2009年1月8日星期四

信仰三重奏

彌額爾的網頁中,提到過我們在信仰生活中,在教會內所聽到的三種不同聲音。它們或多或少都是出自天主、對我們的得救有益--

i. The voice of the Father (vox Patris). This is what is revealed by God through His Word, written (Bible) and unwritten (Tradition) and proposed by the teaching authority of the Church as divinely revealed, (and hence) for us to believe in divine and catholic faith. To assent is to have faith and to deny is to become a heretic.

ii. The voice of the Mother (vox Matris). This is the teaching and explanation given by our Mother the Church concerning doctrines closely related to the Faith, and also its concrete application to our daily lives. These can take the form of non-definitive (e.g. by the parish priest and the local bishops) or definitive act (e.g. the Pope or College of Bishops settling a doctrinal or moral question). We owe her our religious assent and obedience to both forms. Although the pre-rogative of infallibility is often not invoked, we are still bound in our conscience to adhere to the official teachings and to follow the lawful commands of our holy pastors. Here the word holy is not understood in the sense of the pastors' personal holiness and virtue, but in the sense of their being appointed by Christ to rule and to guide us on His behalf.

iii. The voice of the siblings (vox fratris). These are the sincere and well-intended exchange of ideas, views, opinions and experiences of our fellow-brothers and sisters in the community of Faith regarding how to live an integral Christian life. While these are often full of warmth and concern, and we often find them very useful and helpful, their properliness and legitimacy has to be measured against the two categories stated above. The more they echo with the voices of parents, the more "authoritative" they are. But certainly, instead of "music" which you expect, sometimes you may encounter noises or even nuissances!

上述回應,其實是源於堂區內的一些討論。有弟兄傾向於將教會內牧者的言論和決定,看成是純粹「人為」的--它們是否出自天主,則要視乎個人的判斷。然而,我們亦須注意到:在現實生活中,天主是透過不同方式、並藉著不同人士,向我們發言。

個人判斷,在信仰生活中是重要的。先任教宗若望廿三世曾稱,「觀察、判斷和行動」是信友在現世生活見證的三個要素。然而,為達成正確的判斷,就必須先有正確的前提和原則,否則達成正確結論只能說是「好彩」,走歪則是難免的。

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