作者 伍栋梁神父 白羊译 ~
我的朋友林丽卿修女是一位聪颖的女士。当她于1989年夏天，第一次和我谈起要我去圣荷西华人天主教会为孩子们做英文弥撒的时候，我刚刚才做神父满两年，也才刚接下第二份工作。新神父们总是充满了活力与热情 –而且他们还未学会说”不”！
我们的第一台”儿童弥撒”是在1989年的十月一日举行的。我在SJCCC中对年轻的孩子们的牧灵工作于焉开始，这也是我要深深感谢天主的一份牧灵经验。
超过十二年半的时间，我在团体中为年轻朋友们举行弥撒，带领和好圣事，教初领圣体班的道理，并参加一些工作坊，这一切全是天主给我莫大的祝福。
特别是我刚升神父的那几年，儿童弥撒及我的铎职生涯都仍处崭新的阶段。我在华人团体中的牧灵工作，正是我铎职陶成教育的再继续﹕对年轻人宣讲福音方面，我得到不可限量的知识，而这些知识对我本身而言将受益无穷。这些年来，我自不同年龄层的华人教友身上，所展现的非比寻常的信德与爱德中，得到许多宝贵的启示，而我一直十分珍惜这些友谊。
我答应和中国人一同工作的原因之一是，我想为和我一样的，既是中国人，又是天主教友的人们，贡献一些心力。对他们，我觉得我有双重的责任。
我在SJCCC年轻人的牧灵工作，对我个人而言，颇具意义，而这与信仰着实无关。你们中许多人都知道，我是早期中国移民先锋的后代，他们是十九世纪自广东省移民来此的一群。我的目标是尽可能将我对初期中国移民的奋斗经验薪传给年轻的一代。是他们的筚路蓝褛，牺牲奉献，才使今日的华裔美人在现今的美国社会能够享受较高的自由与接纳。我们中国人常说﹕饮水思源。我认为使更多其他的华裔美人将这话付诸行动，对我是十分重要的﹕提醒华裔美人时时感怀我们的祖先为我们所做的一切，是我报答祖先为我所做的途径之一。
这许多年来，我看着SJCCC最年轻的一群孩子们长大，不仅是只长个子，灵修方面亦日益茁壮。这一切得归功于他们的父母，老师，团体，当然，是我们的主耶稣带领着他们的成长。更令我感动的是他们的转变，看着他们从一群被大人服侍的孩子，成长成一群青年男女，彼此扶持并进而服务他人。不论他们在弥撒中带领音乐，或为穷人盖房子，…他们为整个教区的年轻信友立一好榜样。他们使我对我们教会的未来及圣荷西华人天主教团体充满希望。
GOING DOWNSTAIRS WITH JESUS
Some Reflections on My Ministry among the Young People
~ Fr. Gregory Kimm ~
My friend Sister Julia Lin (林丽卿修女) is a smart woman. When she first spoke with me in the summer of 1989 about the idea of me celebrating an English mass for the children of the San Jose Chinese Catholic Community, I had been a priest for only a little over two years and I had just begun my second assignment. New priests are always full of energy and enthusiasm–and they have not yet learned to say no!
Our first “children’s mass” on October 1, 1989, marked the beginning of my ministry among the youngest members of the SJCCC, a ministry for which I am deeply grateful to God. For over twelve and a half years, it was my blessing to celebrate mass, lead reconciliation services, teach classes, and participate in workshops for the young people of the community. Especially in those early years, when both the children’s mass and my own priesthood were still new, my ministry among the Chinese was a continuation of my priestly education: I gained an incredible amount of knowledge about preaching the gospel to young people, knowledge that will always be useful to me. Throughout the years, I received inspiration from the tremendous faith and love of Chinese Catholics of all ages and I continue to value my friendship with many of them.
One of the reasons I agreed to work with the Chinese is that I wanted to do something good for people who, like me, were both Chinese and Catholic. To them I felt a double kinship. But my ministry among the young people of the SJCCC was also meaningful to me in a deeply personal way that really has nothing to do with religion. Many of you know that I am the descendant of pioneer Chinese immigrants, who came to this country from Guangdong Province in the nineteenth century. It was my goal to pass on to the younger generation some understanding of the difficult experiences of the early Chinese immigrants, whose hardships and sacrifices made it possible for Chinese Americans of today to enjoy a much higher degree of freedom and acceptance in American society. We Chinese have an expression: 饮水思源 (“When drinking water, consider the source”). It is important to me that I enable other Chinese Americans to put these words into action: reminding Chinese Americans of their history in this county is a way that I attempt to show gratitude for all that my ancestors did for me.
In my many years with the SJCCC’s youngest members, I watched them grow not only physically but also spiritually. Their parents, their teachers, their community, and, of course, the Lord Jesus made their spiritual growth possible. Particularly impressive to me was their transformation from being children served by adults to young men and women serving one another and others. Whether they are leading music at mass or constructing a building for the poor, they are examples to young Catholics throughout the diocese and they give me hope for the future of the Church and of the San Jose Chinese Catholic Community.