Author: voice

某家公司有一個傳統，每年聖誕夜都會舉辦晚會，並舉行抽獎。抽獎的規矩是這樣的：每個員工都會繳交十元美金做為基金，全公司共有三百人，換句話說共能募集到三千美金，而被抽中的幸運兒，就可以將這些錢全抱回家。
抽獎當天，辦公室洋溢著熱鬧的氣氛，每個人紛紛在紙條上寫下自己的名字，投進抽獎箱中。但是，一個年輕男子下筆時卻猶豫了。因為他想到，公司的清潔阿姨體弱多病的兒子最近要開刀，但她卻沒有錢支付手術費用，讓她非常煩惱。
於是，儘管知道抽中的機會渺茫，只有三百分之一的機會，但男子還是在紙條上，寫下了那名清潔工的名字。
緊張的時刻來臨了，老闆在抽獎箱中翻攪了一番，最後抽出一張紙條，而男子也在心中不斷地禱告：「希望清潔阿姨可以得獎……」
接著，老闆慎重宣布得獎人的名字……奇蹟發生了！中獎的竟然真的是那位清潔工！
辦公室爆出歡呼聲，清潔阿姨連忙上台領獎，幾乎喜極而泣的她，感動地說：「我真是幸運！有了這一筆錢，我兒子就有希望了！」
晚會開始，男子一面想著這個「聖誕奇蹟」，一面踱步到抽獎箱旁。他順手摸出一張紙條，漫不經心地打開一看，上面寫的，竟然也是清潔阿姨的名字！男子非常吃驚，接連又抽出好幾張紙條，上面的字跡雖然不一樣，但寫的名字全都相同──都是那清潔阿姨的名字！
男子紅了眼眶。他赫然明白，世界上真的有聖誕節的奇蹟，只不過，奇蹟不會從天上掉下來，而要人們自己去創造。
當我們陷於低潮的時候，都希望有奇蹟降臨在我們身上；但當我們有能力的時候，是否願意去做那個創造奇蹟的人呢？
Author unknown
greatly appreciated

徒弟擦一面鏡子，邊擦邊說：“這鏡子可真是賤貨，幾十元買了這麼一大面！”　
師父笑著說：“你可別小看了這鏡子啊！它可以當你的老師呢。”
“哦？”徒弟也逗趣說，“不知這鏡子老師將何以教我啊？”
“不管什麼東西，只要放到鏡子前面，它都映得出嗎？”師父問。
“當然”
“那麼東西移開後，鏡子裡還留有餘影嗎？” 師父問。
“那怎麼會呢？”
“這就是智慧啊！”師父說：“這叫'物來則應，過去不留。'徒弟，你在生活中能到'事來則應，事過即忘'嗎？”
“不能”徒弟說，“想不到這鏡子還有點門道，還有嗎？”
“多得是”，師父說：“比如孔孟先師或帝王將相來照鏡，你說鏡子會因為高興加倍細心嗎？”
“不會”徒弟答。
“如果乞丐、棄兒來照鏡，鏡子會因厭惡而應付了事嗎？”
“不會。”
“這就叫'在聖不增，在凡不減。'又叫與聖人居而不喜，與凡夫居而不憂，你做得到嗎？”師父問。
“做不到！還有嗎？"徒弟興沖沖地問。
“當甲物體正在照鏡子時，鏡子會一邊照甲又一邊惦念乙嗎？”
“不會”。
“這叫把握當下，而無所住。你做得到嗎？”
“做不到！還有呢？”徒弟窮追。
“鏡子映現紅色物體時，其本身會不會也變成紅色？映現綠色時會不會本身也成綠色？”
“不會。”
“鏡子本身雖不變色，卻仍能紅來現紅，綠來現綠，是不是？”
“是，這叫什麼？”徒弟問。
“這叫'隨緣不變，不變隨緣'。你做得到嗎？ ”
“做不到，還有嗎？”徒弟還不解渴。
“鏡子映人映物、映狗、映水、映火、而本身玻璃的本質卻始終不變，你明白嗎？”
“明白了”，徒弟感嘆地說，“想不到一面小小的鏡子，竟蘊含了這麼多道理！真是物物皆可為師。

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.
Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.' Something good will happen to you today; something that you have been waiting to hear.
There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.
--Author unknown

為遵行天主旨意之人，天主必許下救恩。當以民被充軍後，受外邦習俗影響，漸漸忽略守安息日的誡命，依撒意亞先知在此特別提到關於遵守安息日的誡命，守安息日就等於承認上主是萬民的大主宰，亦是固守天主盟約。甚至包括歸依天主的外邦人，只要遵守天主旨意，信仰、愛慕上主，便能成為天主子民，亦能進入永恆的天國。救恩的普世性，透過先知的話語，漸漸傳遞開來。
www.ccreadbible.org

~ 不要害怕你的生命會結束，而要害怕它從未開始。—格雷斯.漢森
有一個人搭船到英國，途中遇到暴風，全船的人驚慌失措，他看到一個老太太非常平靜的在禱告，神情十分的安詳。
等到風浪過去，全船脫離了險境，這人很好 奇的問這老太太，為什麽一點都不害怕。
老太太回答：“我有兩個女兒，大女兒叫馬爾大，已經被上主接走，回到天家，二女兒叫瑪利亞住在英國。
剛才風浪大作時， 我就向上主禱告，如果接我回天家，我就去看大女兒，如果留我性命，我就去看二女兒，
不管去那裏我都一樣，所以我怎麽會害怕呢？”
無論遭遇任何事，不需懼怕。把自已交托給上主，充實而用心的過好每一天。

因緣際會認認天主教樞機主教單國璽後，我常利用診所空檔之際，與他電話聊天。從小就不喜歡讀書、逃學無數的我，是當 時 老師眼中的問題學生。人生經歷多次轉折，如今當了醫師，面對病人的生老病死，感觸良多。日常生活遇到不解之處，自然就討教良師益友的單樞機，每次總得到父親般親切的答覆。昨天是他老人家九十大壽，我稍加整理其中印象深刻的對話，讓社會大眾了解單樞機鮮為人知的一面—智慧、仁慈與幽默。
我曾問：「我至今仍不是天主教徒，如何祈禱？」單樞機說：「天主的回應大都是看的，而不是聽的。你每天在公園當環保義工，撿垃圾必須彎腰，種樹苗自然就需跪在地上，這都是一種敬天的表現。你也參加義診，照顧弱勢，聖經上說：『凡為我最小弟兄做的，就是為我做的。』只要持續保持善念，做善事，天主必聽得到也看得到，不必刻意。」
我請教「如何面對死亡？」他說：「很多人忌諱死亡，懼怕到甚至稱為『死神』。我講個歷史故事：以前羅馬有位若望保祿二十三世教宗，因年事已高，病入膏肓，全國最好的醫師群費力地從鬼門關將他搶救回來，他回神後第一句話就是『死亡妹妹牽我的右手，小天使牽我的左手，正快樂地將我帶向天堂，唉！醫師們，你們怎麼又把我拉回來呢？』死亡隨時會來，將每一天視為人生的最後一天，積極生活。人生好比舞台，每天彩排死亡劇本，一旦無常到來，你才會自在無懼地迎向它！」
一般人印象中的宗教事務繁瑣且嚴肅，我問單樞機可曾碰到什麼逗趣的事情？他說：「嚴肅歸嚴肅，該輕鬆的時候也該放鬆。我有個關於姓名的趣事：台灣有三位主教同時姓劉，有次開會我叫『劉主教』，三位都分不清楚。後來我笑說，這樣好了，年長的稱『大劉』，次長的叫『二劉』，最小的就是『三劉』，三位皆反對。要不然改成住北部的稱『上劉』，中部的叫『中劉』，南部的自然就叫『下劉』，不知各位意下如何？眾人聽完大笑，開會的氣氛也變得特別融洽。」
有一次，我關切地問：「單樞機，電話那頭的聲音，今天特別虛弱，怎麼了？」「不瞞你說，我肺癌有復發的跡象，主治醫師又加了另一種抗癌藥物，吃了會噁心，瀉肚子，全身無力。我已是『老廢物』一個，既然天主旨意如此，我全然接受，只祈求加諸於我的痛苦，能換得天下蒼生些許的平安。」
【聯合報╱莊聰吉／醫師（屏縣潮州)】
【 2011/11/28 聯合報】

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT
DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND , TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE .
THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH
THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.
AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE: 'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE'
THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM,
'AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'
THE FRIEND REPLIED
WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT'
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.
THEY SAY IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL PERSON,
AN HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEM,
A DAY TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN AN ENTIRE LIFE TO FORGET THEM.

1]Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.
2] So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on.
3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.
4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.
5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!
6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!
7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.
8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"
9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.
10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE.

有個小女孩問媽媽 人是怎麼來的？
媽媽說：神造了亞當和夏娃
他們生孩子 繁衍許多代 就有了我們
幾天後　小女孩問爸爸同樣的問題
爸爸說：很久很久以前
我們是從猴子一點一點 變來的
她被搞糊塗了　又跑去問媽媽
媽　你說人是神造的
但爸爸卻說我們是猴子變的
怎麼會這樣?
媽媽說：寶貝　很簡單
我說的 是我們娘家這邊的人
爸爸說的 是他們家那邊的

I grew up in a small town of 1000 people where everyone knew everyone. One day when I was a young girl, I stole a toy from a department store there. I can’t even remember why I stole it, but, nevertheless, I did. When I told my mom later, she didn’t punish me, other than to say, “Don’t do it again.”
Shortly after, I was at the same department store shopping for a coloring book and colors. I realized that I didn’t have enough money for both, and I had to make a decision. Then, I remembered that my mom “let me get away” with stealing the last time, so why not just steal again? I bought the coloring book, and then walked back into the store, slipped the box of colors into my sack, and quickly walked back out. All the way home (which was only a block), I was chuckling to myself about how easy this was. I had no idea what was about to happen. When I got home, I told my mom (laughingly) what I had done, expecting the same response that she gave the last time. However, I was so wrong. This time, she had a different response, and I wasn’t prepared for it. If she had only disciplined me at home, I could have stood that. But, my mom drove me back to the store, made me give the colors back to the cashier (who was a good friend of my mom’s), tell her what I had done, and ask forgiveness. That was the most painful punishment my mom could have given me. At the time, I didn’t understand how a loving mother could do that to her child. But I look back at that day as a turning point in my life. From that day on, I have never had the desire to steal anything. My mom’s discipline made a lasting impact in my life. She has told me many times that it hurt her much more than it hurt me. I am grateful that she loved me enough to discipline me in such a way that I would not repeat the act of stealing ever again.