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20110613 Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom 敬畏上主是智慧的開端

The gift of the fear of the Lord enables us to fear giving offence to God more than all the evils in the world. This gift corresponds to the beatitude “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” St. Augustine wrote, “The fear of the Lord is befitting the humble, of whom it is said: Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the result of fear is submission. And the result of our submission to God is humility, which is poverty of spirit. He wrote, “If a man fears God perfectly, he does not, by pride, seek greatness either in himself or in external goods, viz., honours and riches. In either case this proceeds from poverty of spirit.”

Servile vs. filial

According to Father John Hardon, SJ, author of the Modern Catholic Dictionary, servile fear is “selfish fear based on the dread of pain to oneself that would follow if another were offended. It is the fear of punishment for wrongdoing, without being motivated by honour or a sense of duty, and least of all by love.”

On the other hand, filial fear is “fear of some impending evil based on love and reverence for the one who is feared. Actually filial fear is closer to love that dreads offending the one loved.”

In short, servile fear dreads punishment and filial fear dreads offending God. The gift of fear is filial fear. A person who grows in charity also grows in filial fear.

Love and fear help us to overcome trials and temptations. St. Teresa wrote, “Love will make us quicken our steps, while fear will make us look where we are setting our feet so that we shall not fall.”

“Love and fear of God! These are two strong castles whence we can wage war on the world and on the devils.”

St. Louis’s gift of fear

The following story from the Life of St. Louis illustrates how one good mother helped to foster the fear of the Lord in the heart of her son.

“When Queen Blanche became the mother of St. Louis, she received him from God as a treasure to be guarded with the utmost care. From his earliest years she kept one great thought before his mind: to love above all things his heavenly Father, and never to offend Him by sin.

“Often when the little boy was playing by her side or sitting on her knee, she would say to him: ‘My own dear child, God knows how much I love you; no mother could ever love her son more than I love you, yet sooner would I see you lying dead at my feet than know that you had offended God by a mortal sin.’

“When he grew up, and when the day of temptation came, these words of his good mother came before his mind, and he always remained faithful to God.”

Obedience of a saintly son

The author of one catechism pointed out that obedience to our parents is modelled on filial fear using the following illustration:

“One day, as St. Dominic Savio was doing his daily nine-mile walk home from school, some companions urged him to go along with them and have a swim. Dominic had not asked his mother and was now wondering if he could go without her consent. He feared she would not like it.

“This he said to his friends. They laughed at his simplicity. ‘Of course, she mustn’t know!’ they declared, ‘otherwise we’ll all catch it!’

“That settled it for Dominic. ‘Isn’t it wrong, then?’ he said, ‘Goodbye, fellows! I’m going my way!’

“Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”

「敬畏」之恩,讓我們畏懼天主多於害怕世界的邪惡,與真福八端的「神貧」之福相輔相成。聖奧斯定認為「敬畏」適宜於謙遜的人;而謙遜的人也是神貧的人。聖多瑪斯指出,「敬畏」使我們順從天主,這順從產生謙遜即神貧之心。他寫道:「假如一個人完全敬畏天主,他神貧的精神,壓制了內心的驕傲,不會尋求誇耀及浮觀,不追逐尊榮與財富。」

奴僕異於孝愛

耶穌會會士若望.赫頓神父分析:「奴僕式的敬畏,只因懼怕對抗後的惡果,或惡行帶來的懲罰,絕非因感到應守敬愛之道,而產生孝愛的心。」

然而,「孝愛式的敬畏是因愛而怕可能發生的凶惡和為尊重所敬畏的人而衍生這種敬畏與愛更接近,並因愛而不願意冒犯所愛的人。」

奴僕式的敬畏是因為怕受天主懲罰,孝愛式的敬畏卻是怕冒犯天主。聖神七恩中的「敬畏」是孝愛式的;因而會隨着愛德的增加而成長。

愛和畏,幫助我們克勝試探和誘惑。聖德肋撒寫道:「愛,使我們加快腳步,畏,讓我們步步為營,避免跌倒。」「愛天主和畏懼天主是兩大堡壘,足以與魔鬼和世俗兩者抗衡!」

聖王路易的敬畏

「聖路易行實」寫出一位賢良母親如何幫助她的孩子,培植一顆敬畏天主的心:「法國女王白蘭琪,視兒子路易為天主賞賜的珍寶,決心全力呵護。她常提醒幼兒,要愛天主在萬有之上,不容犯罪!小路易在她膝前玩耍,她說:『我全心愛你,可是我寧願看見你死,不願意看見你犯一個大罪。』路易長大後,遇到誘惑,很容易記起母親的教誨,所以對天主精忠至死。

聖童的服從

一本要理書指出,服從父母是顯示敬畏,並以聖多明我.沙維豪為例:「聖維豪每天上學,要從家步行九哩。一天途中,其他小孩子慫恿他去游泳,但維豪聲稱要徵求母親同意方可,遭到小朋友們的譏笑,且警告他說:「當然不能讓她知道,否則連累我們受罰。」維豪淡然答道:「那就是不對的事情嘛!我還是繼續上路好了!」

敬畏上主是智慧的開端