Difficulty in Letting Go

On the spirituality page of the Catholic Times a priest, who recently moved from the center house of the order, writes about what he learned in the process of moving. Since the house was being remodeled after many years of use, he and his fellow priests had to move to other, smaller houses of the order. This required putting much of their belongings in boxes to store, and taking only what was necessary to the temporary home until they could move back to the center house.

The process of moving brought to his attention that he had acquired more possessions than he needed. He had entered the community with few possessions and with the intention of living a simple life. Now, after more than 20 years, he wonders when his way of thinking changed. In his room were too many things, many of them once considered important but now much less so. "Why in the world did he keep them?" he asked himself. What would his fellow priests think, if he died suddenly, and they saw all the unnecessary objects he had gathered over the years, besides the books. They would be tut-tutting among themselves, he was sure.

The answer to why he kept so many useless objects for so long seemed obvious to him now: they brought back fond memories, and the recurring thought that someday some of it might be needed. However, among his belongings, embarrassingly, were objects whose shelf-life in memory had long ago passed. And not only was there less space in his room to move around in, he laments, but he was sure his mind had also become narrower.

He wonders how much of this 'hoarding' had to do with what psychologists call the obsessive compulsion disorder. There are many with charisma, money and influence in society with this malady. But this was no consolation to him.   

Since the New Year will soon be here, it would be a good time to give what we don't need to others who can use them. It would be a sign of our faith in a benevolent future. Giving away what we don't need now, we believe we will receive what is needed when it's needed. Letting go is a sign of our faith. What we let go of, we may come to realize we never needed.     

Silence Please in the Public Square

To what degree should Christians take an interest in the world? This is a question that many have difficulty with. One of the most influential and largest Korean dailies criticized the Catholic Church for getting involved in the things of the world. The caption for the editorial: "When religion takes an interest in the things of the world, this earthly religion will foster interference." The editorial was very critical of the Catholic bishops' Justice and Rights Committee. 

Sad to say, this is not only the thinking of a secular newspaper but also the thinking of many of our Christians in Korea and in other parts of the Catholic World. It is difficult to understand how this thinking developed without blaming the Church for a lack of proper instruction on a very basic teaching of Christianity.

We are to be the salt of the earth, its light and yeast; and into this world we have been sent to be these things to each other. We are told in Philippians, "...so that nobody thinks of his own interests first, but everybody thinks of other people's interests, instead." In the Magnificat, the Church's evening prayer, Mary is shown to be very much interested in the goings-on in society. The words can even shock those who read them for the first time, and we know Mary is the model of what the Church should be.
 
Misunderstanding comes with a superficial knowledge of the meaning of the scriptural line, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's....," and thinking it implies the separation of Church and State. When religion is thought to be solely a private matter that should remain private, it can lead to a misunderstanding of what is meant by a legitimate separation of Church and State.
  
The editorial relied on a faulty understanding of the  separation of Church and State when it blamed the Church for speaking out on social issues. It is this misunderstanding that is prevalent not only in society but also in Christianity. For many it is unpatriotic or illegal for a Church or an individual to express an opposing opinion publicly. It is seen by the editorial as telling non-Catholics, as well as Catholics, what to do with their life. 

Like any individual or institution, the Catholic Church and its members have not only the right to participate in society but have a duty to participate. Korea is a democracy and all its citizens and institutions have a right to express their opinions. The Church and Catholics, therefore, also have this right when, following the teachings of the Church, they express their opinions, and to do so without facing efforts by government or the media to silence them. This allows others as well to have opposing opinions. When efforts are made to silence these legitimate expressions of opinions, it will impair all other efforts to develop a mature and informed society.

The Hard Decision of the Black Kite

Korea has no serious problems with the changes that came with the Second Vatican Council. Most Catholics entered the Church after the Council was over. Few  remember the Latin Mass or the liturgical life of the past. Nostalgia is not part of the thinking of our Catholics. The Society of Pius X (followers of Archbishop Lefebrev) has few members in Korea.
 
The desk columnist for the Catholic Times recalls that next year is the 50th anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council. This Council was the foundation on which the Church grew in Korea.

'Renewal' is the word that is often used when talking about the Council. Nowadays all of society is using the word renewal: you and I are to become 'renovated.' But the columnist is disturbed when the desire for renewal is used as a motivational tool to get us out of some crisis we are presently in. It should be much more than that, he says.

What is necessary is to know oneself. Knowing yourself, he says, is the beginning of change. Socrates knew he didn't know everything, which enabled him to search for wisdom.
 
For a Catholic, renovation comes, he says, when we desire to become more like Christ. It is the promise of Jesus and the Holy Spirit's presence in us that leads us to wisdom--the message of the Gospel. To be evangelized is the first duty of a Christian.
 
But what is self-evangelization? he asks. It is to become familiar with God's word in the Scriptures. Reading and study of the Scriptures is the first step in the change that will come.

The columnist uses an example that the internet has made popular but without any basis in fact. It probably goes back to Psalm 103: "Your youth is renewed like the eagle." Instead of the eagle, in Korean it is the black kite. The story is presented in video's and articles that try to inspire us to change in all facets of life. As a prod to change it may have some value even if not true. The story, briefly, is about a black kite with a life span of 40 years. To live to 70 it has to make a hard decision. At 40 its talons can no longer grab prey, its beak becomes bent, its feathers become thick and stick to the breast. It is faced with the option of dying or getting renewed. The renewal is painful, requiring that it break its beak against a rock, pluck out its talons and feathers, and wait for them to grow back; doing the difficult and painful thing, it lives another 30 years.

The columnist concludes the article by comparing our life with that of the black kite. It takes much more than just thinking about change to bring about change; it takes making some difficult decisions. If we are satisfied with the way things are, we will not mature and life will end in failure. Change requires effort and pain.

Being-Toward-Death

The guest columnist in the Catholic Times discusses  the play, "Killing Sisters," which tells the story, part documentary, of religious sisters who help patients die well, focusing on the hospice approach to death in Korea. Seeing the play made her uncomfortable, thinking about how most of us live our lives.  

She thought of those who spend most of their time making money, yet without much thought of how it's to be spent. But when the end comes they often see their life differently and have remorse for the way they lived.
 
The hospice movement is intended to help those in their last days to face death in peace. And also to help their families accept the death of the loved one. In other countries 40 percent take advantage of hospice care; in Korea it is less than one percent.
 
She quotes Heidegger's "being-toward-death," as a way for us to be in the world and, guided by the awareness of death's on-going presence in life, to awaken to a more "authentic perception" of life.  She feels that persons living today should have more of an experience of death than those in the past because of the many more deaths from accidents and from diseases such as cancer and AIDS. In the past, death was mostly associated with the old.
 
The play made her realize how oblivious we are of the death that awaits us, and also made her aware that many of us do not know who we are or how to live in a way that has value. We die without discovering who we are. At funerals we come face to face with death but usually deny or try not to think of death; this is not a healthy way to live. She quotes from Ecclesiastes (7:2): "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting." Not to reflect on this fact is to live like a fool. And from Hebrews (13:14): "For here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come." Every day, she says, we should have a thought about death and prepare for it.

Advent, she wants us to remember, was a period of waiting. We await Jesus liturgically, but we also become aware that there is an end to earthly life, and that there is a need to discover the real me, the whole me. That would be the best preparation for our last days on earth.

Drinking to Celebrate Christmas and New Year

New year is a time to rejoice and celebrate. Parties, both at work and at churches, take for granted the presence of liquor. It's no longer news that Catholics do more drinking than all the other religious groups. This was made known a few years ago in a survey of the religions in Korea. The Peace Weekly, in an article and editorial, discusses the issue and gives some guidelines for a healthy culture of drinking.

The article mentions a couple of parishes that do not allow any drinking on their property; even with events, parties, parish excursions, or bazaars to help the poor, no liquor is seen. The editorial reminds us that Korea is number two  in the consumption of liquor; loss to society from the consumption is astronomical.

It is not difficult to surmise what the men think of the parish ruling; the women are not generally adverse to it.  The reason for the ruling is obvious: there were serious abuses, and it was an effort to bring the idea of temperance to the attention of all.

Often, after a meeting, the men go off property to drink, which would usually be a period of time much longer than the meeting itself. Not only do the middle aged men drink but also the young. Drinking among the young is not less than that done by the older groups, and many of the high school graduates say they learned how to drink in these groups. But many would also say it helped bring the different age groups together, making for camaraderie. 

The Protestants have a reputation in Korea for not drinking or smoking, while the Catholics have a reputation for being very tolerant of drinking. The writer quotes a priest professor who mentioned a number of Scripture quotes that allow drinking, but there also are many that warn of the evil effects from liquor when over-indulged, drinking, he said, needs to be done in moderation.


There are parishes that, instead of drinking at meetings or other gatherings, provide either at the parish or in other areas cultural activities such as watching films, plays, and drinking tea or coffee. There are many who have difficulties in joining some of the parish groups because they don't drink, which is another issue. If the drinking could be limited to one glass, quoting one of the Christians, there would not be a problem.
 
He leaves us with the well-known phrase, "Too much of a good thing is bad." This applies especially, he feels, to the use of liquor, and adds, quoting from Sirach 31:28, "Joy of heart, good cheer and merriment are wine drunk freely at the proper time." When they are drunk to excess these good things become poison.                                                     
 
                                                 

Merry Christmas!

Blessed Christmas! Today we reflect on the meaning of the day. In all the Christian churches throughout the world, we will hear explanations in different words of what Jesus means to us. One of the blogs on Christmas quoted St. Augustine: "Let us rejoice and give thanks that we have become not only Christians but Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us? Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ."
 
We talk much of what Christ means in our life, but if we ask Catholics what model would they take in life to follow, rarely would you hear the name of Jesus. We have made him an object of our adoration, of our praise and piety--all right and good, but we have forgotten that we are born in baptism to become other Christs.
 
The words we know well, but it's a big leap for us to use them to motivate what we do in our lives. The emphasis is on God's graces, which may make us passive, just waiting for something to happen. Grace is also always moving us to act: study, listen, relate, love, serve---these things we often forget.
 
God came to earth so that we can partake of his divinity. And when we attend Mass we are reminded of the symbolism inherent in the celebration of the Mass. During the offertory, for example, when the water is mixed with the wine, we read: "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity" (2 Peter 1-4). Similar symbolic language is present throughout the liturgy.  

Today is our special feast day. We have been born to be other Christs and to follow his way of life. We all know this intellectually but, sadly, it is not part of our affective life.
 
Understanding the symbolism used by the Church, especially in the liturgy, brings greater depth to our Christian life but at times symbolism can be a stumbling block for the literal-minded person and an idol for the overly pious. However, symbolic language has a great deal to teach us; without it life would be very insipid. Can we image life without the handshake, bow, kiss, eating together, and without language itself, which of course is also symbolic.  Catholics have also the Sacraments, which make us more aware that all of life is a symbol of God's love for us. Without the understanding of symbolism, some have maintained, the deeper dimensions of life cannot be understood and appreciated.
  

When we look at the crib(the trough) this year, let us direct our minds to look more deeply into its symbolism to appreciate fully what St. Luke wanted us to understand. Merry Christmas!

Magnanimity to Accept all that is True

Christmas means a great deal to many of us; to others it is foolishness and a lie. Even the word Christmas for some Christians is an embarrassment, thus the now popular 'Season's Greetings.'
 
Some do not find 'Christmas' in the Scriptures and therefore reason enough to dispense with the word. The origin of the word, 'Mass of Christ,' also does not help matters. Others go back into history and are scandalized that the Catholic Church used the pagan feast of the Winter Solstice as the birthday of Jesus. The Church has no difficulty seeing this as a deliberate and legitimate 'baptism' of a pagan celebration.
 
Acculturating to a reality when it is teaching or enabling us to accept some truth is welcomed; truth is to be accepted wherever found.  The Winter Solstice, when the days begin getting longer, had great meaning for the early Christians; for them, as for us, it was Jesus who was the light of the world.
 
Last week, Legion of Mary members were on retreat for three days, and heard talks on the Buddhist 'search for the ox'. These ten pictures are seen often on the walls of Buddhist main sermon halls. The members returned with leaflets with the ten colored pictures, which most Koreans would be familiar with. They do help a great deal in showing us the steps to moral growth.
 
The ten steps: 1)Searching for the bull, 2)Discovering footprints, 3)Seeing the bull, 4)Catching the bull, 5)Taming the bull, 6) Riding the bull home, 7)The bull is forgotten, the individual remains, 8)Both the bull and self transcended. 9) Reaching the source, 10)Going back to the market place, enlightened.
 
The Buddhists gave a Buddhist interpretation to the Taoist pictures;  we Christians can give a Christian interpretation to the pictures. The retreat master using the same 10 pictures did just that. Each one of us can use them in anyway he wishes for his own spiritual growth.

Since true Buddhism is a natural religion without revelation the Catholic Encyclopedia reminds us: "In general, revealed religion does not reject natural religion and ethics, but rather adopts them in a higher form."
 
A common interpretation for the pictures would be the search for one's true self, the bull, the true self, is captured with difficulty, tamed, returning home on the bull, but the self and inner nature are still divided. You have the uniting of the two; the circle is arriving at pure light, total emptiness, which is fullness. Oneness with all nature and a return to daily life, enlightened.
 
Catholics should be small letter c-catholic in accepting truth wherever found that enables us to love God and our brothers and sisters. We have not always lived up to the saying attributed to St. Augustine: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity." It's a sure way of being magnanimous in the way we look at the here and now.