亲爱的东堂各位主内的弟兄姊妹：
敬爱的圣父，当代教宗本笃十六世于10月16日上午，在圣伯多禄大殿为新福传会议与会者举行的弥撒中宣布，自2012年10月11日开始为“信德年”。教宗说: “这是为给福传一个新的动力，以让世界认识福音之美，因为福音赐与生命。”在纪念梵蒂冈第二届大公会议开幕50周年之际开启的“信德年”，将于2013年 11月24日耶稣普世君王瞻礼结束。
信德是天主恩赐的珍贵礼物 除非有天主恩宠的助佑,没有人能自己单独走向对天主的信仰。信仰是建立在人性理由基础上，又超越于人性的理由。保禄宗徒在希伯来书中曾教导我们说：“信德是所希望之事的担保，是未见之事的确证。”信德分明就是天主圣神给予人的特殊礼物，甚至使人能在无法用人性理由说明的情况下，对天主确定不疑。我们借着天主的恩宠、祈祷、生活的经验、情感的触动、理性的思考等获得了对天主的信仰。这个对天主的信仰洗礼是一次直到永远的。但是，这个信德却不是一次成就的，我们对于天主的信仰是一生的过程。在不断的悔改、完善自我中，我们对天主的信德日渐成全。
信德是全身心的交付、信赖和依托 耶稣基督在福音中把孩子作为是祂最喜欢的人。祂之所以喜欢或看重小孩子，就是因为小孩子对父母的爱完全的给予信赖和依托，他们毫不掩饰地告诉世界：他们是如此的软弱，以至于离开父母的爱，他们就无法生存。我们应该学习小孩子的完全交付、信赖和依托。要把我们生活中的担忧、焦虑、恐惧、放心不下和无能为力的东西全部地交付在天主的手里。对于天主的信赖和交付越彻底、越深厚，天主的恩宠和助佑越能降临在我们的身上。只要我们愿意给予天主机会，天主就会给予我们惊喜。因为耶稣常常和交付给祂的人说，是你的信德救了你。
信德是感恩和以爱还爱 我们之所以获得了对天主的信德，是因为天主的恩宠借着圣神倾注在了我们的身上，使我们在生活中经验到了天主，与天主的爱相遇。这个和天主之爱相遇的经验，是如此的强烈，它使我们彻底地被天主所俘虏、所征服，使我们完全地明白，原来天主是如此地爱着我们，以至于离开了祂，我们无法拥有今天的所有；无法成为今天的所是；也无法生存。为此，我们对天主充满感恩，时时处处赞美祂，以我们生活中的一言一行去为祂的爱作见证。借着爱一总祂所爱的人、地、事物而回应祂对我们爱的召叫——传播爱的福音。
为此，善度信德年就是要在信仰生活中加倍地努力，借着生活的点点滴滴，活出对天主的无限信赖，敢于完全地交付；就是要借着热心神功，特别是勤领、善领圣体圣事，而在基督内生活，以和天主的关系作为所有人际关系的基础和原则；就是在最需要我们帮助、宽恕和怜悯的人之身上去看到基督，以对基督爱的诫命之实践，来以爱还爱；就是要把这份因着信德而来的“感恩”和“还爱”成为我们新福传的动力。
新福传的本质，就是要我们这个时代的人们，在经受世俗的拜金正义、享乐主义、利己主义、炫耀主义中“找到对世界和时代的一个全面视野；一个真正自由与和平的视野。”在福传的道路上“我们从不单独行走，而是结伴同行。”在福传中，我们要“谦虚并且勇敢；纯朴并且谨慎；温和而坚强。”阿门！
愿天主恩宠丰富地倾注在我们每一个人的身上，加深和巩固我们的信德！愿天主圣神引领我们开创符合文化、地域和人群特色的福传之最佳方式！
天主保佑、降福大家！
天主教北京教区
王府井东堂
于信德年开启
St. Joseph’s Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Beijing
A Letter to Parishioners of St. Joseph’s Parish in the Beginning of the Year of Faith
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our Holy Father, the present Pope Benedict XVI declared that the Holy Mother Church will start the Year of Faith on October 11, 2012, and the Year will be closed by November 24, 2013 which is the Feast of Christ the King. The Pope delivered this statement to the participants of a Conference of New Evangelization which was held in St. Peter’s basilica. The Pope said that “this is to give a new power to evangelization of the Church so that the entire world may come to know the beauty of the Gospel and the Gospel is to grant life.” The Church is starting the Year of Faith in memory of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican Second Council.
Faith is a gracious gift from God Unless God’s grace is upon us, no one is able to come to believe in God by himself alone. Faith is based upon human reasoning; Moreover, it surpasses human reasoning. Saint Paul once said that “faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” in Hebrews of the Bible. Faith is obviously a special gift which God grants to us by His Spirit. The grace of God can assist us to believe in God firmly even when things (mysteries) are beyond human’s understanding. It is through the grace of God, prayer, life experience, moving feeling as well as rational thinking that we come to have Christian faith. The Christian baptism is received by each Christian once for all, but Christian faith is a lifelong process which is a process of becoming. It is by constant repentance and self-fulfillment that our faith reaches its perfection day by day.
Faith is a complete trust The image of children is the one Jesus loves the most in the Gospel. Jesus loves children because children totally give trust to the love of their parents. Children honestly tell the world without any hesitation that they are so vulnerable that they cannot survive without the love of their parents. We should learn from children the total trust and put our worries, anxieties, fears and things without our controls into the hand of God. The deeper trust we have in God, the more protection and grace of God may be granted onto us. If we give a chance to God, He will give us a surprise. Jesus often tells those who put trust in Him: “it is your faith that saved you.”
Faith is a thanksgiving and responding to the love we have received from God We can have faith in God because God pours out His Holy Spirit onto us so that we have experienced God and encountered with His love. Such an experience of encountering with God’s love is so strong that we are totally captured and conquered by God. In fact, we have come to realize that God so loved us that without His love we can have nothing and we are nobody even we are not able to exist. Therefore, we are filled with thanksgiving to God, and we give thanks and praise to God everywhere in anytime. As a result, we would like to be witnesses of God’s love through words and deeds in our daily lives. By love all God loves, we are responding to the call of love of God which is to spread God’s gospel of love into the world.
Hence, in celebrating the Year of Faith, we need to put efforts in our lives of faith. By all we do and what we say, we live in the spirit of a total trust to God. By pious prayers and any devotion especially by receiving the Holy Communion, we live in Jesus Christ. By putting the right relationship between God and us as the basic foundation, we set up relationships with others. Through those who are vulnerable and marginalized we can see God, and by assisting, forgiving and having mercy on those who are in need of help, forgiveness and mercy, we put the great commandment of love of Jesus into practice in responding to the love we have received from God. By putting thanksgiving and love which are derived from faith into our daily practice we have a new power to evangelization.
The essence of new evangelization is to make us who are experiencing money worship, gastronomy, egoism and arrogant behavior of this world in this time “discover a comprehensive vision about the time and the world, and find a real vision of freedom and peace.” In the way to evangelization, we are never alone, but we are walking together.” In terms of evangelization, we should be “humble and fortitude, meek and strong, honest and prudence.” Amen.
May God pour out His Spirit upon each one of us so that our faith can be firmed and deepened! May the Holy Spirit guide us to find a more appropriate way for our evangelization in this particular culture and place!
May God bless us all!
St. Joseph’s Parish of Catholic Diocese of Beijing
In the Beginning of the Year of Faith |
