Lessons from the Book of Jonah

A meditation on the book of Jonah in the Catholic Times. 

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amithai: ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their iniquity has risen up to me.’” (Jonah 1:1-2) However, Jonah silently turned his back on the word of the Lord, went to Joppa, and boarded a ship of Gentiles bound for Tarshish. “He intended to go to Tarshish with the men to escape the Lord.” 

Meanwhile, the sailors and the inhabitants of Nineveh are busy preparing and taking action. When a storm arises, and life and death are in danger, the captain cries out to Jonah, who is lying in the hold of the ship in a deep sleep: “How can you be so deeply asleep? Get up and cry out to your God. Perhaps He will have mercy on us, and we will not perish?”  In this way, they act much more actively and appear to be in submission to God’s will more than Jonah does. Swallowed whole by a great fish amidst a violent storm, Jonah begins to pray to the Lord God with all his might inside the fish's belly. He has finally met the God of mystery. “I called upon the Lord in my distress, and He answered me”. During his prayer, Jonah realizes, “Salvation belongs to the Lord”.  Jonah learns two things through his experiences. The first lesson is realizing that even if he is paralyzed with fear and unable to speak because the mission he must proclaim as a prophet is too overwhelming, the Lord's word takes effect simply by his presence. Through Jonah, who became "half-mute" unable to properly convey His word, the Lord causes the sea, the great fish, the wind, and the sailors to all tremble. “They lifted Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the raging sea became calm.”  Seeing this, “the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered sacrifices to the Lord and made vows.” 

Another teaching of the Book of Jonah is the revelation of 'God's universal will for salvation,' which states that the Lord God cherishes and saves not only His chosen people Israel but also the people of Nineveh, that is, Gentiles. “It takes three days just to cross Nineveh…”  “And there are 120,000 people who do not know how to distinguish between right and left…”  In the above examples, 'three days' is a number of fullness, and '120,000' is a symbolic number of salvation that transcends mathematical or statistical figures and highlights the Lord's universal will for salvation. Whenever I read the Book of Jonah, I feel an immeasurably warm and deeply moving human love. How touching it is that these "Gentiles" did their utmost to the very end to save Jonah, even in the midst of extreme circumstances. “The men rowed with all their might to return to shore, but the sea grew rougher and rougher, and they could do nothing.”  And what about the sailors’ cry to the Lord at that time? To make the best possible choice in a life-or-death crisis— “Oh, Lord! Please do not destroy us at the cost of this man’s life.” 

Partners in Synodalitas

[Current Affairs Analysis] Beyond a 'Discarded Culture' to Become a Partner in Synodalitas. An article in the Korean Catholic Peace Weekly by a professor in Social Studies. 

Just as a child grows taller and develops deeper thoughts as they mature, society undergoes continuous political stability and economic development over time. In this process of societal development, as the quality of life for its members improves and they live longer and healthier lives, population aging progresses. In other words, population aging is a natural process of social development, and today we are experiencing global population aging. Furthermore, its impact extends beyond society as a whole to deeply permeate the church community as well. Reflecting this, the 'International Conference on Pastoral Care of the Elderly,' organized by the Pontifical Congregation for the Laity, Family and Life, was held in the Vatican last October with the participation of 65 countries. The conference primarily discussed the 'alienation,' 'abandonment,' 'poverty,' and 'abuse' of the elderly, revealing the stark reality of the 'throwaway culture' that alienates the elderly—a culture that Pope Francis has criticized. Driven by the economic logic of extreme capitalism and a perspective that worships only youth, the elderly are often dismissed as 'unproductive, worthless, and superfluous lives.' However, we must ask a fundamental question. If old age is such a worthless time, why did God grant it a much longer period than for the other creatures He loves most? The time of old age granted to us by God is not a surplus time disconnected from life. Old age is a time of completion that naturally follows the journey of life, and a time of new creation. The "discarded old age" rampant in our society today is not God's will, but merely a sorrowful result brought about by human greed and selfishness. As Simone de Beauvoir pointed out in her book *Old Age*, the status of the elderly has historically never been "won" by them but has been unilaterally "imposed" by society. In other words, the current culture of discarding is the result of all of us alienating the elderly and pushing them out of the community. As Pope Francis has said, old age is a time of contemplation, allowing us to step away from the busyness of youth, integrate our lives, and realize the value of "existence itself." Although physical strength may weaken due to aging, our spiritual vision broadens, and it is a time to enjoy spiritual richness that allows us to focus more on the essential meaning of life. Therefore, cultivating our final years with dignity requires the collective effort of all members of society. We must view the elderly not merely as "auxiliary beings in need of care," but as "the future we will soon face" and "companions to live alongside." Particularly in the era of centenarians, where four, five, and even more generations coexist, we must contemplate how each generation can respect and care for one another while moving forward together. This dilemma is also a task for the Korean Catholic Church and for all of us as we prepare for the 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul. Beyond being a mere festival for young people, World Youth Day must become a venue for the practice of "synodalitas"—a "journey walked together by the people of God"—where generational divides are overcome and the grandparent and youth generations share the legacy of faith and stand in solidarity. This is because the essence of synodalitas lies not in an old age that steals the future of youth, but in an old age that transmits the legacy of faith cultivated over a lifetime and bears witness to unyielding hope.

Pachamama: Earth, Our Common Home

Earth, Our ‘Common Home’: The Legal Personality of Lakes and Animism was an article in the Catholic Times by a professor at the Kangwon National University Law School and the President of the Earth Law Association.

Image of Pachamama. In the indigenous cultures of the Andes, Pachamama means “Mother Earth” and symbolizes the source of the earth and life. Depicted as a woman composed of mountains, forests, and animals, this image symbolically shows that humans are not separate from nature but are part of it. 

In 2022, the Spanish Parliament passed a law granting legal personhood to the Mar Menor (meaning “Little Sea”), a lagoon. It is highly unusual for such a law to be enacted in a European country with a modern civil law system, unlike nations like Ecuador or New Zealand, where spiritual and relational worldviews regarding nature are reflected in their institutions. Lawmakers from Spain’s conservative parties filed a constitutional challenge, arguing that extending legal personhood to non-human natural entities distorts the concept of personhood and undermines the dignity inherent in humans.

The Spanish Constitutional Court was divided in its ruling. The majority of justices argued that “a dignified life is only possible in an appropriate natural environment,” asserting that recognizing the legal personality of the Mar Menor strengthens human dignity. They viewed human dignity not as a concept that places humans at the center of the natural world, but as one that calls for humans to coexist with the environment.

However, five justices expressed a dissenting opinion, stating that “an appropriate environment is merely a condition for human personal development and quality of life; environmental protection itself cannot be an end in itself,” and that “even if the necessity of nature conservation is acknowledged, humans and nature must not be placed on the same value-theoretical plane.” 

The dissenting opinion argued that the concept of legal personhood for nature (or “Mama Tierra”) is rooted in the cosmology or worldview of countries like Ecuador and Bolivia (particularly among indigenous peoples), whereas Europe has already moved beyond a pantheistic or animistic understanding of the world and developed into a rationalist and scientific culture.

Here, I wish to critique the dissenting opinion’s perspective, which seems to view Ecuador’s recognition of the rights of nature as stemming solely from the belief that “natural objects possess souls.” 

First, Ecuador’s legal framework on the rights of nature is not solely a product of the indigenous worldview. It combines not only the influence of Indigenous thought but also legal discussions on the rights of natural objects, the understanding of Earth system science that views the Earth as a single self-regulating system, and ethical and religious currents such as Earth ethics and the Earth Charter. 

Meanwhile, the opposing view seems to regard animism as an inferior, primitive form of thought. However, according to French anthropologist Philippe Desclos, who has reexamined the world’s diverse ontological modes beyond the Western nature-culture dichotomy, animism is an ontological framework that views humans and non-humans as sharing a certain inner essence (such as consciousness or a soul) even though they possess different bodies; it is not merely a belief but a mode of relationship that humans form with non-humans.

In today’s era of climate and ecological crises, rather than absolutizing the hierarchy between humans and non-humans, we need to reflect that humans, too, are part of nature and exist within an order of symbiosis. Even if we acknowledge human uniqueness, this should not serve as a basis for justifying human superiority or exceptionalism, but rather for demanding greater ethical and legal responsibility. 

In this regard, Ecuador’s worldview, which emphasizes coexistence with nature, is not a premodern belief system to be overcome, but rather a mode of thought that deserves serious respect today.

Mercy Sunday--Sunday after Easter

A religious sister in the Catholic Times gives readers a meditation on Mercy Sunday, the week after Easter. 

The resurrected Jesus shows His wounds to His disciples. He repeats this twice. The Lord “came”, stood among the disciples and showed them the wounds on His hands and side. This reveals that the resurrection is not an event that erased the cross, but a presence of love bearing wounds. 

The disciples’ fear and Thomas’s doubt begin to crumble in the face of these wounds. The nail marks and the spear wound in Jesus' side are not traces of failure, but signs revealing the truth of the resurrection. Through these wounds, the disciples recognize that the resurrected One is the very one who was crucified, and their fear turns into joy. Furthermore, these wounds become the decisive turning point that transforms Thomas's doubt into faith.

That evening, the risen Lord comes to the disciples who had locked their doors in fear.  Eight days later, He comes again for Thomas, who remained in doubt. The fact that the risen Lord came to the same place twice tells us that the resurrection does not end as a single past event. Jesus is not one who abandoned His disciples and left, but one who comes again to give hope. He does not give up on those who are afraid or doubting, but enters among them even when the doors are closed. The Lord is one who still comes to us in this way today.

The coming of the Risen Lord holds profound significance for the disciples. Although the disciples neither invited the Lord nor were prepared to welcome Him, the Lord sought them out first. The Lord's love transcends human preparation and qualification. Furthermore, the fact that He came "even though the doors were locked" reveals the Lord's transcendent presence, which no barrier can block. Moreover, the Lord "stands among" the disciples, ensuring that faith in the resurrection does not remain merely an individual experience but becomes a community faith. He also embraces even Thomas's doubts, demonstrating His patience and mercy, which exclude no one. 

Today, Divine Mercy Sunday, reminds us of this very truth. Why did the Lord ask Thomas to touch His wounds? It was not to test Thomas. Moreover, it was not a rebuke for his unbelief, but rather an act of mercy inviting his doubts.  Jesus' wounds are the door of God's mercy opened to the world. To Thomas, the Lord's wounds must have been a place of pain left by failure and frustration. However, the Lord causes faith to be born right there. Finally, Thomas says, “My Lord and my God”. 

This confession is the culmination of the faith that the entire Gospel of John has led, and the most perfect language of faith in the resurrection. Thomas no longer demands proof. It does not even matter whether he touched the wounds. To him, Jesus is no longer 'Him', but becomes 'my Lord'. As the Apostle Peter says, “God has made us born again in His great mercy,” giving us a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This new birth does not mean a life without wounds. Faith in the resurrection is the courage to confess, “My Lord and my God,” even while carrying doubt and wounds. 

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” Although we have never seen Him, we love Him; and even though we cannot see Him now, we believe in Him and live within His mercy. Today's Gospel asks us: Are we still demanding evidence, locking the doors of our hearts in fear and doubt? However, the Risen Lord does not turn away from us; He comes to us by crossing the closed doors of our hearts. On Divine Mercy Sunday, we remember that Jesus' wounds are within the wounds of those who suffer today. The Lord's mercy, which does not turn away from their wounds, leads us to the faith of the Resurrection.

The Old Testament Law of Holiness

What Is the Old Testament Law of Holiness? An article in the Catholic Times offers readers some insight into this teaching from a scripture professor emeritus.

Salt symbolizes the unchanging covenant with God and prevents corruption, as stated in Scripture: “You shall season every grain offering with salt” (Leviticus 2:13). It leads us to meditate on the Law of Holiness, whose essence lies not merely in the regulations themselves but in the sanctification of humanity. 

Let us take a moment to explore the “Law of Holiness” found in Leviticus chapters 17 through 26. Also known as the Code of Holiness, the laws of holiness are based on the words, “I, the Lord your God, am holy; you must therefore be holy” (Leviticus 19:2). The Israelites, the people chosen by God Himself, have a duty to participate in the holiness of the Lord God. “You must consecrate yourselves and be holy.” (Leviticus 20:7)

The core of the Holiness Code lies in the continuous sanctification of the people of Israel. So, what exactly does the sanctification of God’s chosen people entail? First, whether slaughtering an animal or offering it as a sacrifice, one must not consume its blood. “If anyone eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that person and cut them off from their people. For the life of every creature is in its blood.” (Leviticus 17:10-11)

At that time, blood was viewed as the life (soul) of every living creature. Eating blood or handling it carelessly was seen as an attempt to usurp the place of God, the Lord of all living things, and was therefore considered an act of blasphemy against Him.

All acts of sexual relations outside of marriage, the offering of children as sacrifices, and bestiality were strictly forbidden. “Whoever commits any of these abominations—whoever does any of these things—shall be cut off from his people.” (Leviticus 18:29)

Leviticus goes on to emphasize the need to honor the Lord God and one’s parents, as well as to love one’s neighbor as oneself. “I, the Lord your God, am holy; you must be holy. Each of you must honor your mother and father. You must keep my Sabbaths.” (Leviticus 19:2–3)

We see the penalties for very serious sins. “If anyone sacrifices their child to Molech, that person shall be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:2) We see regulations regarding the sanctity of the priesthood and the maintenance of dignity. “Priests shall not shave their heads, trim the corners of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies… They shall not profane the name of their God… A priest is a holy person to his God.” (Leviticus 21:5-7)

There is also a commandment to treat offerings with reverence. “Tell Aaron and his sons: Handle the holy offerings that the Israelites present to me with care, so that you do not profane my holy name.” (Leviticus 22:2)

A Power that Gives Life

The Religious Peace Scholar of the Catholic University of Korea, in the Ark's Window column in the Catholic Times, reminds us that all things change.

To change means to move, and to move means that a force is acting to cause that movement. In physics, the physical quantity (such as length or time) applied to an object when moving a bicycle or lifting a stone is called “force.”

Force also has directionality. The force used to push a cart and the force used to pull it are equal in magnitude but differ in direction. There is a gravitational force that pulls objects toward each other, and there is a repulsive force that pushes them apart. The same force can be used to build a building or to bring it down.

There are forces that give life and forces that take it, even when their magnitudes are the same. There are also forces such as political power and financial power. These are forces that shape human relationships through money, status, and honor. Military power manifests as the offensive or defensive capability of an individual or a group. A nation’s strength is also determined by its power, wealth, and military might. These are the forces that ordinary people in the real world take for granted.

These forces share a common trait: they compete by prioritizing magnitude. Since superiority is determined by size and intensity, hierarchies emerge, and discrimination is accepted as normal. People strive to suppress others and rise above them. Everyone competes to build up their own power. Yet the more they do so, the more anxious those building it become. The paradox of “security anxiety”—where the pursuit of security paradoxically breeds anxiety—is an inevitable consequence for everyone, not only those who are accumulating power for their own sake.

And that is not all. The demands of a results-oriented society that urges us to create two more after making one, the shackles of neoliberalism that champion free competition, and the contradiction where “human intelligence” is pushed aside the more artificial intelligence is developed—these contradictions continue to amplify. Short-sighted humans use this power to enjoy short-term gains, only to find themselves enslaved by it before they even realize it. They even drive non-human beings into a world of death. Is there any hope? What kind of power should we pursue, and in what direction?

Physicist Michael Faraday (1791–1867) believed that all forces were merely various forms of a single, universal force. He viewed a vast reality—existing prior to and independent of objects yet lacking the properties of objects—as the source of change in the physical world. From this, he developed “Field Theory,” which posits that this “field of force” manifests as individual natural phenomena. In other words, lowercase “forces” emerge and move within the capitalized “Force”.

However, while physics explains the structure and principles of force, it does not inquire into its value or direction. In contrast, there are those who question the value of force and seek to move in the direction that values other points. Movements aimed at finding and embodying the right values within the force that moves all things have also persisted. Religion is a prime example.

Jesus said, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) This is a call to recognize the values of universality and fairness within the vast field of God’s power, and to transcend discrimination and alienation.

Since there is no dichotomy of good and evil, or justice and injustice, within God’s power, there must be no more killing of others. Both the great and the small, the many and the few, are part of God’s perfect world. God is the source of life, sustaining all living things. We are called to realize this principle and move toward a path of sustaining all life, rather than killing others. This is likely the message of the Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord.

Resurrection is not a selfish concept reserved for those who kill others to save themselves. A life that reveals the fundamental truth that God’s sun and rain shine upon and fall upon everyone is a life of resurrection. This is because God is a power that gives life, not a power that takes it.

The Meaning of Sunday!

‘Sunday’ in Remembrance of the New Creation Begun by the Resurrection is an article presented in the Catholic Times.

Sunday is the ‘eighth day,’ the day following the Sabbath, and signifies the new creation that began with Christ’s resurrection. 

Sunday is a day of rest. If asked about its origin, many people would likely answer, “Because God created the world and rested on the seventh day.” However, the day that commemorates this “seventh day”—the Sabbath—is Saturday, not Sunday.

As you well know, the third commandment of the Ten Commandments is “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Yet, if we look at the Bible, the Ten Commandments state, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The Bible tells us to keep the “Sabbath,” so why are we keeping “Sunday”?

The Sabbath is a day to praise God and to remember God’s work of creation. There is another reason why the Sabbath was established. The Bible tells us, “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. This is why the Lord your God commands you to observe the Sabbath” (Deuteronomy 5:15). The Sabbath is, in fact, a holy day that commemorates “God’s salvation”.

Some of you may be thinking of “Passover.” That is correct. Just as Jesus, as the “Lamb of God,” became the sacrificial offering and fulfilled the Passover through the Eucharist, so too was the Sabbath fulfilled through Jesus.

In fact, the Sabbath was used as a pretext by those who opposed Jesus to attack Him. This was because the miracles Jesus performed and the activities of His disciples were seen as violating the Sabbath regulations. To such people, Jesus taught, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27), thereby proclaiming that Jesus, the “Son of Man,” is the “Lord of the Sabbath.”

The Bible records that this event—in which Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, conquered death through His resurrection and saved us from sin—took place “as the Sabbath was ending and the first day of the week was dawning” (Matthew 28:1). The Church teaches that “the day following the Sabbath, the ‘eighth day,’ signifies the new creation that began with Christ’s Resurrection,” and that “for Christians, this day has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord’s Day, and Sunday” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2174).

The Sabbath has been replaced by Sunday, which reminds us of the new creation that began with Jesus’ resurrection. Therefore, from the early Church onward, believers have kept Sunday holy rather than the Sabbath. This is why the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments was replaced by Sunday.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Church Father of the early Church, states, “Those who lived according to the old order have now gained a new hope; they no longer observe the Sabbath but live by observing the Lord’s Day,” adding, “Through the Lord and His death, our life has sprung forth on this day.”

Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the day Jesus rose from the dead. On this day of new creation, how are you being reborn?