Monday, September 5, 2011

100th Blog entry

Dear readers and friends

The blog entry that you read posted just before this one (scroll down please) marks the 100th blog entry in this endeavour that I started on October 8 2009. "One entry every Monday morning" - that was my aim. It is with God's grace that I have kept that up with a modicum of regularity . No, it was not about me. I wrote it to keep the Catholic mind thinking, and to invite readers to grow in their search for meaning and for God, a search that never really ends. It just gets deeper.

Thank you, dear readers, for making this both a joy and a challenge to me. There were great moments of insight and grace, comments of support and love, and I must admit, in the past few weeks, some abuse as well (for various reasons, I could not post those that were out rightly abusive and threatening) that was unbecoming of true Catholicism and rather upsetting. I must say that I had never thought it possible that a priest blogger who tries to be as gentle as possible with words in the blog can be vilified and targeted for abuse.

And no, I will not allow the use this blog to be a means to communicate to other readers any messages of hate and threat and violence of whose god is better or stronger than whose. We are not in kindergarten anymore. I simply will not post any comments that are seditious and inflammatory in nature. As most of you know, there are laws against this.

But if you are interested to adult dialogue, please give me your contact email, or identify yourselves, and I will be most pleased to communicate with you. Your identity will not be revealed in my blog. It is far too easy to hide behind anonymity in the cyber-world when one wants to throw stones. This blog space is not a place for violence of any nature. I hope you respect this. Yesterday morning’s Gospel text at Mass reminded me how to treat such persons – like tax collectors and Pharisees. Well, Jesus loved tax collectors, and called them to grace. Matthew himself was a converted one. This I believe I must do - imitate Jesus as far as possible.

But on to happier things - I had the intention of doing some sort of celebration gathering for the 100th blog anniversary, but alas, I had to be moved from Singapore and could not possibly hold any gathering with my readers. But I do hope that you will continue with your journey with me and come to re-appreciate in deeper and better ways a journey that takes us to God’s heart – a heart beating with love for us all.

Thank you once more for your kind and faithful readership. This is not my celebration. It is ours, and God love you all!

Happy 100th everyone!


Fr Luke
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8 comments:

  1. sicilySeptember 5, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Hi Fr Luke,Happy Hundreth!!!:)Thank you for the words of God,which guide me to appreciate the gift of life,in the messiness of my life.The gathering is a fantastic idea:-Spiritually in oneness with God we celebrate.Happy studying Fr Luke.God Bless.Thank You God for your priests and the Glory is yours and yours alone.

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  2. valSeptember 5, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    Happy hundreth Fr Luke! Thanks for sharing all your words of faith, wisdom and love. (It's one reason I look forward to Monday mornings!) Celebrating with you in cyberspace and in our good Lord. Keep well! God bless you :)

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2011 at 10:32 PM

    Fr Luke,
    Congrats on reaching 100! Thank you for bringing us along on your "thought-journeys" - I've thoroughly enjoyed them all ! Some of these spiritual'excursions' in thought are real gems - interesting yet relevant to our daily living. May the Lord continue to bless you with endless repertoire of stories to share. We are indeed blessed !
    God bless you Fr.

    tessa

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  4. AnonymousSeptember 6, 2011 at 6:28 AM

    hi Fr Luke Fong,

    first of all, congrats on yr 100th posts. Always looking for yr new and inspired posts every monday morning. Because of yr well explained teachings of the catholic faith into bits and pieces for simple and better understanding, it helps me to better appreciate my religion better. As a result, I copied yr posts and forward to my othe catholic friends.

    I'm not too far from where you are currently, i mean in US. As in are in DC..i'm in Houston Texas.. where it's hot and very dry..

    i hope on yr vacation do come to texas and see the "lone star state" hee haw!

    g

    houston texas

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    Happy 100th Blog, Fr Luke, from Sydney!

    Your blog posts have been deep, funny, poignant, reflective and probably reaching out to many in ways you cannot imagine. God is the great Master Organiser, anyhow.

    And speaking of which - how you stay in His love while the unhappy chuck stones is unimaginable. Or maybe with His love, we can truly do all things (love the unloveable... urgh...)

    Much love from down-under
    Grace

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  6. Tax collector& his sycamore treeSeptember 9, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    Congratulations Fr Luke! What a milestone this is. You have a refreshing blog every week for the past 2 years. Thank you for your eagerness to see us grow in faith and holiness.
    I must say that you have blogs that affirm and strengthen my Christian living. At the same time, you have blogs that are thought-provoking and challenging.

    On the latter, I have to ask myself, “Is Fr Luke expounding on the nature of God? And is this the view of our Universal Church? If so, why I am shielding that particular area from God? Aren’t we supposed to give our all to our Lord?” After all, shielding does sounds like “sin” to me. These occasions have been trying and uncomfortable indeed. I can only pray for God’s grace and mercy to love me as he would the “gentiles and tax collectors” as I seek to align myself with the Church’s position and to “metanoia” myself.

    On the “gentiles and tax collectors”… When I was impressionable youth in a proddie church, my Christian friends used to tell me the passage read out last Sunday was about ostracising the people who couldn’t agree with you, the elders and the church. The gentiles and tax collectors were the outsiders and troublemakers not worth our time. Thank you once again for reminding me, as had another priest earlier, that this passage is really about loving these outsiders and troublemakers. In the Gospels, Jesus has always seek out these marginalised people to heal or to dine with. He is hoping to change their perceptions and understanding of the nature of God so that they can live life to the fullest!

    Hence, thank you for gently persuading this “gentile and tax collector” to see the Kingdom of God through the lens of Christ in your writings. Over time, I hope to have the courage to come down from my sycamore tree (i.e. on issues I hide from Jesus or disagree with the Church) and dine with Our Lord.

    Looking forward to your 200th!

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  7. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    Thank you Padre! Happy 100th. We celebrate with you from wherever we are.

    God bless you.

    Jac

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  8. Mathilda Chua, OLSSSeptember 10, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Dear Fr Luke,

    Congrats on your 100th blog - an achievement that is appreciated by so many....Thank you very much. It has personally accompanied me thru' my thoughts and reflections on life's events..

    And all I've gathered, I'll cherish as God's blessings to direct my free will in making the right choices in life...

    God bless you Fr Luke and all your wonderful readers who contribute so generously as well..Mat.

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