Waiting With Hope

In His Own Words Fr. John Cioppa Maryknoller in Hong Kong.

In 1972 shortly after he was released from a Chinese prison Bishop James Walsh was at the Kai Tak airport waiting for a plane to take him to the US. He said, "Here I am waiting again. In 1950 I waited to be sentenced to jail, I waited for 20 years to be released, and now I am waiting again. I have spent half of my life waiting." He was not angry. He was just commenting , relaxed and smiling. "Waiting " for Bishop Walsh had become his spirituality. He had integrated waiting into his life. He was not anxious or worried. He had learned that waiting also meant hope.

Some researchers say we spend about 8 years of our life "waiting". A mother waits 9 months for her child to be born, another year waiting for him to walk and five years more before going to school. We wait to see the doctor. We wait to pay bills, wait for exam results, wait for job interviews and wait to get married.We even wait to die. I hope Jesus doesn't keep us waiting at heaven's door. Waiting brings fear and anxiety but it also brings hope and joy: a new child born, release from prison, high exam marks.

The Jews waited 500 years for the Messiah to come; 40 more years with Moses wandering in the desert and 50 years in captivity in Babylon longing to be back home in the Holy Land. Life for the Jews seemed to be one waiting after another. And as we know they are still waiting.

I believe waiting has a very profound meaning. It is a deep-seated longing for our hearts and souls to go home. Waiting is basically homesickness. We are restless and anxious and can never settle down because the place we are standing is not home. Saint Augustine put it well when he said, "Our hearts were made for God and they will not rest until they are again with God."

I thing that is what Advent is all about. It's a reminder that we are on a journey- a long journey back to the Father. We wander in a strange place searching for the road home. We long to be back again with our Father. If you have even been homesick, you know what I mean. Advent is a reminder that we live our lives in ambiguity. We live in the presence of God, yet live in the expectation of His coming again. We celebrate His coming but wait and long for Him to be with us again. Somehow deep in our souls there is a memory of being with God . Advent reminds us that we live in that memory hoping and anxious to be with God again. That was the feeling of Jesus when He was on earth and that is the spirit of Advent. A waiting with hope .That hope also brings peace and joy and that's what we celebrate on Christmas.

Waiting makes us uncomfortable and brings with it feelings of fear, anxiety, loneliness and helpless. But it also brings with it hope, joy and new life. Advent reminds us that we are homesick and our hearts will not be in peace until they are again with the Lord. Advent is not a sad time. It is a time of hope, a time to feel the peace and joy of the Lord who is here, but has yet to come.

Why Some Leave the Church

Fr. John Cioppa a Maryknoller working in Hong Kong reflected on the reasons people enter, stay and leave the Church in Hong Kong. I found it interesting and not much different from the reasons that the Koreans might suggest for doing the same. We will consider Fr. John's understanding of why they leave.

The Catholic Church in Korea has had a spectacular growth. From a very small Church to 10% of the population at the present. We also see a large number of these baptized, not practicing, shortly after entering the Church. The former President Noh Moo-hyun would be a good example of this . How much does this have to do with catechizing and how much from the motivation of the individual is an interesting question?

Fr. John mentions a survey that was done a few years ago on newly baptized Catholics:

they found that 10.4% lose their faith and became alienated from God in the first year after Baptism, and 19.5% seldom or no longer attended Sunday Mass. That is a good reminder that those who develop the habit of going to Mass during their catechumenate period are more likely to continue doing so after being baptized. Falling away can be a conscious decision. Some leave because they disagree with the Church's policy or the local Bishop or parish priest. Others do so because they feel hurt or neglected by the parish leader. Some leave because they don't feel welcomed by the local Catholics. Some are angry with God because of an unanswered prayer, or for some other reason. Those who violate Church laws or have done something which they think cannot be forgiven, feel it's hypocritical to remain in the Church. Falling away can also be an unconscious decision. Some people gradually become distracted by work, money or power. Those who are no longer around friends and family who have been their spiritual support often stop going to church. This can happen when a Catechumenate class is finished and there are no more meetings or when people move away from their parish church. In my experience the vast majority do not fall away . They were never fully in the Church. They may have been baptized as infants but have had no opportunity for Christan formation. Perhaps their parents were new Catholics and didn't have an adequate understanding or appreciation of the faith themselves. When these youngsters reach adulthood , they often don't admit they are Catholics. Of course, they don't get married in a church nor have their children baptized. When sickness or old age comes, however, they may return for the Sacrament and a Catholic funeral. For them the flame flickered but didn't go out.

It is my conviction that religion is not taught but caught. It is something that has to be experienced over a long period of time in order to have a lasting effect. John A Cioppa M.M. "IN HIS OWN WORDS"