Monday, August 10, 2009

Korean Priest looks at American Catholicism




Many of our Korean Priests have now spent time in Korean Parishes in the States and gone on for degrees . They find it very easy to compare what they see to what they have in Korea and what they have heard from other parts of the world. Some see the conditions in the States as a preview for the Catholic Church of Korea.

Reading one such account I was surprised at what I thought was the accuracy of what he had to say. He was pastor of a Korean Parish and went on for a Doctorate in Theology while in the States.

He mentioned how in the States there is no embarrassment when politicians bring in Christianity, demanded by much of the electorate. This is not the way of Europe, even though it has a longer history with Christianity and a Catholic one. Catholicism due to its decline in Europe gave birth to secularism and was the object of attack from the ideology of the Enlightenment. Consequently he would see The United States as more Christian in the Protestant mode and more religious than Europe.

He goes on to say that Protestantism was a big part in the birth of the nation and capitalism went right along with it. In Europe modernization and secularization were born because of the decline of Catholicism. The Enlightenment was in opposition to Catholicism and for what it stood. In the States, to the contrary, Protestantism became the motivating drive for modernization, democracy and progress.

Catholicism was never the mainstream in the States. There has been prejudice against Catholics from the beginning. It was an immigrant Church from Europe, in recent years from the East and now many Catholics are coming in from Central and South America. In recent years we have the sex scandal of some priests having sexual encounters with minors; this was big news in the States which brought out some of the prejudice that was dormant.

The priest writer believes that not having been in the mainstream of American Society was and is good for the Catholic Church. In Europe, Catholicism was mainstream and dislodged to the periphery where it has little influence in the way things are done.

Catholics in the States are 1/4th of the population and 40% of these Catholics are Hispanics. The Protestants are the white mainstream. In looking over the History of the Church when the Church went mainstream the teaching was distorted. When it is on the fringe of Society the Church is able to speak and not be compromised by the political and cultural situation. He feels precisely because of the problems the Catholic Church faced, it was open to dialogue; the lay people activated to take an active part in the working of the Church. He wondered when the day will come in Korea when we will have a lay person teaching theology in the seminary. He hopes that the Church in Korea never becomes mainstream but feels it is leaning in that direction.

Practice of Discernment in Retreats


In our personal retreats there is often a need to discern to make a decision. Fr. John Meehan used his knowledge on directing retreats to explain a procedure which he left us in his writings. I have taken the liberty of changing some parts.

1) Discernment with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The entire context is prayer.
2) Discuss the question to make clear choices.
3) Understand the background.
4) State the reality clearly.
5) Study the word of God and learn what it says about the attitudes of Christ which relate to my discernment.

St. Ignatius of Loyola used and developed a method of discernment which he gathered from his reading of the Scriptures and his experience. Today through the continued development of the method , especially by the Society of Jesus, this discernment prayer has become even more powerful as a Christian prayer for decision making.

Ignatius added to the prayer a way of testing the inspiration of the choice made. This test is a major part of the prayer as is his other addition of beginning with a prayer to achieve holy indifference or openness to what ever choice the Spirit of God leads one into making. Since discernment prayer is important it often takes a long time. The time involved is directly related to the importance of the decision to be made. Minor decisions take little time, major ones can last for months.

Stage I : Prayer for complete openness

In my experience both with myself and others, the initial prayer for indifference to the outcome is often the most difficult one. To enter into this prayer I need first to look clearly at the options that I have and attempt to reduce them to two major ones .For example: a young man or woman can use this prayer to decide whether their calling or vocation is to a life of married love or to one of celibate love.

To begin the process of discerning, I need to pray for a full and deep understanding of both options as very good choices and as leading to a life of happiness and blessing. When I can honestly say that I am open to answering either option I know this prayer has been answered. Once this state is reached I am ready for the discernment proper.

Stage II: Discernment Prayer for Decision Making

1) The reasons why celibacy is a good choice for me.
2) The reasons why marriage is a good choice for me.
3) Why celibacy is not a good choice for me.
4) Why marriage is not a good choice for me.

All prayer begins best by calling upon the Holy Spirit to be with me and continue to help in my discernment. Included in my reasons are all those that I can think of which come from God's word in Scripture. I look carefully at the elements of my own character which point toward the ability to lead a celibate life. I need to look at my own interests, likes and dislikes, preferences in life style, ways of thinking, strength of my prayer life, ability to love others deeply, self discipline, love of self, others and God. The help of a spiritual friend is often very important in this prayer. When I am not able to find other reasons this prayer comes to an end.

I will spend a day checking through each set to discover whether I have missed anything of importance.Then with the help of the Spirit I enter into the process of making a choice and a decision.

Stage III: Prayer to test the Discernment.

St. Ignatius moved by the words of Scripture: IJohn 4:1-3, Mat 7:17, Gal 6:4,
searched the scriptures and discovered for himself a good test for the presence or absence of the Spirit. St. Paul provided the test for the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22: "The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness," Ignatius learned this and started to use it in his own prayer. I need to use it in my own discernment.

If the Spirit of God has been involved in my prayer and decision, these fruits will be present, in the depths of my spirit, soul or heart. Our spirit is like the ocean, very deep and teeming with life. As with the ocean, the surface will very often be in turmoil
while the depths are quiet. It is in these depths of my spirit that I need to test for the fruits of the spirit. Of all these fruits the one that is easiest to detect is that of peace. So peace becomes the test.

If the Holy Spirit has been with me in my discernment, I will discover peace with the decision. If I find peace there, my prayer is finished and I have decided with the Spirit.

On the other hand if down deep I am in turmoil upset, anxious or not at peace with the decision, then I have to begin again and continue my discernment prayer until a decision is made that leaves me at peace down deep.