All extraordinary gifts of grace relate to faith as the inferior to the superior, the means to the end, although the visible effects of these gifts are often more striking, more wonderful than the invisible, which are, however, incomparably more elevated.
所有非凡的恩赐都与信德有关,是下级和上级的关系,是手段与目的关系,尽管这些恩赐看得见效果(指神视异象)往往比看不见的效果更引人注目、更奇妙,然而纯粹的信德境界,比从神视异象而来的境界,更无比的崇高。
Faith, and not visions, is the source, the root of justification. No one can draw near to God or bepleasing to Him without faith. It is by faith that Jesus Christ dwellsin the heart, and it is faith, and not visions, that seizes upon and appropriates the salvation offered with Him.
信德是成义的根源,而不是神视异象。没有信德,没有人能亲近天主,也不能讨天主的喜悦。耶稣基督借着信德住在人心里,并且是信德使人获得并拥有耶稣基督所赐的救恩,而不是异象。
St. Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, calls faith the substance, that is the real and essential possession of things hoped for, the real sign of invisible goods.
圣保禄在他写给希伯来人的书信中说出信德的本质:信德是所希望之事的担保,是未见之事的确证。 (希 11:1)
Although faith gives not a clear, precise intuition of the facts and mysteries of our Redemption, yet it excludes even the possibility of error or doubt, and enables the believer to acquire the immense treasures contained in God's revelations and promises to His infallible Church.
虽然信德没有对我们救赎的事实和奥秘给出一个清楚、准确的直观认识,但信德甚至排除了错误或怀疑的可能性,并使信徒能够获得天主对其教会的启示和应许中所包含的巨大宝藏。
The believer by virtue of his faith, possesses actually the goods acquired for him by the Redemption, however multiplied or admirable they may be; but, owing to his imperfect intelligence they are veiled from him just as the appearance and form of the future plant are concealed in the germ.
信徒凭借他的信德,实际地拥有了他通过被救赎而得到的宝藏,无论这些宝藏是多么的多,多么的令人赞叹;但是,由于人不完美的智慧,这些宝藏对他来说是隐蔽的,就像未来植物的外观和形态隐藏在胚芽中一样。
To arrive at a clear perception of his treasures, to appreciate them as they deserve, he needs light to penetrate what is hidden, to read at a glance the history of by-gone ages, or the unfulfilled promises of the future.
信徒要想清楚地了解他的宝藏,欣赏它们应有的价值,他需要启示之光,这光能穿透隐藏的东西,一目了然地让他读懂过去的历史,或者未来还未实现的预许。
This Almighty God communicates by the angel guardian of the soul, who sustains its weakness and renders it capable of supporting its brilliancy. The angel's assistance is necessary; without it, the soul could never rise to the marvellous regions of contemplation.
全能的天主通过灵魂的护守天神来与信徒沟通,守护天神承担着灵魂的软弱,使灵魂有能力承受天主宝藏的光辉。天神的扶助是必要的;没有天神的扶助,灵魂就永远不会上升到美妙的默观境界。
The first effect of the angelic teaching is an awakening to the practices of the theological virtues ; for the soul receives this light, not to find in it a source of joy, but an increase of intelligent faith.
天神教导的第一个效果是唤醒超性三德的践行;因为灵魂接受了这启示,并不是要从中找到快乐的源泉,而是为了增加智慧的信德。
(注:theological virtues:超性三德:信、望、爱三德,是人直接对天主的敬礼行为。)
Therefore, in Sister Emmerich faith was never inactive. From her very Baptism, it manifested itself in uninterrupted acts of love, so much the more perfect as her soul never rested on sensible goods.
因此,在艾曼丽修女身上,信德永不懈怠。从她领洗的那一刻起,她的信德就以不间断的爱表现出来,由于她的灵魂从末停留在物质上,所以她的信德日趋完美。
St. Thomas teaches that faith holds the first rank in the spiritual life, since it is by faith alone that the soul is bound to God, the foundation and source of its life. As the body lives by the soul, the soul lives by God, and that which gives life to the soul is that which binds it to God, namely, faith.
圣多马斯教导我们,信德在超性生命中占首位,因为只有信德才使灵魂与天主紧紧相连,天主是生命的根基和源泉。正如身体靠灵魂而活,灵魂也同样靠天主而活,而赋予灵魂生命的,把灵魂与天主结合在一起的,就是信德。
This light made known to Sister Emmerich through the angel the signification of the Twelve Articles of the Creed, which is a summary of the mysteries of salvation hidden in God from all eternity, revealed first as a promise and, in the fulness of time, accomplished in Jesus Christ.
这启示之光通过天神让艾曼丽修女知道了《十二条宗徒信经》的含义,这是对隐藏在天主永恒中的救赎奥秘的总结,首先是作为一个预许启示出来,时期一满,在耶稣基督里得以实现。
The whole history of Redemption, with all its circumstances of time, place, and actors, passed before her soul in pictures. Thousands of years could not separate her from these different events.
救赎的整个历史,以及所有的时间、空间和角色的情况,都在艾曼丽的灵魂面前以图画的形式传递。既便经过几千年也不能把她和这些不同的事件分开。
She saw all by faith and penetrated into the interior and mutual relation between the most remote and the most recent facts connected with our Redemption, standing face to face with one another, the promise and the fulfilment. Every outward sign of faith renewed its effects in her soul.
她凭信德看到一切,深入到与我们的救赎有关的最遥远和最近的事实之间的内在和相互关系,看到预许和成就彼此呼应。信德的每一个外在的迹象,都会在她的灵魂里产生新的影响。
Did she witness the administration of a Sacrament, its supernatural effects were revealed to her by floods of light which either flowed in upon the soul of the recipient or were repelled in their course, thus making known to her his spiritual disposition.
如果她亲眼目睹了圣事的施行,那么圣事的超自然效果就会通过光的流动向她显现,这些光要么流入接受圣事者的灵魂,要么在领受圣事的过程中被那人排斥,从而使她知道那人的灵性光景。
Were a pious picture placed under her eyes, she instantly perceived a representation infinitely more faithful than the one before her, since faith awakened in her soul a perfect image of the original.
如果把一幅虔诚的画放在她的眼前,她立刻就会发现另一幅比她眼前的这幅更加忠实的画,因为信仰在她的灵魂中唤醒了原画的完美形象。
虔诚的阅读、神圣的谈话、日课经、圣咏的吟诵,总之,与信仰有关的一切,都在她的感情中苏醒。。。。。