160.7月31日幸福的秘訣－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪

We are here to serve, and to facilitate that Christ may live in people’s souls. We, Christians, do not belong to ourselves any more. That attitude produces real happiness. “Giving, giving, giving! That’s the way: serving others. The way to be happy is not to have any problems of one’s own. The secret of happiness? Give of yourself without even expecting to be thanked for it.”

我們在這裡是為了要服侍，並促使主基督可以居住在人們的靈魂裡。我們基督徒不再屬於我們自己，這種態度會使我們產生真正的幸福。「給，給，給！這就是我們的方式：為他人服務。獲得快樂的方法，就是不要想自己的問題。那幸福的秘訣呢？就是奉獻自己，甚至不期望獲得回報。」

These words of St Josemaría are applicable to us all: “Many people have spoken to me in amazement of the joy which, thanks be to God, my children in Opus Dei have and which they spread to others. Faced with this evident truth, I always give the same reply, because I know no other. Their happiness has its foundation in the fact that they fear neither life nor death; that they are not overwhelmed when they meet with misfortune; that they strive daily to live with a spirit of sacrifice, in spite of their own defects and weaknesses, and they are constantly ready to deny themselves in order to make the Christian path easier and more pleasant for others.”

聖施禮華所說的話，適用於我們所有的人：「許多人向我提及主業團的孩子們都充滿了喜樂、又能把喜樂傳給他人，面對如此明顯的事實，我唯一的答案是：他們的喜樂植根於對生死的無懼；厄運不能擊倒他們；他們每天持守著犧牲的精神生活，雖仍有缺失和軟弱，他們隨時為了使別人更易走上基督徒的道路，而預備捨棄自己。」(天主之友，132)

A passing enthusiasm will not do. We are talking about a genuine, burning flame, which ends up in a total gift of self. “We are the seed in Christ’s wounded hands, and the divine Sower then casts the seed into the furrow. The sower puts his hand into the sack and brings it out full of shining golden grains, which he flings far and wide. That is how you and I have to give ourselves, without looking for any recompense on earth, or inventing imaginary trials. But, as the Gospel states, the grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die – so it seems – in order to bear fruit. Only if we do that will we be good seed for the sowing that our Lord wants to do, to open up divine paths on earth.”

稍縱即逝的熱情，是不行的，我們所談論的，是一種真正且燃燒的火焰，它最終變成了完全自我奉獻的禮物。「我們是主基督受傷的手中的種子，然後神聖的撒種者，將種子撒入犁溝裡。撒種者把手伸進麻袋裡，把種子拿出來，裡面裝滿了閃閃發光的金色種子，他將它們扔得很遠很遠。這就是你和我必須自己給予的方式，而不是在世上尋求任何補償，或是製造出想像中的考驗。但是，正如福音所說的，一粒麥子必須落在地裡死去—似乎是這樣—才能結出果實來。我們只有這樣做，我們才能成為我主想要撒出的好種子，在世上開闢神聖的道路。」

St Josemaría’s advice will also help: “Sincerely examine the way you are following the Master. Ask yourself if your self-surrender is of a dry, officious type, with a faith that has no sparkle to it; if there is no humility or sacrifice, nor any good works throughout your day; if you are all show and pay no attention to the details of each moment… In a word, if you lack Love”.

“If this is the case, your ineffectiveness should come as no surprise to you. React right away, and be led by the hand of our Lady.”

聖施禮華的建議，為我們也會有所幫助的：「誠懇地反省你跟隨師傅的方式。捫心自問，你的甘心順服，是否是一種乾涸而裝腔作勢的方式，沒有閃爍發光的信仰；如果你一整天沒有謙遜或犧牲，也沒有任何善行；如果你都是在作秀，不注意每一刻的細節……一言蔽之，就是你缺乏愛。

如果是這樣的話，你毫無效能為你而言，應該是不足為奇的。馬上反應過來，讓聖母的手牽引著你。」