20230222 Ash Wednesday Mass - by: Fr. Anthony Le

Video : from time 23:45 - 38:00
Reading : Jl 2:12-18 ; 2 Cor 5:20—6:2 ; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

The true spirit of prayer, alms giving, and fasting

Ash Wednesday is among the most attended Catholic events. It even rebels against Christmas and Easter. On this day, churches are packed with people. Even during the pandemic when we are forbidden to go out, Ash Wednesday experienced an amazing turnout. we should pause and think about it: why do we feel compelled to go to church on this day? certainly we don't come here for free ashes. We could do that at home and burn a few papers and we could get all the ashes that we want. Why do we go to church on Ash Wednesday? I believe that today speaks to the very very nature of Being Human. we acknowledge the fact that we are finite. We are dust from dust. one day ,we shall return. None of us could Escape that reality.Ash Wednesday reminds us that we are finite. At the same time, we understand we need something far more than the world has to offer, we need to be reordered, reshaped into that which our Lord spoke of in the gospel: becoming something more, becoming like Christ. whether we accept it or not, we realize that our life, our world, our family somehow needed to be reordered.

Lent asking us to do a little more than usual. Specifically, our law in the gospel 個喔today asks us to do three things during Lent: fasting, praying, and alms giving. Why is that so important for him and for the church to remind you and I of these very beautiful practices. I believe these specific observances of Lent would contribute to that: reordering, recreating our life according to the image of God, according to the teachings of Our Lord. I would like to present to you three things that prayer, alms giving, and fasting are not. and three ways that we could observe this beautiful practice of the church.

Fasting is not to Simply abstaining from meat and food. The reason why I say that is because according to our lord Jesus who entered into the desert for 40 days, he observed a very severe fast. For 40 days, he did not eat, he did not entertain with all sorts of food, he actually battled Satan. a real battle between our Lord over the need for sustenance, the need to be acknowledged, and the need for Glory and Power. fasting therefore is no longer just a simple abstaining form of food that we often eat, that is only a manifestation of internal, interior battle against, first and foremost, our desires, our habits, sinful habits. our desire for Glory and power more than God. Fasting allows us to reorient our attention. it's no longer about temporal Goods but actually spiritual food supposedly feeds our soul, so that it's Eternal, and made for God, and made for heaven. so my dear brothers and sister, that is what fasting is not. it's just not about food, more than that, it's about the interior battle against Temptations of the Flesh, of the mind, of the heart. a reorientation of our attention and focus on something far more beautiful, far more sustaining than food alone - God.

Now how about prayer? what prayer is not. remember the story of the Pharisee who came into the temple. specifically, our Lords and the gospel author say that he came into the temple he prayed to himself. he began to list all of what he had done. he bragged about he gave 10% away, and he also, observe all sort of laws of Moses. he practically claimed to be a better man than a tax collector in the back of the Temple. Prayer is not a competition for who has done it better, Prayer is not listing what we have accomplished, prayer is not treating God like a vending machine, prayer is not treating God like an emergency service.

Prayer is actually a moment of dialogue with our Lord like a child. As our Lord says in the gospel that when we pray, don't act like a hypocrite. He's speaking about the Pharisees, the high priest, those who in public places, do it only for the glory of their own need. they do it for people's approval, they do it so that they could look good. that is not prayer. not like a Pharisee in the temple. prayer has to do with the interior motive of the heart, that we do it because we are attracted to God, we do it because we fall in love with him, we do it because we acknowledge the need for his presence in our life, we do it because we acknowledge him as a personal God, we could enter into a dialogue with, we could cry out to him, we could mourn and suffer with him, we could share our life with him. and that is a personal God that we established a relationship with. Our lord Jesus is not just a figure of an ancient past. We admire him because of his moral teachings and example of his beautiful life. no, he's today, he is yesterday, and he is tomorrow, he is our Lord ever present here at this very moment. There we came in contact with him like he asked us to enter into our Inner Room, the sacred of our soul, of our heart, to have that conversation. treat him like a true God and too, fathers, treat him like a personal savior, treat him as such. so don't treat him like a vending machine, an emergency service, someone supposed to listen.

And finally how about giving alms? fascinating, alms giving is not, my dear brothers and sisters, just simply giving away what we have excess, it's not simply giving away a few dollars, a few thousand dollars, even more so, alms giving has to do with an act of thanksgiving. Notice what happened with the woman at the gate of the Temple giving only two cents left, compared to the Pharisees who gave ten percent of their total income. Imagine for a moment, in the Catholic church, tomorrow our Bishops here in the United States or our Holy Father decided every Catholic who goes to church has to offer 10% of their income. how would you feel? how would you feel? do you know that if we increase our giving by three percent only, the church will never run out of money. three percent only, every Catholic who goes to church offers three percent of their total income, that church never runs out of money. but we don't actually do that. because we understand, perhaps the church understands that money giving has to do with how we see ourselves as a good Steward or not. if we see ourselves as a pharisee and this is my duty, and I'm going to do it to fulfill the commandment, and I do it without love. I do it without Thanksgiving, I do it as an act of sharing a little bit of what I have to make me feel good. then that is not the giving kind our Lord is talking about.

My brothers and sisters, the giving that our Lord actually prefers has to do with the story of those being entrusted with one Talent, five talents, and ten talents. the 5 and the ten actually made a lot more. They did it because it had been entrusted. and When they have been entrusted, they have made it possible to grow, and then they come back and return to the master and say "you have entrusted and here is yours and more". and our Lord is saying "good and faithful servant, go and enjoy what you deserve". so my brothers and sisters, giving is an act of acknowledging everything we have, our life, our talents, and our Eternal Redemption as the gift from God. and we receive that, we acknowledge Him and therefore, what we have we understand the need to share. It's no longer no longer a pitiful act that we feel for the church that this church is so poor, that person is so poor, are going to give five dollars, a thousand dollars, to make me feel good. and that is not just the attitude. no not that. The good Lord does not need our money. The good Lord does not need you and I. but he loves us so much that he offers his life so that we could acknowledge it, share it, and really participate in Heavenly life here on Earth. and that is giving, that is alms giving. So during this Lent, my dear brothers and sister, giving is an act of acknowledging that everything we have belongs to God. and so when we use it, we share with others with that gratitude, with that sense of gratitude, and therefore, it belongs to him, and belongs to others, and belongs to yourself.

So those are the things that the church asked us to do: fasting in the right way, praying in the right way, and giving in the right way. so that my dear brothers and sister, this spiritual battle we could do it together with our Lord as he has done it throughout his life. as he's done it in the life of the Saints, as he has done it in the life of the church. Continue to give, continue to pray, continue to fast, not for our own good but for the good of the whole church, for the good of others, and therefore, all of us included. do that, our Lenten Journey will be magnificently beautiful.

Now I understand why thousands and thousands of people go out on this day to attend Ash Wednesday. even call in to act, ask for some ashes home. Because it speaks to our human heart. the need to be reoriented, the need to share, the need to pay attention to something higher than just normal day-to-day life experience. So my brothers and sisters, keep that interest, you could come back on Monday, you could come back on Sunday, and every other day, the same God is waiting, the same God is inviting. Lent could be for an eternity.

20230222 聖灰主日 — 安神父

讀經一:Jl 2:12-18
讀經二:2 Cor 5:20—6
福音:Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

重新定位禁食,祈禱,和施捨奉獻

聖灰主日是天主教參加人數最多的彌撒之一,甚至可以與聖誕節或復活節彌撒相等。 這天教堂裡擠滿了人。就是在新冠病毒期間,聖灰主日的參與率也很驚人。為什麼這ㄧ天教友們渴望要去教堂? 當然不是為了取得那塵土的黑灰。 是因為這台彌撒提醒了我們生命的有限:肉身來自塵土,終究會歸回塵土,也指出我們有過多的慾望。我們必需重新塑造自己成為真正的基督徒,必需重整自己、世界、和家庭。

在四旬期我們應該要求自己多做一點。 聖經規定我們要做三件事:禁食、祈禱和施捨。 為什麼教會要特別要求我們在這四十天履行這三件美德呢?原因是:如果我們依據天主的的形象和耶穌的教導來做這三件事,我們就可以重整我們自己的生命。 讓我依據教會這個美麗的傳統向您們介紹三種不當,和三種正確的態度來實踐這三個美德。

禁食不僅只是不吃肉或某種食物而已。主耶穌在沙漠中嚴格的禁食了四十天、然後展開一場與撒殫的搏鬥。一場維持生命、悍衛價值,拒絕榮耀和權力的鬥爭。 對主耶穌而言,禁食不只是刻苦的形式,它是ㄧ個內在的鬥爭。與自己的慾望、習慣、和罪惡的鬥爭。 也是審視我們對榮耀和權力的渴望是否超越了對天主的渴望的時機。 禁食重整我們的注意力。 使我們不單單專注餵養肉體的食糧,更關注到餵養靈魂的食糧。那永恆的,從天而來,天堂的食糧。兄弟姐妹們,禁食不僅要求我們克制食慾,它是克制肉體、思想,和心靈誘惑的內心鬥爭。 讓我們調整注意力,將它集中於比食物更美麗、更持久的事物上:天主。

什麼是不當的祈禱?你是否記得法利賽人在聖殿祈禱的故事。 根據福音的記載,他進入聖殿祈禱的內容就是為自己邀功。 陳列自己所做的好事,捐出10%的收入作奉獻,遵守梅瑟的律法,最後還聲稱自己比稅吏更好。 祈禱不是用來邀功或是證明自己比別人好。天主不是自動售貨機,不是911電話來服務你的緊急要求。

祈禱就是像孩子一樣與主親密交談。 主在福音中告訴我們:當你祈禱時,不要像法利賽人,大司祭,和那些在公共場所中,為了自己的榮耀,或為了獲得別人的認可而祈禱的人。他們的祈禱是為了表揚自己,那不是祈禱。 祈禱應該是出自內心。因為我們被天主吸引,愛上了祂,需要祂,明認祂是我的主。我要與祂對話,向祂呼求,與祂一起哀悼和受苦,和祂分享生命。 天主不是一個歷史上的人物,祂現在就在這裡與我們建立親密的關係。因祂的教導和大愛,我們仰慕祂。 祂是今在,夕在,永在的天主。讓我們進入靈魂的內室與祂交談,傾聽祂的話。

那麼施捨呢? 施捨不也僅是捐出我們多餘的東西,不僅是幾塊錢,或幾千塊錢。施捨奉獻是一個感恩的行為。 聖經描述了一個在聖殿門口的寡婦,她捐出了僅有的兩文錢。與一名驕傲的法利賽人捐出百分之十的收入來做一個對比。 如果主教或本堂神父要求每位教友必須捐出收入的 10%。 你感覺如何? 知道嗎,只要信友們多奉獻收入的百分之三,教會就永遠不缺錢。 百分之三,但我們並沒有這樣做。 因為我們明白,教會也明白,捐多少錢與認為自己是否是一名教會的好管家有關。對一個法利賽人而言,奉獻是為了履行誡命,沒有愛和感恩。在這種心態下的奉獻不是主所悅納的。

耶穌悅納忠信管家的施捨奉獻。聖經提到一個遠行的主人託付給僕人一個塔冷通、兩個塔冷通,和五個塔冷通。那收到較多塔冷通的僕人為主人賺了更多的錢。這是因為被受托付多的,成長的快,賺得的也更多。當僕人回報主人說:“這是你所托付的,這裡是賺的更多的”。 主回答說:“忠心的僕人,去享受你應得的吧”。 兄弟姐妹們,真正的施捨奉獻是承認我所擁有的一切,生命,才能,和永生的救贖都來自天主,必須將它分享給所有的人。 施捨並不是覺得這個教會很窮,那個人很窮,施捨給他五塊錢或一千塊錢。 不,不是這樣的。 全能的主不需要你的錢,仁慈的主也不需要你的憐憫。耶穌是如此的愛了我們,祂獻出了自己的生命來拯救你和我。我們要所有的人都認識基督及祂的愛,那麼我們就可以在人間享受到天堂的美善。 在這四旬期,讓我們承認自己的一切都來自天主,必須與他人分享。當我們以感激之情來分享基督的恩寵時,恩寵就被傳遞出去,同時也為自己得到珍貴的恩寵 。

這就是教會要求我們繼續禁食,祈禱,和施捨奉獻。 兄弟姐妹們,讓我們與主一起完成這場屬靈的戰爭。向耶穌學習,向聖人學習,向教會學習來施捨奉獻,祈禱,及禁食。不為自己,而是為整個教會,為他人,和所有人的利益,一起完成這美麗的四旬期之旅。

現在我明白為什麼有許多人期望聖灰主日。 因為聖灰主日要求我們重新定位自己。它要求我們分享,關注,並超越日常生活的體驗來追隨更高的目標。兄弟姐妹們,維持這個渴望,歡迎您在星期天,星期一,每隔一天,或每天都到教堂來。接受唯一天主的邀請,祂等待著你。這將會成為一個永恆的四旬期。