太陽下山的時候, 回頭看

前些日子,我去了敘利亞南部,因為那裡有一個小村落,村落裡仍然講阿拉美語,這是耶穌在世時所用的語言,我相信這裡一定可以找到一些與耶穌有關的事蹟。 果真,我在一座小教堂裡發現他們的彌撒用阿拉美語,我雖然不懂阿拉美語,但我知道彌撒是怎麼一回事,所以我可以知道現在在唸什麼經文,當神父唸天主經的時候,我幾乎感動得流下淚來,因為我知道耶穌當年就是這樣唸的。...

Faith

The author of the Book of Wisdom made a comment on the foolishness of the people who failed to see the greatness of the Creator who created this beautiful world. ‘For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and they were unable from the good things...

I Am the Bread of Life

It is certainly not a pleasant sight to see photos of starving children in Africa. There are millions of them. Some have bloated stomachs. Some are extremely skinny. It is especially sad to see some of these children have flies crawling on them. They need food to...

The More You Honor Me, the More I Will Bless You

At the back of my own parish church, the Chinese Martyrs Catholic Church, there is a small statue of the Divine Infant. The statue is placed inside a case made of glass. When I think about the Divine Infant, the first thing I remember is His promise, ‘The more you...

Veni Creator Spiritus

Once every two weeks I attend my CLC Prayer Meeting.  Christian Life Community is the world’s oldest international Catholic prayer group.  CLC participants are dedicated to “the service of faith and the promotion of justice” that an Ignatian spiritual life demands. ...

Don’t You Care?

I was invited to participate in the 40 Days for Life pro-life campaign in March.  There were volunteers from 170 cities across North America participating in this campaign.  This year in 2012, the campaign started from February 22 to April 1.  The vision of this...

St. Joseph, Pray for Us!

In the last few years, a number of friends asked me to pray for their families.  A friend asked me to pray for her uncle in the United States who had been unsuccessful looking for a job.  A coworker asked me to pray for her 19-year-old niece who has been suffering...

Communion of Saints

A few days ago my wife and I, together with many friends from my own parish, visited another church in my vicinity.  The church was packed with about two thousand people who came from different parishes from all over Toronto and the neighboring cities.  It was a...

Labyrinth

At the end of November, 2011, my wife returned to Hong Kong to attend her niece’s wedding.  While in Hong Kong, she visited many places, including the vicinity she used to frequent.  Much to her surprise, she lost her way in the vicinity that she was once familiar...

Who is Jesus to us in this Modern World?

Last Sunday, the twenty-first Sunday of Year A, a priest challenged the congregation with two thought-provoking questions during the sermon.  A friend of mine was among the congregation.  When the mass was over, my friend asked me what I thought about the two...

Who Has Rolled Away the Stone?

Easter is the happiest day in the whole year in our Catholic faith.  Christmas, too, is a joyous occasion, but whereas Christmas vibrates with a note of sweetness, Easter resounds with a note of triumph.  Easter is the joy for the triumph of Christ, the joy for His...

Saints Are Sinners Who Kept on Going

A friend sent me a statement and asked me what I thought about it – ‘Saints are sinners who kept on going’ which was a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson who was a well known Scottish writer in the 19th century.  I responded with another quote written by an anonymous...

Temptation

I have been a Eucharistic minister for about twenty years.  As a Eucharistic minister, every year I have two opportunities to distribute the holy ashes.  The first is during the Ash Wednesday liturgy with the school where I teach.  The second is at the end of the mass...

The Lamb’s Book of the Living

A friend gave me a calendar as a Christmas present.  This calendar has the most uplifting and motivating paintings along with the Scripture to remind us what the Lord has done for us.  Each month is a piece of art in itself.  In the January of this calendar, the...

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

A friend of mine, a man whom I know well, offered to sacrifice some of his own time to alleviate one of his female coworkers’ anxiety by taking up some of her duties that had been assigned to her.  Two days after he had offered to help her out, he was stunned to learn...

The Amazing Saints

A friend’s ailing foot has been bothering her with some pain. After consulting her doctor, she told me she may need to have a surgery.  On hearing this, I suggested to her to pray to Brother Andre.  I explained to her that Brother Andre had miraculously healed many...

When We Pray

My friends whom I have exchanged emails with know that I include the following teaching from St. Paul at the bottom of all my outgoing emails as my signature:  “Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or...

Suscipe Domine

A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came out looking for fruit on it but did not find any.  He said to the vinedresser, “Look here!  For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree and found none.  Cut it down.  Why should it...

One Person Plus God Equal an Army

A priest I know always says, “You don’t need to believe what I say, but you should believe what saints said.” St. Teresa of Avila once said, “One person plus God equal an army.”  According to what the priest says, we should believe what St. Teresa said about the power...

The Power of Prayer

A friend who believes in the power of prayer asked some of her friends to pray for her sick daughter eagerly.  She was very disappointed when her mother-in-law, who is a Catholic, refused to pray.  When I heard about this woman’s refusal to pray for her own...

The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to Them

St. Dominic Savio is a very unique saint who lived in the 19th century.  He was born in 1842 and died when he was only 14.  Though many people thought he was too young to be canonized, he was considered eligible for his sainthood on the basis of having lived a holy...

The Sea Will Vanish

“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”  This is the prayer I always say in my mind every time I have received the Eucharist.  I would repeat this prayer many times after receiving the Eucharist, and gradually, I realize...

The Value of Eucharistic Adoration

The following are quotes I have collected from popes and saints who have said about the value of Eucharistic Adoration.  At this moment, as our Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church are under relentless attacks, we as Catholics should realize the practice of...

Christ is Risen

For two thousand years, Catholics everywhere have been taught that Christ rose from the dead on the third day after He was crucified.  The Resurrection has hitherto become the core of the Catholic faith.  The Church has taught us that Easter should be the real cause...

The Third Table

A friend complained to me last week that some of the people that she always sees do not behave like Catholics although they have been baptized.  Among these people, a woman openly admits that she is selfish, and it seems that she is quite proud of her selfishness.  I...

聖安多尼 St.Anthony

行動較文字響亮,讓你們以文字教導和以你們的行動來宣講。(聖安多尼講道辭) Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak. 嬰孩童年的時期 這奇異的聖人,以一一九五年八月十五日於生葡國首都里斯本,父親名叫馬爾定.步雄;母親名叫德肋撒.達衛辣,都是葡國最有名望的家族後裔。...

Look Up at the Cross

It is time to say ‘By your holy cross you have redeemed the world’ again.  Some of us repeat this particular sentence a few times every year during Lent.  But what does this sentence mean to us? Over three thousand years ago a large group of slaves who had escaped...

復活彌撒: 見證愛的延續 (2010年2月9日)

見證分享: https://www.frjameswan.org/audios/sharing/2010-02-09_PatYoung_witnessMonicaLo.mp3 神父講道: https://www.frjameswan.org/audios/sharing/2010-02-09_FrWan_homily.mp3 以下的錄音見證分享是在復活彌撒中,為Monica Lo 在天上見證天主無限的愛、以真正的信德、信賴天主,並以祈禱的功效成就了主耶穌的愛。 耶穌是真實的;天國是真實的;聖母也是真實的。...

The Mystery of Suffering

At the end of 2009, my Ukrainian friend asked me how I would celebrate the beginning of 2010.  I said I would probably pray the Rosary quietly at the very beginning of the New Year.  She was not surprised to hear that as she knows my favourite hobby is to pray the...

The First Day of 2010

This article was written on the first day of 2010.  As we look back at 2009, at the history of the world, some of us may wonder, with so many negative events that have been besetting us, where is the history of this world going? At the end of 2009, the well known...

Prudence in Action

I once recommended a famous book in the Catholic literature, The Imitation of Christ, to a good friend.  This book was written about five hundred years ago by a monk called Thomas a Kempis.  This book consists of the meditations on the life and teachings of our Lord...

Ask, and You Will Receive

Jesus has asked us to put our trust in Him.  He told us to pray in His name.  “If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it.”  ( John 14:14 )  In the Gospel of Luke, again He asked us to pray with confidence.  “And so I say to you: Ask, and you will receive;...

Come, Holy Spirit!

The definition of the word ‘catholic’, according to the dictionary in front of me, is ‘very broad; general; all-inclusive; universal’.  That is exactly the characteristics of the Catholic Church. At the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life, there was already a hint that...

Five over Five

I have many friends who are not about my age.  Some of them are much older than me, and some are much younger.  My youngest friend is a 5-year-old girl called Cierra.  Yesterday she was excited to tell me the good news: “I got five over five!” said Cierra....

Meditation on Time

(This article is dedicated to Ms Cristina Da Silva, a good friend of mine who is like a sister to me.  Her missions are to share her passion and talent in photography and art with other people to glorify God, and to warn others about the danger of occult activities. ...

The Mass is Ended

A couple of weeks ago many of us learned from TV that three reporters from Hong Kong were beaten by the police officers in China when these reporters were covering the news of the turmoil in the Xingjiang Province.  A few days after these reporters had been beaten, we...

Imitation of Christ

One day in last February a young missionary was invited to my class to teach my students how to make rosaries.  His name is David Gonzalez.  Besides teaching how to make rosaries, Dave also explained to my students why we should always pray the Rosary and he actually...

The Yoke of Love

“Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.  Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart.  Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”  (Matthew 11: 28 – 30)...

Roam Around Like a Roaring Lion

It is sad that many people, including many practicing Catholics, are not aware of the danger of occult activities, and equally sad is that they are not aware that participating in any kinds of occult activities is a grave sin in itself. Unfortunately, we seldom hear...

We Are the Light

A few years ago there was a great power failure in Toronto and in some areas in Ontario.  The lights went out.  Some civilians voluntarily directed the traffic at crossroads where the traffic lights did not work.  The power failure lasted a couple of days in some...

Modern Martyrs

The etymology of the English words is an interesting branch of science.  Many English words we use today came from other languages.  Some words have even changed their original meanings.  The word ‘martyr’ is a striking example.  Today we think a martyr is a person...

In Him Alone

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, both John the Baptist and Jesus announced the Kingdom of heaven was near. ‘At that time John the Baptist came to the desert of Judea and started preaching.  “Turn away from your sins,” he said, “because the...

The Cage

There was an internal lockdown at the school where I teach this afternoon. No one was allowed to enter or leave the school until the lockdown was lifted. No one was sure what happened When I was at home later in the evening, I tried to find out what happened. From the...

It Does Not Make Sense

My sister once shared with me a friend of hers has difficulty accepting the Catholic faith because, according to this friend, there are elements in our faith that do not make sense. People who have been using a rational mind to try to understand our Catholic faith...

The Salmon, the Prodigal Son, and the Saints

Many years ago I read an article that got my attention. From that article, I learned about an inexplicable phenomenon about salmon. After a salmon is spawned, it will swim into the ocean, and after an extended period of time something strange happens inside the brain...

Violence in the Bible?

A friend from the parish told me that some young people believe that although the Bible has detailed description of violence, we still read the Bible because we need to learn about violence so that it becomes preventable. People who have some knowledge of the Bible...

Through You and Through Me

A particular section of the Book of Isaiah, from chapter 40 to 55, consists of the great messianic oracles known as the Servant of the Lord. The mysterious destiny of suffering and glorification of the servant depicted in the oracles is fulfilled in the passion and...

共產無神的喪亡末路

我們在以上的幾篇文章中介紹了科學與宗教的關係。從許多科學家的言論中和他們對信仰的堅定,使我們知道,科學與宗教並非互相抵觸,而科學並不能解答人生問題,科學也不能解答宇宙之謎,科學更不能創造生命。...

中華民族的敬天思想

這篇文章的來源是出自于斌樞機主教。于斌樞機主教是我中國的偉人,也是我們中國教會的偉人。他是我國的第二位樞機主教,他曾獲得神學,哲學與聖教法律博士學位,在羅馬傅信大學任教多年,後被教宗若望二十三世委任他在台灣復創輔仁大學。他熱愛中國文化,他的著作都在於發揚中華文化,特別對中國敬天的思想有深入的理解和研究。以下這一篇是他的代表作之一,文中略有更改,希望讀者見諒。 中華文化的復興與敬天...

儒家哲學與基督思想

在以前的文章中我曾經寫過一些儒家思想在倫理道德方面,在良心標準方面的關係。今日這篇是專題討論儒家哲學在基督思想中的地位。本文改編自羅光總主教在台灣所創辦的鐸聲月刊第七十五期。  ...

美麗的天使變成了魔鬼

聖經上若望一書中有這一段說:「他們屬於世界,因此講論屬於世界的事,而世界就聽從他們。我們卻是出於天主的;那認識天主的人,必聽從我們;那不出於天主的人,便不聽從我們;由此我們可以認出真理的神和欺詐的神來。」(若一 4:5-6)...

耶穌戰勝了魔鬼

尹雅白神父耶穌在若翰手中受洗以後,進入了曠野,嚴齋四十天之後,受到魔鬼的試探。耶穌戰勝了魔鬼以後,魔鬼等待時機。路加福音說:「魔鬼用盡了各種試探後,就離開了他,再等時機。」(路4:13)耶穌受難前,時機來了。魔鬼等了三年,這是最後而又是最好的時機。耶穌與門徒吃了逾越節晚餐後,與伯多祿、雅各伯和若望進入了山園去祈禱。當三位門徒昏昏欲睡,疲倦不堪時,耶穌正在祈禱,向父祈禱,求父如若可能,就免去這個苦杯。這是耶穌心靈受到最大的試探,他的靈魂憂傷到了極點,也是他的肉身最軟弱的時刻。他深深地哀求聖父免去這個苦爵,同時也知道聖父堅持要他接受這個苦...