学生反思：圣马丁节

早上好。 我是2026届的李天恩。 今天，我们聚集在一起庆祝圣马丁·德·波雷斯，一位伟大的多米尼加圣人，他体现了我今天将与你们讨论的同样的天赋。 圣马丁一生都在照顾穷人、病人和被边缘化的人，不管他们的地位或种族。 In his life, he chose the things that were “honorable, pure and good”, and in doing so was able to reflect God’s love and compassion onto others.

In today’s first reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Phillipians, we are reminded that the peace of God surpasses all understanding. In his letter, Saint Paul encourages them, and us, to not only recognize God’s peace and joy, but to rejoice in them. 保罗呼召我们要靠主常常喜乐——不仅在顺境中喜乐，在逆境中也要喜乐。

To rejoice means “to feel or show great joy or delight.” 一开始，这听起来很简单——只要快乐就好，对吗？ But Paul isn’t simply instructing us to smile through every situation or pretend like things are okay when they’re not. Paul is reminding us that true joy doesn’t depend on what’s going on around us. Rather, it comes from trusting that God is with us regardless of life’s circumstances.

作为一个青少年是很难的：平衡学校、社交生活、运动和信仰，同时努力规划未来，这可能会导致极大的焦虑和压力。 有时候，你会觉得一切都发展得太快了，很难停下来平静下来。 Paul reminds us in the reading that peace isn’t something we have to go out and find for ourselves, and that true peace is given to us by God when we turn to Him.

When we pray instead of worrying, choose kindness instead of anger, and think about the things that are “honorable, pure, and good” we make room for the gift of peace that God will grant us. The peace that God provides us with isn’t the kind of peace that makes our problems vanish. 这是一种你在暴风雨中拥有的平静，它提醒你暴风雨最终会结束。 It’s the kind of peace that assures us that despite our struggles, anxieties, mistakes, and failures, God is still with us through it all and that we are never alone.

圣马丁热爱这个经常拒绝他的世界，但他从不以愤怒或怨恨来回应。 相反，他选择了仁慈、谦卑和宽恕。 圣马丁没有沉湎于他所缺乏的，而是为他所能给予的感到高兴。 他在祷告中、在服事中、在相信神永远与他同在中找到了平安。 他的榜样激励我们去寻找平安和喜乐，不是从世界所给予的，而是从上帝所提供的。

因此，在我们进入本周剩下的时间之际，我想向大家提出一个挑战。 我挑战我们要喜乐，不是因为事情总是完美的，而是因为我们被一位完美的神所爱。 在选择神的时候，尤其是在不确定或有压力的时候，我们就会得到只有通过神才能得到的平安和安全。 通过与上帝的关系，我们得到了圣灵的果实——爱、和平、快乐和耐心——这可以让我们度过我们可能面临的任何挑战。 

欢乐因人而异。 This could look like including God in your busy day by updating Him about how you’re feeling, saying a short prayer when you feel overwhelmed, choosing to be kind when challenged with a hard situation, or just taking a second to give Him thanks. When we rejoice in this way, we invite God’s peace into our hearts and minds, a peace that surpasses anything we could imagine. 

愿上帝的平安围绕着我们所有人，让我们的心充满欢乐。 谢谢你。