All of us have started establishing our worldview as children and become influenced by the spirit of the times, our consciousness has to work with this reality as we mature
A director of a theological research center gives the readers of the Catholic Weekly some ideas how the Korean college entrance exams invades the lives of many students and parents.
August 8th is the 100th day before the college entrance exams, and she received a text message that the 100 days prayer for the entrance exam will begin.Nothing brings greater comfort than prayer for those who are having a hard time, and moreover, the love and sincerity of parents who pray for their children is truly valuable.Praying for 'good fortune' is a natural human trait, but this is because the blessings we ask for from God tend to be aimed at satisfying our human desires such as success, wealth, and health.
It is said that the 100-day prayer for the college entrance exam is for all who are studying hard, but in the end, one cannot hide the parents' own desire for their own child to achieve good results in the fierce competition for college.If you pray with such an orientation, you will measure and compare the results of the CSAT as if it were a reward for your sincerity in prayer or the size of the grace and blessings bestowed by God.Perhaps because of this reality, some parishes do not hold 100 days of prayer for the college entrance exam, but parents are upset that such a parish policy is indifferent to teenagers.It is difficult to arbitrarily judge whether it is good to pray for the CSAT in the parish or not, but she would like to share some thoughts while participating in the 100-day prayer for the college entrance exam at the parish level two years ago for her oldest child.
The child was delighted that his parents were praying for him.However, the more she prayed, the more she doubted whether the direction of the prayer was right.She remembers watching a movie called ‘Happiness is not in the order of grades’ when she was in school.This is a film about the death of a teenager who couldn't stand the annoyance of parents who insisted that only grades were everything in life.She wondered if the prayers offered by parents would be a prayer that gives strength to the child or a prayer that puts another burden on them.So, she changed her prayer intention not for the CSAT test, but to the prayer of entrustment, trusting that God will lead the child's life as he wills.
In her parish, the names of the students who desire the prayers are at the entrance to the church.She wondered what her peers, whose names were missing, would think when they saw that name tag.
On the other hand, she was grateful that the church members prayed together for the children, but it was quite burdensome to see them asking and comparing the results of their college entrance exams, as if to confirm the efficacy of the prayers.
Parents whose children have been accepted into good universities work harder at the church out of joy and gratitude.When she started the 100 Day Prayer, she was surprised that there were so many students in the parish. After the CSAT, she was surprised again to see that the youth and their parents who had previously appeared at the parish were not visible.
Now that we have become a generation of parents who know that college is not everything in life, we must be vigilant so that our prayers for our children do not express our greed as parents.It is good to pray for one hundred days as if to celebrate a special anniversary, but she wants to be a parent who always prays for her children on a daily basis.
