it is!’. See, the kingdom of God is among you». And Jesus said to his disciples, «The time is at hand when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Then people will tell you: ‘Look there! Look here!’. Do not go, do not follow them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this people». «The kingdom of God is among you» Fr. Josep Mª MASSANA i Mola OFM (Barcelona, Spain) Today, the Pharisees ask Jesus, with a mixture of interest, curiosity, fear... something that has always been of interest for all of us: when will the Kingdom of God come over? when will it be the last day, the end of the world, Christ's return to judge the living and the dead in the day of the Last Judgment? Jesus tells them that this is unpredictable. We only know that it will suddenly come, without notice: it will be «As lightning» (Lk 17:24), a sudden occurrence, full of light and glory, at the same time. As for other circumstances, Jesus' second advent remains a complete mystery. But Jesus gives us a true and certain clue: as of now, «the kingdom of God is among you» (Lk 17:21). Or: «inside you». The great event of the last day will be a universal accomplishment, but it also happens in the little microcosm of each one's heart. It is there where we must actually seek the Kingdom. Heaven can be found deep inside us, where we must also find Jesus. This Kingdom that unpredictably will start “outside” may commence right now “inside” us. The last day starts its configuration right now, inside us. If we want to be allowed into the Kingdom in that last day, we must let the Kingdom get inside us, right now. If we want Jesus to be our merciful judge in that particular moment, we better make him right now our best friend and our inside guest. St. Bernard, in a sermon for Advent, speaks of the three advents of Christ. The first advent, which we now commemorate as Christmas; the third advent, is the Parousia, the advent in which Christ will come to judge the living and the dead, and to take us to himself. Then St. Bernard explains the second, or middle, advent as the “time of visitation” by which Christ is now present and active in each of our lives. It is there, where the first and the third advents appear on a personal and experienced level. Jesus' verdict on Judgment's day must already be resounding now in our heart. That, which has yet to arrive, is already now a reality.

十一月十五日 常年期第三十二周星期三 愛恨交織的關係 「並且跪伏在耶穌足前，感謝他；他是一個撒瑪黎雅人。」（路17:16） 「猶太人和撒瑪黎雅人不相往來」（若4:9）。猶太人和撒瑪黎雅人互相為敵已有長久的歷史。然而，耶穌和一位撒瑪黎雅婦人交談，並給她帶來救恩（參閱若4:42）。這使那位撒瑪黎雅婦人（參閱若4:9）和耶穌的門徒（參閱若4:27）同感意外。耶穌亦使一位撒瑪黎雅人作為他有關愛近人故事的主角（參閱路10:33）。耶穌亦指出，在十個被他潔淨了的癩病人中，只有那個撒瑪黎雅人回頭感謝他（參閱路17:16-18）。就如對那位撒瑪黎雅婦人一樣，耶穌賜予這位懂得感激的撒瑪黎雅人救恩（參閱路17:19）。耶穌臨近升天之前，他曾應許賜給我們聖神，好能「在耶路撒冷及全猶太和撒瑪黎雅，並直到地極」，為他作證人（宗1:8）。此應許在斐理伯「下到撒瑪黎雅城，宣講基督」時得到滿全（宗8:5）。 耶穌曾經亦仍然愛著撒瑪黎雅人。耶穌公開宣佈，他愛我們的死對頭，就是那些由於政治正確地受到醜化和妖魔化的人。耶穌愛那些很不討人歡喜的人。藉著他愛我們所憎恨的公敵，耶穌把自己設定成為不受歡迎、受迫害和被憎恨的人。 耶穌命我們要像他一樣去愛。因此，愛你的撒瑪黎雅人。然後，準備因著你的愛而被憎恨，如耶穌在過去及至現在一樣。 禱告：聖父，願我如你一樣去愛。 承諾：「卑微的人，還堪憐可恕；有權勢的，必受嚴厲的拷問。」（智6:7） 讚頌：聖亞爾伯證明科學跟真理並無衝突。他教導說聖體是「最有利於我們的，因為在這一生中賦予我們恩寵的圓滿。」 中文翻譯取材自 One Bread, One Body，由美國 Presentation Ministries 所出版。

Liturgical day: Wednesday 32nd in Ordinary Time Saints November 15th: St. Albertus Magnus, bishop and doctor of the Church Gospel text (Lc 17,11-19): On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along the border between Samaria and Galilee, and as He entered a village, ten lepers came to meet him. Keeping their distance, they called to him, «Jesus, Master, have pity on us!». Then Jesus said to them, «Go and show yourselves to the priests». Now, as they went their way, they found they were cured. One of them, as soon as he saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God in a loud voice, and throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks. This man was a Samaritan. «Was no one found to return and give praise to God but this alien?». And Jesus said to him, «Stand up and go your way; your faith has saved you». «Throwing himself on his face before Jesus, he gave him thanks» Fr. Conrad J. MARTÍ i Martí OFM (Valldoreix, Barcelona, Spain) Today, Jesus passes by close to us so that we can actually relive the above mentioned passage in the shape of so many people relegated to an outer edge by our society, and who look at us Christians as their only possibility to find Jesus' love and goodness. In the days of the Lord, lepers were totally marginalized. In fact, those ten lepers met Jesus «as He entered a village» (Lk 17:12), as they were not allowed in the villages, nor could they get any close to people («keeping their distance, they called to him»). With some imagination, each one of us can reproduce the image of those outcasts in our own society, who also have names and surnames, like we do: immigrants, drug addicts, wrongdoers, AIDS victims, unemployed, destitute... Jesus wants to heal them, to remedy their suffering, to solve their problems; and He expects our unselfish, free, efficient collaboration... for love. We can also assume Jesus' lesson for us. For we are sinners and in need of forgiveness, we are beggars who depend totally on him. Would we be able to say like the leper «Jesus, Master, have pity on me!» (cf. Lk 17:13)? Do we know how to turn to Jesus with a profound and confident prayer? Do we imitate the cleansed leper that goes back to Jesus thanking him out loud? In fact, only «one of them, as soon as he saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God in a loud voice» (Lk 17:15). Jesus finds the other nine missing: «Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?» (Lk 17:17). St. Augustine gave the following sentence: «‘Thanks God!’: nothing shorter can be said (...) or made more efficiently than with these words». Accordingly, how do we thank God for the great gift of our life, and that of our family; for the grace of the faith, the Holy Eucharist, the forgiveness of sins...? Is it not true that quite often we do not thank him for the Eucharist, even though we may be frequently participating of it? The Eucharist is, no doubt, our best daily experience.

十一月十四日 常年期第三十二周星期二 感恩的「無用的僕人」 「我們是無用的僕人，我們不過做了我們應做的事。」（路17:10） 為天主服務是一個人最榮幸的事。在他的宮庭服務一日，遠勝過在別處千日（參閱詠84:11）。為耶穌倒圾垃比當一個跨國企業的行政總裁優勝。 因此，在侍奉上主時，我們不應著眼我們為他作了多少，而是要看他為我們作了多少，才讓我們為他作一點事。我們應把自己看作「無用的僕人」，並且要視耶穌為我們的上主，是應受讚頌的天主（參閱默5:12）。我們不應只把主日感恩祭視作周日的責任，而是我們畢生的榮耀。天主不欠我們甚麼，而是我們虧欠了他一切。沒有我們，天主仍能安然自在（參閱艾4:14）；我們卻因著天主在一切事上，甚至在艱難的任務上，接納我們而感到光榮。天主不需要造生我們、拯救我們、揀選我們或差遣我們，但他卻這樣作了。我們不應抱怨，但要感恩。「要興高采烈地事奉上主」（詠100:2）。 禱告：聖父，感謝你選擇了造生了我並愛我。 承諾：「義人的靈魂在天主手裏，痛苦不能傷害他們。」（智3:1） 讚頌：當貝絲決定把每日的首小時於祈禱中獻給天主，她整天餘下來的時間便變得神聖井然。 中文翻譯取材自 One Bread, One Body，由美國 Presentation Ministries 所出版。

Liturgical day: Tuesday 32nd in Ordinary Time Gospel text (Lc 17,7-10): Jesus said to his disciple, «Who among you would say to your servant coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep: ‘Come at once and sit down at table?’. No, you tell him: ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink afterwards’. Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded? So for you. When you have done all that you have been told to do, you must say: ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty’». «We have only done our duty» Fr. Jaume AYMAR i Ragolta (Badalona, Barcelona, Spain) Today, the Gospel message is not based on the master's attitude, but on the servant's. Jesus, with a parable, invites his apostles to consider the stance of service: the servant should fulfill his duties without expecting any reward: «Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded?» (Lk 17:9). However, this is not the Master's last lesson on service. Later on, Jesus will tell his disciples: «I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father» (Jn 15:15). Friends do not have to render accounts to each other. If servants are to fulfill their duties, we, his apostles, who are Jesus' friends, must, even more so, accomplish the mission God has entrusted us with, while realizing our work does not deserve any recompense, for we make it joyously and, because whatever we have, whatever we are, is a gift we have received from God. For those who believe, everything is a sign, for those who love, everything is a gift. Working for God's Kingdom is already a great reward; hence, the expression «We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty» (Lk 17:10) should not be interpreted with dejection or sadness, but with the joy of he who knows that has been called to spread the knowledge of the Gospel. These days we also keep in mind the feast of a great saint, a great friend of Jesus, and very popular in the territory of Catalonia, St. Martin of Tours, who devoted all his life to the service of the Gospel of Christ. Sulpicius Severus writes of him: «Extraordinary man, whom neither toil and suffering, nor the fact of death could bend his resolve; he did not lean toward either side, he was not afraid of dying, but he did not refuse to live! Eyes and hands towards Heaven, his undefeated spirit kept on praying». In our prayers, in our dialogue with our Friend, that is where the secret and the strength of our service lie.