168.8月8聖傳與分享－白孟德神父（Fr. Charles Belmonte Lopez）語錄-譯者:林豪

The Tradition. Jesus scolded the Pharisees: “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? Matthew (15:3). These were their human traditions.

在聖傳上，主耶穌責駡法利賽人說：「你們為什麼為了你們的傳授，而違犯天主的誡命呢？」（瑪15：3）這些是他們人類的傳統。

Our family traditions change; they are not like heirlooms, which can be handed down in a preserved state from one generation to another. But neither are our traditions like an intergenerational game of telephone, where the transmission from one to another invariably and irretrievably degrades and jumbles the message.

我們的家庭傳統在改變；它們不再像是傳家之寶，可以維持原狀代代相傳。但是，我們的傳統也不像是代際間的傳話遊戲，在傳話遊戲中，從一個傳話給另一個人，總是會有不可挽回地曲解和混淆資訊。

What gets passed on, really, is an abiding love for the things inherited: My family, which is always growing; a forest cabin, which is always aging, and in need of some repair or another; some stories, which are always changing in both the hearing and the telling. In this sense, tradition is less about transmitting certain facts than it is about reverence and veneration of something precious – an inheritance that is precious both in itself and precious because of the one who bestowed it.

真正的傳承，是對繼承的事務持久地熱愛：我的家庭，一直在成長；森林裡的小木屋，總是在老化，需要一些維修或其他的整修；有些故事，在聆聽和講述上總是有些改變。從這個意義上來說，傳統與其說是傳承某些事實，不如說是對珍貴事務的敬仰和崇敬—這種遺產本身既珍貴，又因為賦予它的人，而更顯珍貴。

In the end, the guarantor of tradition is always love. If a tradition transmits love, then it will be received with gratitude. And as is always the case, love received with gratitude always bursts forth to share itself anew, never diminished by being shared, but growing.

歸根結底，傳統的保證永遠是愛。如果一個傳統傳承了愛，那麼它就會因感恩而被接受。和往常一樣，帶著感恩之情所接受的愛，總是會迸發出，重新分享自己，永遠不會因為被分享而減弱，而是會成長。

There is also Tradition (big “T”), which with Sacred Scripture constitute the source of what we believe, our Faith. The Holy Spirit is the decisive agent and guarantor of this Church’s Tradition. Our grasp of that Tradition is never static or stale – it grows deeper and richer as it is shared – but it never ceases to be what it always is. Evolving, but always in itself; not in an anarchic manner but within the body of the Church and under her pastors. Its content becomes clearer and finds its application in new circumstances. Love himself guarantees the faithful transmission of that Tradition. Otherwise, it is not The Tradition of the Church, but merely “human traditions.”

還有聖傳（大「T」），它與聖經一起構成了我們所相信的，我們的信仰的來源。聖神是這個教會聖傳的決定性代理者和保證者。我們對此一聖傳的掌握，從來都不是靜態或陳腐的—它隨著不斷地分享，而變得更深刻、更豐富—但是它永遠不會停止原有的樣貌，但是始終在其本身，不斷地發展；不是以放任的方式，而是在教會的奧體內和她的牧者帶領下，它的內容變得更加清晰，並在新的環境中得以應用。愛本身保證了這一聖傳的忠實傳承。否則，它就不是教會的聖傳，而只是「人類的傳統」。

And all our (small ‘t’) traditions remain the ordinary way that bonds of affection are formed and strengthened between ourselves and those from whom we have received our most precious inheritances: family, church, nation. The more widely those inheritances are shared, provided they are shared with gratitude and love, the more they approach perfection.

而我們所有的（小「t」）傳統，仍然是我們和那些我們從他們那裡，所獲得最寶貴遺產的人之間，形成和強化感情關係的普通方式：家庭、教會、國家。這些遺產被分享得越廣泛，只要它們以感恩和愛心分享，它們就越趨近完美。

The best things are shared things. And for that I’m grateful.

最美好的事務，就是分享的事務。為此，我很感恩。