It is the promise of the Resurrection that sustains us during our difficulties in life
"Hallow" , the Catholic app for smart phones similar to the "amen" app for prayer and meditation was the third most downloaded app on Ash Wednesday. Even ahead of the Powerhouse apps like "Google" or "tick tock". I think and I hope that there's a revival going on in this country. I'm also encouraged as Bishop Barbara mentioned during The Rite of election last week in Cathedral of Christ the light, that there will be more than 1500 people who will enter the Catholic Church through the sacraments of initiation of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist just the Oakland diocese alone this Easter season.
This is also another sign of this hunger for God, and how God is still transforming our worldly lives to living our lives with God. We all have this need to find real meaning in our life. We’re all searching for the real connection with God. When we do not recognize the presence of God in our lives, we look for fulfillment in life in all the wrong places. For us Catholics, lent is a time to look within our hearts on how to renew, and deepen our faith, deepen our relationship with Jesus. It is time to examine and eliminate the things that keep us from doing his will, and to start a new path to grow even closer to him even when we feel uncomfortable and uncertain.
In our first reading today, God promised Abraham, to go forth from the land of your 這哦King's folk and from your father's house, to a land I will show you. Basically God is telling Abraham to leave everything that he has and to go to a foreign land, and to trust God completely, for God has a great plan for him. Abraham went as the Lord 這哦directed. The rest of Abraham's Faith Journey has not exactly been smooth. But he kept the faith wholeheartedly and never lost sight of God's promise, even when Abraham didn't understand God's will. And in the end because of Abraham's faith and obedience, God makes a covenant with him and makes Abraham the father of all Nations and his descendants are as numerous as the Stars.
It is the same invitation that Jesus called the disciples to follow him, to make them Fishers of Men. The disciples, just like Abraham, responded by dropping everything they had, what they were doing, and followed Christ. They were flawed human beings just like all of us. In the end, they embraced a cross, and, like Christ, gave up their lives for the sake of the Gospel. In a similar way, lent appears for us to perfect our love for Christ, and to respond with what areas in our lives that we're prepared to give up in order to follow Christ more closely.
Sometimes our faith Journey seems difficult and impossible even when only relying on our own will. Even giving up candies, chocolate and Coffee drinks during Lent 這哦seems difficult. We must realize that it is neither our will nor our power that sustains us throughout our faith Journey. It is in surrendering our will and accepting that the strength comes from God that we're given the grace through Christ to persevere and to bear our share of hardship.
For the gospel, even for one day or for one minute, if it wasn't for the grace of Christ, we would never be able to sustain. He saved us, and called us to a holy life not according to our works, but through God's saving power. During his Lenten season, God calls us for conversion of the heart, and to grow in holiness through prayer, fasting, and alms giving. As a matter of the fact, Jesus tells us that some worldly attachments can only be overcome by prayer and fasting.
What is more important? However, Jesus teaches us that our motivation for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving has succumbed from the desire to grow in holiness. Be not like the hypocrites who do all these things for external attention, for they have already received their Rewards. Our end result of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving should bring us closer to Christ and to embrace the suffering that Jesus. Jesus called all of us and the disciples to endure in order to accomplish this. We must always embrace the cross and focus on the resurrection.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus reveals to us who Jesus really is and. why he came into the world, Jesus let the apostles Peter John and James onto a high Mountaintop, which always signifies that something important will happen.
Jesus is transfigured in front of them. His face showed like the sun, and his clothes became White as light. "This is my beloved Son with whom I'm well pleased, listen to him". This is the second time that we hear those words. The other time was when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, God cannot make it clearer that Jesus is God and in this instance of his Transfiguration he revealed the glimpse of heaven and his divine nature to the three apostles. Jesus is fully human except for sin, and he's fully divine. Jesus is with Moses representing the law, and Elijah representing the prophets, and is depicted as the one not to abolish but to fulfill the law of the Old Testament. he's the new Moses who will lead us into the new Exodus.
Peter does not want to go home or go back for he has tasted what heaven is like. but Jesus knows that he must go through the suffering and death and complete his mission, just as Moses led the Israelites out of slavery from Egypt and is given the Ten Commandments.
Jesus now leads us out of our bondage of sin by suffering and dying on the cross. Jesus also gave the new commandment of love to "love one another as he has loved us" Jesus suffered and died for our sake. because of his love for us so that we have a chance to be with him in heaven. The deeper meaning of Lent is to discover how much we cannot, even for a minute, live without God's love. When we realize that it is God's love that sustains Our Lives, we will willingly give up whatever it is, whatever it is in our lives in order to remain in his love.
Just as we look forward to Easter so that we can celebrate and enjoy the things we give up during Lent. We are to imitate Christ and embrace his suffering in order to have a more meaningful Easter at the resurrection. It is the promise of the Resurrection that sustains us during our difficulties in life. and I hope that all those people who downloaded the app to really encounter Christ, and to share in Christ's suffering so that they can also share in his resurrection.
基督復活的許諾在困難的ㄖ子中支撐著我們
天主教智能手機程序“哈囉 (Hallow) ”在聖灰主日下載的次數名列全球第三，超越了“谷歌”以及“抖音”。 巴博主教上週在基督之光主教堂舉行的復活節甄選儀式中提到，在這復活節奧克蘭教區將會有超過 1500 人接受洗禮、堅振，和聖體聖事來進入天主教會。聽到這些好消息，我感到非常的鼓舞。我認為，並且希望美國正走向基督信仰的復興。（ 注：天主教還有一個很受歡迎的手機程序“阿門 (Amen)”，這個程序專注於祈禱和默觀）
這些令人鼓舞的徵兆都是渴望，期待，歡迎天主與我們同在，希望天主來改變我們生命的跡象。 人們在尋找生命的意義希望與天主連上線。 當我們的生命沒有天主時，我們就會以荒謬來填滿它，這是多麼地可怕。 四旬期是教友們用來更新自己、加深與耶穌關係的時候。 我們要檢討一切阻礙我們與天主溝通的事物來開啟一條全新的道路。藉著它，即使在我們感到不順或不確定的時候，也能與耶穌更加親近。
在今天的讀經一中，天主要亞巴郎離開他的家鄉到一個天主指定的地方去。 聽從了天主的吩咐，亞巴郎就開始了信仰之旅。 這信仰之旅並不是非常的順利，但亞巴郎總是回應了天主的要求，保持對天主的堅強信心。就是他並沒有完全了解天主的旨意，也照樣做了。 因為他的信心與順服，天主賞賜他為萬國之父，祝福他的後裔眾多的有如繁星。
耶穌要求門徒跟隨祂，邀請他們成為漁人的漁夫。 就像亞巴郎一樣，門徒放下一切來跟隨祂。 門徒們跟我們一樣有缺陷，但他們最後也都擁抱了十字架，效法耶穌為福音獻出了生命來做見證。 身為天主教教友，我們在四旬期中必須要嚐試著加深我們對基督的愛，藉著放棄生活中的一些享受，做一點小小的刻苦，更加緊密地來跟隨耶穌。
僅僅靠我們的意志，這個信仰之旅會是很艱難的。 四旬期間，就是要放棄慾望、巧克力，或喝咖啡也幾乎是不可能的。 這就讓我們認清在這個旅途，幫助我們前進的動力並不是來自人。 要承擔苦難堅持下去，就必須交付自己的意志，通過基督獲得恩典，藉著天主的力量向前行。如果沒有基督的恩典，即便是ㄧ天或ㄧ分鐘，我們都無法追求得到這個 天賜的恩寵。 基督拯救了我們，要我們過聖潔的生活，通過天主拯救的大能來得到永恆的救恩。在這個四旬期，天主要我們改變內心，通過祈禱、禁食和施捨在聖潔中成長。 福音中耶穌告訴我們：“許多對世俗的依戀只能通過祈禱和禁食來克服”。耶穌也說過許多人祈禱、禁食和施捨的動機已經汙染了成聖的目標。 我們不要像偽君子給圍觀的人看自己做的善功。如此觀眾的喝采就成了他們唯一的獎賞，這種善功無法得到救恩。 基督徒的祈禱、禁食和施捨的目的是使我們相似基督來擁抱祂的苦難。 耶穌召教我們以堅忍的態度來成聖，經由十字架來爭取永生。
在今天的福音中，耶穌帶伯多祿，若望，和雅各伯登上山頂，向他們顯現聖容和降生成人的天主性。耶穌面容如日，衣裳潔白如光。有聲音從天降來說： “「這是我的愛子，我所喜悅的，你們要聽從祂！」。這是福音中第二次記載天降的話。 當耶穌在約旦河受洗時天父第一次開了口。就在這裡，天父再次開口確認耶穌是天主子。耶穌也同時向三位門徒顯示了天堂的美好和祂的天主性。 顯聖容預表了將要發生更重要事件。 除了沒有犯過罪以外，耶穌是完全的人、也是完全的神。 耶穌和梅瑟同時的顯現代表了舊約律法，厄里亞的顯現代表了所有的先知。這個顯現代表了耶穌不是來廢除舊約的律法，而是來成全舊約的法律 。耶穌是新梅瑟，祂解放罪惡的束縛，領導我們進入自由的新天新地，就像梅瑟領猶太人出埃及一樣。伯多祿想繼續享受天堂的美善，不想離開這個顯聖容的地方。但耶穌知道祂必須離開，並且經歷苦難和死亡來完成救贖的使命。就像梅瑟帶領以色列人離開埃及人的奴役，被賜予並且要遵守十誡一樣。
藉著十字架上的苦難和死亡，耶穌帶領我們脫離罪惡的捆綁。也給了我們愛的新誡命：“彼此相愛，就像祂愛我們一樣”。就是這個以犧牲來救贖的愛，使我們與天堂有份。 四旬期更深一層的意義就是發現我們無時無刻不能沒有天主的愛。 當我們了解是天主的愛維續了我們的生命時，我們就會心甘情願地放棄這個世俗，存留在祂的愛中。
我們期待耶穌的復活，也享受在四旬期所作的犧性。 我們要效法基督並接受他的苦難來過一個有意義的復活節。 基督復活的許諾在困難的ㄖ子中支撐著我們。 希望所有下載程序的人都能遇到，並且分享祂的死亡和復活。