Day 13 – Whose Property?
Cantonese
Mandarin
English
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So, he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
When we perceive those gifts as entitlements, we automatically see ourselves as owners instead of stewards. That makes a huge difference in how we view and use those gifts freely given to us.
In the younger son's case, he squandered his entire inheritance on a life of dissipation. His inheritance was not small at all. He was unbelievably lavish, and because he was away from his father, he was subjected to more temptations from the Devil. Pleasures were the Devil's traps for him and he wasted every penny he had received.
In reality, we also see the opposite extreme. We are oftentimes too fearful of losing our possessions. So we invest our whole lives in protecting them, to the point that we become slaves to our properties. People with this "owner" mindset tries their best to guard their possessions, and use them mainly for their own needs and interests. Fearing that they do not have enough for themselves, sharing will be limited, and only after their current needs are fulfilled and all their future needs are covered.
On the contrary, God wants us to be good stewards of the gifts freely given to us. He wants us to share as much as we can, so that His love can be channeled through us to those in need. Our God cannot be outdone in generosity. The more we share and give, the more He will bless us with His providence!
God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.
If we remain in the Father's House, we will have an abundance for ourselves and others; if we are on our own in our distant country, we are left wanting.
REFLECTION
Are you living in fear of not having enough for your future? Would you like to be set free from all those worries?
Do you find yourself enslaved to material possessions? Do you find yourself still in your distant country, away from the Father's abundant graces?
TODAY'S PRAYER
I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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不馴服的心、不感恩的心、是誰的財產，這一切完全是我的寫照，感恩有機會參與這個歸家的路。求主保守，使我能夠擺脫自己，順服天主賜于的一切。????????
I was in fear of not having enough to maintain my living standard when I planned to retire over 10 years ago. Wealth itself is not evil depending on how we use it. Simply focus in using them on our wants will never give us satisfaction because we are insatiable. If only we treat what we have as gifts from God, we will be more generous to share them with others. The more you give, the more you will receive, both materially and spiritually.
「佔有慾」——似乎是每個人根深柢固的習性，還記得年幼時，很想得到父母完全的關顧，甚至希望獨佔他們。可是，由於兄弟姊妹眾多，且排行於中間，往往容易被忽略，因而漸漸形成了較孤獨，常表現自己的一個，一旦得到父母的關注，內心總是感到興奮。時至今天，才漸漸明白，原來這種感覺也是原生家庭所帶來的陰影，障礙了自己的成長。
幸然，經過神師的慈愛同行，不斷的引導、規勸和提醒，才明白天父的愛從來不是這樣的，他曾直言地提出：你以為在天主眼中，是怎樣的？祂最想你是個怎樣的人？原來天主從不輕看自己，祂永遠願意等待，等待我們的回歸，因為祂早已為我們每個人準備領受天國的財產，唯一的是我們又是否願意回應祂呢？
Thank you for another rich spiritual nourishment.
I just wonder will we be able to re-walk the journey after Lent. It will be good if we can start the journey over and over again.
God the all the organising team members!
Sorry, the last sentence should be:
“God bless all the organising team members!”
My apology!
我亦真的曾經為將來不足積累而憂愁，沒有安全感，時時看著計數機，原來計劃永遠趕不上改變，一個病，令我完全改變。回想起來，過去真的苦了自己，自尋煩惱。
I trust in Jesus as He told us not to worry what we eat or wear. Even the lilies of the field is more beautiful that the robe of Solomon. And Jesus also said in the Gospel that God looks after the sparrows in the air.
主！祢白白賜給我的，是為給我可以為更多人服務，”愛”是為成為管家的必要基礎，主給我愛的心態，全心信賴祢！
無論擁有多少財富，ㄧ旦離開了天主，總是感覺失落與空虛，直到變成一無所有。
只有重回父家，祂是創造萬事萬物的主，住在父家就等於擁有了一切，就不會再空虛，心中充滿希望與富足。
我承認自己是個貪财的奴隸，缺乏安全感。但每次聽到心田廣東話講師的話時，那就醒悟過來。???♂️
“你是否因為擔心未來不足夠積蓄而活在恐懼當中呢？你希望能擺脫這些種種擔心及煩惱嗎？”
這句反思正正是我現的擔憂, 我唔知如果擺脫這種擔憂, 求主賜予我智慧和勇氣去面對及平安生活.??
我以前總覺得我工作賺得來的薪金，把部分儲蓄起來，在退休後，可以有足夠的生活費，維持日後的生活。這是一個正確的做法。保留這些財產，不想將自己擁有的金錢拿一部分，捐助別人。見到朋友有困難，便對自己說：他會有別人幫助他的。但是經過參加聖經的學習，知道我們所擁有的一切，都是來自天父的。他賜給我們生命，健康，賺錢的智慧和能力，都是他所賜給的。我們不需要死守著金錢。在不憂愁生活，仍然有健康的身體時，應該樂意助人，不論是以金錢，時間，體力或知識幫助那些弱小者和生活上，沒有那麼幸運的人。如果我們信賴天主，我們須然分施給有需要的弟兄姊妹們，直到一無所有；天主自會照顧我們的。甚至有十倍的賞報。我餓了；你們給了我吃的，我渴了，你們給了我喝的；我作客，你們收留了我；我赤身露體，你們給了我穿的；我患病，你們看顧了我；我在監裡，你們來探望了我。（瑪25：35）我們為最小的弟兄做的便是為基督而做。（瑪25：40）
什么都是天主賜的，我要懂得分享，不要做个守財奴。
圣神，求祢帮助我，免於罪惡，跟随主的旨意，愛主愛人。
曾幾何時，自己也有以物質來豐富安全感……人漸長大，經歷多了，在天父的引領中，體驗到祂的恩寵才是最大的平安、最大的財產，感謝天父開啟了我的心，讓我這隻迷途小羔羊尋找到方向，在祂的慈悲和愛中成長。