生活聖言 (2011年3月)

by pleung | Mar 1, 2011 | Focolare, Word of Life

「看，上主的婢女，願照袮的話成就於我吧!」（路1：38）

如同天主對聖母瑪利亞所做的一樣，祂也要向我們每一個人顯示祂對我們的計劃，並使我們認識自己的真正身份。祂好像在問我們:「你想要我使你和你的生命成為一項傑作嗎？那麼跟隨我所指示的道路，這樣你就能變成那一直在我心目中的你。事實上，從亘久之前我已經想到你，並且愛著你；我呼喚了你的名字。當我向你講及我的旨意時，就是在向你展示你真正的自我。」

因此，祂的旨意不是一個強行加諸我們身上的負擔，而是祂對我們的愛，以及祂對我們的計劃的啟示：這份愛及計劃崇高如同天主自己，像祂的聖容一樣那麼迷人、那麼美麗：是天主把祂自己賜給我們。天主的旨意好像一條金線，一個串連我們今世以及來世生命的神聖主題；它從永恆走到永恆：它首先存在於天主的思想中，然後出現在這個世上，最後永存於天堂裡。

但為能完全實現天主的計劃，祂要求我，也要求你的同意，就如同祂要求聖母瑪利亞的同意一樣。只有這樣才能實現祂對我、對你所道出的聖言。所以我們也像聖母瑪利亞一樣被召叫這樣說：

「看，上主的婢女，願照袮的話成就於我吧!」

當然天主的旨意對我們來說並非時常都清楚。像聖母瑪利亞一樣，我們也必須要求上主的光照，才能明白祂的要求。我們需要誠意地在我們內心聆聽祂的聲音，如有需要，也可以求助於能指導我們的人。但是一旦我們明瞭祂的旨意，我們便要立刻對祂說：『我願意』。事實上，如果我們了解到，祂的旨意是最好的東西，可以成為我們生命中最美麗的事，我們將不會有『必須』聽從及承行主旨的感覺，相反的，我們將會因為『可以』承行主旨而歡喜，因為我們能夠跟隨祂的計劃，使祂為我們設想的東西成為事實。這是我們所能做的最好、最聰明的事情。

因此聖母瑪利亞所說的：「看，上主的婢女」，這就是我們以愛回應天主愛的心聲。這句話令我們時常抱著聆聽及順從的心情朝向祂；我們的內心只有一個願望，就是承行祂的旨意，為能成為祂心目中的我。

然而，有時候祂對我們的要求可能看似荒謬。我們可能認為另一種做法會更好。我們想為自己作主，我們甚至要忠告天主，告訴祂該做甚麼和不該做甚麼。但是如果我們相信天主是愛，並且信賴祂的話，那麼我知道，無論祂為我和那些接近我的人有甚麼計劃，都是為了我和他們的好處。所以我將自己交託給祂，完全信賴祂的旨意；我全靈渴慕祂的聖意，以致與它完全吻合；因為我明白到，接受祂的旨意就是接受祂、擁抱祂、以祂來滋養我自己。

我們必須相信一切都不是偶然發生的。任何一件事，無論是喜樂的、看似無關緊要的或痛苦的、在家庭中、在工作上、或在學校裡的情況、在身體或道德的健康狀況，都是有意義的。每件事情、境況和人，都能帶來一個天主的訊息，每件事物都有助於實現天主的計劃。只要我們像聖母瑪利亞一樣承行天主的旨意，將會漸漸發現到祂的計劃。

「看，上主的婢女，願照袮的話成就於我吧!」

我們應該如何生活這句生活聖言呢？我們對天主聖言的承諾，要具體地表現在每一刻，妥善地並且完全地落實祂的聖意所要求我們去做的行動。我們應該全心全意地投入要做的事情中，並將其他的事情都擱置一邊，放棄任何其他的思想、欲望、記憶或行動。

當我們面對每一種天主的旨意，無論是痛苦的、喜樂的或無關緊要的也好，我們都能重複說：「願照袮的話成就於我吧！」或如同耶穌在『天主經』中教我們的一樣：「願袮的旨意奉行。」讓我們在做每個行動之前說：「願照袮的話成就於我吧！」「願袮的旨意奉行。」如此，我們便能連續地、一刻接著一刻地把每一塊小石片砌成一幅美妙、獨一無二、不會重複的生命壁畫。這塊生命的壁畫是上主一直為我們每個人所設想的。

盧嘉勒

[1] 本月的生活聖言曾於2002年12月刊登

Word of Life – Mar 2011

by pleung | Mar 1, 2011 | Focolare, Word of Life

Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word (Lk 1:38).

We are fortunate. By doing God’s will moment by moment we can build up the unique and marvellous mosaic of our lives that he has always had in mind for us.

To each of us, as to Mary, God wants to reveal his idea for us: he wants to let us know our true identity. He seems to say, ‘Do you want me to make you and your life into a masterpiece? Then follow the path I will show you and you will become what you have always been in my heart. In fact, from all eternity, I have thought of you and loved you and I have uttered your name. By telling you my will, I am revealing your true self.’

So his will is not an imposition that constrains us, but it is the unveiling of his love for us, of his project in us. God’s will is sublime like God himself, fascinating and enthralling like his face: it is God who gives himself. The will of God is a golden thread, a divine pattern woven through the whole of our earthly life and beyond. It is a plan that starts from eternity and goes to eternity. At first it is in the mind of God, then on this earth and, in the end, in Paradise.

But in order for God’s design to be completely fulfilled, God asks for my assent, for your assent, as he did with Mary. This is the only way to fulfil the word that God has uttered about me, about you. So we too, like Mary, are asked to say:

Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

Certainly, his will is not always clear to us. Like Mary we too will need to ask for light to understand what God wants. With great sincerity we must listen well to his voice within us and, if need be, ask advice from those who can help. But once we have understood his will, we want to say ‘yes’ to him straightaway. If, indeed, we have understood that his will is the greatest and most beautiful thing that could happen in our life, we will not resign ourselves to ‘having to do’ the will of God. Instead we will be glad to ‘be able’ to do the will of God, to be able to follow his plan, so that his idea for us might come about. It is the best and most intelligent thing we can do.

Mary’s words ‘Here I am, the servant of the Lord’, therefore, become our loving response to God’s love. They keep us always turned towards him, in an attitude of listening and of obedience, wanting only to do his will, to be as he wants us to be.

Sometimes, nonetheless, what he asks of us can seem absurd. It would seem better to us to do something different; we would like to decide for ourselves. We might almost want even to advise God and tell him what to do and not do. But if I believe that God is love and trust him, I know that what he sets up for my life and for the lives of those close to me is for my good and theirs too. So I put myself in his hands, I abandon myself to his will with full trust, and I want it with the whole of myself, to the point of being one with it, knowing that to welcome his will is to welcome him, embrace him and be nourished with him.

We must believe that nothing happens by chance. No event, whether it be joyful, indifferent or painful, no encounter, no situation in the family, at work or at school, no physical or moral condition, is without meaning. On the contrary, every event, situation or person bears a message from God. Everything contributes to the fulfilment of God’s design, which we will discover bit by bit, day by day, doing the will of God as Mary did.

Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

So how can we live this Word? Practically speaking our ‘yes’ to the word of God means doing well and completely all that he asks us to do in every present moment. We should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever we are doing, putting aside everything else, letting go of any thoughts, desires, memories, actions that have to do with anything else.

We can say in front of every will of God, whether it be painful, joyful or indifferent, ‘Let it be with me according to your word’, or, as Jesus taught us in the ‘Our Father’: ‘Your will be done.’ Let’s tell him this before each of our actions: ‘May it be done’, ‘Your will be done.’ We will compose, moment by moment, piece by piece, the marvellous, unique and unrepeatable mosaic of our lives that the Lord has always had in mind for each one of us.

Chiara Lubich

(First published December 2002)