129.6月30日羅馬教會初期殉道烈士紀念－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪
Today, the Church celebrates the memory of the First Roman Martyrs. They were chosen by God at the first hour, and paid with blood for their faith in Christ. They were ordinary persons and citizens of the capital of the Roman empire. They were living faithfully to our Lord in the midst of earthly affairs. Each community of the faithful gathered persons of all the social strata and of all backgrounds. They were people converted to the faith of Christ, which kept them together.
今天，教會慶祝初期羅馬殉道者之紀念，他們在第一時間被天主揀選，並且為他們對主基督的信仰，付出了寶血作為代價。他們是羅馬帝國首都的一般居民與公民。他們在從事塵世間的事務中，忠誠侍主。每個信友團體都聚集來自社會各階層及各種背景的人們。他們是皈依主基督信仰的人們，這使他們團結一致。
All the professions were represented in these communities: there were doctors such as Luke; lawyers such as Zela; financiers such as Erastus; academics such as Apollo; craftsmen such as Alexander; businessmen small and great, jail wardens and their families; soldiers and officials; a proconsul -Sergius Paulus, etc. They were poor and rich; slaves and freemen; civilians and even military men, like Sebastian.
在這些團體都有各種專業的代表：例如，路加是位醫生；席拉是位律師；埃拉斯圖斯是位金融家；阿波羅是位學者；亞歷山大是位工匠；大小的商人、典獄長和他們的家人；士兵和官員；色爾爵．保祿總督等。他們有窮人及富人；有奴隸及自由人；平民甚至是軍人，如巴斯弟盎。
Like them, we seek sanctity in the middle of the world. St Josemaría: “Our Christian spirit is both old as the Gospel and like the Gospel, new. The very nature of our vocation, our way of seeking sanctity and of working for the Kingdom of God, prompts us to speak of divine things in the very language of ordinary men, to uphold the same wholesome social customs as everyone else, and to share the same honest mentality. God can never be a cold or distant model, to be admired but not loved.”
就如同他們一樣，我們在人世間追求成聖。聖施禮華說道：「我們的基督徒精神既舊如福音，又如福音一樣的新穎。我們聖召的本質，我們追求成聖的方式，以及為天主的國而工作，促使我們以一般人的言談，論及神聖的事務，與其他人一樣維護良好的社會習慣，並同樣地分享，誠實相待。天主永遠不能是一個冷漠或遙遠的模樣，被尊崇但不值得被愛的。」
The first Christians were not enclosed in convents. They remained in the midst of their equals in society. This is our situation too, since we ought not differentiate ourselves in any way from our companions and fellow citizens.
初期基督徒沒有被關在修道院裡，他們仍然平等地身處於社會中。這也是我們的情況，因為我們不應該以任何方式，將自己與我們的同伴和同胞區隔開來。
Moreover, we must be Christ’s leaven in the ‘bread’ of society. We are ordinary Christians, co-equal citizens who live a life like that of the first Christian faithful, in all sectors of society, with an individual, silent, and almost invisible apostolate.
此外，我們必須成為主基督，在社會這塊「麵包」中的酵母。我們是一般的基督徒，是平等的公民，在社會各界過著如同初期基督徒一樣的生活，從事個人的、安靜的、幾乎不為人知的使徒工作。
And we, ordinary men in the street, would say to the rest – to our working companions, brothers or children, to our students or teachers – Now is the time to awaken (Rom 13:11). Let us walk in the newness of life (Rom 6:4).
對其他人而言—對我們的工作夥伴、弟兄或孩子、我們的學生或老師而言，我們是生活在街上的一般人—現在已經是由睡夢中醒來的時辰了（羅13：11）。我們也怎樣在新生活中度生（羅6：4）。
Let us go to the Blessed Virgin like the disciples, who persevered in prayer close to her. “This is the origin of our happiness, of our peace, of our serenity, and therefore of our supernatural effectiveness.”
讓我們像門徒一樣，圍繞在聖母瑪利亞身邊，堅持不懈地祈禱。「這是我們幸福、平安與祥和的起源，因此，這也是我們超性效能的起源。」
