For 40 years, his food each day
was only one meal and his transportation only walking. And yet he lived
to be 91. He slept at night on a plank which one day would be at the bottom of his casket. He
felt he was one with the universe. The
Kyeongyang Catholic magazine gives us some thoughts on Yu Yeong Mo
1890-1981, by a
professor emeritus, head of a research institute. Yu, also called
Taksok, was searching for a way everyone could easily follow in living
together in
peace. It all depended, he believed, on our habits of eating and
reproduction.
Jesus
played a prominent role in his life and was an important motivating
influence on his thought. Though baptized as a Protestant, he had his own understanding of Christianity. The professor says that if we copied
his way of living, the problems of the 21st century would be solved.
Even though we may not agree with Taksok, the professor says
he can teach us something worth knowing.
In
Korean, the word for 'life' has not only the biological meaning it has
in many other languages,
but also the metaphysical meaning of the breath of life that comes from
God. For Taksok, giving up the biological understanding of eating and
reproduction is required if we are to follow God's understanding. The
body is born to die, the ego must die for the spirit to live.
The
Word of God plays a prominent
role in Taksok's thinking, but skipping over many of his ideas let us
focus on one of the most upsetting. For him,
whenever we eat, we
are participating in a funeral rite. The following explanation sums up
his surprising words: the mouth is a tomb since we are putting living
remains into our mouth. Though there is of course a
difference between animal and plant life, they are all living
matter.
For
us to eat, he says, other living matter has to die. So
everyone of our meals can be considered a funeral for the matter being
eaten is or was alive, and is the reason he reduced his meals to one a
day. In place of the other two meals typically consumed, he would say,
"I'm
eating from the flesh of my body, and offering it up in sacrifice." For
Taksok, this was the zenith of prayer.
Rice,
for Koreans, is the sacrificial offering. St. Paul said that our bodies
are temples of God.
Those that understand this have the right understanding of what eating
means. What I eat, I'm offering up to God. Without this thinking,
according to Taksok,
whenever we eat, we are stealing. The act of eating itself is only
possible because of God's
grace and the abundance of nature and the numberless workers who
produce and distribute that abundance to all of us. We should reflect on
this, says the professor, every time we eat.
If
we were to accept Taksok's intriguing idea that eating is a
participation in a funeral and a
sacrifice, feeding 7 billion inhabitants of the world would not be such a
huge problem. The solution might at least begin by reducing the size of
our bodies by less feeding of the body. Tightening the belt surrounding
our greed, he says, is the way to accomplish the goal, which would lead
naturally to more sharing and serving of others.
Is there a God? A young man
writing in the Kyeongyang Magazine has wrestled with this question for
some time, and now discusses what effects it has had on his life. It's a
question, he says, that is not freely expressed with family and
friends. Those who have accepted belief in
God are not the one's you go to for help in answering this question. For
him, searching for the answer was to remain a secret that was not a
secret.
As
a child he enjoyed playing in the parish churchyard with his friends.
Later, many of his friends moved to the city, and his own
family moved to a nearby city that was close enough to his parish church
to continue going to Mass. But he did not go because he wanted to; he
went because he was
forced to go. Gradually, pumped up with his school learning, he had more
doubts about what was written in the Scriptures, but through it all he
kept asking the same troubling question, Is there a God?
He
continued the search for God even
though he admitted to not being properly qualified to make the search,
and in fact did finally give up the attempt. But he didn't miss Mass
even though his mother was the
reason for attending. He enjoyed the sermons and in college was
involved in
Catholic groups. It was during this time that he came across Fr. Cha's
book, which answered the questions of an industrialist concerning God,
religion, and humanity. The book helped him find a
solution to his quest.
The
passage that was especially meaningful to him: "When a
question comes to mind with persistent seriousness, one should search
for
the answer. When even minor problems come to mind, we may have
difficulty
sleeping. Why are we not more concerned about the serious problems of
life, like how and why we got to be here. When faced with these
important questions, we often act as if we
are looking at a far-off mountain with our hands behind our back.
To
have doubts is not the problem, but to have doubts and not search for
answers is a serious problem."
Another
line from the book that meant
a great deal to him: "God is not an existence to be proven but an
existence to
be experienced." Until he came across that line, he had been trying to
understand God with his head and not working to experience him with his
whole being. "To go
to the writings of the wise is in itself wisdom," he quotes from the
book.
Motivated by what he read in Fr. Cha's book, he began reading the Scriptures, philosophy and theology books, and prayed. After
many months, he came to a feeling of God's love, which ultimately moved him to enter the seminary. He
doesn't know what the future has in store for him, but he no longer fears or
worries about it. He lives sustained by hope and peace, because he found God's will for
himself.
Abundance is a word we hear often
during this time of year.
Presently, the farmers are busy with the harvest.The writer on
spirituality for the Catholic Times would like to define the world as an
example of this all-encompassing abundance. The world is filled with
air and with an abundance of fruits and vegetables; the oceans with an
abundance
of sea-life; the earth with an abundance of various kinds of insects.
It's difficult to put a
limitation on the variety of life that exists. Even the grains of ocean
sand are all different.
God
is giving
us the use of this abundance. All that remains for us to do is to
receive the abundance. But many are not in a position to enjoy the
abundance.
The columnist refers to this inability as stemming from a dysfunctional
personal spirit, when looking with the eyes results in not seeing.
We
can compare the eyes of our spirituality, he says, to a person who has an eyesight
problem. If a person's sight is bleary, all that is necessary is to be
fitted with eyeglasses but there are many who are not interested.
Spirituality is like being fitted with eyeglasses that allows one to see
more. There are many walking in the dark, not knowing where
they are going.
The columnist uses the film The
Grey, 2012 as an example of people walking in the dark. There is a plane
crash and the survivors go from one horrible situation to one even
worse. They are attacked by a pack of wolves, and try to escape from the wolfs; ironically in the last scene the hero of the
film ends up in the den of the wolfs and the picture ends.
Similarly,
we often try to escape the difficulties of life, the columnist says, and end up at the
very center of the difficulties. If we are not going in the right
direction we are not able to rid ourselves of the bridles that fetters
us. We have to take the right road with the correct values. If we are
imprisoned by our egoism, we will not be able to see the big picture.
God
in his abundance is always relating with us, and when we enjoy
relating with him, we will have spirituality. When we have awe,
reverence
and wonder we are able to see God relating with his creation and this
will enable us to respond with the virtues, says the columnist, like
leaves on the sweet potato
vine.
When life is
lived in harmony with God's will,
we can enjoy the abundance in creation. When we are adventuring in an
area we do not know, we can be fearful but what do we fear? Everything
is
part of God's creation, even the simple grain of sand. Everything is the
product
of God's abundance and when I am able to have it enter into my
thinking, and make it my own, then we will never go hungry before this
abundant table that is our world.
"I only have 5 minutes, would it be possible to speak to you?"--words spoken to a pastor by a school teacher on his way to visit his
mother in a hospital, and used to introduce the pastor's article
in the Catholic
Digest. The teacher, an only son, felt his visit to his mother would be
his last; she was dying of a
liver ailment. Wanting to give his mother a present before she died, he
went to the priest to ask for help, although he was not a Catholic nor
was
his mother.
"Bringing food does not make sense nor
buying her clothes, Father. Any word is acceptable, please help me. I
want to hear what you have to say and bring that to my mother before she dies."
Seeing
the serious attitude of the man, the priest was moved and asked if he
had ever gone to a Catholic Church. No was the answer. He then asked him
why was he now coming to a
Catholic priest for help in giving a present to his mother. He said he
was on the way to the hospital and saw the church with the
cross, and thought the minister or priest would probably be of some
help in knowing what to bring to his mother.
The
priest expressed his respect for the teacher in wanting to have
something to give his mother before she died, but felt it was unreasonable to be asked to do this in five
minutes. We were in our mother's womb, the priest said, for 10 months, at
peace, when we had to leave. This was our first separation and probably
the reason separation was followed by cries. But the birth was happiness
for many.
When
we leave this world the same feelings of sadness
come, the priest told him, but knowing what is waiting for us, we
are happy as we look forward to the beginning of a new life. His words
were well-received by the teacher. The priest
added that by helping his mother to desire and look
forward to this new life, a life of faith and salvation, he would be
giving a great present, as well as expressing his filial piety towards
his mother.
The
priest's words brought a grateful smile to the teacher's face. He said
that in all
the years he has been teaching never have these words come to mind. The
priest took a rosary out of his pocket and gave it to the teacher. He
told him there was a parish in the town where the hospital was located
and
he could contact the sisters and priest there to come to baptize his
mother.
A few days later he received a letter from the
teacher, thanking him for his advice and telling him that his mother received the gift
gratefully and died in peace.
He was a member of a gang of
hoodlums and yet the friendship he had with a childhood friend continued
even after the friend became a priest. They could always speak freely
with each other. In his weekly column in the Catholic Times, the
columnist recounts what he recently heard about the hoodlum from a diocesan priest, while having lunch in his
rectory.
The priest
said his friend came to see him to ask his advice about a current
problem. He had lent a
sizable sum of money to a man over ten years ago who, he now believes,
intended to defraud him of the money by going overseas and returning
only after the statute of limitations had run out, which it did
recently. What the man did not expect on returning to Korea was to be
arrested and incarcerated. The priest's friend
was notified of the arrest and was afraid of what he would do when he met the prisoner, and came to
his priest friend for advice.
The
priest told him that since he didn't need the money he should tell the
man that he could keep it, but from this day forward he must commit
himself to living like a person who is going to meet his Maker. If he
refuses, the priest advised him to tell the man that his children or
grandchildren would then have to pay the debt.
The
friend went to the police station and did exactly what his priest
friend recommended. The police all thought he was crazy and laughed at
what he said, but the prisoner didn't think it funny.
The
prisoner had no religious beliefs but when he was told there was no
need to repay the loan, he was so relieved that he genuflected before him. The prisoner did have some qualms of conscience
for what he had done, and though now free to use the money as he
pleased, on hearing the conditions for doing so, he decided he wasn't
ready for such a profound personal change. Knowing also that if he did
not repay the debt, his children or grandchildren would be made to pay
was enough to make him return the money.
The
priest's friend was not in need of the money, so he gave it all to
charity. The bond of friendship between them, though unusual, was strong
and sincere despite the very different paths they had taken in life. It
was because of the trust they had in each other that convinced the
friend to say and do what the priest had suggested, resolving an awkward
situation.
"The door of faith is always open"
is the headline in the Catholic Times, using Pope Benedict's words,
that introduces their cover story on the Year of Faith.
In
recent years the Catholic Church of Korea became familiar with what is
happening in the countries of the West, where Christianity has been the
foundation of much of the culture and values of society, which is no
longer the case. Korea has also not escaped the influence of secularism
and relativism. From the years of great growth in the 70s and 80s to the
90s and beyond, Korea now faces the same problems of the West.
The journalist
explains the phrase "Cafeteria Catholicism." The phrase appeared for
the first time, he says, in 1986 when Catholics were deciding what teachings met
their tastes and likes, what to accept and what to reject, and yet consider
themselves Catholics.
In
preparation for the 13th Bishops Synod on the secularism of the
culture, the following statement was submitted: "The values from
materialism incline us toward ambition. These values are prevalent and
have influenced the secularizing of the culture so that the
individual's way of thinking and the relationship to God is weakened,
at times rejecting God and the role of religion in society. The role of
religion in many cases is relegated to the internal and to a
psychological feeling of peace and comfort."
This
understanding of religion is even more pronounced among the young. In
one survey, 61.9 percent of the young were looking for peace of
mind.The problem with
this thinking is that there is always the possibility of finding
something else that will do a better job of giving them what they want.
Many
separate their religion from life, which means their religion has
little influence on the way they live. Religion for many is the time
they go to church on Sunday, and what makes matters worse, he says, is
that they have no problem with this understanding of religion.
There
are certain Christians who say: "All religions are going in the same
direction, aren't they? It is not important what we believe as long as
we do good and don't harm others; we will all get to heaven." Others
say: "To claim that Christianity has the truth is being egotistical. Are
we able to talk to other religions with this mentality?" These are some
of the ways relativism is experienced in society.
The
Church of Korea, in preparing for the synod, has divided the problems
we currently face into three categories: Globalization has brought us
the bad effects of capitalism: materialism, fetishistic religions and
hedonism. Secondly, seeing all religions as the same. And thirdly, our
communities are large, lack intimacy, and strive to become middle class
(no place for the poor), and have become increasingly secularized. The
fellowship we need is missing.
The
work required to change this tendency in Korea, because of
globalization, is not much different from that of the West. Korea is
probably at an advantage in being more homogeneous, well-organized and
with less dissent, which hopefully means the efforts at the new
evangelization will have a better chance of success.
Love is of many kinds: the sweet kind we all are familiar with and often sing its praises, but also, according to the columnist of the "View from the
Ark, the kind that hurts but makes us
grow.
He came to
this conclusion back in 1987 when, as one of two seminarians, he was
assigned to a country mission station that ministered to 70 Catholic
families. They were mostly farmers, some well-off, but
most were living a life of poverty. The area was part of the country
that
was not helped much by the development taking place in
Korea.The village was mostly Catholic but the relationship with the
other villagers was very warm. The pastor told the two seminarians that
they would be learning a lot from their time spent with the Christians.
The
children especially were very open to the seminarians. He tells us that
the older seminarian was much better looking than he was and the girls
showed this in the way they reacted with him. This left the columnist
sad but he kept this to himself. Three attractive girls everyone called
the three musketeers would come to visit them often in their
place of residence. They were like any third year middle school student,
boisterous and talkative. He especially remembered a girl named
Helena, and wonders what she would be doing now. When she came to the
chapel, she would sit in the back without a word, and then leave.
The
day before the seminarians were to leave, they said goodbye to all the
parishioners, including the three musketeers, who were
there all day, chattering at their side. Next day the catechist prepared
a farewell meal for the departing seminarians. That evening, when they
were about to go out to eat, the columnist saw Helena walking back
and forth outside the mission station. He approached her and told her to
be good and tapped her on the shoulder; she yelled out that she
didn't want to be good, she loved him. He was flabbergasted.
When it came time to leave, Helena was not there.
Now
reminiscing on this long-ago incident, the columnist reminds himself
that love is not always sweet. At times it's sharp and piercing, and it
hurts. But it's this kind of love, he says, that helps us grow.
He
finishes the column with the words of Simeon to Mary, "This child is
destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that
will be opposed, and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword so that
the thought of many hearts may be laid bare."
God's love for us
in Jesus was the love that hurt, similar to the love of parents for
the child who continues to cause trouble. Love also is the effort to
return to a harmonious relationship when this has broken down. The
Blessed Mother, with the pain that came from much in her life,
exemplified the graces from this kind of love. Similarly, the piercing
of our hearts is often the sign of God's grace.
