学生反思：全校弥撒

Good morning and welcome to today’s Mass. 我叫肖恩·贝尔，是2026届的一员。

In today’s readings, you will hear about Paul’s letter to the Galatians: a short one, but one that is complex and hard for a non-theologian like me to understand after just an initial read. 我必须做一些研究来了解保罗，以及他在耶稣死后试图向早期基督徒传达的信息。 我了解到，保罗因为不相信割礼这样的仪式比人们的行为举止更重要而受到了不少批评。 

在他的写作中，保罗敦促我们要完全让神进入我们的生命，这样我们就会被改变，而不是仅仅满足于表现出传统上被认为是一个好基督徒的外在标志。 How often do we, as young people, come to Mass, stand, kneel, and recite the prayers we’ve been taught since we were children but not fully engage in our own “new creation,” one in which our hearts and minds are one with Christ? Now, I cannot lie and say my own mind does not wander at times—sometimes it’s really hot inside this auditorium (trust me, I get it)—but Paul’s reminder that the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross for our redemption is pretty much endgame for him. 相比之下，生活中的任何装饰对保罗来说都毫无意义。 With all the noise surrounding us each day through social media, constant news (most of it bad), and unending messages trying to sell us stuff, how do we learn to turn it off and focus on the "enoughness” of Jesus’ sacrifice?

My mom once heard a college football coach on Game Day talk about his team’s goal. The goal was simply being the “aggregation of marginal gains.” NFL的跑卫每次拿球时平均冲刺3-4码，慢慢地推动球队向前，直到4码的冲刺正好到达终点区。 同样的道理，我们每天的点滴收获都会累积成我们的成功和成就。 这句话现在已经成为我们家经常使用的一句话。 I think it’s not about doing it all in one day; it’s about the little things that take us in the right direction. 对我来说，我试着在上学前去教堂。 我喜欢在一天开始前安静地坐着，进入正确的心态。

你可以做哪些小事，让你朝着神的方向走，让你更接近神？ 不仅通过实践教会的仪式和传统，而且通过在日常生活中实践我们的信仰。 把所有的人都看作我们的兄弟姐妹，像保罗一样，对那些与我们意见相左的人给予恩典，而不是评判。

这些成果确实是小小的胜利，我们所有人都可以足球买球。 当我们专注于小事时； 专注于如何通过基督活出我们的生命； that is when we become the “new creation” that Paul describes in his letter to the Galatians. That is when the “new creation” gives us hope for the future. 

每一天，我都鼓励我们采取这些小步骤； 小胜利； 我们生活中的边际收益。 因为当我们开始这段旅程时，我们的心开始改变，我们的关系变得更深，我们的生活开始反映出基督的爱和恩典。 It is through these small, faithful steps that we move closer to God and help bring His kingdom into the world—one act of love, one moment of compassion, one little win at a time.

Read more Dominican 说教的团队 reflections 在这里.