Pope Francis: Recognize ourselves as weak and sinful

教宗方濟各在週五早上的彌撒中說，要真正領受基督救贖的恩賜的唯一途徑，是要以真誠承認自己的軟弱，並去避免任何形式的自我稱義。

意識到自己是軟弱的瓦器，卻成為領受了寶貝的監護人：這就是基督的跟隨者。教宗在今天的讀經中領悟出這一點，尤其是在格林多後書，解釋了信德那「卓著的力量」是天主的工作，被傾注在罪人身上，在「瓦器」之中。不過，正正是耶穌的恩寵與大能和我們罪人的關係，令「救贖的對話」得以成長。而這對話必須是在天主和我們之間，更不可以有任何「自我稱義」成份在內。

「聖保祿曾多次談及他自己的罪過。『但我要告訴你：我一直在迫害教會，我追捕基督徒…』，他的罪過一直在他的記憶之中。他覺得自己是罪人。——但他從沒有說：『我從前是罪人，但現在是聖善的。』沒有。他向我們展示他的軟弱，他的罪。他是一個接納耶穌基督的罪人，他跟耶穌對話。」

教宗說謙遜就是關鍵。聖保祿自己就證明了這點。他公開地承認他「為主服務的成績」，就是他作為耶穌宗徒所做的一切，但他沒有隱藏或掩飾他的罪。

「這是為我們神父一個謙遜的模範。如果我們只因我們的成績而驕傲，我們最終會犯錯。如果我們不能深深感受耶穌在我們內工作，我們就無法宣揚耶穌是救主。我們要謙遜，是真正的謙遜：『我因為這些、這些緣故犯罪』，就像聖保祿那樣：『我曾迫害教會』，聖保祿確認自己是罪人：不是謙稱自己為罪人，那是做作，不是嗎？而是深度的謙遜。」

「神父的謙遜、基督徒的謙遜是實在的。因此，當一個基督徒不向自己和教會坦承自己是罪人，是有問題的。我們不會明白耶穌帶給我們的救贖的美麗。」

「弟兄們，我們有一個寶貝：是耶穌基督救主帶來的。耶穌基督的十字架，就是我們引以為傲的寶貝，但我們是在瓦器存有這寶貝。讓我們也吹噓我們的罪過。這就是基督徒和天主教徒的對話：是實在的，因為耶穌基督的救贖是實在的。耶穌救我們不是一個意念。祂用祂的肉身救我們，是實在的。祂謙抑自下，成為人，成了血肉，一直到最後。在這瓦器中，我們只能明白和領受這禮物。」

那位遇見耶穌的撒瑪黎雅婦人，在跟耶穌說話以後，向城裡的人說她犯過的罪，就像聖保祿一樣。教宗說：「我相信這婦人已在天堂，我敢肯定。因為一位作者曾說過：『我從沒有見過耶穌開始了一個奇蹟，而不好好使它完成的』，而祂開始的這個奇蹟一定已在天堂裡。」教宗這樣總結：「讓我們請她代求，幫助我們做瓦器，去傳達和明白耶穌基督的光榮奧蹟。」

The only way truly to receive the gift of salvation in Christ is with sincerity to recognize oneself as weak and sinful, and to avoid any form of self-justification. This was the focus of Pope Francis' remarks at Mass Friday morning.

Aware of being a weak vessel of clay, yet the guardian of a great treasure that was given to him in a totally free way: this is the follower of Christ before the Lord. Pope Francis took the point of reflection from the day's readings, specifically from the 2nd Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, which explains that the "extraordinary power" of faith is God's work, that it has been poured out into sinful men, into "earthen vessels", in fact. Nevertheless, explained Pope Francis, it is precisely from the relationship "between the grace and power of Jesus Christ" and ourselves, poor sinners as we are, that "the dialogue of salvation" springs. This dialogue, moreover, must avoid any "self-justification", and be between God and “ourselves as we are.”:

“Paul has spoken many times - it's like a refrain, no? - of his sins. 'But I tell you this: I've been a persecutor of the Church, I pursued ...' it always comes back to his memory of sin. He feels sinful. – but even then he does not say: 'I was [a sinner], but now I am holy', no. Even now, a thorn of Satan in my flesh. He shows us his own weakness, his own sin. He is a sinner who accepts Jesus Christ, who dialogues with Jesus Christ.”

The key, says Pope Francis, is therefore humility. Paul himself proves it. He publicly acknowledges "his track record of service," i.e. all he had done as an Apostle of Jesus, but he does not hide or gloss over what the Pope calls "his handbook", i.e. his sins:

"This is the model of humility for us priests – for us priests, too. If we only pride ourselves on our [service record] and nothing more, we end up [going] wrong. We cannot proclaim Jesus Christ the Saviour because we do not feel Him [present and at work] deep down. We have to be humble, but with real humility, [from head to toe]: 'I am a sinner for this, for this, for this', as Paul did: 'I persecuted the Church, " - as he did, [recognizing ourselves] concrete sinners: not sinners with that [kind of ] humility, which seems more a put-on face, no? Oh no, strong humility. "

"The humility of the priest, the humility of a Christian is concrete," said Pope Francis, for which, therefore, if a Christian fails, "to make this confession to himself and to the Church, then something is wrong," and the first thing to fail will be our ability "understand the beauty of salvation that Jesus brings us."

"Brothers, we have a treasure: that of Jesus Christ the Saviour. The Cross of Jesus Christ, this treasure of which we pride ourselves - but we have it in a clay vessel. Let us vaunt also our ‘handbook' of our sins. Thus is the dialogue Christian and Catholic: concrete, because the salvation of Jesus Christ is concrete. Jesus Christ has not saved us with an idea, an intellectual program, no. He saved with His flesh, with the concreteness of flesh. He is lowered, made man, made flesh until the end. This is a gift that we can only understand, only receive, in earthen vessels. "

The Samaritan woman, as well, who met Jesus and after speaking to him told her countrymen first of her sin and then about having met the Lord, behaved in a similar way to Paul. "I believe,” said Pope Francis, “that this woman is in heaven, sure," because, as [the Italian author Alessandro] Manzoni once said, 'I have never found that the Lord began a miracle without finishing it well' and this miracle that He began definitely ended well in heaven." The Pope concluded saying, let us ask her, "to help us to be vessels of clay in order to carry and understand the glorious mystery of Jesus Christ."

資料來源 Source:
Pope Francis: Friday Mass at Santa Marta