THE FIFTH PETITION OF THE LORD'S PRAYER : "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive ourdebtors"
天主经第五请求:尔免我债,如我亦免负我债者。
The Importance Of Explaining This Petition
解释本请求的重要性
So many are the things which display at once God's infinite power and His equally infinite wisdom andgoodness, that wheresoever we turn our eyes or direct our thoughts, we meet with the most certain signs ofomnipotence and benignity. And yet there is truly nothing that more eloquently proclaims His supreme love andadmirable charity towards us, than the inexplicable mystery of the Passion of Jesus Christ, whence springs thatnever-failing fountain to wash away the defilements of sin. (It is this fountain) in which, under the guidance andbounty of God, we desire to be merged and purified, when we beg of Him to forgive us our debts.
有如此多事物能马上显示出天主的无穷能力,以及祂无穷的智慧和美善,那就是我们无论在哪,只要我们把目光或者内心思想朝向天主,就一定会碰到祂全能和慈祥宽厚的标记显给我们。在表明祂对我们极度的爱和可钦崇的爱德上,再没有比耶稣基督受难这无法解释的奥迹更有说服力的了,在这奥迹中涌出永不会失败的除罪之泉,在这泉中,在天主的向导和慷慨下,当我们祈求祂原谅我们所欠之债时,我们渴望能浸入这泉被净化。
This Petition contains a sort of summary of those benefits with which the human race has been enriched throughJesus Christ. This Isaias taught when he said: The iniquity of the house of Jacob shall be forgiven; and this is allthe fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away. David also shows this, proclaiming those blessed who couldpartake of that salutary fruit: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.
通过耶稣基督给人类新增添的这一类福祉,就概括包含在本请求中。依撒意亚先知教导说:雅各伯家族的罪过得消除,她的罪孽得以赦免(依撒意亚27:9)达味也表达过同样的意义,宣告那被祝福之人可以分享这有益的果实:罪恶蒙赦免,过犯得遮掩的人,是有福的(圣咏32:1)。
The pastor, therefore, should study and explain accurately and diligently the meaning of this Petition, which, weperceive, is so important to the attainment of salvation.
因而牧者应该学习,并精确勤勉的解释本请求的意义,我们认为本请求对获得救恩非常重要。
Difference Between This And The Preceding Petitions
本请求与之前的请求有何区别
In this Petition we enter on a new manner of praying. For hitherto we asked of God not only eternal andspiritual goods, but also transient and temporal advantages; whereas, we now ask to be freed from the evils ofthe soul and of the body, of this life and of the life to come.
在本请求里,我们开始了新的祈祷方式。因为迄今为止,我们不仅为永远的精神福祉,也为短期暂时的世俗福祉祈求天主;然而,我们现在为此生与来生的灵魂和身体能免于邪恶而祈祷。
Dispositions with which this petition should be Offered
奉献本请求时应有的意向
Since, however, to obtain what we ask we must pray in a becoming manner, it appears expedient to explain thedisposition with which this prayer should be offered to God.
然而,为获得我们所求的,我们必须要以恰当的方式祈求,在此解释向天主祈祷时的意向就是有用的。
Acknowledgment Of Sin
承认罪过
The pastor, then, should admonish the faithful, that he who comes to offer this Petition must first acknowledge,and next feel sorrow and compunction for his sins. He must also be firmly convinced that to sinners, thusdisposed and prepared, God is willing to grant pardon. This confidence is necessary to sinners, lest perhaps thebitter remembrance and acknowledgment of their sins should be followed by that despair of pardon, which ofold seized the mind of Cain and of Judas, both of whom looked on God solely as an avenger and punisher,forgetting that He is also mild and merciful.
因此,牧者应劝诫信友,在献上本请求之前,必须首先承认罪过,然后为此罪感到悲痛和内疚。他也要坚定的确信,对于有准备和有意向的罪人,天主愿意给与宽恕。这个信心对罪人来说,是必要的,以免痛苦的承认和回忆罪行会造成会能否被宽恕的绝望,这绝望曾经控制了加音和茹达斯,他俩都认为天主仅仅是一个复仇者和惩罚者,忘记了天主也是温和的,慈悲的。
In this Petition, therefore, we ought to be so disposed, that, acknowledging our sins in the bitterness of oursouls, we may fly to God as to a Father, not as to a Judge, imploring Him to deal with us not according to Hisjustice, but according to His mercy.
在本请求中,我们应有这样的意向,即承认我们犯了罪,造成我们灵魂的痛苦,我们要飞奔至天主那里,把祂当成父而非法官,祈求祂以仁慈而非祂的公义对待我们。
We shall be easily induced to acknowledge our sins if we listen to God Himself admonishing us through theSacred Scriptures in this regard. Thus we read in David: They are all gone aside; they are become unprofitabletogether; there is none that doeth good, no not one. Solomon speaks to the same purpose: There is no just manupon earth, that doth good, and sinneth not. To this subject apply also these words: Who can say: "my heart isclean, I am pure from sin?" The very same has been written by St. John to deter men from arrogance: If we saythat we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Jeremias also says: Thou hast said: "I amwithout sin, and am innocent"; and therefore, let thy anger be turned away from me. Behold, I will contend withthee in judgment, because thou hast said: "I have not sinned."
如果我们聆听了天主通过圣经对我们的训导,我们会很容易的承认我们的罪。因此,达味说:人人都离弃了正道,趋向邪恶:没有一人行善,实在没有一个(圣咏14:3)。撒落满也说了同样意义的话:世上没有一个只行善,而不犯罪的义人(训道7:20)。同样的还有,有谁能说:「我保持了心灵的洁净,我是纯洁无罪的?」(箴言20:9)圣若望在劝阻人不要傲慢时。说:如果我们说我们没有罪过,就是欺骗自己,真理也不在我们内(若望一书1:8)。耶肋米亚先知也说:但你还说:我是无罪的,他的忿怒已离我远去。看!我要审判你,正因为你说:我没有犯罪(耶肋米亚2:35)。
Christ the Lord, who spoke by the mouth of all these, confirms their teaching by this Petition in which Hecommands us to confess our sins. The Council of Milevi forbids us to interpret it otherwise. It hath pleased theCouncil, that whosoever will have it that these words of the Lord's prayer, "forgive us our debts," are said byholy men in humility, not in truth, let him be anathema. For who can endure a person praying, and lying not tomen, but to the Lord Himself, saying with the lips that he desires to be forgiven, but with the heart, that he hasno debts to be forgiven ?
这些人口中所预言的基督上主来临,借着本请求,祂确认了他们的教导,命令我们要告解我们的罪行。米勒维大公会议(译者注:主后402年8月27日在努米底亚,现阿尔及利亚部分,由圣奥列留斯主持,迦太基主教,圣奥斯定奉他为主保)禁止我们以其他方式解释本请求。本次大会规定,无论谁说“尔免我债”是圣洁的人谦卑的说法,而不是真实的说法,施以绝罚。因为,谁能忍受有一种人在祈祷时,虽然口中说渴望被宽恕,但是内心却认为他无债可恕,这人没有欺骗人,却欺骗了上主祂自己。
Sorrow For Sin
为罪过的悲痛
In making this necessary acknowledgment of our sins, it is not enough to call them to mind lightly; for it isnecessary that the recollection of them be bitter, that it touch the heart, pierce the soul, and imprint sorrow.
在我们必要的认罪时,仅仅轻微的回忆是不够的;因为有必要痛苦的回忆它们,这痛苦要触碰到内心,穿透灵魂,烙上悲痛。
Wherefore, the pastor should treat this point diligently, that his pious hearers may not only recollect their sins,and iniquities, but recollect them with pain and sorrow; so that with true interior contrition they may betakethemselves to God their Father, humbly imploring Him to pluck from the soul the piercing stings of sin.
因此,牧者要努力勤勉的对待这一点,使他的虔诚的听众们不仅要回忆起他们的罪和不义,而且要带有悲痛的回忆;以便他们去见天主父时,能怀着真正内在的痛悔,谦卑的祈求祂能拔除灵魂中罪的刺痛。
Motives For Sorrow Over Sin: The Baseness Of Sin
使悲痛压过罪的动机:罪的卑贱
The pastor, however, should not be content with placing before the eyes of the faithful the turpitude of sin. Heshould also depict the unworthiness and baseness of men, who, though nothing but rottenness and corruption,dare to outrage in a manner beyond all belief the incomprehensible majesty and ineffable excellence of God,particularly after having been created, redeemed and enriched by Him with countless and invaluable benefits.
因而,牧者不应满足于仅仅把罪的卑劣放在信友眼前。他还应该描述人的不堪和卑劣,人虽然除了腐败和败坏什么也不是,居然胆敢以一种超过所有信仰的方式侮辱了深邃不可理解不可言说的天主尊威和光荣,特别是发生在被创造,被救赎,和被祂赏赐了无穷不可估算的礼物而富有之后。
The Consequences Of Sin
罪之果
And for what? Only for this, that separating ourselves from God our Father, who is the supreme Good, andlured by the most base rewards of sin, we may devote ourselves to the devil, to become his most wretchedslaves. Language is inadequate to depict the cruel tyranny which the devil exercises over those who, havingshaken off the sweet yoke of God, and broken the most lovely bond of charity by which our spirit is bound toGod our Father, have gone over to their relentless enemy, who is therefore called in Scripture, the prince andruler of the world, the prince of darkness, and king over all the children of pride. Truly to those who areoppressed by the tyranny of the devil apply these words of Isaias: O Lord our God, other lords besides thee havehad dominion over us.
然而我们是因为什么犯罪呢?就因为我们把自己与至高美善的天主父分离,受到罪恶之卑劣回报的引诱,我们把自己奉献给魔鬼,成为魔鬼最悲惨的奴隶。语言是无法描述这残酷的暴行,这暴行是撒殚对那些从天主甜蜜的轭中挣脱出来的人所实施的,这些人折断了与我们灵魂与天主父的爱德纽带,走到了他们残酷的敌人那边,就是在圣经中所称的,这个世界的元首,黑暗王子,骄傲之子的君王。依撒意亚先知论这些被撒殚的暴行所压迫的人,说:上主,我们的天主!除你以外,还有别的主宰治理过我们(依撒意亚26:13)。
If these broken covenants of love do not move us, let at least the calamities into which we fall by sin move us.
如果这些被打破的爱的盟约不能打动我们,那就至少让我们跌入罪恶的悲惨打动我们。
The sanctity of the soul is violated, which we know to have been wedded to Christ. That temple of the Lord isprofaned, against the contaminators of which the Apostle utters this denunciation: If any man violate the templeof God, him shall God destroy.
灵魂的圣洁被违背,我们知道这来自与基督的结合。上主的宫殿被亵渎,宗徒对这些玷污者发出了大声的指控,说:谁若毁坏天主的宫殿,天主必要毁坏他(格前3:17)。
Innumerable are the evils brought upon man by sin, that almost infinite pest of which David says: There is nohealth in my flesh, because of thy wrath; there is no peace for my bones, because of my sins. In these words hemarks the violence of the plague, confessing that it left no part of him uninfected by pestiferous sin; for thepoison had penetrated into his bones, that is, it infected his understanding and will, which are the two mostintimate faculties of the soul. This widespread pestilence the Sacred Scriptures point out, when they designatesinners as the lame, the deaf, the dumb, the blind, the paralysed.
罪带给人类无数的邪恶,其中最大的害处就是达味说的:因了你的盛怒,我已体无完肤;因了我的罪行,我已粉身碎骨(圣咏38:4)。在这些字句里,他标出了这祸害的猛烈,坦白承认这祸害让他身体每个部分都受到了致命的感染;因为毒药已经渗入他的骨,就是说,感染了他的理解力和意志,这是灵魂的两个最本质的功能。圣经指出了这些广泛的瘟疫,就是把罪人称呼为跛子,哑巴,瞎子和瘫子。
But,besides the anguish which he felt on account of the enormity of his sins, David was afflicted yet more bythe knowledge that he had provoked the wrath of God against him by his sin. For the wicked are at war withGod, who is offended beyond belief at their crimes; hence the Apostle says: Wrath and indignation, tribulationand anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil. Although the sinful act is transient, yet the sin by its guiltand stain remains; and the imminent wrath of God pursues it, as the shadow does the body.When, therefore, David was pierced by these tormenting thoughts, he was moved to seek the pardon of his sins.
但是,除了他为他罪行的穷凶极恶而感受到剧痛之外,达味还受到了更多的折磨,为他承认他的罪激起了天主对他的义怒。因为邪恶者处在与天主的战争之中,天主被他们的罪行所冒犯,超过了想象。因此,宗徒说:义怒、患难和困苦必加于一切作恶的人(罗马书2:9)。尽管犯罪行为是短暂的,然而罪的事实和污点留存下来,天主紧急的义怒马上赶到,就像身体的影子一样如影随形。因此,当达味被这些想法折磨时,他就被打动去寻求他罪行的宽恕。
That the faithful, imitating the Prophet, may learn to grieve, that is, to become truly penitent, and cherish thehope of pardon, the pastor should call to their attention the example of David's penitential sorrow, and thelessons of instruction drawn from his fiftieth Psalm.
信友应效法先知,也可以学会如何悲痛,就是成为真正的忏悔者,怀抱宽恕的希望,牧者应召唤他们的注意力在达味的忏悔榜样上,以及从他第五十一首关于忏悔的圣咏中得出的指导课程。
How great is the utility of this sort of instruction, which teaches us to grieve for our sins, God Himself declaresby the mouth of Jeremias, who, when exhorting the Israelites to repentance, admonished them to awake to asense of the evils that follow upon sin. See, he says, that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to have left theLord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, saith the Lord, the God of hosts. They who lack this necessarysense of acknowledgment and grief, are said by the Prophets Isaias, Ezechiel and Zachary to have a hard heart, astony heart, a heart of adamant, for, like stone, they are softened by no sorrow, having no sense of life, that is,of the salutary recognition (of their sinfulness).
这些指导的效用真是太大了,教导我们如何为我们的罪而悲痛,天主祂自己通过先知耶肋米亚的口宣布,教训以色列人悔改,让他们醒悟过来,能感受到伴随着罪的邪恶,说:是你的罪恶惩罚你,是你的不忠责斥你,那么你应该明白觉察:离弃上主你的天主,对我没有敬畏,是如何邪恶和痛苦的事(耶肋米亚2:19)。先知依撒意亚,厄则克耳和匝加利亚,说那些缺乏认罪和悲痛感受的人有坚硬的心,石头般的心,金刚石的心,因为他们如石头,不被悲伤所软化,对生命没有感觉,意思是对他们的罪恶没有有益的认识。
Confidence In God's Mercy
对天主慈悲要有信心
But lest the faithful, terrified by the grievousness of their sins, despair of being able to obtain pardon, the pastorought to encourage them to hope by the following considerations.
为了以免信友被他们罪的悲伤所害怕,产生不能获得救恩的绝望,牧者应该鼓励他们进行以下思考,以产生希望。
As is declared in an Article of the Creed, Christ the Lord has given power to the Church to remit sins.Furthermore, in this Petition, our Lord has taught how great is the goodness and bounty of God towardsmankind; for if God were not ready and prepared to pardon penitents their sins, never would He have prescribedthis formula of prayer: Forgive us our trespass. Wherefore we ought to be firmly convinced, that since Hecommands us in this Petition to implore His paternal mercy, He will not fail to bestow it on us. For this Petitionassuredly implies that God is so disposed towards us, as willingly to pardon those who are truly penitent.
在信经中已经宣布过,基督上主把赦罪权给了教会。进一步,在本请求中,我主教导我们天主对人类的慷慨和美善是多么伟大;因为如果天主没有准备打算赦免忏悔者罪过的话,祂绝不会在本祷文中规定:宽恕我们的罪过。因此我们应该坚定的确信,既然祂在本请求中命令我们祈求祂的父亲般的慈悲,祂就不会不赏赐给我们。因为本请求确定的含有天主对我们的意向,就是愿意宽恕真正悔过的。
God it is against whom, having cast off obedience, we sin; the order of whose wisdom we disturb, as far as in uslies; whom we offend; whom we outrage by words and deeds. But it is also God, our most beneficent Father,who, having it in His power to pardon all transgressions, has not only declared His willingness to do so, but hasalso obliged men to ask Him for pardon, and has taught in what words they are to do so. To no one, therefore,can it be a matter of doubt, that under His guidance it is in our power to be reconciled to God. And as thisdeclaration of the divine willingness to pardon increases faith, nurtures hope and inflames charity, it will beworth while to amplify this subject, by citing some Scriptural authorities and some examples of penitents towhom God granted pardon of the most grievous crimes. Since, however, in the introduction to the Lord's Prayerand in that portion of the Creed which teaches the forgiveness of sins, we were as diffuse on the subject ascircumstances allowed, the pastor will borrow from those places whatever may seem pertinent for instruction on
this point, for the rest drawing on the fountains of the Sacred Scriptures.
由于我们不愿顺从天主,我们犯了罪;在我们的谎言中,我们扰乱了天主上智的秩序;我用言行侮辱得罪了天主。但天主作为我们最仁慈的父亲,拥有宽恕我们所有的过犯的大能,祂不仅宣布祂愿意如此,而且命令人们祈求祂的宽恕,并且教导他们应该用什么样的言语来祈求。因此,任何人不应有一丝怀疑,在祂的指引下,我们有能力与天主和好。并且宣布赦罪的意愿增长了我们的信德,哺育了望德,点燃了爱德。我们通过引用一些圣经权威和天主宽恕了那些极大罪恶的忏悔者榜样,会更能强化这个主题。然而,在此处的天主经和之前的信经部分都教导了赦罪的相关知识,我们在情况允许下尽量分散的介绍本主题,牧者可以从任何有关的部分借鉴相关的训导,因为剩下的部分借鉴了圣经的源泉。
"Debts"
债务
The pastor should also follow the same plan which we thought should be used in the other Petitions. Let himexplain, then, what the word debts here signifies, lest perhaps the faithful, deceived by its ambiguity, pray forsomething different from what should be prayed for.
牧者也应按照解释其他请求相同的流程进行。他应解释,此处债务二字所指,以免有些信友被其含糊性所误导,从而祈求其他此处不应有的意向。
First, then, we are to know, that we by no means ask for exemption from the debt we owe to God on so manyaccounts, the payment of which is essential to salvation, namely, that of loving Him with our whole heart, ourwhole soul, and our whole mind; neither do we ask to be in future exempt from the duties of obedience,worship, veneration, or any other similar obligation, comprised also under the word debts.
首先,我们应知,我们绝不是祈求免除我们欠天主的许多应有责任,如获得救恩的报偿,也就是说,全心全力全灵的爱祂;我们也不是祈求免除顺从、钦崇、尊敬和其他类似的职责,这些意义也包括在债务这个单词里。
What we do ask is that He may deliver us from sins. This is the interpretation of St. Luke, who, instead of debts,makes use of the word sins, because by their commission we become guilty before God and incur a debt ofpunishment, which we must pay either by satisfaction or by suffering. It was of this debt that Christ the Lordspoke by the mouth of His Prophet: Then did I pay that which I took not away. From these words of God wemay understand that we are not only debtors, but also unequal to the payment of our debt, the sinner being ofhimself utterly incapable of making satisfaction.
我们所求的是祂能救我们脱离罪恶。这来自圣路加的解释,他没有使用债务这个词,而是使用了罪这个词,因为实施犯罪,我们在天主前成为罪犯,招致了惩罚的债务,这是我们必须靠痛苦或归还来偿付的。这也是基督上主借祂的先知口说的债务:我没有拿走过的,我反而应该偿还(圣咏69:5)。从天主的这些话中,我们理解我们不仅是债务人,而且在偿还我们的债上并非平等,即罪人靠自己是完全没有能力偿还的。
Wherefore we must fly to the mercy of God; and as justice, of which God is most tenacious, is an equal andcorresponding attribute to mercy, we must make use of prayer, and the intercession of the Passion of our LordJesus Christ, without which no one ever obtained the pardon of his sins, and from which, as from its source,have flown all the efficacy and virtue of satisfaction. For of such value is that price paid by Christ the Lord onthe cross, and communicated to us through the Sacraments, received either actually or in purpose and desire,that it obtains and accomplishes for us the pardon of our sins, which is the object of our prayer in this Petition.
因而,我们必须飞奔到上主的仁慈中;天主正义,作为天主最坚持的要求,是天主仁慈的一个平等相伴的属性,我们必须使用祈祷,以及我主耶稣基督受难的功绩,如果没有此受难之功,无人能获得罪过的赦免,从受难中,流出了偿还罪债的所有效力和德性。因为基督上主受难就是偿还罪债的对价,我们可以通过圣事与这对价相通,既可以实际领受也可以发愿领受,这对价为我们包含和完成了赎罪,这就是本请求中我们祈祷的对象。
Here we ask pardon not only for our venial offences, for which pardon may most easily be obtained, but also forgrievous and mortal sins. With regard to grave sins, however, this Petition cannot procure forgiveness unless itderive that efficacy from the Sacrament of Penance, received, as we have already said, either actually or at leastin desire.
我们在此不仅请求宽恕我们的小冒犯,因为这种宽恕是最容易获得的,而且还为那些重罪和死罪祈求。然而关于重罪,本请求无法获得宽恕,除非经领受忏悔圣事,如同我们以上所说,实际领受或者至少意愿领受。
"Our"
我们的
The words our debts are used here in a sense entirely different from that in which we said our bread. That breadis ours, because it is given us by the munificence of God; whereas sins are ours, because with us rests their guilt.They are our voluntary acts, otherwise they would not have the character of sin.
我们的罪债这里的“我们的”与之前我们的食粮里面的“我们的”,具有完全不同的意义。食粮是我们的,因为是天主的慷慨给我们的;然而罪债是我们的,却因为这是我们自己出于自愿行为,如果不是出于自愿,就不是罪。
Admitting, therefore, and confessing the guilt of our sins, we implore the clemency of God, which is necessaryfor their expiation. In this we make use of no palliation whatever, nor do we transfer the blame to others, as didour first parents Adam and Eve. We judge ourselves, employing, if we are wise, the prayer of the Prophet:Incline not my heart to evil words, to make excuses in sins.
因此,承认并告解我们的罪时,我们要祈求天主的仁厚,这是获得补偿的必需。此时,我们不对罪做任何的掩饰减轻,我们也不转移去责备他人,如果我们的元祖亚当和厄娃那样做。我们审判自己,如果我们聪明的话,就采纳先知的祷文说:莫让我的心倾向邪道,免得我再去犯罪作恶(圣咏141:4)。
"Forgive Us"
宽恕我们
Nor do we say, forgive me, but forgive us; because the fraternal relationship and charity which subsist betweenall men, demand of each of us that, being solicitous for the salvation of all our neighbors, we pray also forthem while offering prayers for ourselves.
我们也不是说宽恕我,而是宽恕我们;因为兄弟关系和爱德存在于所有人,并要求我们每个人都牵挂我们邻人的救赎,我们为自己祈祷的时候也为他们。
This manner of praying, taught by Christ the Lord, and subsequently received and always retained by theChurch of God, the Apostles most strictly observed themselves and taught others to observe.
基督上主教导的这种祈祷方式,被天主的教会接受并一直保存,宗徒们自己严格遵守,并教导其他人也遵守。
Of this ardent zeal and earnestness in praying for the salvation of our neighbors, we have the splendid exampleof Moses in the Old, and of St. Paul in the New Testament. The former besought God thus: Either forgive themthis trespass; or, if thou dost not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written; ' while the latter prayed afterthis manner: I wished myself to be anathema from Christ for my brethren.
为邻人的救恩热情且诚恳的祈祷,我们有旧约里梅瑟和新约里保禄的光辉榜样。前者祈求天主说:现在只求你赦免他们的罪,不然,就把我从你所记录的册子上抹去罢(出谷32:32)!后者以这样的方式祈祷说:为救我的弟兄,我血统的同胞,就是被诅咒,与基督隔绝,我也甘心情愿(罗马书9:3)。
"As we Forgive our Debtors"
如我亦免负我债者
The word as may be understood in two senses. It may be taken as having the force of a comparison, meaningthat we beg of God to pardon us our sins, just as we pardon the wrongs and contumelies which we receive fromthose by whom we have been injured. It may also be understood as denoting a condition, and in this senseChrist the Lord interprets that formula. If, He says, you forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father willalso forgive you your offences; but if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins.
这句话可以理解为两个意义。这里做了一个对比,意味着我们祈求天主宽恕我们的罪,正如我们宽恕别人用傲慢和恶行伤害了我们。还可以理解为表明一个条件,基督上主在这个意义上解释了这个格式。祂说,因为你们若宽免别人的过犯,你们的天父也必宽免你们的;但你们若不宽免别人的,你们的父也必不宽免你们的过犯(玛窦6:14)。
Either sense, however, equally contains the necessity of forgiveness, intimating, as it does that, if we desire thatGod should grant us the pardon of our offences, we ourselves must pardon those from whom we have receivedinjury; for so rigorously does God exact from us forgetfulness of injuries and mutual affection and love, that Herejects and despises the gifts and sacrifices of those who are not reconciled to one another.
然而,无论是哪种意义都包含了宽恕的必要性,一直以来提示着众人,如果我们渴望天主能赦免我们的过犯,我们自己必须宽恕那些伤害我们的;因为天主是如此严厉的要求我们忘记伤害,要求共情和互爱,以至于祂拒绝并蔑视从那些拒绝与他人和好的人所奉献的礼物和牺牲。
Necessity Of Forgiveness
宽恕的必要性
Even the law of nature requires that we conduct ourselves towards others as we would have them conductthemselves towards us; hence he would be most impudent who would ask of God the pardon of his ownoffences while he continued to cherish enmity against his neighbor.
甚至自然法也要求我们希望别人对我们怎么做,我们就应该对别人怎么做;因此那求天主原谅自己过犯的同时却依然对邻人怀有敌意的人,是非常无礼的。
Those, therefore, on whom injuries have been inflicted, should be ready and willing to pardon, urged to it asthey are by this form of prayer, and by the command of God in St. Luke: If thy brother sin against thee, reprovehim; and if he repent, forgive him; and if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turnagain to thee, saying, "I repent," forgive him. In the Gospel of St. Matthew we read: Love your enemies; and theApostle, and before him Solomon wrote: If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink;and finally we read in the Gospel of St. Mark: When you shall stand to pray, forgive if you have anything against any man; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your sins.
因此那些受伤害折磨的人,应力劝他们准备并愿意宽恕别人,就使用本祈祷格式,以及通过圣路加福音中天主的命令:如果你的兄弟犯了罪,你就得规劝他;他如果后悔了,你就得宽恕他。如果他一天七次得罪了你,而又七次转向你说:我后悔了,你也得宽恕他(路加17:3)。在圣玛窦福音中,我们读到:爱你的敌人;以及宗徒的训导,还有早于宗徒之前的撒落满的话:若仇人饿了,你要给他吃;若是他渴了,应给他水喝(箴言25:21)。最后,我们在圣马尔谷福音读到:当你们立著祈祷时,若你们有什么怨人的事,就宽恕罢!好叫你们在天之父,也宽恕你们的过犯(马尔谷11:25)。
Reasons For Forgiveness
宽恕的原因
But since, on account of the corruption of nature, there is nothing to which man brings himself more reluctantlythan to the pardon of injuries, let pastors exert all the powers and resources of their minds to change and bendthe dispositions of the faithful to this mildness and mercy so necessary to a Christian. Let them dwell on thosepassages of Scripture in which we hear God commanding to pardon enemies.Let them also insist on this certain truth, that one of the surest signs that men are children of God is theirwillingnessto forgive injuries and sincerely love their enemies; for in loving our enemies there shines forth inus some likeness to God our Father, who, by the death of His Son, ransomed from everlasting perdition andreconciled to Himself the human race, which before was most unfriendly and hostile to Him.
但是由于人本性的败坏,没有什么比伤害赦免更令人不情愿的了,牧者应使出全力,调动他们思想一切能力来改变和折服信友的意向,让他们理解慈悲和温和是一个基督徒的必需。让他们仔细阅读圣经,有关天主命令宽恕敌人的篇章。让他们认识到,成为天主子女的一个确定标志就是他们愿意宽恕伤害,并真诚的爱他们的敌人;因为我们爱敌人,在我们内就闪耀出相似我们天父的光,祂借着圣子的死亡,从永罚中赎回了整个人类,并与人类和好,而人类此前对祂是最有敌意和不友好的。
Let the close of this exhortation and injunction be the command of Christ the Lord, which, without utterdisgrace and ruin, we cannot refuse to obey: Pray for them that persecute and calumniate you; that you may bethe children of your Father who is in heaven.
我们用基督上主的命令作为我们训导和训令的收尾,基督的命令丝毫不含有羞耻和毁灭,我们不能拒绝服从:你们当爱你们的仇人,当为迫害你们的人祈祷,好使你们成为你们在天之父的子女(玛窦5:44)。
This Petition Should Not be Neglected
本请求不应被忽视
But in this matter no ordinary prudence is required on the part of the pastor, lest, knowing the difficulty andnecessity of this precept, anyone despair of salvation.
涉及这个主题时,牧者只有普通谨慎的态度是不行的,以免造成信友低估和蔑视本训令的困难和必要性。
Those Unable To Forget Injuries
那些做不到宽恕伤害的
There are those who, aware that they ought to bury injuries in voluntary oblivion and ought to love those thatinjure them, desire to do so, and do so as far as they are able, but feel that they cannot efface from their mind allrecollection of injuries. For there lurk in the mind some remains of private grudge, in consequence of whichsuch persons are disturbed by misgivings of conscience, fearing that they have not in simplicity and franknesslaid aside their enmities and consequently do not obey the command of God.
有些人他们懂得应该自愿把伤害埋藏在遗忘中,还应该爱那些伤害他们的人,但这些人不愿意,甚至尽可能的不这样做。他们觉得自己不能从记忆中抹去这些受伤害的回忆。因为潜伏在他们意识中有隐蔽的忌恨和吝啬,所以这样的人的良心就被怀疑所扰动,担心他们没有遵照天主的命令,简单坦白的把他们的敌意放下。
Here, therefore, the pastor should explain the contrary desires of the flesh and of the spirit; that the former isprone to revenge, the latter ready to pardon; that hence a continual struggle and conflict goes on between them.
因此,牧者应该解释肉身与灵魂之间相互冲突的愿望;前者倾向于报复。后者准备宽恕;因此两者之间就有持续的冲突和挣扎。
Wherefore he should point out that although the appetites of corrupt nature are ever opposing and rebellingagainst reason, we are not on this account to be uneasy regarding salvation, provided the spirit persevere in theduty and disposition of forgiving injuries and of loving our neighbor.
所以,他应该指出尽管败坏本质的偏好与理性永远发生冲突和对抗,我们也没有任何理由对救恩感到紧张,只要灵魂可以维持住宽恕伤害和爱邻人的职责和意向。
Those Who Do Not Love Their Enemies
那些不爱他们敌人的
There may be some who, because they have not yet been able to bring themselves to forget injuries and to lovetheir enemies, are consequently deterred by the condition contained in this Petition from making use of theLord's Prayer. To remove from their minds this pernicious error, the pastor should adduce the two followingconsiderations.
还有一些人,因为他们没有能力做到忘记伤害和爱敌人,所以就暂时享受不到祈祷天主经时本请求的好处。为了去除他们思想中这个致命的错误,牧者应该引用以下两个思考。
(In the first place), whoever belongs to the number of the faithful, offers this prayer in the name of the entireChurch, in which there must necessarily be some pious persons who have forgiven their debtors the debts herementioned.
首先,任何虔信者,都是以全教会的名义献上天主经,全教会里必定有信友做到了宽恕了他人。
Secondly, when we ask this favour from God, we also ask for whatever cooperation with the Petition isnecessary on our part in order to obtain the object of our prayer. Thus we ask the pardon of our sins and the giftof true repentance; we pray for the grace of inward sorrow; we beg that we may be able to abhor our sins, andconfess them truly and piously to the priest. Since, then, it is necessary for us to forgive those who haveinflicted on us any loss or injury, when we ask pardon of God we beg of Him at the same time to grant us graceto be reconciled to those against whom we harbour hatred.
第二,当我们祈求天主的喜爱时,我们也祈求任何与本请求所必需的合作,使我们达到祈祷的目的。因此,我们祈求宽恕我们的罪和真正的忏悔;我们祈求内在悲痛的恩宠,我们祈求我们可以恼恨我罪,并真正虔诚的向祭司告解。由于,当我们祈求天主宽恕我们,给我们恩宠,让我们与我们所恨的人合好时,我们就必须宽恕那些折磨我们伤害我们的人。
Those, therefore, who are troubled by that groundless and perverse fear, that by this prayer they provoke stillmore the wrath of God, should be undeceived and should be exhorted to make frequent use of a prayer in whichthey beseech God our Father to grant them the disposition to forgive those who have injured them and to lovetheir enemies.
有些被无根据和不正当恐惧折磨的人,他们害怕做不到宽恕别人就敢用天主经祈祷会召来天主更大的义怒,他们不应被蒙骗,应劝诫他们频繁的请求天主父赏给他们意向能宽恕他人和爱自己的敌人。
How to Make this Petition Fruitful
如何有成效的发出本请求
Penitential Dispositions
忏悔的意向
But that this Petition may be really fruitful we should first seriously reflect that we are suppliants before God,soliciting from Him pardon, which is not granted but to the penitent; and that we should, therefore, be animatedby that charity and piety which are fitting in penitents, whom it eminently becomes to keep before their eyes, asit were, their own crimes and enormities and to expiate them with tears.
本请求可以真正得到果实,我们应首先严肃的反思我们在天主面前是请求者,恳求祂的宽恕,祂的这宽恕只赏赐给忏悔者;因此我们要受到真正忏悔者应有的爱德和虔信的激励,成为那些杰出的忏悔者,他们眼含泪水宽恕了呈现在他们眼前的罪过和恶行。
Avoidance Of Dangers Of Sin
避免罪的危险
To this thought should be joined caution in guarding for the future against every occasion of sin, and againstwhatever may expose us to the danger of offending God our Father. With this solicitude the mind of David wasoccupied when he said: My sin is always before me; and: Every night I will wash my bed; I will water mycouch with my tears.
小心防止未来可能出现的犯罪机会,和任何可能让我们暴露在冒犯天主父的危险也应加以考量。达味的心思被这种谨慎关切所影响,他说:我的罪恶常在我的眼前(圣咏51:3)以及,每天夜里,常以眼泪浸湿我的床舖,常以鼻涕流透我的被褥(圣咏6:6)。
Imitation Of Fervent Penitents
效法热情的忏悔者
Let each one also call to mind the ardent love of prayer of those who obtained from God through their entreatiesthe pardon of their sins. Such was the publican, who, standing afar off through shame and grief, and with eyesfixed on the ground, only smote his breast, crying: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Such was also thewoman, a sinner, who, standing behind Christ the Lord, washed His feet, wiped them with her hair, and kissedthem. Lastly, there is the example of Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, who going forth wept bitterly.
每人都应牢记那些通过热切恳求获得了天主宽恕罪过他们这些人祈祷中的热烈的爱。比如圣殿中的税吏,他羞愧悲痛的远远站在不敢上前,眼睛看着地面,捶着胸口,哭泣说:天主,可怜我这个罪人罢(路加18:13)。还有那位罪妇,站在基督上主身后,给祂洗脚并用头发擦脚亲吻。最后,宗徒之长伯多禄的痛哭悔过之榜样。
Frequent Use Of The Sacraments
经常领圣事
They should next consider that the weaker men are, and the more liable to diseases of the soul, which are sins,the more numerous and frequent are the remedies they need. Now the remedies of a sick soul are Penance andthe Eucharist; these, therefore, the faithful should frequently make use of.
接下来思考,那些软弱的人更易受灵魂的疾病,就是罪的影响,他们需要更多更频繁的医治。对有病的灵魂的药物就是忏悔圣事和圣体圣事;因此信友应该经常使用这两个圣事。
Almsdeeds
实施救济
Next almsdeeds, as the Sacred Scriptures declare, are a medicine suited to heal the wounds of the soul.Wherefore, let those who desire to make pious use of this prayer act kindly to the poor according to their means.
如同圣经宣布的,实施救济也是治疗灵魂伤痛的良药。所以,那些愿意虔诚祈祷天主经的信友友善的根据所需对待穷人。
Of the great efficacy of alms in effacing the stains of sin, the Angel of the Lord in Tobias, holy Raphael, is awitness, who says: Alms deliver from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to findmercy and life everlasting. Daniel is another witness, who thus admonished King Nabuchodonosor: Redeemthou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor.
实施救济的极大效力是去除罪污,在多俾亚传中,主之天神辣法尔就是见证,他说:因为施舍救人脱免死亡,且涤除一切罪恶。施舍行义的人必享高寿(多俾亚12:9);达尼尔先知也是见证,他在劝诫拿步高王时说:怜贫济困,以抵偿不义(达尼尔4:24)。
The Spirit Of Forgiveness
宽恕的精神
The best alms and the most excellent act of mercy is forgetfulness of injuries, and good will towards those whohave injured us or ours, in person, in property, or in character. Whoever, therefore, desires to experience in aspecial manner the mercy of God, should make an offering to God Himself of all his enmities, remit everyoffence, and pray for his enemies with the greatest good will, seizing every opportunity of doing them good.
最好的救济和最卓越的仁慈,就是对伤害的遗忘,以及对伤害我们人财物以及名誉的人抱有善良的意愿。无论谁,想要以特殊方式获得天主慈悲,就应为他的敌意给天主做出奉献,原谅每一个冒犯,用最好的意向为他的敌人祈祷,抓住每个机会为他们做好事。
But as this subject was explained when we treated of murder, we refer the pastor to that place.
但在涉及到之前我们解释过的谋杀时,我们建议牧者去参考第五诫命的教导。
The pastor ought to conclude his explanation of this Petition with this final reflection, that nothing is, or can beconceived, more unjust than that he who is so rigorous towards men as to extend indulgence to no one, shouldhimself demand that God be mild and kind towards him.
牧者应该总结对本请求的解释,用这个最后的反思,那就是对他人如此严厉以至于一个也不宽恕的,这种人却请求天主温和仁慈的对他,还能有比这个更不正义的吗?