Facing the Challenges of Life

"Don't forget the challenge God has given us" is the headline of the column on spirituality in the Korean Times. The columnist  reminds us that wars are far from being a challenge in maintaining national sovereignty but are contemptible killings in a brutal fight for victory.  In no way is this how we should be living up to God's goodness.
 
The word 'challenge,' in a Korean dictionary, means: to face head-on in combat, also used  as a figure of speech when facing any difficulty, or to better some record. We use the word often when referring to adventures like climbing mount Everest,  but most importantly, the columnist says, the word 'challenge' should be part of our searching for the meaning of life.

In our daily lives, we are continually being challenged. Many find the challenge beyond their strength and choose to avoid it. Challenges usually contain both danger and adventure and  should be faced squarely. Challenges are part of life and are given to us by God. 

However, we tend to forget this reality and think that challenges originate from our earthly circumstances; we do not see them as lifting us up to a higher and superior way of living. We should be sensitive to this reality, and not see challenges only as a way of bettering our material life.

At the end of life everything can become a challenge to us, and a responsibility. Challenges, whether coming early or late in life, have formed or are forming who we are. A boxer strives to be the best he can be: a champion. We are striving for the virtuous life, a life of freedom and responsibility. Without this freedom and sense of responsibility, we  are not living the beautiful life, the life of virtue.

The  beauty of life can be experienced daily by accepting and overcoming the challenges that come to us daily. If we look back and only see the zealousness of our life, our successes in avoiding the challenges of life, considering them our consolation, then we will not be able to say it was a life well-lived. A life without challenges amounts to a life that is lived too shallowly.  What are the challenges that we face today?  What efforts do we make to live the life of a free person? Are we pridefully fooling ourselves into thinking we are champions? The challenges that allow us to transcend the concerns of our ordinary life and to live the life of faith are only given to humans. We should face these challenges courageously until the day we die.

Marriage and Children

A priest responsible for family matters in his diocese uses the opinion page of the Catholic Times to reflect more deeply on this subject.  He begins with the fact that many couples  have opted  out of having children, are pooling their resources, cutting  down on spending, and looking for whatever else will more easily give them a leisurely lifestyle.  This is not, he says, the only reason women are avoiding children; another is that the traditional idea of family is changing. The higher divorce rate, the greater number of single parents, and other signs of an unconventional lifestyle are signs that the traditional idea of family is fading. The pursuit  of personal happiness and a better quality of life have become for many the foundation of a new value system. These are some of the reasons he cites for the decrease in the birthrate, even though the government is making  efforts to change the situation.

How is the Church to deal with this reality? he asks.  When a young couple comes before a priest for marriage instructions, expressing their desire to live without children, what is he to say? The couple will most likely defend their position by saying: " Times are difficult; a good education is expensive; the raising of children requires a lot of time and energy, and therefore deciding not to have children is a wise decision." This position of course cannot be accepted by the priest, and the couple will be told that they cannot be married in the Church.

Church law makes clear that entering into marriage with a prior understanding (outside of medical reasons) that there will be no children is contrary to the Catholic understanding of marriage. Why is it that the Church speaks this way about marriage? Because married couple are pro-creators with God; they have been called to participate  in the continuing work of creation. The very make-up of the person shows this to be the blueprint of creation: husband and wife, body and soul, complement and are interrelated with each other. The oneness of the union points to an important meaning of life: by means of the oneness, their sharing of their gift of life, this gift of life is passed on to the next generation.

Married couples have the freedom, of course, to refuse to cooperate with this gift-giving. But by doing so they are refusing  to be cooperators with God in his creation, refusing to be his children, working for his kingdom.

Raising children is not easy, everyone would concede. It often demands that one go against cherished desires and personal goals to set examples to our children that we may feel unqualified to give, such as the meaning of love's fulfillment in one's own family.  However, if we always seek to avoid the difficulties of life, we will not arrive at any meaningful truths. Jesus at Gethsemane made his prayer to do God's will; we are called, he says, to do the same. 

The words of the priest may seem extremely callous and  insensitive to young people contemplating marriage. Though they are not the kind of words that would please everyone, would it be better to remain silent when we are faced with misunderstandings on such important issues, despite being rightly upset by these misunderstandings? It would be rather easy to remain silent, and many would, considering the cultural pressures to do so.  But can we say, it is the Christian way?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

What Does It Mean to Be Fully Human

If ten people  fight against 1000 people, who would  win?  To answer this apparently simple question, we have to raise several other questions: how are they equipped or armed, what do they value in life, where are their geographical positions relative to each other, how adequate is their access to supplies, and what is the state of their morale, among other considerations.  Those during the European middle ages would probably respond that the victors would be those whom God helps. This was an answer obviously given without much thought by the people at that time and we are told that  even great things happened. A journalist for the Catholic Times explores the issue.  

In Roman times, disputes would be settled, he says, by bringing the case to court and judging its merits by referring to the appropriate laws. During the middle ages, instead, the case would be settled by "ordeal." They left it up to God to judge.  God, it was believed, would help the innocent person survive a proposed ordeal that both parties to the dispute had to endure.  Whether the ordeal selected was putting a hand into boiling water or placing hot stones in the hand, or any other tormenting incident, the innocence of the participants would be determined by how long the pain could be endured, the belief being that God would provide the innocent one with sufficient endurance to outlast that of the guilty one. Even when the ordeal selected was dueling with swords, it was believed that God would be on the side of the innocent dueler, and he would survive the fight. 

Humanists of the Renaissance considered their ancestors to have lived in the dark ages, "trial by ordeal" being one example of this so-called darkened understanding. Is it just as easy for us today to make that statement? the columnist wonders. Are we living in a more humane way than they did in the middle ages of Europe? 

He goes on to ask if it is more humane to teach our children, and ourselves, not to waste one minute or second of the time allotted to us. Is getting good marks and entering a first-rate school more important than having friends and more time for family commitments? Or is it more important to win in some competitive encounter? On TV and on the internet, we are presented with continual sensory stimulation, seduced into believing that the victor is the one enjoying the so-called spoils of victory, while the loser in this competitive battle is left with nothing, or very little. Is this "heartlessness of the victor," as he puts it, what we are to accept as our modern understanding of what it means to be fully human?

This modern approach he labels as either machine-like or animal-like; so where is a person to stand? We are able to  stand firm, he says, within a faith community. Jesus said he has overcome the world, and where he reigns there is where we are able to stand up straight. The columnist makes clear that he doesn't want to return to the middle ages. We have seen that both in the middle ages and in the present we have lost a great deal of what makes us human; we have seen the problems. Our work now is to work to rid ourselves of these problems, and become truly human.

A recently published novel, Independence's Righteous Army, a retelling of the independence movement in Korea, focuses on the participation of the Church in the movement, and its official position of maintaining the separation of church and state. This position prompted the Church, which was administered at that time by foreign missioners, to see things  differently than most Catholics of the country, including Patriot Thomas Ahn, who was a victim of this misunderstanding, receiving no official sympathy from the Catholic Church for his acts against the Japanese.

Patriot Ahn died in 1910 at the hands of the Japanese, but his spirit continued to inspire Catholics in a small parish of Korean nationals, in the Gando district of China. Lee Yeong-ho (Barnaba), the author of the historical novel, reveals the ongoing efforts of this group of Catholics to free themselves from Japanese occupation.

During the Japanese occupation, there were many who moved to China and became involved in the liberation movement established in Gando. This movement, Ulmindan (righteous army), not only was an aid to understanding modern church history, but continues to shed light on the complex history of that time.

The novel begins with the kidnapping of Fr. Choi Mun-sik, pastor of the Paltogu parish, by the Manchukyuo Imperial Army. Though the scene-elements surrounding the facts have been fictionalized, the facts are all in place, making this novel close to a non-fiction account of the events, according to the book review in the Catholic Times. As an added bonus, the author has made reading the book easy, for those who have difficulty with church terminology, by explaining many of the terms used. 

Lee Barnaba has made it known that he wants to  help in recruiting and help in the formation of  priests for this area of China, an area that is close to the Korean peninsular. Priests who are sent there should therefore have a knowledge of Korean. In the future, he feels it will be a beachhead for the evangelization of northeast Asia. To do this successfully, he feels it will be necessary to have a correct understanding of our history. The book is his attempt to accomplish that objective.

Keep Up the Good Fight

"Father, you do not know but..." are words a priest, writing a weekly column Life in the World and Religious Life   in the Catholic Times, says he hears often when approached by people who are having difficulty with some aspect of their lives, and need to talk to somebody about it.

In a recent meeting of young workers he attended, he heard them complain about their bosses at work, their married life or about getting married, the difficulty of living a virtuous life, and many other annoying daily concerns. Along with his desire to get assimilated into the group, he was often tempted to add his words of wisdom to the mix, feeling at times that he had some of the answers they were looking for; thankfully, he said, he was able to keep his mouth shut. However, one woman did address him with her problem.

"Father, you  do not know but when it comes time to get our pay checks, and looking over what I have to take out for this or for that, there is nothing left. There is nothing that I can save. Do you understand this feeling I have? I don't want to hurt the family or myself, but life is difficult. However, there is nothing else for me to do but to go on living."

Her plaintive words still resound in his head: "Father, you do not know but..." He felt ready to explain and interpret and teach, and when he does, he said, they listen. But the words, he admits, do not bring them deeper into what they are feeling. When I just listen, however, they are able to go deeper and come to a solution they are able to put into words for the group.

Listening to the difficulties of the group, he was hearing much that he did not know, and realized that the words he could have shared with them would not have helped much. As a priest and religious he often hears about the pain and difficulties of daily life, and about the desire for consolation and love that was also present in his own life.  Now, when he hears the words "Father, you do not know but...," followed by a recitation of the difficulties of life, all he wants to say is: "Keep up the good fight."

Peace of Mind and Religion

Busy young people in the Seoul diocese are looking for peace of mind when practicing their religion. The diocese recently made a survey of 3,773 young people  and compared the results to a survey made after the Seoul Synod in 2002. 38.7 percent said their primary desire was to experience inner peace, 30.6 percent said family joy. In the 2002 survey, the desire for health ranked first. Clearly, the change to a much harsher reality in today's world has resulted in a change to desiring more peace of mind and family harmony.

What seems most worrisome for young people, however, is concern for doing well in their studies (38.8 percent), concern for money (35.8 percent), and finding work (32.7 percent). Ten years before, money was listed as fifth; now it has  become second; a sign that materialism has become more prevalent.  The social networking  services have become prominent in the world of many young people, and interest in books has decreased.

When asked about the meaning of religion, 61.7 percent indicated that it gives them peace of mind;  ranking second, with 19.2 percent, was the belief that religion helped them form a value system. Purification/sanctification of life came in third with 10.4 percent. Their introduction to the religious life, they said, came from those who were close to them; the influence of the mass media was negligible.

The editorial in the Catholic Times, commenting on the survey, mentions that pastoral programs in the future should work to understand the  results of  the survey. At first glance, the results are not surprising when one sees religion as only something personal, a very natural understanding of religion. But with further reflection, when one understands the spiritual and the communal aspects of religion, it should make us question whether this more comprehensive understanding of religion is being overlooked.

The difficulties that our young people are facing today can be seen precisely in this desire for peace and stability. However, if their desire for peace of mind is sought exclusively in religion then we have a misunderstanding of the meaning of Christianity, particularly in its communal and  transcendental aspects. Peace of mind is a by-product and not the object of a mature Christian life.

Harmonious Relationship of Family and Workplace

A middle school student who left Korea for the States to continue his education, with the intention of returning to Korea to work, explains why he felt frustrated when he returned here during summer vacation and got a job as an intern.  "I graduated from a good school and with exceptional credentials; how is it that day and night I'm being exploited. I don't want to work in Korea."

The desk columnist for the Catholic Times, tells us this  is a true story. The young man, characterized his frustration as "being fed up" with the job situation in Korea.Those who have to go through the hell of college entrance exams and have to deal with the competition of finding a job and put up with the intensity of the work can handle it, the columnist said, but the young man from the States was not able to.

Among the many difficulties with the work situation in Korea, the most serious is not having enough time to spend with the family. Excessive concern for the quality of one's work does not allow for an amicable relationship with family life; time spent at work and time spent with the family are often in conflict.

Many workers believe that in the beginning of their middle years they will be out of work, which will mean hard times for the family. This would be truer for women then for men. No matter how could the laws are in the country, if  not followed,  they will have little influence on the the betterment of family life.

Society has changed much and  there are many companies that realize that peace in the home allows the workers to increase their work output. As a result, some companies are finding ways of  helping this to happen, but only a small fraction of the companies are doing this.  How about the Church? he asks. To what degree does the Church promote  a harmonious relationship between work and the family?

He gives another example of a young woman, 20 years old, who was looking for a job in a Catholic kindergarten. When the sister interviewed her for the job, there were only two questions asked: Are you planning to get married, and when? She was engaged and marriage was imminent, so the sister told her it would be difficult for her to fulfill the requirements of the job. The young women gave up her search within church circles, which the columnist understood, but for him it did not make it any less of a problem for job seekers.  

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamannzi, in the Seventh World Meeting of Families, said that there should be a friendly alliance between the concerns of labor and the concerns of the family, concerns that should also be promoted by the Church. A harmonious relationship between the workplace  and the family is a right and a duty, and should be safeguarded by all those who are in positions of authority, whether secular or religious.