How To Make Sense Out Of Absurdity

How does one convey the Christian message to the people of our time? The old way of dealing with the message falls on deaf ears, the message was heard and discarded, it is understood to be a bunch of dos and don'ts and the response-- not interested. Disinterest is more evident today. The youth are bored by religion. They are searching but it is unending.This vacuum in lives is seen and experienced and some moved to do something.

In the twentieth century we have had a number Catholic movements started by lay people who felt this emptiness in life, Mr. Francisco (Kiko) Argüello is one of these. He started the Neocatechumenal Way in the slums of Spain in 1964 with Ms Carmen Hernandez.

In Kiko's own life he felt a profound existential crisis and accepted the philosophy of Sartre: the world is absurd all is absurd. He dedicated himself to art and although he was successful it all meant nothing. "It meant absolutely nothing, to live for what? To paint. And why paint? To make money. What for, If nothing satisfies me? I knew that sooner or later I'd shoot myself, I'd kill myself."

At the height of the crisis he read another philosopher, Bergson, "who says that intuition is a... way..., deeper than reason itself, of arriving at truth. And surprised, I found that, deep inside, my artist's intuition did not accept the absurdity of existence; I was aware of the beauty of a tree, of the beauty of things; there is something there that can't be absurd. Then if the absurd is not the truth, if there is a reason for being... the next step was: then somebody created us.... At that moment... something in me told me that God existed... that God loved me... that I was a son of God. And with great surprise I found...that this God that appeared in my heart, in my deepest soul, was Jesus Christ, the Jesus Christ of the Catholic Church."

As time past this teaching was embodied in a catechetical syntheses, founded on what is called the tripod: Word of God- Liturgy- Community that seeks to lead people to fraternal communion and mature faith. It is a message of Joy and given for free to anyone who opens his heart to receive it.

The priests of the Incheon Diocese this past week had a five day retreat conducted by a priest of the Neocatechumenal Way. It was the old story told in a way that made it clear to all that Christianity is not a teaching of morality or dogma but accepting Jesus into our lives. He came to divinize us. To make us like Him. He made us to be happy in the only way that true joy can be found, living in and with Him.

Reading Habits of Korean Catholics

In Korea the Church started and grew when books about the Church came in from China. Reading not only nourishes our souls as food nourishes our bodies, it can also help nourish the Church, as it did in the early years of the Korean Catholic Church. In the late 1800s, the first book from China to awaken the Catholic spirit in Korea was Matteo Ricci's "The True Doctrine of the Lord of Heaven."A few years later, Yi Seung-hun, baptized by a Chinese priest, brought back books and articles on Christian doctrine that were distributed to Korean scholars, who subsequently dared to preach the Faith openly, converting many people.

At the present time, the Church in Korea is promoting the spread of reading programs to foster a deeper understanding of the Faith and a broader commitment to personal growth that will eventually benefit all of society. There is, however, a major obstacle that must be overcome if these goals are to be realized: Catholics are, for the most part, not interested in reading. But the fault lies,according to an editorial in one of our Catholic papers, not with Catholics as readers or non-readers, but with a climate within the Church that is not conducive to reading. A climate that one could trace back hundreds of years to the time when the only translation of the Bible was in Latin, a language only understood by the educated few.

A graphic and disturbing picture of this wide-spread disinterest in books can be seen by going over a few figures from a survey made in 2007. The survey showed that 58.6% of Catholics during the year do not read anything having to do with Church matters. Only 4.9% have read more than 6 books. However, 44.8% of Protestants have read at least one spiritual book during the year. They are setting an example we need to follow.

Just as in the early days of Catholicism in Korea in the late 1800s, when "the word" was carried from China to Korea, we need once again to renew our efforts to bring the message of Christ to those who are willing to hear. Jesus is the word of God and can be found in the words of the Church and in the lives of the saints but, first and foremost, this word is found in the Scriptures. It is the hope of the Bishops that a renewed interest in scripture study (their immediate goal) will encourage the spread of reading programs throughout the country. If these reading programs succeed in turning a large number of our Catholics into readers of "the word," we may witness a return to the proselytizing spirit of those early years, when books were the means by which the Church began to grow, and might now bring that growth to new heights.

Sorok Island-- One of the Few Colonies Left

A newly assigned Korean priest, commenting on his experiences on Sorok Island with patients having Hansen's disease(non-infectious), was surprised by many things he saw on the island. Every day, about an hour before Mass starts, they come for prayers and the recitation of the rosary. Their bodies and faces are disfigured but their voices are better than one usually hears in the average congregation. And the man at the organ has not only Hansen's disease, he is blind. But he has the whole of the hymn book memorized and plays from memory.

The priest remembered when he was in the States taking care of a Korean Parish; he attended a Mass that really moved him. A woman sitting with a seeing-eye dog beside her got up, at the time of the reading of the Epistle, to go to the lectern. Being the lector, she was accompanied by one of the ushers. She read from the Scriptures using a braille book and returned to her seat with her dog leading the way. It was another moving experience for the priest who admitted to many others, preparing him for his life on Sorok Island.


He recounted one of those experiences in some detail. From his rectory he could see the tides coming in and out so decided to take up fishing. He bought some cheap bait and on his way to the water's edge met one of the Catholics, Anthony, who if seen walking the streets would have been taken for a vagabond. He invited the man to go with him for some fishing, which was very good that day. Happy with their catch and being in high spirits, they went to eat and very much enjoyed the meal. All in all, a very satisfying day for both of them.

In the time-honored Korean tradition of relaxing with friends in one of the many Jimjilpangs that dot the typical Korean city, they went to one close by and relaxed in the soothing atmosphere of a hot air room, where Anthony had his hair cut and the priest massaged his back in the Korean style. Anthony said he felt like a new man. One cannot doubt that the physical pampering helped him feel this way, but I suspect that the more important reason for this change in attitude came about because someone looked past his outward appearance and treated him as a human being.

Sorok Island is one of the few leper colonies left in the world. The disease can be cured; it is an infectious disease not easily contracted and not inherited. To lessen the hurt that is felt when the word leprosy is heard by those with the disease, Hansen is used--discoverer of the bacterium-- The feeling towards those with Hansen's disease is still such that those who are cured have difficulty joining society: prejudice is still the way society looks at the disease.

Mixed Signals From a Mixed Up Regime

North Korea has declared all religious activity to be subversive, an attack on their governing principles. And yet they maintain there is religious freedom in the country. An article in the Chosun Ilbo mentions that before "liberation" came to Korea, there were (in addition to the many Buddhist temples in the mountainous regions) 2600 churches. In Pyongyang alone there were 270 churches, which led to the city being called the 2nd Jerusalem.

Information on the situation of Christians in North Korea is sketchy. We do know that the government considers Christians "crazy" and part of an underground movement to overthrow the regime. The Open Doors Movement is committed to helping these persecuted Christians, but it's a difficult task. Again this year, North Korea was listed--8th year in a row--as having the severest persecutions of Christians among all nations of the world.

In 2009 Kim Jong-il is reported giving orders that resulted in the mass arrests, torture and killings of many Christians in an attempt to eradicate all Christian activities. Of the estimated 200,000 in prison for political activities considered hostile to the regime, 40,000 to 60,000 are Christians.

Protestants have been very active in trying to help all persecuted Christians. Each year they send balloons to North Korea with leaflets and make efforts to get Bibles into the hands of the Christians using words commonly in use in North Korea.

An American Protestant Missionary, Robert Park, in an attempt to bring the plight of persecuted Christians in Korea to the attention of the world, recently "...crossed the China-North Korea border into North Korea...carrying with him a letter addressed to the North Korean leadership in which he wrote: Please open your borders so that we may bring food, provisions, medicine, necessities and assistance to those who are struggling to survive. Please close down all concentration camps (gulags) and release all political prisoners therein, and allow care teams to enter to minister healing to those who have been tortured and traumatized." (as reported by Pax Koreana)

North Korean authorities acknowledged, indirectly, the existence of an underground Church when they reported catching some spies. Their official news agency reported that "They broke up a hostile radical group that was using the mask of religion in the underground church to ferment conspiracy."

How long this tyrannical regime can continue to exist, with its abysmal human rights record, without provoking more discontent from its citizens is puzzling to many. Some day in the near future there will come a day when the history of this country will be written and, maybe then, we'll have the answer many are asking: How could such a proud people have put up with this hellish life for so long?

A Journey From Inferiority to Acceptance

One of the priests in the diocese writes, in the Pastoral newsletter, of a young man he knew some 10 years ago who worked in a sewing factory. Because his family was poor, he had to drop out of high school and go to work. He hated the work and worried what others would think of him if they found out he was a menial laborer. Not wanting anyone to know, he left his house each morning with a brief case and dressed as a college student. Living this lie greatly affected the man's appearance and character, the daily stress showing on his face and in his demeanor. He wanted to find a better job but did not have the strength of will to make the changes.In the evenings he would go to a discotheque to forget his problems and dull the pain.

An overwhelming feeling of inferiority was his daily torment, and now with the desire to change his life only a faint memory, he felt chained to a life without the zest and joy he had once hoped for.

One day he became friends with another young man working at the sewing factory.This friend invited him to a meeting of the JOC (Young Christian Workers) in the parish. By attending their meetings and participating in the readings of the Scriptures, he felt his feelings of inferiority begin to disappear and learned to have a proper appreciation for the value of manual labor.

There is no denying that many young people today are embarrassed at their lot in life. They are poor, worn out, and tired, becoming dropouts in society. They are overcome by many of the evils of society: dependence on liqueur, pornography, gambling etc.--having lost, it seems, the freedom to say no to these temptations of society. Because of peer pressure, it is becoming difficult for them to avoid these temptations.

In my early years in Korea, I can recall the times when I would pick up a shovel and start to use it--but not for long. There was always someone there to take it from me. College students returning home for the holidays would not want to be seen working like a farm laborer, or be seen carrying an A-Frame (a wooden rack for carrying a load on one´s back). After all, they were now college students. This has changed as traditional values disappear and a more egalitarian society starts to appear. It's not unusual now to find many who enjoy working with their hands without any feelings of embarrassment. How much of this is due to Christianity is hard to judge. But for many Christians, knowing that Jesus had been a carpenter undoubtedly helped remove the stigma commonly attached to those who worked for a living using their hands in hard labor.

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From Receiving To Giving

Before the 1980s, the Catholic Church in Korea had been for many years on the receiving end of the giving and receiving divide. She has wisely used the resources received and now, since the '80s, has been supporting other countries that are facing hardships. No data had been gathered on the amount of money given out until this past year when Caritas Coreana made a study detailing what had been given. Outside of aid given for evangelization and to North Korea, they have on average given a million dollars annually for overseas aid.

To help collect the data, 16 dioceses, 1,542 parishes, 165 religious societies, 28 apostolates, and other organizations participated. This survey, the first of its kind initiated by the Church, will be of great help in building a network of helper organizations to facilitate the work of overseas aid in the years to come, without any overlapping.

If we count the total number of Korean Catholics, the amount each donated annually comes to about two dollars. If we count only those who go to Sunday Mass regularly, the figure jumps to eight dollars per Catholic. About 60 percent of this aid is from collections in support of different projects. It's not very much but it is the beginning of an outreach to others now going through what Korea had to suffer for many years.

In 1980, the outreach found its way into only four areas of the world. In ten years, this figure went up to 12; in ten more years, the year 2000, there were 33 areas of the world being served.

Catholic Korea, like the country as a whole, has come a long way in a very short time. From being a Church on the receiving end of assistance, it now is an outreach Church involved in giving to those around the world who are most in need of assistance.

This outreach will continue, and guided by the data collected by Caritas Coreana the Church intends to be of more service to more people. Where the data reveals shortcomings in outreach performance, there is no doubt that they will be corrected.

In the beginning of our work as missioners, after the Korean War, we all were beneficiaries of receiving whatever help we needed from Maryknoll. Enough money was sent to take care of our living expenses, run the parishes, provide for those working in the parish, and to aid the sick and poor. For many years now, this has come to an end and we are now in a giving mode. This is also true of many sectors of the Korean economy. Korea is one of the few countries that have made this transition so quickly from a receiving to a giving country. There is no doubt that the church, and the country, will continue to give, and give even more than before, with each passing year.

Not seeing all of the Culture for Life

The Church in Korea is working to establish a culture for life and showing how we, unknowingly, are often involved in a culture of death. The Catholic papers and articles in Catholic Magazines have begun to acquaint us with what we mean by making a choice for life and not death. The Church has called on the government to ban abortion, human embryonic stem-cell research, and to abolish the death penalty. They are fighting the movement towards euthanasia, suicide, the emphasis on outward appearance, all these areas of life in which we are not choosing life but death. There is one area, in which possibly, we do not think is part of this culture of death and that is smoking and drinking immoderately.

One of the members of the Committee For Life of the Seoul Diocese has mentioned the many ways that we have not been helpful in building a wholistic culture of life in Korea and he picks out the area of smoking and immoderate drinking. These are not considered important enough to merit the interest of the other areas but should.

The World Health Organization recently has reported that smoking causes the death of over 5 million people in the world and 70% of these live in Africa and Asia. In Korea 50,000 die each year from smoking this is 20% of the total of those that die every year. A figure we can not but be surprised to hear.

Drink causes the death of about 20,000 each year in Korea. If we consider those who die driving while intoxicated or are killed by drunk drivers, we get a figure that is similar to that from smoking.

The World Health Organization has made it known the havoc that smoking and drinking has on the health of our citizens. It does not take life quickly but gradually, and of a large percentage of the population.

Speaking very honestly the committee member says the Catholic Church has been very tolerant in comparison to the other religious groups in our society on smoking and drinking. The Protestants have been very much against drinking and smoking in Korea and so the word in society has been that being a Catholic is much easier than being a Protestant.

What ever the past reasons were for the Catholic position this is no longer valid. The writer goes on to say that the Catholic Church should no longer be so indulgent in accepting smoking and drinking immoderately, knowing the havoc this is causing so many people . The Catholic Church has always been very much in the forefront of the movement for life and this indulgence with smoking and drinking should no longer be tolerated.

The Catholic Church should now make this 'no smoking' and 'drinking in moderation' one of its areas of concern in the building up of the culture of life. And Catholics should be out in front living this life as an example to others.