tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post2491291866115422970..comments2024-03-17T22:48:00.427+08:00Comments on Reflections and Ruminations: Lenten SpiritualityFr Luke Fonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03079016104331055895noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-9858776080779180322013-02-28T23:33:50.611+08:002013-02-28T23:33:50.611+08:00Dear Fr Luke,
When I saw you at the Mt Alvernia ch...Dear Fr Luke,<br />When I saw you at the Mt Alvernia chapel Mass, I thought you were back with your famiy for the Chinese New Year and had gone there for health screening. I was shocked to read about your illness; at the same time, touched that you are still so graced by God to be able to share your illness so profoundly and giving strength to the many who may be in the same situation. You know that numerous catholics who read your blog are storming heavens for your well being and we are confident that God hears us.<br /><br />Your sharing has given meaning personally to me this Lent ...edified to know always that God loves us no matter what predicaments we may experience in our lives. Thank you for inspiring and reminding us how REAL God is.<br /><br />I have missed hearing your homilies and am confident that I will hear you again.<br /><br />You are in our prayers and thoughts .... may God grant us the same grace and will that He has blessed you with. <br /><br /><br />God Bless<br />Phyllis<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-16874352360754455032013-02-24T16:52:38.750+08:002013-02-24T16:52:38.750+08:00Fr Luke,
You have not blogged for sometime. We kn...Fr Luke,<br />You have not blogged for sometime. We know you are not well. We pray for God's continuous blessings upon you for good health and a speedy recovery.<br />Grace Teo & family (OLPS)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-46815729752395433472013-02-18T16:07:46.116+08:002013-02-18T16:07:46.116+08:00Dear Fr Luke, I know that you have been quite ill ...Dear Fr Luke, I know that you have been quite ill for a while now. Still, you are blogging whenever you can. Thank you for soldiering on as our shepherd.<br /><br />As a recent convert, I actually looked forward to Lent. Lent actually reminds me of the tremendous liberation I have had attained since baptism. Before baptism, my life journey was a movement outwards. I am always seeking outwards to become a better person, a husband, a dad, a son, a boss, a friend, among others. At the same time, I was afraid of moving too far out because I never knew where the boundaries were and whether I would somehow fell off the cliff. This was because my measurement of being a good person was always shifting as they can be determined by me, by friends, or by world views. <br /><br />Then came my first Lent. It opened up my eyes. I discovered that to be good was not a journey outwards, it was a journey inwards to the center of my being, who is Christ. I also discovered that to be free was not about attaining fame and fortune, it was the ability to have them and also not to have them (the ability to let go and let God). <br /><br />Indeed, Lent is liberating. And this is how I read your blog today...<br />It is liberating when one sees this as a reminder of God’s mercy shown in the Passion and Death of Christ, and not as the Church’s way of shackling us by highlighting our sinful self. It is the former (mercy) that led to the realisation of the latter (our sinfulness), and not vice versa. <br /> <br />It is liberating when we realise our fasting, alms giving and praying are not to please a god that is out there somewhere, and so as to score brownie points. We do these disciplines because our Lenten journey is a journey into ourselves and discovering the incredible grace that God has already placed in us when he died on the Cross. <br /><br />Thank you Fr Luke for feeding this lamb. God love you. Recover soon.<br />Liberatednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-60789152645784452832013-02-15T10:21:43.525+08:002013-02-15T10:21:43.525+08:00How true. Your sentence,"It’s a timely, commu...How true. Your sentence,"It’s a timely, communitarian reminder to the entire Church to not take all that we have for granted, and that above all, God’s mercy that he has shown in the Passion and Death of Christ is something that we need to be mindful of in our daily Christian living" is especially noteworthy. <br /><br />How often do we all take God for granted, only paying attention when things go horribly wrong? (Surely I am as guilty of this as anyone else). <br /><br />My Christian friends/ and colleagues cannot understand why we Catholics have a lenten period; after all they say, "Christ is risen!" Yes, indeed He has! But we are still a long way off from what and who we ought to be; and we need to be reminded of that, less we become too confident of ourselves (which is usually the case). God bless you, Fr. Luke.Robbie Jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-15316491961528764532013-02-14T16:31:04.346+08:002013-02-14T16:31:04.346+08:00I was searching for a lenten project to do with my...I was searching for a lenten project to do with my K1 catechism class. I saw a lenten calendar. I would like the kids to write on the calendar what they like to "give-up" during lent. I like your analogy of what our arms can hold. Shall use this to explain to the children. Thank you, Father.<br /><br />God Bless & Happy Lunar New Year!<br />Jocelyn Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7853204965986587589.post-62923280585538204842013-02-14T01:21:54.995+08:002013-02-14T01:21:54.995+08:00These words, .........’’ you are dust and unto d...These words, .........’’ you are dust and unto dust you will return, ‘’ ............accompanied by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, never fail to make me catch my breath as a feeling of tender forlornness, a tingling, sweet sense of aloneness wells up in my being - for it seems as if the soul is made to confront the mortality of the flesh and in so doing marvels at the beauty of life and living. Perhaps this may be the reason for the spike in mass attendance on this day – Ash Wednesday - which is not a Day of Obligation. Though this impositioning of ashes is not a sacrament, I feel that it is a ‘’sacred’’ moment - for the intimacy it allows for the meeting of soul and body in the presence of the divine and especially in community.<br /><br /><br />It is an apt beginning to the season of Lent where we ask God for a deeper understanding (in our mind and heart) of the Paschal Mystery so that we can move to relevant living. That is why we are asked to pray, fast and do alms-giving – so that we will have more reflective moments to be still, to listen , to read our hearts and be challenged to change – if we like not what we see inside of us.<br /><br /><br />God bless you, Fr<br /><br />Tessa<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com