Going Beyond Faith As Habit

The recent Catholic Weekly reported on a parish community attempting to help young people deepen their faith life away from habit to understanding and participation. Below is a summary of the article.

The youth school has been open since May of last year thanks to the interest of the parish priest who felt a need for a learning center for doctrine and faith for young people. This is because young people who graduate from middle and high school Sunday school do not have many opportunities to learn about doctrine unless they collect information on their own or travel to find it.

The priest  who has been in charge of youth ministry at the parish and has listened to the voices of young people, said: "Young people these days are sensitive to justice and equality, so I am especially interested in the church’s  social doctrine." He went on to say, "I wanted to accompany young people who have limited leisure time due to work, study, and employment so that they can quench their religious thirst." 

The educational content is filled with topics that young people pay attention to because of the times. Last year, they learned a lot about moral theology, the death penalty, abortion, peace on the Korean Peninsula, and nuclear power plants. Young people recommended topics with an awareness of issues such as ‘How is human life dignified?’, ‘What kind of relationship should humans have with nature, which is also a child of God?’, and ‘How can we reconcile with North Korea, our closest neighbor?’ Accordingly, priests and religious with expertise in each field are invited to give special lectures.

Youth school was a time to revitalize and enrich the religious life that was often stale. In this year's third course, a special lecture on liturgy and sacred music received a great response. The  head of the youth school, said: "It was an opportunity to open my eyes to what I should focus on and what beautiful meaning the Mass contains which I  just thought I had to attend."

The values ​​pursued by youth schools are not just theory-centered education, but education that resonates with young people. In April, they had a field experience visiting the Korean Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. The young people said: "Thanks for visiting a neighboring church that I would never normally visit, and learning from another's religious tradition."

In this way, the existence of a learning center that informs young people of the things they are truly curious about also serves as a good guide for young new believers who have never had in-depth contact with faith. This means that young people, for whom rational understanding is important, can accept church teachings and mysteries ‘as if they were their own’, which are difficult to blindly accept.

Another participant said:  "I was able to easily understand and learn about doctrines and various questions that could have been limited to simple knowledge."   Another who started attending church in March said: "For a catechumen, many things felt unfamiliar and complex, such as the Mass liturgy where you sit and stand repeatedly, or the Angelus prayer said three times a day." He continued: "Unlike back then, I developed a mindset of being grateful and cherishing how valuable the faith I had chosen was."

Positive Look At Pain

In the View from the Ark column of the Catholic Times, a college professor gives the readers some insight into pain from his reading in Hans Gadamer, a philosopher, raised as a Protestant, born in Germany in 1900 and died in 2002.  

Gadamer inherited the artistic passion and religious solidarity of his mother Johanna, who died when he was four years old, but his father, Johannes Gadamer, a chemist and pharmacist, did not understand this thinking.

One person is recuperating for several years due to a physical condition, and another suffers from a severe toothache. A woman is recovering after having her calcified gallbladder removed, and a person is receiving treatment for a curved spine. In Korea, doctors accompanying them are experiencing a huge conflict with the government regarding the number of seats in medical schools. How do we deal with those suffering?

Just before his death from lung cancer at the age of 61, his father was concerned about his son, who had received his doctorate at the young age of 22 and was pursuing his professorship, choosing Heidegger as his teacher. He had Heidegger come to the hospital where he was admitted and asked: "What can my son possibly do after studying like this?" Heidegger answered: "Your son is  outstanding... and he has already submitted his thesis to enter the professorship program." His father, who did not think that philosophy would help  his son to live, asked Heidegger again just before he left: "Do you truly believe that philosophy has the answers to life's questions?"  

However, Gadamer, unlike his father who chose the world of natural science, became a master in the principle of interpretation in the realm of philosophy, integrating artistic sensibility and mediating the wisdom and fulfillment of life to many people. His 1960 work 'Truth and Method' is considered a seminal piece that opened the horizon of existential hermeneutics.

When he was 100 years old, he gave a presentation on ‘pain’ at the Heidelberg Medical School in front of medical professionals. He said: "Pain first appears to me as an emotion that I cannot bear. There is always something completely unresolved that we must overcome. In this sense, pain is perhaps a tremendous opportunity finally imposed on us to resolve something. The most unique dimension of life can be anticipated in the very pain that one has not overcome."

He then spoke about the panacea of the pain process, which modern medicine finds difficult to provide. "Here, I also see the most dangerous thing of the technological age. That is, technology underestimates our strength and no longer demands that we fully exert our abilities. However, on the contrary, there is the joy of having done well and overcome and the joy of eventually feeling healthy again. The joy of having overcome and stayed awake, and the joy of being immersed in that wakefulness is the finest medicine nature has given us."

This corresponds to what Pope Francis said: "God has united us to all his creatures. Nonetheless, the technocratic paradigm can isolate us from the world that surrounds us and deceive us by making us forget that the entire world is a 'contact zone'."

For Gadamer, pain is an opportunity for one to save oneself. Pain is something that makes life healthy, a sense of vitality that 'can do', and allows one to experience their unique ability to achieve again. Therefore, the doctor does not exist to remove pain, but rather, it is necessary to support and accompany the person suffering from pain to become aware of the tremendous powers within themselves and to overcome pain to achieve another goal. 

What do your readers think? This is the question the writer leaves us. 

 

Synodalitas: "The Holy Spirit is Harmony"

 

"The Catholic Church should function like a choir where every member contributes his or her unique part to create a harmonious whole."These and similar words have been repeated often by Pope Francis.  

"The Church and other Churches and ecclesial communities are called to let themselves be guided by the Holy Spirit and to remain open, docile and obedient. It is he who brings harmony to the Church. Saint Basil the Great’s lovely expression comes to mind: “Ipse harmonia est”, The Holy Spirit himself is harmony."  (Pope's Homily Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul Sat. 29 Nov. 2014). Synodalitas is living this kind of life. 

The official logo of the 16th World Synod of Bishops, which the whole Catholic world is experiencing with different degrees of interest, shows the faith community walking under the large Tree of Life. All different and yet walk ‘together’ in the same direction. The past has not always been that way the future needs to be different all walking under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This is what living synodalitas means.

In Asia, the Philosophies that have influenced the culture have been strongly for harmony—personal, family, social, and world harmony. Catholicism would have the same emphasis and orientation. The relationship with God would be harmony within oneself, with others and creation.

In Asia, the head/mind relationship is not what is experienced in the West. Nor is it the relationship we find in the Scriptures. Put simply, they are not separated. In Mark 12:30, Jesus tells us to love the Lord with “all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” In this commandment, Jesus puts loving God with the heart, soul, and strength on an equal level as loving God with the mind! They are all interconnected we are one. When one is overlooked the other relationship will suffer.

St. Paul said a prayer for the Ephesians: "that you may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:18-19). 

Today we hear a lot about 'Wholistic Thinking' in all fields of endeavor and this is true of Catholic Spirituality. The fact that we express the word itself with two different spellings is the head/heart dichotomy which appears often in our enlightened and scientific culture. They both have the same meaning with different semantic origins. 

If you look at the official logo released by the 16th World Synod of Bishops, you can see people walking in various ways under the large Tree of Life all in the same direction. Young and old, men and women, laypeople and religious, healthy people and the disabled, walking together without any order of importance.

Our focus on ‘walking together’ has two meanings. On the one hand, this may be a reflection that we have not been able to walk together as God's people, and on the other hand, it may be a resolution that we need to walk together and go in the same direction under the guidance of the Holy Spirit under the great tree of life. This is what living synodalitas looks like.

Catholic Catechism #2834 "Pray and Work." Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.

The Lighthouse Is Always There

A researcher in Christian Thought has a reflection in the Catholic Peace Weekly on her stay in the  French port city of Le Havre.

 In 2021, after the coronavirus vaccine appeared and airport doors reopened, she left for the French port city of Le Havre, living the leisurely life of a full-time housewife, using the excuse of her husband's appointment as an expatriate worker. 

At a time when leisure was turning into boredom and laziness, she was intrigued that they were looking for someone to explain Le Havre's world cultural heritage in Korean, so she started receiving training. She wondered why this city, unlike other cities in France, is so crowded with square apartments and found the reason.

In September 1944, at the end of World War II, the Allied forces bombed this area, where German troops had already withdrawn, based on incorrect information, resulting in the deaths of over 5,000 of the 160,000 residents and the displacement of over 80,000 people. Auguste Perret, the architect who oversaw the post-war reconstruction of Le Havre, quickly created a modern residence using concrete,  his nickname, ‘the poet of concrete’. 

Among his buildings, the one that stands out most is St. Joseph's Cathedral, which boasts a height of 107 meters. This cathedral, which does not look like a religious building on the outside, resembles a lighthouse from the sea 60km away from the coast due to its size. Those who lost their lives and homes due to bombing for unknown reasons made this massive structure of 50,000 tons of concrete and 700 tons of molten iron a symbol of hope.

St. Joseph's Cathedral was built to comfort the workers who built and repaired ships in this old port city.  While all kinds of rare and luxurious things from around the world were brought into ports and transported to Paris along the Seine River, carpenters would have built and repaired ships for the well-being of those going out on rough seas. Saint Joseph, who comforted them through their hard labor, has now become a father who embraces those who suffer and groan from the absurdity and cruelty of war. It is said that Auguste Perret, an atheist, died shortly after being baptized after starting the construction of this cathedral. Did Perret, as a famous architect, feel so helpless in the face of the horrors of the war? He, too, may have been rebuilding the cathedral and longing for the love of a saint who silently illuminates the world like a lighthouse.

The teacher who taught her said he was going to St. Joseph's Cathedral with his high school students who were struggling with their identity as children of immigrants. For these children, most of whom are Muslim, the tall tower of this church, visible from anywhere in the city, symbolizes the people who persistently lived their daily lives despite the ruins of war. The teacher said that he tells the children to believe that the lighthouse will continue to shine and bravely move forward into the future like ships sailing into the open sea. 

St. Joseph's Cathedral conveys the same message to the writer, who was lost in the open sea while trying to escape further, leaving behind all the noisy events in Korea. We are never to drift in despair, the lighthouse is always there, so don’t look away, keep your eyes on the light, have courage, and come quickly.

World Church's Faith

The Catholic Peace Weekly has an article by a Korean resident living in the States and his reflection on attending a Korean Mass. 

There is no Korean Catholic church in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, where he lives. Koreans who continue their religious life here do so at their local American churches, but gather at the cathedral twice a month for a Korean-language Mass presided over by a Korean priest who comes from Nashville, two hours away.  Participating in a Korean Mass like this is a rare. He realizes once again the importance of a Korean Mass, which was so obvious when he lived in Korea ten years ago.

However, a sight slightly different from usual caught his eye on this day. Unfamiliar faces participated in the Mass. He couldn't tell if they were Americans or visitors from another country, but they were definitely foreigners and not Koreans, and they were attending our Korean Mass.

He was in charge of the commentary for Mass that day, and as he looked at them from the lectern he wondered who they were. In fact, this was especially true because there was no reason for people who did not understand Korean to participate in a Korean Mass.  Although they did not seem to understand Korean, they were very devout in participating in the Mass.

After Mass, he approached them and greeted them. They explained that they came to the cathedral to pray and participated after seeing a Korean Mass being offered. Although they did not understand the content, they could feel the presence of God and left the cathedral saying thanks for the welcome.

As he watched people offering Mass in an incomprehensible language but with devotion, he felt the power of the Holy Spirit in achieving unity. It is a great thing to say Mass in your native language, but he thought that sometimes there is something to be gained by participating in Mass in an unfamiliar language.

Even at Mass in Korean, which they did not understand, they would confess their faith together in their own language, say the Lord's Prayer, pray for peace, and participate together in the mystery of the Eucharist. How much is the power of the united faith of the church?  realized once again how universal it was.

He had the opportunity to participate in the multicultural, multilingual Rosary event hosted by the Diocese of Knoxville in 2021. On that day, he participated as a representative of the Korean speakers, and his role was to sing the 'Glory be' at the end of each decade in Korean. On that day, people of many different nationalities gathered together, and he later found out that they prayed the rosary together in as many as 14 languages.

It was a little special because each person offered it in their own language. For example, the Lord's Prayer was said in English, the Hail Mary was said in turns in several languages, and the 'Glory Be' said in Korean. Those who participated were able to have the rare experience of hearing the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, and 'Glory Be' offered in a language they did not understand, but praying in unison in their hearts in their own language. It was a day when the exclamation of the disciples at the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit, “What is happening, that each of us hears in the language of his native country?” (Acts 2:8), was truly a day.

The more thought he gives to the situation the more mysterious and surprising it becomes. At this moment, in Korea, the United States, and countless other places the Mass is being offered every day in all languages, people are reading the same Bible, receiving the Eucharist together, praying, and praising God all together!

Although his own faith is insignificant, the unified ‘faith of the church’ is truly beautiful, amazing, and great. He finds great comfort in that. This may be why we pray like this every time during Mass. Lord! Do not count our sins, but look at the church's faith and make it peaceful and united according to your will. Amen!

Listening to All—Synodalitas Church.

In the Catholic Site, News Here and Now, a priest with the Korean Institute of Christian Thought helps us understand the problems that arise and the efforts at solutions to make the gospel understandable to the changing environment. The following briefly summarizes the article published on the Web Site.

This goal of the Institute cannot be accomplished by anyone alone, consequently, the institute is run by volunteers, sponsors, and church scholars who support and accompany the academic, cultural mission, and pastoral work.

However, the research institute is where memories and norms are background. He faces difficulties due to misunderstandings and conflicts that arise— discord over words used, disagreements in opinions, and emotional issues whose reasons are unknown. As a director, meeting each person involved, listening to their stories, and making sense of the situation is not an easy task. 

In a parish, problems might resolve themselves or settle down over time, but here, the entire community suffers a significant blow. The reason for the issues among people is simple: "It's because they do not think or act according to my wishes."

Because he was feeling upset due to the hostility and conflict within the community, he went to a town near the research center on Sunday afternoon to get his hair cut. In the town were many factories where foreign workers lived; it was crowded with people from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Southwest Asia, and China. A lot of interesting things for sale on the street. He bought sugar cane juice, a coconut drink made on the spot, and ate Turkish kebabs for dinner. Not only was it good to see different faces, but the food was delicious and reasonably priced. After escaping from the monotonous routine and worries at the research institute and encountering diverse cultures and people, he felt more relaxed. On the way back, he remembered Procrustes from Greek mythology.

Procrustes was a villain who lived in the hills outside Athens and engaged in robbery. He laid the people he kidnapped while robbing them on an iron bed he made, if taller than the bed, he cut their limbs to fit the bed and if shorter than the bed, he forcibly stretched them to death. The problem is that the size of this bed was not fixed, but increased and decreased through a device known only to Procrustes. Of course, there was no one whose height would fit into the bed. Eventually, Procrustes' misdeeds reached the ears of the Athenian hero Theseus, who captured Procrustes, laid him on a bed, and cut off his head and legs in the same manner. Procrustes' bed is used to attack others with an arbitrary standard to which others are made to agree if they speak differently from what one thinks and believes.

An important concept in Synodalitas ecclesiology is the “people of God” declared by the Second Vatican Council. God's people are all baptized Christians who are equally noble before the Lord, and all of them are members of the Lord and become a gathering of people who carry out the Lord's mission in their respective positions in the church. The  Synod Church, advocated by Pope Francis, is a reform movement aimed at embodying the meaning contained in this concept of the People of God within the culture of the Church. God's people recognize the value of the diversity of the world and human beings. 

People are different depending on where they were born, their experiences, education, and their lives have helped form them. Believers, priests and religious within the church are also diverse, each with their own unique characteristics. Synodalitas is about renewing the church by listening to all. In other words, “each person does his/her own part in his/her own position.”

The calling each member of the church receives from God is unique, and various callings come together to create the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, we set ourselves as the standard for church life and try to bring others into our own worldview. Insisting that our thoughts are objective and the correct tradition of the church. 

In other words, we prepare our own Procrustes bed, and we place others in it. We call this behavior ‘clericalism’. Clericalism does not only mean the authoritarianism and self-righteousness of priests but is a metaphor for all acts of oppressing others according to one's own standards. It is time to destroy the Procruste's bed within us to create a synodalitas church. 

Artificial Intellegence Era Issues

One of the reporters of the Catholic Peace Weekly reports on a Catholic forum seeing some of the problems of the media industry and a look at the ethical issues in the AI era.

AI experts and Catholic journalists spoke with one voice on the need for ethical regulations, saying: "The use of AI, which has already become mainstream, ultimately depends on the human users.

[Reporter] AI was not a trend When AlphaGo defeated 9-dan Lee Sedol in Go in 2016. (Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo program beat Korean Go {Asian Chess} grandmaster Lee Sedol to win the series 4-1. Evidence of the  achievements of artificial intelligence) 

However, since ChatGPT emerged in November 2022, global attention and enormous investment have been focused on AI.

Experts predict that AI will have a huge impact on human life.

The fact that the Catholic Communication Association chose the ‘AI era, media paradigm and ethics’ as the theme of this year’s Catholic Forum is also related to this trend.

Most of the forum presenters unanimously said: "We need to actively utilize artificial intelligence, which has become mainstream, and know it better." Prepare to prevent the risks and harmful effects of AI—fake news and false information which makes the role of the journalists to report the truth more important.

[Researcher] "There are many problems such as hallucinations created by generative AI, but in any case, there will be a lot of plausible fakes. We are entering an era where we must spend a lot of time and resources distinguishing between plausible fakes, and real ones, and so far, the leading profession for distinguishing between real and fake ones has been journalists. "Journalists have always done that."

A digital expert predicted that the current position of portal sites and media companies will undergo significant changes due to AI.

Just as mobile Internet intermediaries play a major role in human communication and the emergence of companies such as Google and Naver, it is predicted that new companies will be born in the era of AI communication.

A priest who was a discussant predicted that the role of religion will remain unchanged in the AI ​​era.

This is because AI's answers cannot provide true empathy and spiritual comfort to people who express serious concerns.

Another Priest mentioned asking AI: "I don't know if I should live any longer"—Do you know what the AI said?  "I will give you the phone  number of the Suicide Prevention Counseling Center."

The problems and benefits of artificial intelligence for good or evil will be the human user.