131.7月2日愛天主的條件－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪

To be a Christian is not to sympathize with a cause, however noble it may be, but an adherence of our intelligence and heart, a commitment to a Person, Jesus. It is to share his life and destiny, to participate in his free and loving obedience to the will of the Father. The incisive, almost harsh tone of today’s Gospel reminds us: “Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me”.

成為基督徒不是同理的一個結果，無論它是多麼崇高，而是堅持我們的智慧與心靈，對主耶穌這個位格的承諾。這就是分享祂的生命與天命，參與祂自由與熱愛地服從天父的旨意。今天福音以尖銳的、近乎嚴厲的語氣提醒我們：「誰愛他的父母勝過愛我，誰就配不上我。」(瑪10:37)

Anyone who is familiar with the teachings of Jesus understands that these words do not oppose the 1st and 4th Commandments, they merely point out the order in which they are to be lived. “Honor your father, so long as he does not separate you from the true Father” (St. Jerome).

任何熟悉主耶穌教導的人，都會明白，這些話並不是反對第一及第四條誡命，它們只是指出要活出這些誡命的順序。「孝敬你的父親，只要他，不把你與真正的天父分開即可。」（聖熱羅尼莫）

Nor do these words of Jesus imply contempt for one’s own life, but rather the conditions to live it to the full. Nothing must come before the love of God. Parents and children should remember this when God insinuates himself into their lives and invites them to a more generous dedication to the cause of the Gospel. And everyone should understand that to live obsessively concerned with oneself and one’s interests, with one’s own well-being, without thinking of God and others, is to blind oneself to the fountain from which one wishes to drink.

主耶穌的這些話，也不表示要忽視自己的生命，而是要度成全生活的條件。在天主的愛面前，沒有什麼事務是必須的。父母與孩子應該記住這一點，當天主以隱晦的方式，祂自己進入了他們的生命，並邀請他們更慷慨地奉獻給福音的宣揚。每個人都應該明白，如果執著地關注於自己和自己的利益，關心自己的幸福，而不考慮天主和他人，就是對飲用自己的希望之泉，視而不見。

Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world – that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure – make you to forget that you have been created for greater things.

是的，你必須要過著美好的生活，不要讓世俗的精神—它使天主失去權力、財富和快樂—而讓你忘記，你是為了更偉大的事業而受造的。

What makes a person – and even an entire society – truly unhappy is this anxious search for well-being, the unconditioned attempt to eliminate everything that is contrary to it. Life presents a thousand facets, each one of them is an original call from God: an unprecedented opportunity to work, to give the divine witness of charity.

致使一個人—甚至整個社會—真正不快樂的原因，是這種對幸福焦慮地追求，千方百計地企圖消除一切與之相反的事務。生命呈現了千百種面向，每一個面向都是來自天主原始的召喚：一個前所未有的工作機會，為愛德作神聖的見證。

Without the Cross there is no Christianity. Selfish comfort seeps into every affection and every action. Only time, setbacks, the monotony of daily work, humiliating temptations, falls, and discouragement can purify us, giving that healthy forgetfulness of self that Jesus proposes to us. Yes, love is purified and strengthened by these trials. It can also degenerate into rebellion, as it happened with the bad thief, because the acid test of love is pain.

沒有十字架就沒有基督宗教，自私的安慰滲透到每一種感情與行動中。只有時間、挫折、單調的日常工作、屈辱的誘惑、跌倒和沮喪才能淨化我們，使主耶穌向我們提出一種健康的自我遺忘。是的，愛，因為這些試煉而得到淨化和加強。它也可能墮落而成為叛逆，就像惡盜一樣，因為這項愛的嚴峻考驗是痛苦的。

Love to be real, it must cost – it must hurt – it must empty us of self.

愛要是真實的，它必須付出代價—它必帶來痛苦—它必須掏空我們的自我。

However, the reward is heaven. Christian commitment is not self-renunciation, but the fruitful activity of love. God is not to be outdone in generosity.

然而，我們的獎賞是天堂。基督徒的承諾不是自我棄絕，而是豐富的愛之活動成果。天主在慷慨方面，絕對不甘示弱。