谢谢。 Thank you.
十九世纪中叶，爱尔兰梅奥郡的人民遭受了许多苦难。 The people of Ireland's County Mayo had much to suffer in the middle years of the 19th century.
饥荒接踵而至，导致经济困苦、流离失所、被驱逐、无家可归和移民。 Famine followed upon famine, leading to widespread economic hardship, displacement, eviction, homelessness, and immigration.
尽管受到英国统治者的反天主教压力，爱尔兰人民仍坚守信仰。 The Irish people kept the faith in spite of the anti-Catholic pressures of their British overlords.
1879年尤其艰难。 1879 was a particularly difficult year.
那年的饥荒让许多老人想起了十九世纪四十年代末的那场臭名昭著的饥荒。 The famine that year was reminding many old-timers of the infamous famine of the late 1840s.
1879年8月21日晚上，两个名叫马利亚的 妇女在雨中走回家，经过施洗约翰堂区教堂。 On the evening of August 21st in 1879, two women, both named Mary, were walking home in the rain as they passed their parish church of St. John the Baptist.
虽然下着雨，她们却因所见之景而停下脚步。 Though it was raining, they stopped in their tracks because of what they saw.
在教堂南墙的空中，站着一位妇人，她们立刻认出是蒙福的童贞马利亚。 There, standing in the air at the south wall of the church, was a woman they immediately knew to be the Blessed Virgin Mary.
她身旁还有两位人物，她们认出是圣约瑟和使徒圣约翰。 She was accompanied by two other figures, whom they identified as St. Joseph and the Apostle St. John.
约翰旁边有一座祭坛，坛上有一只羔羊，异象者明白这是神的羔羊耶稣的象征。 Beside John stood an altar, and on the altar stood a lamb, which the visionaries understood as a representation of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
圣徒周围的空中可见天使。 Angels were visible in the air around the saints.
尽管大雨倾盆，两位马利亚仍站着观看，并召唤路人一同来。 Though it was raining hard, the two Marys stood watching, and they summoned passersby too to join them.
不久，一小群人聚集起来，包括妇女、男子、青少年、儿 童，甚至老人，他们都看见同样沐浴在白光中的异象。 Before long, there was a small crowd gathered, including women, men, teenagers, small children, even elderly people, and they all saw the same vision bathed in white light.
蒙福的童贞马利亚戴着金冠，穿着白袍。 The Blessed Virgin wore a gold crown and a white gown.
一位异象者上前亲吻她的脚，却只感到墙壁。 One of the visionaries went forward to kiss her feet, but felt nothing but the wall.
目睹显现的人在倾盆大雨中站了两个小时，诵念玫瑰经。 Those who witnessed the apparition stood in the pouring rain for two hours reciting the rosary.
他们脚下的地面变成泥泞，但人物周围的地面在整个显现过程中始终干燥。 The ground beneath their feet turned to mud, yet the ground around the figures remained completely dry throughout the apparition.
诺克的异象没有言语，没有信息，只有形象的恒常。 There were no words, no messages associated with the vision at Knock, only the constancy of the image.
仿佛天堂向受苦的百姓敞开，正如我们在新约中所见。 It was as if heaven opened itself up to a suffering people, just as we see in the New Testament.
那里有天上的祭坛。 There was Heaven's altar.
那里有神的羔羊。 There was the Lamb of God.
那里有天上的女王，天使侍立。 There was the Queen of Heaven attended by angels.
异象之后，许多当地人声称他们的重病得到了奇迹般的医治。 In the aftermath of the vision, many people in the area claimed to have experienced miraculous cures from debilitating illnesses.
消息传开，全球各地的记者纷纷赶来。 The word went abroad and reporters soon arrived from newspapers across the globe.
当地主教展开调查，确认了15位目击者。 The local bishop launched an investigation and identified 15 people as eyewitnesses.
在收集证词后，主教认为其可信。 After gathering their testimony, the bishop judged it to be trustworthy.
敬奉迅速传播。 Devotion spread quickly.
人们前往诺克寻求神迹，许多人留下了痊愈的纪念物，如拐杖、手杖或眼罩。 People traveled to Knock looking for miracles, and many left tokens of their cure, crutches or canes or eye patches.
随着时间的推移，爱尔兰各教区每年组织一次诺克朝圣成为惯例。 Over time, it became customary for every diocese in Ireland to sponsor an annual pilgrimage to Knock.
1979年，教宗圣若望保禄二世也前往诺克朝圣。 And in 1979, Pope St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Knock too.
他在那里主持弥撒，并在显现墙前祈祷。 He celebrated Mass there and prayed at the apparition wall.
在诺克的异象中，普通基督徒看到了先知约翰在拔摩岛流放时所见的异象。 In the vision of Knock, ordinary Christians saw what John the Seer beheld in his vision while still in exile on Patmos.
他们看到基督在每次弥撒的祭坛上与他的子民同在。 They saw that Christ is present among his people at the altar in every Mass.
他们看到圣徒照顾仍在世上的弟兄。 They saw that the saints looked after their brethren still living on earth.
他们看到天使仰望神的面，同时在地上服事他的子民。 They saw the angels who beheld the face of God even as they ministered to his people on earth.
他们凝视着慈爱的母亲，她在代求中全能。 They looked into the eyes of a loving mother, a mother who is omnipotent in her intercession.
即使诺克没有言语，那信息仍然响亮而清晰。 Even if there were no words spoken at Knock, still the message resounds loud and clear.
欢迎回到《圣经与童贞马利亚》。 Welcome back to the Bible and the Virgin Mary.
上次我们开始讨论马利亚作为太后的角色，她如何 被大卫王国的太后们预表，她们辅佐自己的王子。 Last time we began our discussion of Mary's role as the Queen Mother, how she was foreshadowed by the great Gebirah, the Queen Mothers of the Davidic Kingdom, who advised their royal sons.
她也为百姓代求，将他们的需要带到王面前。 She also acted as intercessor for the people, so she brought their needs before the King.
我们特别关注大卫的国度，因为它是理解基督国度的关键。 And we focused a lot on the Davidic kingdom because it's key to understanding the kingdom of Christ.
要记得，耶稣被称为大卫的子孙，所以他是王位的继承 人，这意味着马利亚是基督所建立的新国度中的太后。 Remember, Jesus is identified as the son of David, so he's the heir to the throne, which means that Mary is the queen mother in the new kingdom established by Christ.
马太在他的福音书第二章中提到了这位王母。 And St. Matthew picks up this idea of a royal mother in the second chapter of his gospel.
当希律王的时候，耶稣生在犹太的伯利恒。有几位博士从东 方来到耶路撒冷，说：「那生下来作犹太人之王的在哪里？ Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
我们在东方看见他的星，特来拜他。」 For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him."
希律王听见了，就心里不安；耶路撒冷合城的人也都不安。 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
他就召齐了祭司长和民间的文士，问他们说：「基督当生在何处？」 And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
他们回答说：「在犹太的伯利恒。 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea.
因为有先知记着说：『犹大地的伯利恒啊，你在犹大诸城中并不是最小的； For so it is written by the prophet, 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.
因为将来有一位君王要从你那里出来，牧养我以色列民。』」 For from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"
当下，希律暗暗地召了博士来，细问那星是什么时候出现的， Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared.
就差他们往伯利恒去，说：「你们去仔细寻访那 小孩子，寻到了，就来报信，我也好去拜他。」 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him."
他们听见王的话就去了。在东方所看见的那星，忽然在 他们前头行，直行到小孩子的地方，就在上头停住了。 When they had heard the king, they went their way, and behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was.
他们看见那星，就大大地欢喜；进了房子，看见小孩子和他母亲马利亚， When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, and going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother.
就俯伏拜那小孩子， And they fell down and worshipped him.
揭开宝盒，拿黄金、乳香、没药为礼物献给他。 Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
博士因为在梦中被主指示不要回去见希律，就从别的路回本地去了。 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
在这段经文中，我们看到来自东方的尊贵访客前 来拜访，看似一个出生在普通工人家庭的小孩。 In that passage, we see distinguished visitors from the East come to pay their respects to what, for all appearances, seems a tiny child born into an ordinary working-class family.
然而，这些访客的看法略有不同。 The visitors, however, see things a little differently.
他们穿越沙漠来看那新生的犹太王。 They've traveled across the desert to see the newborn king of the Jews.
他们到达时看到了什么？ What do they find when they arrive?
马太说：「小孩子和他母亲马利亚。」 A child with Mary, his mother, says Matthew.
正如我们在所罗门的宫廷中看到的，当王在位接待前来朝拜的访客时，他的母亲在他身旁。 As we saw in Solomon's court, when the king is in state, receiving visitors who have come to pay tribute to him, his mother is by his side.
这正是马太所描绘的情景。 And that's exactly what we have here in Matthew.
这些访客来到这卑微的婴孩宫廷，带着礼物，正如所罗门宫廷的访客一样。 Appropriately, these visitors to the infant's humble court come bearing gifts, much as the visitors to Solomon's court would have.
请注意这些礼物是什么。 And note what these gifts were.
黄金、乳香、没药。 Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
黄金香料是王室访客常常献给所罗门的贡品。 Golden spices were tributes regularly paid to Solomon by royal visitors.
圣经中唯一一次没药和乳香同时出现是在《雅歌》中，那是所 罗门婚礼的一部分，那天所罗门的母亲将冠冕戴在他头上。 And the only other time in Scripture when myrrh and frankincense are mentioned together is in the Song of Songs, when they're part of the pageantry of Solomon's wedding day, a day when Solomon's mother places the crown on his head.
马太在细节上描绘了小耶稣，大卫完美的子孙， 以所罗门，大卫原初的儿子，举行朝会的方式。 Again, in detail after detail, Matthew paints a picture of the child Jesus, the perfect son of David, holding court in the same way Solomon, the original son of David, held court.
马太并非唯一在新约中见证马利亚作为太后地位的作者。 Matthew is not the only New Testament writer who attests to Mary's place as Queen Mother.
路加也这样做了。 Luke does it as well.
在天使报喜时，天使加百列告诉马利亚，她将生一个王子，他要坐在大卫的宝座上。 At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will give birth to a royal son who will rule from the throne of David.
这话几乎明言他是在对新大卫国度的太后说话。 Now in saying that, he all but spells out that he's addressing the new Queen Mother of the new Davidic kingdom.
「你要怀孕生子，可以给他起名叫耶稣。 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
他要为大，称为至高者的儿子；主神要把他祖大卫的位给他 。他要作雅各家的王，直到永远；他的国也没有穷尽。」 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
几节之后，在探访的记载中，路加让我们看到另一个人认出马利亚是太后，就是以利沙伯。 A few verses later, in his account of the visitation, Luke shows us someone else recognizing Mary as the Queen Mother, Elizabeth.
「我主的母到我这里来，这是从哪里得的呢？」 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
这个称呼「我主的母」，充满了王后的意义。 That title, Mother of My Lord, is full of queenly significance.
在古代以色列，王被称为「我主」，因此太后就是「我主的母」。 In ancient Israel, the king was addressed as My Lord, which would make the queen mother the mother of My Lord.
所以以利沙伯用这个称呼马利亚，就是认她为新的太后。 So by using that title in her address of Mary, Elizabeth recognizes her as the new queen mother.
我们在圣经中最后一次看到太后是在上节课开始时 读到的，那就是启示录中著名的女人象征异象。 Our final glimpse of the Queen Mother in the Bible comes in the passage we read at the beginning of the last lesson, the famous symbolic vision of a woman in the book of Revelation.
当然，那书中的许多象征难以解释。 Many of the symbols in that book, of course, can be hard to interpret.
多年来，对那身披日头的女人有各种解释。 And over the years, there have been various interpretations of just who exactly that woman clothed with the sun is.
在天主教的理解中，那女人代表马利亚，也代表以色列和教会。 Well, in the Catholic understanding, the woman represents Mary as well as Israel and the Church.
符号和象征因为不是字面上的表示，可以有多重意义。 Signs and symbols, because they're signs and symbols and not literal representations, are allowed to mean more than one thing.
但因为这次学习是关于马利亚，我们将专注于这身披日头的女人的特定意义。 But because this study is on Mary, we're going to focus on that particular meaning of this woman clothed with the sun.
那么，教会为何将这个象征的意义归于马利亚呢？ So, why does the Church ascribe the meaning of that symbol to Mary?
首先，那大异象是一个妇人生产。 For starters, the great sign is a woman giving birth.
这让人想起以赛亚的预言，国度复兴的兆头是一个妇人生产。 That recalls Isaiah's prophecy that the sign of the kingdom's restoration would be a woman giving birth.
同样，将要出生的孩子被描述为用铁杖辖管万国的，这正是诗篇第二篇7- 9节对弥赛亚的描述。在启示录中，身披日头的女人头戴十二星的冠冕。 Likewise, the child to be born is described as one who will rule all the nations with a rod of iron, which is exactly how the Messiah is described in Psalm 2, 7-9. In Revelation, the woman clothed with the sun wears a crown of 12 stars.
这些星星是另一个象征。 Now, those stars are another symbol.
它们代表以色列的十二支派和十二使徒。 They represent both the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles.
在旧约中，太后戴冠冕并不令人惊讶。 And in the Old Testament, not surprisingly, the Queen Mother wore a crown.
耶利米书13章18节告诉我们。 Jeremiah 13:18 tells us as much.
「你们要对君王和太后说：你们当自卑，坐在下边， 因为你们的头巾，就是你们的华冠，已经脱落了。」 Say to the king and the queen mother, take a lowly seat, for your beautiful crown has come down from your head.
启示录向我们展示了太后。 Revelation shows us the Queen Mother.
她与她的儿子，王，一同在天上坐在宝座上，完美地实现了复兴国度的应许。 She's enthroned in heaven with her son, the King, the perfect fulfillment of the promise of the restored kingdom.
启示录向我们展示了马利亚，戴冠冕坐在宝座上，作为太后。 Revelation shows us Mary, crowned and enthroned as Queen Mother.
而她的登基并不减损她儿子，王的荣耀，正如古 代以色列太后的登基并不减损以色列王的荣耀。 And that enthronement no more detracts from her son's, the king's glory, than the enthronement of the queen mother in ancient Israel detracted from the glory of Israel's kings.
事实上，恰恰相反。 In fact, it's just the opposite.
正因为王荣耀，他的母亲也荣耀。 It's because the king is glorious that his mother is also glorious.
她的荣耀是参与他的荣耀。 Her glory is a participation in his glory.
她受尊崇是为了尊崇他。 She's honored as a way of honoring him.
马利亚作为太后的形象直接与教会关于马利亚的两项重要教义相关。 The image of Mary as Queen Mother is directly related to two of the Church's most important teachings about Mary.
新约作者将马利亚视为复兴和转化的大卫国度中的太后， 这塑造了早期教会对马利亚在救恩历史中角色的理解。 The New Testament writers' understanding of Mary as the Queen Mother in the restored and transformed Davidic Kingdom shaped the way the early Church understood Mary's role in salvation history.
他们的理解反过来形成了教会关于马利亚的正式教义。 In turn, their understanding formed the Church's official teachings about Mary.
在最后两节课中，我们将探讨这个形象与马利亚升天和加冕 为天上女王的教义，以及与对马利亚的敬奉之间的关系。 In our last two sessions, we'll explore the relationship of this image to the doctrine of Mary's Assumption and coronation as Queen of Heaven, as well as to Marian devotion.
然而，我们将以这个称号与教会定义的第一个马利亚教义， 即马利亚作为神的母亲的地位之间的关系来结束本节课。 We're going to conclude this session, however, by focusing on the title's connection to the first official Marian dogma defined by the Church: Mary's status as Mother of God.
在马利亚的众多称号中，「神的母亲」可能是我们使用最多的。 Of all Mary's many titles, that one, Mother of God, well, it might be the one we use the most.
毕竟，每次你念玫瑰经时，至少要说五十次。 After all, every time you pray a rosary, you say it at least 50 times.
圣马利亚，神的母亲，求你现在和我们临终时为我们罪人祈求。 Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
阿们。 Amen.
每次我们祷告这祷文时，都在回应路加福音第一章中以利沙伯在探 访时的话。记得她如何以王后的称号「我主的母」问候马利亚。 Every time we pray that prayer, we echo the words of Elizabeth at the Visitation in Luke chapter 1. Recall how she greeted Mary with the queenly title, Mother of my Lord.
这本质上与「神的母亲」意义相同。 That essentially means the same thing as Mother of God.
这个称号的希腊词是Theotokos，字面意思是「神的承载者」。 The Greek word for the title is Theotokos, which literally means God-bearer.
「神的母亲」这个称号不仅是马利亚最常用的称号之一，也是最古老的之一。 That title, Mother of God, is not only the most commonly used of Mary's titles, it's also one of the oldest.
我们可以在教会的最初几个世纪找到基督徒使用它的例子。 We can find examples of Christians using it in the very first centuries of the Church.
早期教父，包括亚历山大的革利免、俄利根和圣亚历山 大，都称马利亚为神的母亲，或同义的「我主的母」。 The early Church Fathers, including St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and St. Alexander, all called Mary Mother of God, or the equivalent, Mother of My Lord.
这个称号也出现在已知最古老的基督徒祷文之一《在你庇护下》中。 The title also appears in one of the oldest known Christian prayers, the Subtuum.
这祷文由埃及基督徒祈祷，最晚可追溯到公元250年，很可能比这还要早得多。 Prayed by Egyptian Christians, this prayer dates at the absolute latest to 250 AD, and it's probably a whole lot older than that.
这祷文对许多人来说很熟悉，是这样说的：「我们投奔于你的庇护，圣神的母亲。」 Now that prayer, which will sound familiar to a lot of you, goes like this: We fly to your patronage, O Holy Mother of God.
「在我们的祈求和需要中，不要轻视我们，但求你 救我们脱离一切危险，永远荣耀蒙福的童贞女。」 Despise not our petitions and our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever-glorious and blessed Virgin.
所以我们看到，最初的基督徒毫不犹豫地称马利亚为神的母亲。 So we see that the first Christians called Mary the Mother of God without any hesitation.
毕竟，有圣经的先例，就是以利沙伯的话。 After all, there was scriptural precedent, the words of Elizabeth.
而且，这似乎是合乎逻辑的。 Also, it just seemed the logical thing to do.
如果耶稣是神，马利亚是他的母亲，那么她就是神的母亲。 If Jesus was God and Mary was his mother, then that made her the Mother of God.
这种逻辑依赖于一个称为「属性交流」的原则。 That sort of logic depends on a principle called the communication of idioms.
根据这个原则，无论对基督的哪一性所说的，都可以说是关于基督本身的。 According to that principle, whatever one says about either of Christ's two natures can be said about Christ himself.
因为他的神性和人性在他里面合一。 That's because his two natures, the divine nature and the human nature, were united in him.
他是一个神人二性的位格。 He's one divine person.
所以，即使三位一体是永恒的，无始无终，我们仍然可 以说神的儿子生于伯利恒，死在各各他的十字架上。 So, even though the Trinity is eternal, with no beginning and no end, we can still say that God the Son was born in Bethlehem and died on the cross at Calvary.
几百年来，没有人对称马利亚为神的母亲提出异议。 Now, for hundreds of years, no one said as much as boo about calling Mary the Mother of God.
但在五世纪，这种情况开始改变。 But in the 5th century, that began to change.
当时有些人提出了与今天一些反天主教者相同的反对意见。 Some people back then raised the same objections that some anti-Catholics raise today.
他们认为「神的母亲」这个称号暗示马利亚是神的创造者。 They argued that the title Mother of God implied that Mary was the originator of God.
那些反对者说，他们可以接受「基督的母亲」这个称号，但不能接受「神的母亲」。 Those objectors said that they could accept the title Mother of Christ, but not Mother of God.
这些反对意见的核心是另一个异议。 Now, at the heart of those objections was another objection.
那是对基督二性合一的反对。 It was an objection to the unity of Christ's two natures.
他们声称，马利亚只生了基督的人性，而非他的神性。 Mary, they claimed, gave birth only to Christ's human nature, not his divine nature.
然而，以教宗刻肋斯定一世和亚历山大的圣居里尔为首的教会坚决反对。 Well, the church, led by Pope Celestine I and St. Cyril of Alexandria, vigorously disagreed.
正如圣居里尔指出的，母亲生的是一个人，而不是一个性。 As St. Cyril pointed out, a mother gives birth to a person, not a nature.
因此，马利亚生了耶稣基督，他是一个神人二性的位格。 Accordingly, Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, who was and is a divine person.
虽然马利亚没有创造或产生神，但她确实在腹中怀了他，并生了他。 Although Mary did not originate or generate God, she certainly did bear him in her womb and give birth to him.
她是神的母亲。 She was God's mother.
关于马利亚「神的母亲」称号的争议在公元431年的以弗所大公会议上得到解决。 The controversy over Mary's title as Mother of God was addressed in 431 AD at the Council of Ephesus.
这次会议实际上是由教宗刻肋斯定一世召开的，为了解决整个「神的母亲」的争论。 The Council was actually called by Pope Celestine I to settle this whole Mother of God debate.
现在，召集这样一个大公会议，让古代世界的主教们冒险跋涉，只为解 决基督徒是否可以称马利亚为神的母亲这个简单问题，似乎有点奇怪。 Now, it might seem a little strange to us to call this big ecumenical council and ask of the bishops of the ancient world to make a perilous journey across land and sea just to settle a simple question about whether or not Christians could call Mary the Mother of God.
但实际上，涉及的不仅仅是马利亚的称号。 But again, there's a whole lot more at stake than just Mary's title.
关于基督二性的教义才是真正的问题。 The Christian teaching about Christ's two natures, that was the real issue.
教会希望一劳永逸地解决这个在古代世界引发激烈争论的问题。 And the church wanted to settle, once and for all, the question that was raging across the ancient world.
耶稣是一个位格还是两个位格？ Was Jesus one or two persons?
当时，一个名叫聂斯脱里的人宣扬耶稣既是人位又是神位。 Now, the idea that Jesus was both a human person and a divine person was being taught by a man named Nestorius.
他的教导使许多人误入歧途。 And his teachings were leading many people astray.
以弗所会议全面否定了聂斯脱里的教导，确认了教会的古老教义。 The Council of Ephesus roundly rejected Nestorius' teachings and confirmed the ancient teaching of the church.
他们宣告耶稣是一个神人二性的位格。 They declared that Jesus is one divine person with two natures.
他有母亲的人性和父亲的神性。 He's got his mother's human nature and his father's divine nature.
马利亚没有给予耶稣他的神性或神位。 Mary didn't give Jesus his divine nature or his divine personhood.
这些他从永恒就拥有，作为父的独生子。 Those he possessed from all eternity as the only begotten son of the Father.
但她也不仅仅给予他肉体。 But she also didn't just give him his flesh.
她生了整个位格。 She gave birth to the whole person.
她生了耶稣基督，既是神又是人。 She gave birth to Jesus Christ, both God and man.
当然，这正是我们每次宣认使徒信经时所说的。 And, of course, that's what we confess every time we say the Apostles' Creed.
我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主。我信我主耶稣基 督，神的独生子，因圣灵感孕，由童贞马利亚所生。 I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
现在，让我们坦诚地说。 Now, let's be honest.
如果一个母亲不竭尽所能保护她的孩子，我们都不会对她有好印象。 None of us would think much of a mother who wouldn't do everything in her power to protect her child.
这正是为人母的一部分。 That's part of what it means to be a mother.
在超自然的层面上，马利亚以「神的母亲」的称号为她的儿子耶稣做了同样的事。 Well, on a supernatural level, that's what Mary is doing for her son, Jesus, by possessing the title Mother of God.
她在保护她的儿子，或者至少保护关于她儿子的真理。 She's protecting her son, or at least protecting the truth about her son.
重申我们在前面课程中讨论过的，每一个关于马 利亚的真理都更多地关乎耶稣，而非她自己。 To reiterate what we talked about in an earlier lesson, every truth about Mary says more about Jesus than it does about her.
正如马利亚的童贞强调耶稣既有人性又有神性，「神的 母亲」这个称号也强调耶稣是一个神人二性的位格。 Just as Mary's virginity reinforced that Jesus was both human and divine, so too does Mary's title, Mother of God, reinforce that Jesus is one divine person.
他是一个人，不是两个人。 He was one man, not two.
他不是一个接受神性引导的人位。 He was not a human person who received divine guidance.
他也不是一个仅仅取了人形的神位。 He wasn't a divine person who took on the appearance of a man.
他没有在神性上套上人性的外衣。 He didn't slap on some kind of a human suit over divinity.
他是一个从妇人所生，拥有二性的位格。 He was one person born of a woman who possessed two natures.
他是完全的神，也是完全的人。 He's all God and all man.
这就是为什么「神的母亲」这个称号如此重要。 That's why the title Mother of God is so important.
这也是为什么我们使用它时，丝毫没有夺去基督的荣耀。 And that's why we're in no way taking any honor away from Christ when we use it.
我们也没有宣称马利亚比基督更大，或她是神的创造者。 Nor are we making any claims that Mary is greater than Christ or that somehow she's the originator of God.
我们只是陈述一个必须陈述的真理，以保护关于耶稣基督的一个基本真理。 We're simply stating a truth that must be stated in order to protect an essential truth about Jesus Christ.
同样，马利亚所有作为太后的前辈也为她们的儿子做了同样的事。 And in a similar way, that's what all of Mary's queenly predecessors did for their sons.
如果你记得，太后的三项基本任务之一是作为她儿子合法性的标志。 If you recall, one of the three essential tasks of the queen mother was to be a sign of her son's legitimacy.
因此，她是他的父亲，前任合法君王，与她的儿子，现任合法君王之间的纽带。 So she was the link between his father, the former rightful king, and her son, the present rightful king.
同样，马利亚作为神的童贞母亲，是她儿子的人性与神性之间的纽带。 Likewise, Mary as the virginal mother of God is the link between her son's humanity and divinity.
她是他既是神又是人的标志，是那久盼的大卫子孙， 能统治一个属天而非属地，永恒而非暂时的国度。 She's the sign that he's both God and man, the long-awaited son of David who can rule over a kingdom that's heavenly, not earthly, that is everlasting, not temporal.
在最后几节课中，我们将更深入地探讨马利亚作为太后的 意义，看看它如何成为天主教敬奉马利亚的基础之一。 In our last couple of sessions, we'll explore the implications of Mary as the Queen Mother in even more depth, and see how it forms part of the foundation for Catholic devotion to Mary.
然而，在此之前，我们还需要阐明圣经中关于马利亚的一个方面。 Before we can do that, however, there's one more dimension to the biblical portrait of Mary we've still got to flesh out.
我们需要探讨马利亚作为至圣的神的母亲，她无罪而生。 We need to examine Mary as the all-holy mother of God, who was conceived without sin.
换句话说，我们要讨论圣母无原罪始胎，这可能是 最被误解，且无疑是最具争议的马利亚教义之一。 In other words, we're going to talk about the Immaculate Conception, perhaps the most misunderstood and certainly one of the most contested of the Marian dogmas.
我相信你会听到一些令你惊讶的事情。 And I'm betting you're going to hear some things that surprise you.
在那之前，愿神赐福你。 Until then, God bless you.