When we die and go to heaven, God will ask, according to Sister Park,
whether we were happy. She believes we will not be happy without living a
spiritual life.
Sister Park is a Holy Name Sister who teaches
spirituality in the States, and was written up in the Catholic Times on
her visit to Korea. ( Before going to the States, she was a journalist
for the Times.) Spirituality for the Sister is a way of being happy. If
you are happy, she says, there must be, underlying the happiness, a
spirituality of some sort. Experience in our faith life and
experience in our daily life are not separate. Attempting to find
meaning in our lives is what spirituality is all about.
She is
preparing to write a book about her experience of community life in
Shamanism and in Buddhism. She wants to show the rest of the world the
understanding of community life in Korean culture. She also feels it's a
good way to understand our own Scriptures.
Her community in
Korea has taught her about her own personal journey. She was given
strength while in the community and wants to discover why this was so.
The synergistic effect from participation in community living is an
antidote, she feels, to the present individualism of society.
The
article concludes by telling us never to despair. We live within a
world where money is everything, but this gross distortion of the truth
can be overcome, she says. Failures are means that allow us to grow as
mature persons--when we use the failures as challenges. She tells the
young to keep on looking for mentors to help in the maturing process.
Keep on desiring and praying, she advises, and you will find your
mentors.
