Why did we choose SJCCM?

作者：Gary Clifford（赵彦平的丈夫）

Why we search for this Parish

My mother told me when I was a child:” The family that prays together stays together.” One day when Yan and I were have some struggles I suggested we become practicing Catholics to see if it would improve our lives. Well, becoming practicing Catholics and member of this Parish has indeed improved our lives.

我们为什么寻找这个堂区

我小时候，母亲常对我说：“一起祈祷的家庭才能长久团结。“有一天，当我和彦在生活中遇到一些困难时，我建议我们开始认真实践天主教信仰，看看能否改善我们的生活。事实证明，成为虔诚的天主教徒并加入这个堂区的大家庭，确实让我们的生活得到了提升。

 

Why I value attending Mandarin Mass

I am sure many of you wonder why I come to a Mass held in Mandarin though I do not understand much Mandarin.Yan and I could go to different Masses: each one of us attending one in our mother tongue.

Yet a Parish is more than a gathering of individuals who happen to pray in the same place- it is a community of faith. By worshiping together in this Parish, we can pray together and share in the same community.

Yan has already made a big sacrifice in living with me in an English-speaking society; I believe the least I can do is join her in Mandarin-speaking faith community when we pray together.

By belonging to this community, we both feel we have an extended family in this area.This is especially meaningful to me since my family is so small and since Yan’s family remains mostly in China.

我为什么珍视参加中文弥撒

也许你们中的许多人会疑惑，为什么我会来参加中文弥撒。尽管我对中文的理解不多，事实上，彦和我本可以分别去参加不同的弥撒，各自使用自己的母语。

然而，堂区不仅仅是一些人在同一地方祈祷的聚会——它是一个信仰的团体。通过一起在这个堂区敬拜，我们能够共同祈祷，并融入同一个信仰团体。

彦已经为了和我生活在一个英语社会而做出了巨大的牺牲。我认为，至少我可以祈祷时，陪伴她加入一个讲中文的信仰团体。

在这个团体里，我们都感受到自己在这里有了一个大家庭。对我而言，这尤其重要，因为我的家庭很小，而彦的家人多数还在中国。

 

How We Practice Our Faith Together

While I am driving home to Gilroy after mass , Yan will tell me about the mass we just attended. Yan will quiz me on the passages of the Bible that were discussed in Mass to test how much I know. Yan will tell me what her interpretation is of what was taught at Mass and ask me what I think about her interpretation. In short, after mass our ride home becomes a short of mini-bible study and an opportunity to deepen our faith together.

We have also attended mass in Japanese and Spanish, two languages that I speak, and that Yan does not.On those occasions, our role were reserved.

When we attend a mass in English, afterwards we discuss what we have heard on equal footing. In each case, the language of the Mass shapes how our after-Mass discussions unfold.

我们如何一起实践信仰

每次弥撒结束后，我开车带彦回吉尔罗伊的途中，她会和我分享刚刚参加的弥撒内容。她会考我弥撒中提到的圣经章节，以检验我了解多少；她也会谈自己对讲道的理解，并询问我的看法。简而言之，弥撒后的归途，常常变成我们的小型圣经学习，也成为我们一起加深信仰的机会。

我们还曾参加过日语和西班牙语的弥撒——这两种语言我会，但彦不会。在那些情况下，我们的角色就互换了。

当我们参加英文弥撒时，弥撒后我们会平等地一起讨论所听到的内容。在每一种情况中，弥撒所使用的语言都会影响我们弥撒后的交流方式。

 

Conclusion

We are very grateful to all the members of this Parish,Fr. O, and Deacon Simon for welcoming us so warmly into the parish and hope to be active participants of the parish for many years to come.

结语

我们非常感谢堂区的所有成员，以及欧神父和西满执事，感谢你们如此热情地欢迎我们。我们真心希望今后能够在这个堂区继续积极参与，并在未来的许多年里，与大家共同走在信仰的道路上。

 

 

 

发表于2025年刊（下），回到本期目录