152.7月23日麥子與莠子－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪

God shows his power by condemning sin, especially in those who know better. When God condemns sin, he is just.

天主藉由譴責罪惡來彰顯祂的權能，特別是在那些祂更瞭解的人身上。當天主譴責罪惡時，祂是公義的。

Yet God’s power, justice, and mercy are one, so he judges with clemency and governs with compassion. God accepts our repentance.

A similar quality ought to be practiced by men: by his way of dealing with his people Israel, God taught that “those who are just must be kind.”

然而，天主的權能、公義和憐憫是一體的，所以祂以寬大的態度來審判，以憐憫來治理。天主接受我們的悔改。

人也應該實踐類似的品德：藉由天主對待祂的子民以色列的方式，天主教導說：「義人必須是慈悲的。」

Since the God who has revealed himself to Israel is the only true God, and since he is both all-powerful and all good, it is inconceivable that he would not become the God of everyone on earth. Thus, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord, and glorify your name.”

This prophecy has come true in Christ and his Church, whose mission is to bring the Gospel to all peoples.

既然向以色列啟示自己的天主，是唯一的真神，既然祂既是全能又全善的，然而祂不能成為世上每個人的神，這是無法想像的。因此，「上主，你所造的萬民一齊來到，他們崇拜祢，並宣揚祢的名號。」（詠86:9）

這個預言在主基督和祂的教會中實現了，教會的使命是將福音傳給萬民。

An obstacle, then and now, is the weakness of God’s servants: we sin, and so need God’s “mercy and compassion;” and we are weak, and so need God’s “strength.”

過去和現在有一種障礙是，天主僕人們的軟弱：因為我們犯罪，所以需要天主的「慈悲與憐憫」；因為我們軟弱，所以需要天主的「大能」。

God wants what is best for us. When we want what God wants, or at least “want to want” what God wants, deep down the Holy Spirit expresses it within us. So even though we don’t “know how to pray as we ought,” the Holy Spirit prays for us, asking for what is best.

天主要給我們最好的，當我們想要天主所想要的，或者至少「想要求」天主想要的事務時，聖神會在我們內心深處顯露出來。因此，即使我們「不知道我們應當如何祈禱」，聖神也會為我們祈禱，並祈求什麼是最好的。

Yet some men, by their actions, are morally evil, and so, children of the evil one. One day they will suffer in hell in “the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” This fate will be deserved because, in the kingdom of God, they have been those “who cause others to sin and are evildoers.”

然而，有一些人，由於他們的行為，在道德上是邪惡的，因此，成了邪惡之子。有一天，他們將在地獄中受苦，「把他們扔在火窯裏；在那裏要有哀號和切齒。」(瑪13:50)這是應得的宿命，因為在天主的國度裡，他們是那些「使別人犯罪及作惡的人。」(瑪13:41)

This parable provides an answer to why God permits some evil. The Master in the parable says, “if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”

God does not uproot every evil now because to do so would do greater harm than good. One reason of its existence, is that those who do evil and cause others to sin can repent.

這個比喻提供了一個答案，為什麼天主允許一些邪惡存在，比喻中的家主說道：「不，免得你們收集莠子，連麥子也拔了出來。」(瑪13:29)

天主現在不會連根拔除一切邪惡，因為這樣做弊大於利。邪惡存在的一個原因是，那些作惡的，並且導致他人犯罪的人，還可以悔改。

In addition, those who are “good seed” also need time to prove their determination. It could be said that some wheat stalks need some weeds around them.

此外，那些是「好種子」的人，也需要時間來證明自己的決心。這也可以說，一些麥子周圍需要有一些莠子。

Ultimately, we are either “weeds” because we do evil and follow the devil (whether or not we know it) or “wheat” because we do good and follow God (whether or not we know it).

最終，我們要麼是「莠子」，因為我們作惡並順從於魔鬼（無論我們是否知道），要麼是「麥子」，因為我們行善並委順於天主（無論我們是否知道）。

We are all good seed planted in God’s garden, but we have a liking for the weeds, and some of us choose to become all weeds. God lets us be what we choose to be, while he helps us be good, if we want that. We are choosing either the most terrible fate or happiness forever.

我們都是種在天主花園裡的好種子，但是我們喜歡莠子，我們中間的一些人，選擇成為所有的莠子。天主讓我們成為，自己所選擇成為的樣子，而如果我們願意的話，祂會幫助我們成為好人。我們要不選擇最可怕的宿命，或要不就選擇永遠的幸福。