The Lord will not abandon his people--Psalm 94

God has never rejected his people.

God, you are so mysterious to me. I do so want to have a sense of how you are present to me, how you call me, and what you really promise me.

Today I read Paul on how you love the Jewish people completely, never revoking your choice, but still extending your love through Jesus to me. I feel that I can only really find you through Jesus: ‘Whoever sees me, sees the Father.’

And Jesus constantly tells his disciples that they will find you through humility. Perhaps I try too hard to find your face, operating out of what I think I know for sure, instead of letting you find me in my humility. That’s what this parable of the wedding feast seems to be about.

Lord, only you can heal me in my yearnings. Teach me to hope more strongly in you.

Monday, October 26, 2009

If you love me, follow me. "I do love you," you protest, "but how do I follow you?" If the Lord your God said to you: "I am the truth and the life, I laid down certain conditions for obtaining my promises. Have you fulfilled them?" If you say: "What did you command, Lord our God?" he will tell you: "I commanded you to follow me.". In your desire for truth, in your love for life, you would certainly ask him to show you the way to reach them. You would say to yourself: "Truth is a great reality, life is a great reality; if only it were possible for my soul to find them!"

-- St. Augustine

30th Sunday of the Year B

First Reading: Jeremiah 31: 7-9. God will lead his people home from exile.

Second Reading: Hebrews 5: 1-6 Jesus can sympathize with all our limitations and weaknesses.

Gospel: Mark 10: 46-52. Jesus frees a man from his blindness.

Sunday Reflections from Fr Carlo Tei

Many Christians nowadays do not seem to take their faith seriously enough. Nothing, therefore, is more important for all of us than to re-discover the meaning of our Christian faith and all its implications. Today’s Gospel episode can help us find out the steps one has to go through in order to live by faith in Christ. Such steps are exactly the same as those which the blind man took before he could “follow Jesus on the road”.

1. A blind beggar is sitting at the side of the road. He cannot see Jesus who passes by. Others can only tell him about his coming. But, as soon as he knows that it is Jesus, he expresses his faith in him, by trusting in his healing power. Those who scold him do not scare him. He keeps on asking Jesus to have pity on him. Then some people help him to get ready for the call by Jesus. He throws off the cloak, jumps up and goes to Jesus and tells him that he wants to see. His sight is returned and, along with it, a total faith in Jesus is granted to him, so much so that he chooses to follow him.

2. The process of faith matches the above description.

• It starts with a manifestation of Christ in a man or a woman’s life: it is necessary that Christ should pass by first. And, indeed, Christ “passes by” every man and every woman of the world. This passage, however, is never visible. In order to recognize Jesus, who passes us by invisibly in the daily happenings of life, we need someone to tell us that it is Jesus.

- Someone told us about Jesus. And since then we were able to believe in him.

- So many of our brothers and sisters still have not had the opportunity to hear that Jesus is close to them. Is it not our duty to tell them? Is it not our mission as Christians to bring to others the “good news”, to manifest Jesus to others, to unveil his invisible presence?

• As soon as someone comes to know Jesus, he has to trust him completely, otherwise his encounter with Him will not bring healing and salvation. Anyone who knows Jesus and wants to be saved by him has to make an act of faith in Him, which means a complete trust in and surrender to him. He needs to stand firm, fearless of all difficulties and obstacles or of all worldly temptations which he may find on his way to Christ.

• If he stands firm, others around him (i.e. the Church) will help him get ready for the call by Jesus, they will help him to know Jesus better and better, and make the final decision, which is called “conversion”. One is “converted”, when he gets rid of his old self, symbolized by the cloak, when he gets rid of his old sinful life, centred on selfishness and self-sufficiency, and he is ready to get up: to start a new life, centred upon faith in Christ and love for God and his children. This life gives us a new sight: a new way of seeing things. We see things from Jesus’ point of view, and, as a result of this, we follow Jesus. We live, taking Jesus as our only model; we walk, in the world, very close to those who walk with us. We care for them, take their difficulties at heart, and share their sorrows and aspirations. We let the Spirit of Christ and his Gospel guide us and turn us into the witnesses of His Kingdom of justice and love. And we strongly hope and pray that all men and women of the world will soon recognize God as their Father.

Is this what we are doing in our daily lives? May Jesus help us to cure our blindness, so that we may follow him steadfastly and courageously along the road of life and thus contribute to the spreading of His Kingdom of justice, peace and love.

‘Sir, leave it one more year.’ Luke 13:1-9.

‘Sir, leave it one more year.’ 

The image of the barren fig tree evokes feelings of loss, but also feelings of hope. The fig tree represents all those who are yet to repent so that they may bear fruit, and the gardener personified as hope in his willingness and patience to help the tree reproduce fruit is comforting. He calms, restores and leads each one of us, in a similar way that the divine shepherd peacefully leads and lovingly cares for us, and all the time giving us life.

Paul too speaks of life as the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. This same Spirit gave life to the fig tree and strength to those in care of the shepherd who were led beyond fear. The Holy Spirit is the giver of life, and, as Pope Benedict XVI articulated, ‘flows deep within us, like an underground river which nourishes our soul and draws us ever nearer to the source of our true life, which is Christ.’

--From Internet

普世教会统计资料

梵蒂冈（信仰通讯社）http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=4571&lan=chi

值此普世教会庆祝世界传教节之际，本刊在此发表普世教会数据统计，从而以数字的形式全面展示了世界教会的基本情况。以下资料摘自《教会统计数据年鉴》（二OO七年十二月三十一日修订本），旨在为广大读者提供一个全面的视野，综合归纳并补充了教会成员；牧灵机构；以及教会在医疗、社会援助和教育领域的福传活动情况及发展变化。在括号中标出了与上年同期相比的数字变化、增加（+）及减少（-），使读者对普世教会的蓬勃发展拥有一个完整的认识。

世界总人口

二OO七年十二月三十一日，世界总人口为6,617,097,000，与上年同期相比增加了74,273,000。包括欧洲在内，全球五大洲各地增长情况分别为：非洲 + 16,865,000、美洲 + 11,327,000、亚洲 + 43,3048,000、大洋洲 + 531,000、欧洲 + 2,246,000。

世界天主教徒人数

同一时期的世界天主教徒人数为1,146,656,000,与去年同期相比增加了15,906,000。 全球五大洲各地增长情况分别为：非洲+ 6,612,000、美洲+ 5,535,000、亚洲+ 2,428,000、欧洲+ 1,132,000、大洋洲+ 199,000。

总的来看，天主教徒的百分比增加了0.05%，占世界人口总数的17.33%。全球五大洲各地增减情况分别为：非洲+ 0.4%、亚洲+ 0.02%、欧洲 + 0.03%、大洋洲+ 0.17%；而美洲减少 - 0.17%。

每名司铎平均负责管理的居民

全世界各地每名司铎平均负责管理的居民数量增加了140人，上升到12,879人。全球五大洲除亚洲和非洲外，全部呈现增加趋势，各地变化情况分别为：非洲-456、美洲+ 71、欧洲+ 53、大洋洲+ 207；亚洲大陆- 794。

每名司铎平均负责管理的天主教徒

普世教会中每名司铎平均负责管理的天主教徒人数增加了34人，达2,810人。全球五大洲除亚洲外，全部呈现增加趋势，各地变化情况分别为：非洲+ 30、美洲+ 31、欧洲+ 22、大洋洲+ 65、亚洲- 22。

牧灵区

与去年同期相比，牧灵区增加了13个。目前，总数达2,936个。非洲（+ 2）、亚洲（+ 6）、欧洲（+ 5）。拥有固定神职人员的传教站总计1,016（与上年同期相比减少了1,531个）。没有固定神职人员的传教站共计增加了5,159个，目前总数达124,642。五大洲均呈增加趋势，非洲 + 3,764、美洲 + 1,310、亚洲 + 75、欧洲 + 6、大洋洲 + 4。

主教

普世教会主教人数增加了48位，目前总计4,946位。各地均有不同程度增加。除美洲（- 2）外，增加数量最多的非洲 + 19位、亚洲+ 2、欧洲+ 13、大洋洲 + 6 。总之，教区司铎和修会会士被任命为主教人数均有增加。目前，教区主教共计3,729位（与上年同期相比增加了40位）、修会会士主教共计1,217位（增加了8）。五大洲各地教区主教人数增减情况如下，非洲 + 12、欧洲 + 15、亚洲 + 10、大洋洲+ 3；美洲与上年保持相同水平。全球各地修会会士主教呈增长的为非洲 + 7、亚洲 + 2、大洋洲 + 3；而欧洲（- 2）和美洲（ - 2）。

司铎及终身执事

普世教会司铎人数增加了762人，总计达408,024人。欧洲减少 – 2,260、大洋洲 - 55；呈涨势的亚洲+ 1,521、非洲+ 1,180、美洲 + 376。普世教会教区司铎人数增加864；大洋洲略减 – 9、欧洲再减 - 1,392。修会会士司铎人数减少了578人，目前总数为135,593人。与上年相同，亚洲（+ 657）和非洲（+ 156）呈增长趋势；美洲（- 477）、欧洲（- 868）和大洋洲（- 46）明显减少。

终身执事

普世教会各教区终身执事人数增加了1,422人，总计达35,942人。其中欧洲（+ 472）和美洲（+ 898）增加明显、非洲（+ 28）、美洲（+ 829）、亚洲（+ 23）、欧洲（419）、大洋洲（+ 10）。全球教区终身执事人数增至35,297人，全球共增加了1,309人，均呈增长趋势。修会中终身执事人数为645人，与上年同期相比增加了133人。其中，美洲+ 69、欧洲+ 53；非洲 – 4、亚洲- 3人；大洋洲 - 2。

修士和修女

全球修士数量增加了151人，总计达54,956人。各地增加情况如下：非洲+ 75、美洲 + 111、亚洲+ 36、大洋洲 + 19。明显减少的为欧洲- 392。

全球修女人数呈减少趋势（- 5,586），目前总计746,814人。各地分布情况如下：亚洲（+ 2,838）和非洲（+ 1,178）；欧洲（- 5,843）、美洲（- 4,650）和大洋洲（- 109）。

在俗团体

全球在俗团体中，男性成员共665名，与上年同期相比全球性减少了26人。其中，只有欧洲增加了15；其余均为减少，非洲- 17、亚洲 – 18、美洲 - 6；大洋洲保持不变。

女性成员减少了572人，总计26,778人。本年度，美洲 – 238、欧洲 – 415、大洋洲- 2；其它大陆均呈增长非洲+ 18、亚洲+ 65。

平信徒传教士

全球平信徒传教士人数共计250,464人，全球共增加33,696。其他大陆增加情况分别为亚洲+ 2,552、美洲+ 31,417、欧洲+ 493。呈减少的非洲（- 711）和大洋洲（- 55）。

全球传教员人数增加了6,665，增至2,993,354。本年度，全球各地以非洲（+ 5,896）、亚洲（+ 14,383）、欧洲（+ 7,403）增长最为明显。呈减少的为美洲（- 20,071）、大洋洲（+ 946）。

教区和修会大修生

尽管与上年同期相比增长幅度有所减少，但全球教区和修会大修生人数仍保持增加势头。全球修生人数增加了439人，目前总计115,919。其中，非洲+ 695、亚洲+ 595、大洋洲 + 5。同时，美洲 - 381、欧洲- 475。

教区大修生共计71,225人（与上年同期相比- 653）、修会大修生人数为44,694人（+ 1,092）。此外，教区修生人数增加的只有非洲（+ 136）和大洋洲（+ 5）；减少的为美洲（-239）、亚洲（- 74）和欧洲（- 481）。修会修生人数增加的为非洲（+ 559）、亚洲（+ 669）、欧洲（+ 6）；大洋洲保持稳定；美洲人数减少（- 142）。

教区和修会小修生

全球教区和修会小修生人数减少了671人，目前总计101,978。其中，非洲+ 782、欧洲 + 13、大洋洲 + 49。其它各地均呈减少美洲- 782、亚洲 - 831。教区小修生共计77,145人（- 1,158）、修会小修生人数为24,833人（+ 487）。此外，除大洋洲（+ 63）外，其它大陆的教区及修会修生均呈减少：美洲（ – 136）、亚洲（- 241）、大洋洲（- 14）；非洲（+ 815）和欧洲（+ 63）增加。

教育领域

在全球教育领域中，教会在全球共开办了67,264所幼儿园（与上年同期相比增加了131所），招收6,386,497名学生；91,694所小学校共招收29,800,338名学生；41,210所初中共招收16,778,633名学生。此外，还有1,894,148名高中生和2,837,370名大学生在教会开办的高中和大学中就读。

社会公益及慈善机构

天主教会在全球开办的社会公益及慈善机构共5,378所医院。其中，美洲（1,669）、欧洲（1,363）。18,088个诊所，其中绝大部分在美洲（+ 5,663）、非洲（+5,373）和亚洲（+ 3,532）。521所麻风病院主要集中在亚洲（293）和非洲（186）。15,448所老人院和残疾人中心主要集中在欧洲（8,271）、美洲（3,839）。9,376所孤儿院大约三分之一集中在亚洲（3,367）。11,555所儿童乐园、13,599所婚姻咨询中心主要在欧洲（+ 5,919）和美洲（+ 4,827）。33,146所教育和社会再教育中心以及10,356个其它性质的公益机构。

（SL）（Agenzia Fides 2009/10/19 – 字数：2,683；行数：137）

All Christians called to missionary apostolate, Pope says

October 19, 2009 from Website of Catholic Culture

At his midday public audience on World Mission Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI called upon all Christians to "commit call themselves to announcing and bearing witness to the Gospel to everyone, especially to people who do not yet know it."

"The Church exists to announce the message of hope to all mankind," the Holy Father told the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square on October 18. Each Christian is responsible for his own part in this mission, he said, and should feel "the urgent need to work so the sovereignty of Christ may be fully achieved." He made a special appeal for the faithful to provide "material and spiritual support to help the young churches in the poorest countries." Pope Benedict made a special mention of "the missionaries-- priests, religious, and lay volunteers" who sacrifice their comfort and sometimes their lives for the sake of the Gospel. He mentioned Father Ruggero Ruvoletto, the Italian priest who was killed recently in Brazil, and Father Michael Sinnott, the Irish missionary seized last week by kidnappers in the Philippines.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

World Mission Day: Solidarity with Young Churches (VIS)

http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/c2_en.htm

教宗本笃十六世 2009年世界传教节文告

「万民都要借着她的光行走」 (默21 :24)

在此以传教为主题的主日，我首先劝勉你们，主教和司铎兄弟们，以及你们全体天主子民兄弟姐妹们，在每一个人的自身内重新振奋基督的传教派遣，踏着外邦人的宗徒圣保禄的足迹「使万民成为门徒」（玛 28:19）。

「万民都要借着她的光行走」（默21:24）。事实上，教会的使命是用福音的光照耀所有民族迈向天主的历史进程，使他们在天主内完全实现、满全。我们应该感受到要以那在教会身上闪耀的基督之光，照耀万民的迫切和热望，使所有人都因着天主的慈祥父爱团聚在惟一人类大家庭中。

正是在此前景下，基督那些分布在世界各地的门徒开展活动、奔波劳顿、在磨难的重负下呻吟、奉献生命。让我再次坚决地申明我可敬的前任们曾经多次阐述的：教会所做的不是为了拓展其势力或者维护其统治，而是为了把世界的救恩 ——基督带给所有人。我们所要求的无非是为人类服务，特别是为那些备受磨难的人和被排斥的人服务。因为我们相信「向今日的人宣传福音这工作……毫无疑问地，是对基督徒团体及整个人类服务」（《在新世界中传福音 Evangelii nuntiandi》，第1号）。这「人类曾经验到诸多美妙的成就，但似乎已失落了最后真象和本身存在的意识」（《救主的使命Redemptoris missio》，第2号）。

1.万民都蒙召获享救恩

事实上，整个人类拥有重返其起源 ——天主这个最根本的天职。因为只有在天主内，通过在基督内修复一切，人类才能找到其最终的满全。届时一切分散、多样性、冲突、敌意都会因着十字架的血得到和解、修和，重新合一。

因着基督的复活和举扬，新的开端已经到来了。祂吸引了一切、加以更新、使之参与天主的永恒喜乐。尽管处于矛盾和磨难之中，新受造物的未来已在我们的世界中闪耀，并点燃了对新生命的希望。教会的使命，正是要把这希望「感染」给万民。为此，基督召叫、拯救、圣化和派遣祂的门徒们去宣讲天主的国，使万民都成为天主的子民。只有在这一使命内，才能理解和鉴定人类真正的历史进程。这个普世性传教使命，应成为教会生活中至关重要的永远存在的内容。像保禄宗徒一样，宣讲福音也应该是我们不能拖延的首要任务。

2.旅途中的教会

这个没有界限和疆域的普世教会，深感向所有民族宣讲福音的责任（参见《在新世界中传福音 Evangelii nuntiandi》，第53号）。由于教会的天职是成为希望的种子，所以教会应该在世界上继续基督的服务。教会的使命和服务，不是为了满足物质需要或者那些在世俗人生内竭尽的精神需要，而是为了那在天主的国内才能实现的超性救恩（参见《在新世界中传福音 Evangelii nuntiandi》，第27号）。这一天国，尽管在末世到来之际才能满全、而且也不属于这世界（参见若18:36），却已在这个世界上和在它的历史中，成为追求正义、和平、真正的自由及尊重每一个人的尊严的力量。教会旨在用宣讲爱的福音改变世界，这爱的福音「会不断的照亮黑暗的世界，给予我们生活和行动的力量。……好将天主的光带给世界」（《天主是爱 Deus caritas est》，第39号）。我也借助这一文告，邀请教会的全体成员和团体参与这一使命和服务。

3.向万民宣讲福音的使命

为此，教会的使命是召叫万民获享天主通过祂降生成人的圣子所成就的救恩。所以有必要更新宣讲福音的承诺。而福音，是自由、进步、手足之情、合一与和平的酵母（参见《教会传教工作法令 Ad gentes》，第8号）。让我「再度强调，向万民宣讲福音是教会的主要使命」（《在新世界中传福音 Evangelii nuntiandi》，第 14号）。当今社会广泛和深刻的变化，使这一任务和使命变得更加迫切。因为这使命关系着人的永恒救恩，人类历史和宇宙万物本身的终结及满全。在外邦人宗徒的推动和启发下，我们应该意识到，在当代宗徒们所经过的所有城市里，天主也拥有一个人数众多的子民（参见宗18:10）。事实上，「恩许就是为了你们和你们的子女，以及一切远方的人，因为都是我们的上主天主所召叫的」（宗2:39）。

整个教会应积极致力于向万民福传的使命，直至基督的拯救王权完全实现：「但是现今我们还没有看见一切全隶属于祂权下」（希2:8）。

4.也蒙召通过殉道开展福传 

在这个以传教为主题的日子里，我在祈祷中想起那些将毕生完全奉献给福传工作的人。特别要提及那些在迫害中见证和传播天主的国的地方教会，以及那些男女传教士。他们在受迫害中所遭遇的压制，从社会歧视直至监牢、酷刑和死亡。甚至今日，仍有不少人为了天主的「圣名」被处死。我可敬的前任，教宗若望保禄二世所写的，仍然具有惊人的现实意义：「大禧年的纪念给了令我们惊奇的景象，让我们看到，我们自己的时代就有许多见证人，他们在敌意和迫害中，以各种不同的方式活出了福音，甚至用自己的鲜血为福音作证」（《新千年的开始 Novo millennio ineunte》，第41号）。

参与基督的使命，事实上，亦标志了那些福音宣讲者的人生，他们注定和他们的师傅有同一的命运。「你们要记得我对你们所说过的话：没有仆人大过主人的；如果人们迫害了我，也要迫害你们」（若15:20）。教会置身于同一条道路上、遭遇与基督相同的命运。因为，教会并非按照人的逻辑，或靠着自己的力量行事，而是追随十字架的道路，孝顺地服从在天大父，由此成为人类旅途中的见证和伴侣。

无论是历史悠久的教会还是成立不久的教会，我请她们牢记是上主让她们做地上的盐和世界的光、蒙召到天涯海角去宣扬万民之光——基督。向万民传教应成为她们的牧民计划的首要任务。

我要为各宗座传教团体所从事的不可替代的工作向它们表示感谢，并予以鼓励。这些工作保障了年轻教会的传教活动和培育，并给予经际援助。通过这些宗座团体，借着互相赠与，彼此关怀，和共同的传教计划，各教会之间出现了令人钦佩的共融。

5.结束语

传教动力永远是我们的地方教会的生命力的标志（参见《救主的使命 Redemptoris missio》，第2号）。尽管如此，仍然有必要重申福传是圣神的工作，并且在成为行动之前，福传应该是那些派遣她们的男女传教士到外地传教的地方教会，作为基督的光的见证和照耀（参见《救主的使命 Redemptoris missio》，第26号）。为此，我要求全体天主教友祈求圣神，使教会内对传扬天主的国这使命的热忱不断增加；并求祂支持那些在前线服务的男女传教士和基督徒团体，他们有时是在受迫害的敌对环境中工作。

同时，我邀请全体为各个教会之间的共融，作出可信的标记。特别是在此人类正面临的危机阶段中，透过经济上的援助，使那些年轻的地方教会，有能力以爱德的福音照耀人们。

愿荣福童贞玛利亚，新福传之星，引领我们的传教活动。她曾将基督带到世界上来，好让祂成为万民之光，传播救恩「直到地极」（宗13:47）。

我向你们全体颁赠降福。

发自梵蒂冈 2009年6月29日 教宗本笃十六世

In English: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/missions/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20090629_world-mission-day-2009_en.html

Mission Prayer

Lord, our God,

help us to walk with you

on the pathway of the beatitudes

and to live out your mission

in today's world.

Bind us to all men and  woman

of our time so that together

we may bring the Good News

to the ends of the earth.

Open our hearts

and our Christian Communities

to the needy, the afflicted, the oppressed.

May we radiate teh Living Christ

and transform our lives

in the hope of the Resurrection.

This prayer we make to you

who are living God now and forever.

Amen.

October 18 World Mission Sunday

This Week’s Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 53: 10-11. By his sufferings, the Servant of the Lord will bring men salvation.
Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 14-16. Jesus has experienced all the weaknesses and difficulties of human conditions.
Gospel: Mark 10: 35-45. Anyone who wants to be leader must first of all a servant.

Points for Reflection from Fr Carlo Tei

World Mission Sunday, which we celebrate today, on 29th Sunday of Year B, comes every year to remind us that the Church’s most important duty is the preaching of the Gospel.

We read in today’s Gospel, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The same truth is proclaimed in the Creed when we say of Jesus: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven.”

Most people of the world are still waiting for someone to announce to them the news of salvation. After two thousand years since the coming of the Son of God into the world, only about one person in five is Christian. Yet, Jesus Christ is their only Saviour, and he commissioned his disciples to the service of revealing him to the world: “Go and teach all nations.”

Most of the people to whom we are called to reveal Jesus Christ are not atheists, because for some good reason they already believe in God. Yet their knowledge of God is weak and incomplete, sometimes mixed with error and darkened by sin.

God, in his mercy, has given mankind a surer knowledge of himself through the history of the People of Israel, and above all, through his Son Jesus Christ, who came into the world and gave us the New and Eternal Covenant, which unveils God’s plan of salvation. It is the news of the Crucified and Risen Son of God, the only Saviour and Lord of mankind, that his disciples have the mission to spread.

St Paul used to ask prayers for all people, saying that God “wills everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Gospel.” To this plea he added his own wonderful missionary work, which remains an inspiration and example for us all.

All of us, whether priests, religious or lay people, are called to do all we can to spread the Gospel: to tell everyone that there is no salvation but in “The Son of Man who did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“Thanksgiving Day” and “Zhongqiu Jie”

Today, October 12, the country of Canada celebrates Thanksgiving Day. In different countries, people celebrate Thanksgiving Day in different ways, and on different days, but the purpose is almost the same, all for giving thanks to God. Also, each nation, has its own Thanksgiving Day.

For people in the United States, they celebrate it on the fourth Thursday in November. On that day, the whole nation immersed in a festive atmosphere. People go to church to thank God, and you can see people with Costume Parade celebrating everywhere, drama or sports competitions. People will come back from different parts of country, the family gathered together around the table, tasting delicious Thanksgiving turkey.

Canadian people celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday of October, 5 and half weeks earlier than the United States. Canadians thank God for the success of the main harvest. In Canada, Thanksgiving dinner is a traditional dinner, people eat thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, also you can see a symbol full of flowers and fruits rich cornucopia on the centre of table. Families and friends come togther to share the joy of harvest, to thank God.

For the Chinese people, we celebrate it on the 15th day of the 8th moon (according to the Chinese Lunar calendar), we call Zhongqiu jie. This joyous Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated around the time of the autumn equinox. Many refer to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". For this year, we celebrated it just a few days ago. Although the Chinese people not to use directly this term "Thanksgiving"; even though the ruling is an atheist country now, however, in terms of people's fundamental beliefs, but also is one of the nation who worships of God and His Name. People give the festival day more mythologizes, such as "Chang Er flies to the Moon" , a symbol of people's quest for beauty; on the other side, also people celebrate the "Zhongqiu Jie" for the blessing of God.

This day is also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain has been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival including moon cakes, cooked taro and water caltrop, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insist that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. These, can not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As well, the traditional festivity of Zhongqiu Jie has its long story. It became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes, of family reunion, and they thank God for his blessing in the past, aboveall, people celebrated the harvest of the year. In China, previously, people celebrated it just like a folk festival, but since last year, Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) was defined as national public holiday to celebrate for the entire country.

Anyway, whether it is Thanksgiving Day or the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, although each of them includes the different culture, they have something in common. People celebrate the harvest and thank God. For us Christians, each day is a gift from God, because of this, we celebrate the “Holy Eucharist” everyday.

28th Sunday's Meditation

First Reading: Wisdom 7: 7-11. True wisdom is to be prized above everything.
Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 12-13. Everything in us is known to the Lord.
Gospel: Mark 10: 17-30. Our following of Jesus calls for a total self-giving.

Points for Reflection from Fr. Carlo Tei

1. True wisdom, of which today’s First Reading speaks, is to follow Jesus Christ. But to follow Jesus Christ requires a radical re-thinking of our lives. It is not enough to observe the Commandments. We have to choose Jesus Christ as our only model, and live his type of life, by being completely concerned and caring about our brothers and sisters in need.

 

2. On our way toward this goal we may find many obstacles and temptations. One of these is wealth. “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” warns Jesus in today’s Gospel. Material goods are God’s gift to mankind. But, precisely because of this, they become evil things in the hands of those who use them only to build up their own material treasure, and not to help their brothers and sisters in need as well.

 

3. Jesus makes it clear that, in order to be able to enter the Kingdom (which is the same as to “inherit eternal life”) rich people must imitate his life of love for others and share their riches with the needy and the poor. This is what the Bible calls “heavenly wisdom”. Rich people, however, acquire heavenly wisdom and evangelical poverty not by simply possessing nothing material, but by actively involving themselves with the poor, especially with those among them who have no means of organizing, defending or liberating themselves.

4. No matter whether we are rich or poor, we are called to imitate Jesus in his self-giving love for us. We are called to use God’s gifts to us, not only for ourselves, but also to help the needy, and thus contribute to the creation of a better world: that is, a world based on brotherly love, self-giving and justice; a world where material goods are seen as God the Father’s gift to mankind, a gift to be equally shared by all his children.

October 7 Our Lady of the Rosary

In ancient times, Marian feasts of the Eastern Church centred on events in Mary's life. Since the 12th century, Marian feasts added to the Western calendar almost always commemorate a particular event of the times. This feast was celebrated in teh late 15th century by some confraternities of the Rosary, and in 1571 was solemnized by Pius V in thankgiving for a battle victory. In 1716, Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church.
Our Lady of Rosary, pray for us!

Why go to Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, or in Chinese, Zhongqiu Jie (traditional Chinese: 中秋節), is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people, Japanese people (Tsukimi festival in Japanese), Koreans (Chuseok festival in Korean), and Vietnamese people (even though they celebrate it differently), dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival") in the Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox（秋分）. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".

This day was also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates（石榴）, melons, oranges and pomelos（柚子） might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro（芋头）and water caltrope（菱角）, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds（西瓜子）, lotus seeds（莲籽）, almonds（杏仁）, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard（猪油）. A golden yolk（蛋黄） from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary（闰月的） moon.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense（熏香）, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

Moon Cakes

There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake.

For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates（枣子）, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.

Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.

---Form internet

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

October 2, Guardian Angels

The word "angel" comes form the Greek word for messenger, and the Scriptures contain many references to their activities. In the Acts of the Apostles we read how Peter was assisted by an angel in his escape form prison. Then when he went to a gathering of the believers and answered, "It is his angel" (Acts 12.15). It was widely believed that people had an angelic being, a guardian angel, assigned by God. In the oldest Roman Sacramentary still in existence, indirect refrence is made to these individual guardians in the prayers for the fest. A memorial to guardian angels was entered into the calendar of the first available feast day following Michaelmas (Spetember 29).

Prayer:

Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God's love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

October 1 Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (LISIEUX)

Marie-Françoise Thérèse Martin was born in Normandy, France, in 1873, ninth and youngest child of Louis Martin, watchmaker, and Azélie-Marie Guérin, lacemaker. Her mather died when she was only five years old and the family moved to Lisieux where she was raised by her father, her sisters and an aunt. Three of her sisters became Carmelite nuns and the fourth joined the Visitandines.

At 15 Thérèse entered the Carmel of Lisieux. Her motto was phrase from the great Carmelite mystic John of the Cross, "love is repaid by love alone." Thérèse held special devotions to the heart of Jesus and to the spiritual Motherhood of Mary. Because of tuberculosis, Thérèse's activites were limited. She pioneered the ideal of the "little way": fidelity in the small things, trust and complete self'surrender to God.

Thérèse  had a gift for writing and the prioress, her sister Pauline, directed her to write first about her life in the convent. These were combined into The Story of a Soul, a modern spiritual autobiography.

The "Little Flower" died on September 30, 1897. Though Thérèse life spanned only 24 years, her faith and simplicity were remarkable. She was cannonized in 1925, and made Doctor of the Church in 1997. She is another patroness of missions in the Church, besides Saint Francis Xavier.

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, pray for us!