LETTER XII.

第十二封信

To the Priests of the whole Order.

致全修会神父们。

In the Name of the most Holy Trinity and Supreme Unity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

以至圣的三位一体的天主，圣父、圣子、圣神之名，阿门。

  To all his Reverend and much-loved Brothers, the Minister-General of the Order of Friars Minor, and all the other Ministers-General who shall succeed him; to all the other Ministers, Custodes, and Priests of this Brotherhood ; to all who are humble, simple, and obedient in Christ; to the greatest and the least, —Brother Francis, a poor, miserable man, your little servant, health in Him Who has redeemed us and washed us in His Blood, Jesus Christ, the most glorious Son of God, blessed in all ages. Amen.

致主的所有尊敬的亲爱的兄弟们，小兄弟会总会长、所有即将继任此职的总会长们；致所有会长、神职人员，及小兄弟会的所有神父们；致所有谦卑的、简朴的，及顺从基督的兄弟们；致最大和最小的兄弟们，——方济各兄弟，一个贫穷的、卑微的人，你们最小的仆人。那充满圣宠者以祂的宝血救赎并洁净了我们，耶稣基督，圣父至光荣的圣子，万古之福，愿在祂内身体健康！阿门。

Hearken, my lords, my children, and my brethren ; listen to my words. Incline the ears of your heart and obey the voice of the Son of God. Keep His commandments with your whole heart, and fulfill His counsels with a perfect mind. Praise Him, for He is good, and exalt Him in your works. The Lord God offers Himself to us as to His children. Wherefore, O my brethren, embracing your feet with all the love of which I am capable, I conjure you to show all the reverence and honour possible to the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom everything in heaven and on earth has been restored to peace, and reconciled with Almighty God.

请听，我的主、我的孩子们、我的兄弟们；请聆听我的话。倾心倾听并遵从圣子的声音。全心遵守祂的诫命，全意履行祂的建议。赞美祂，因为祂是良善的，在你们的事工中举扬祂。上主我们的天主把祂自己给了我们如同给了祂的孩子们一样。因此，我的兄弟们，我愿用所有我所能给予的爱拥抱你们的脚，我恳请你们尽可能将一切崇敬和荣耀，都归于我主耶稣基督的圣体圣血，天地万物都在祂内归于宁静平和，并与全能天主重修旧好。

I also beseech in the Lord, all my brethren who are, or who shall be, or who desire to be priests of the Most High, that whenever they wish to celebrate Mass, they be pure, and offer with purity and reverence the true Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ with a holy and perfect intention; not from any earthly motive, nor for the fear or love of any creature, as though desiring to please men; but let every will (according to the grace given) be directed solely to the most High God, and do you desire to please Him alone, for He alone works in this holy Sacrifice according to His good pleasure, as the Lord has Himself said : ' Do this in remembrance of Me’and he who does otherwise becomes a traitor like Judas. Remember, O priests, my brothers, how it is written in the law of Moses, that those who transgressed even in corporal sacrifices were condemned by God to death, without any mercy. What a far more terrible punishment will he deserve, who tramples under foot the Son of God, and treats the Blood of the New Testament by which he is sanctified as a vile thing, and offers insult to the Holy Ghost! A man stained with sin despises and tramples on the Lamb of God, when, as the Apostle says, not discerning the sacred Bread, which is Christ, from other food, he eats unworthily by being guilty of unworthy actions ; for the Lord has said by His Prophet: ‘Cursed is the man who does the work of God with negligence or fraud.’ And on account of those priests who will not lay these things seriously to heart, we are condemned, when Our Lord says : ‘I will curse your blessings.’ 

我还在主内恳请你们，我所有现在、将来及想要成为至高者司铎的兄弟们，无论什么时候你们想要祭献弥撒，你们都要是纯洁的，并以一颗纯洁、敬畏的心，圣洁、完美的意愿，献上我主耶稣基督至圣圣体圣血的真正祭献；既不是源自任何世俗意愿，也不是出于对任何受造物的喜爱或害怕，似乎是为了取悦于人；其实是让每一个意愿（按所得恩宠）直接上达至高天主，并且你单单只想取悦祂，按照祂的美好意愿，祂独自临在这神圣的祭献中，正如主自己所说的：“你们要这样做来纪念我”（格前：11：24）。你们如果不这样做，就会如同犹达斯一样成为一个背叛者。记住，神父们，我的兄弟们，梅瑟的法律中是怎样写的，即便是在全燔祭上僭越的人，都会被上主判为死罪，没有任何怜悯。（肋：22：17-25）。他应受的古老的惩罚是多么可怕，他将圣子践踏在脚下，对待那使他圣洁的新约的圣血，如同对待卑鄙恶劣的东西一样，并亵渎了圣神！一个被罪恶玷污的人轻视并践踏天主的羔羊，正如使徒说的，当他没有从其它食物中区分出圣体是基督时，因不恰当行为的罪不配的吃了，因天主藉祂的先知说：“以疏忽渎职与诡诈为主事工的人必受诅咒。”（耶：48：10）。至于那些未将此事郑重置于心中的神父们，将被判有罪，我们的主说：“我必使你们的祝福变为诅咒！”（拉：2：2）。

  Hearken, my brethren. If the Blessed Virgin Mary is honoured, as she well deserves, for having borne our Saviour in her most holy womb; if St. John the Baptist trembled, and did not dare to touch the forehead of his Lord ; if the Holy Sepulchre in which this same Lord reposed for a short time is so venerated—how holy, how just, and how worthy- ought not he to be who touches with his hands, receives into his mouth and heart, and gives to others, this God Who is now no more to die, but Who will live and be glorified for ever, on Whom the angels desire to gaze! Understand your dignity, O priests, my brothers, and 'be ye holy, because He is holy? As God has honoured you more than all others through this Mystery, do you love, reverence, and honour Him through this Mystery. It is a great misery, and a deplorable weakness, when you have Him thus present, that you should care for anything else in the whole world. Man should be seized with fear, the earth should tremble, and the heavens rejoice exceedingly, when Christ the Son of the living God descends upon the altar in the hands of the priest. O admirable greatness! O stupendous condescension ! O humble sublimity! the Lord of the universe, God, and the Son of God, so abases Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the form of a morsel of bread! See, O my brethren, the lowliness of your God! pour out your hearts before Him and humble yourselves, that you may be worthy to be exalted by Him. Do not keep back anything of yourselves, that He Who gives Himself to you without reserve may receive your entire being.

请听，我的兄弟们。如果万福圣母玛利亚因她至神圣的母胎孕生了我们的救世主而应受尊崇，如果圣若翰洗者战战兢兢地不敢触碰他的天主的额头，如果这个主曾在其中短暂安息过的圣墓如此受崇敬——何等神圣，何等公正，何等当受钦崇，那些以手触碰、以口和心领受并分施给别人的人不应该如此吗？这位天主不再会死，祂将永生并永受赞美，众天使都渴望瞻仰祂！你们要明白你们的尊贵，神父们，我的兄弟们，“你们应是神圣的，因为祂是神圣的。”（伯前：1：16），天主因这个奥秘给了你们较其他所有人更多的荣耀，你们也要通过这个奥秘爱祂、敬畏祂、光荣祂。我们有如此一位天主临在，却关心全世界任何一件别的事，这真是一个巨大的不幸，是令人遗憾的弱点。当永生天主的圣子基督在神父的手中降临祭坛时，人们应该惊恐万状，大地应该摇晃颤抖，天上应该欢喜雀跃。啊，令人钦佩的伟大！啊，令人惊叹的屈尊！啊，谦卑的崇高！宇宙之主，天主，圣子，为我们的救赎，祂屈尊隐藏于面饼之下！看啊，哦，我的兄弟们，你们天主的谦卑，在祂面前你们应该倾心谦卑，这样你们才配被祂举扬。不要为你们自己有任何保留，因为祂为了你们能获得你们的整个生命而将祂自己毫无保留地给了你们。

  Moreover, I recommend and exhort you in the Lord that in the houses where the brethren dwell, there be only one Mass celebrated each day, according to the rite of the holy Roman Church. If there be many priests in one place, let them charitably be contented to hear the Mass of one, for Our Lord Jesus Christ fills all with His grace who are worthy of it, both those who are present and those who are absent. Although He is present in many places, He is still undivided, He changes not; but He works ever according to His blessed Will, in union with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, for ever and ever. Amen.

此外，我在主内建议并劝诫你们，按照神圣罗马教会的礼仪，在兄弟们居住的房子里，每天只举行一台弥撒。如果一个地方有很多位神父，让大家宽容地心甘乐意地听一台弥撒，因为我们的救主耶稣以祂的恩宠充满所有与之相配的人，无论他们在还是不在。尽管祂临在很多地方，祂仍是不可分割的，永不改变的，但是祂永远按祂的圣意工作，并与圣父及圣神合而为一，（祂是）安慰之神护卫之神，直到永永远远，阿门。