20year

Our community has more than twenty years of history in Dallas. What began as five or six families coming together to study the Bible and pray together, quickly became a community that regularly gathered at nearby churches for Masses and meetings. As the numbers grew, they requested that the Diocese of Dallas help establish a permanent Chinese Catholic community in 1990. In 1992, we put our money together and purchased a small office building in Richardson, Texas. By the end of 1993, we had renovated it to become our sanctuary and activity hall. With the guidance of priests seconded from Taiwan and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, our small community grew stronger in numbers and in faith.

耗竭與靈性之間的邏輯

 

張宏秀

去年,我引導『明心見性的助人者』工作坊的學員,反思助人經驗對自己心靈轉化的影響。今年,我再次回應天主,和學員分享學習耗竭(burn-out)功課的心得,協助學員去探索耗竭與靈性間的關係。這就像是一起爬一座山,在這耗竭之山的頂峰上,聆聽天主為我們指點迷津,告訴我們,人所見真相外之真相。

如果耗竭是走向天主之路,遲早要經過的一站,那麼耗竭就不只是個身心現象,或是增加點情緒管理技巧就可打發的議題。耗竭可以是天主祝福的標記,祂藉著耗竭親吻你我的靈魂。但是,除非人能以感恩謙遜之心,及以天主子女特有的尊嚴去解讀自己的耗竭,否則祂的親吻將無法被人瞭解。往往你我只有在承認自己被工作或被這個世界剝光了,吸乾了以後,才有機會真正的轉向天主,並用空空的兩手去擁抱生命的主子。那時,祂或許會幽默地對你我說:『 終於讓我等到這一天了。』

在擁抱天主的時刻,不需要有學識與經驗,因為每一次擁抱都是新鮮的。只要專心與靜默,讓聖神與靈魂對語; 一旦人開始經驗到寶藏在哪裡,也就會甘心地給出自己的順服,就如窮寡婦奉獻出她僅有的兩文錢。人將會甘心地順服於自己的匱乏,順服於天主的富裕,順服於人性的真相,順服於人須要在經驗中學習生命的本質。

人可以自由的選擇在耗竭中窒息或重生,天主早已無限量的供應人做選擇時所需要的恩寵。如果能想起耶穌,就如一位摯友,祂在乎我這個人及我的選擇,我的選擇就不只是我自己的事了。因為我不僅要對自己負責,也要對基督負責;我不僅要為自己活,更要為祂活。或許,耗竭不只是你我的私事,更是跟祂有關的事。朋友,這就是耗竭與靈性之間最重要的邏輯。

(作者為旅美婚姻家庭治療師,聯絡電郵地址 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )