tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post2270685241607749125..comments2024-03-17T22:48:00.427+08:00Comments on Reflections and Ruminations: A church tax. How outrageous is this?Fr Luke Fonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03079016104331055895noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-83962871320593077702012-10-04T10:32:47.306+08:002012-10-04T10:32:47.306+08:00Dear Fr Luke
I have been mulling about your last ...Dear Fr Luke<br /><br />I have been mulling about your last few posts and had yet to put bits and bytes to screen. Pehraps 'I didn't get it' last week and this week. While I think the 8% tax is high, I would agree that we should contribute to the work of the church as much as we can both in cash and in kind, or find some way of putting commitment into tangible action. <br /><br />And thank you Father for the constant spiritual input. I have somehow felt overworked, distanced, restless and distracted in recent weeks but there is a stronger gravitational pull to be grounded when I have access to motivational sharings like your which give me pause to reflect and think outside my normal box. <br /><br />God bless,<br />Sf. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-52707341196604810882012-10-04T03:48:05.193+08:002012-10-04T03:48:05.193+08:00Indeed, Tessa, what is crucial in our spiritual qu...Indeed, Tessa, what is crucial in our spiritual quest is our response to what God is offering to us, which is eternal life. We fight this response in so many ways, due to our sinful human nature which seeks so much to inflate and preserve the self. That Christ came to give us his very life in the most vivid way, has to impact us to want to follow suit in appropriate and perhaps just as selfless and self-sacrificing ways. If not, our Christian life becomes mere lip service. The true Christian life response is lived when one begins to dare to live this out in very real ways. Being a contributing (financially) member of the church is then seen as a very small yet concrete way to begin developing this Christ-like quality of giving and sacrifice and loving the other for the sake of the other as other (that's a definition of love by St Thomas). <br /><br />Having said this, attitudinal change is one of the hardest changes to attain in ourselves, and even harder to instill in others without being received or misunderstood as an imposition or worse, an obligation. It is a moral tuning into, and I personally believe it entails a whole mindset, paradigmatic and heart-conversion which seems to entail a whole working of spiritual gears moving at the same time, and firing on all cylinders. But it's not unattainable. It's a high ideal, but we can't be mediocre if we truly want to be what the Church has always wanted us to be at the end of our lives, which is saints of God. Anything less would be not just a compromise, but indeed, the worse failure we could ever experience not just this side of eternity, but on the other side as well.<br /><br />Thank you, Tessa and Bob for your thoughtful responses and comments.<br /><br />Fr LukeFr Luke Fonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03079016104331055895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-57281144234091358802012-10-03T23:40:29.409+08:002012-10-03T23:40:29.409+08:00When I first read your post, I didn’t want to beli...When I first read your post, I didn’t want to believe that the German bishop would resort to such desperate measures as to sell Jesus so cheaply! Isn’t it the thirty silver pieces once again? We seemed to be so horrified that Judas would do that- especially one from his inner circle and - now -( isn’t the clergy His inner circle?)……..if we are to believe that in Holy Communion He comes to us in the form of bread /wine, do we now put a price tag on Him? Will a bigger piece of Him be given for a better price – on request? Where and how will this end if we follow this slippery trail? We know the intention or the ends may be good but ‘perdition awaits at the end of a road constructed from good intentions….’ The early Church condemns simony – surely that has not changed? It is as if we are mocking ourselves for our beliefs. All these thoughts and more clamoured for expression as I reflected on this.<br /><br /><br />However, when my mind was still, I was caught looking inward, feeling something moved in my own depth……and a sense of peace and deep gratitude permeated my being as I saw that it was for such weak, fearful and sinful people like the apostles and us too, that He came……… to share of himself, to give of himself ……and to share our living and our lives - to save us from ourselves or our ‘base nature’! For it has been said, that we are ‘spiritual beings on a human path rather than human beings who may be on a spiritual path’. So, what seems to be crucial is how we respond to this gift of salvation for the time we have here is a liminal time.<br /><br /><br />God bless you, Fr<br /><br />tessa<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-64873927518044712982012-10-03T10:27:47.682+08:002012-10-03T10:27:47.682+08:00Dear Fr. Luke,
I've often wondered why the Ca...Dear Fr. Luke,<br /><br />I've often wondered why the Catholic church doesn't “impose” a levy of say.. 5-10% on our income. After all, it costs a lot of money to upkeep the church premises, run the various parish programs etc. I think it's perfectly acceptable and honourable that the church requires us to participate in its upkeep. <br /><br />However, how does one reach an equitable solution with regards to this? This is where it gets complicated. Take, for example, 2 people - both of them earning $2500 a month. One is a young bachelor (with no dependants) and the other is a father of 4 school-going children. Would it be fair to “tax” them the same amount? I think not. Obviously the bachelor in this case would have a good deal more disposable income as compared to the father-of-four. As they say, the devil's in the details.<br /><br />Having said that, witholding of the sacraments in the case of non-payment IMHO is absolutely wrong. You simply cannot put a price on the sacred: period. I must admit I was greatly taken aback when I read that (German) report. I cannot imagine what was going through the mind of those who came up with this proposal. Seems like an idea borne out of sheer desparation.<br />Thanks for the post.<br /><br />God bless,Robbie Jnoreply@blogger.com