One-of-a-kind--Unique

Four Chinese ideograms are combined in the Korean language to spell out very clearly the English word 'unique,' the one-of-a-kind concept. The columnist of the spiritual page of the Catholic Times reflects on this idea for our spiritual well being.

This one-of-a-kind concept, he says, is shrouded in mystery. Every moment, every place, is unique; it's God's gift to us and is never repeated. But is it not our tendency, he asks, to see most of what we experience--for example, our morning, noon and evening meals--as the same repeatable events, and being satisfied with this common observation? "Why complicate it with God's will?" we might ask ourselves, he says. However, it is necessary for a Christian to understand that the gifts of time and place are also accompanied with God's inspiration and wisdom on what to do with these gifts. Aren't these the content of much of the Bible, and easily discernible in the Beatitudes?

Life should be an obedient concurrence with God's providence, his will for us, which will result, if followed, in mercy toward others, living in harmony with creation, working with what we have been given, and seeing this realized. Though achieving these goals will be slow, the columnist is convinced that little by little we will see them manifest in our life.

This is the way we are programed. Children are very passive in the beginning of their lives but shortly become active. Children in school, those in catechism class, all start with a passive attitude that in time becomes active. Passivity is not something bad but a step to something else. There are times in the catechumenate when the first steps are taken in obedience, and then there often is the critical stage: we are right, others are wrong, putting no restraint on our thoughts. This stage can be superseded by a passive state in which we open ourselves up to  what God wants to give us.

This step is not just following a few things that God wants from me, but  my changing myself completely. To put it differently: it's changing my inflexible faith tendencies to more openness, patience, mellowness, obedience, constancy, sincerity, and the like. It is the way we concur with the will of God and open to the practice of these virtues to a greater degree.

Our life is to be open to this harmony with God's desire for us. It is in this way that every moment of every day has a different meaning given to us by God. Without this thinking, everything becomes routine.

When we live in concurrence with the Will of God all is done in his presence. All is filled with his presence. The tabernacle, the altar, the cross, the fields, the flowering plant, the writing we do, the power switch on our computer, the spoon we hold eating our meals--all is seen in the presence of God and beyond. Through me, God can be made more visible to the world. 

Prayer is done in many Ways.

We all have heard prayer described differently. One of the most useful definitions includes the notion of dialog with God. As we know, dialog can take many forms, and the columnist writing on spirituality for  the Catholic Times introduces us to one of the more unusual forms practiced by a religious brother who spends much of his time in prayer.

The writer, a priest, visited the brother, a friend, at his monastery. On this occasion, he went to the porter's lodge to ask to see his friend. The brother responsible for meeting guests went to the church to tell the brother of his visit. When he came into the reception room, he opened the door slowly, looked in, and when he saw his friend, he greeted him warmly.

They spent time drinking tea and conversing, but the priest friend admits that he did all the talking. The brother's daily routine never varies and may be the reason, the columnist says, his friend had so little to say. The columnist monopolized the conversation and confessed, perhaps cynically, he admits, asking the brother that it must be nice to spend the whole day in prayer.

All the brothers have different tasks, the brother answered. They are busy with lectures, sermons, counseling, teaching, and the like. He was not gifted in this way, he said, so he takes care of the house and does his little tasks, and with the time left over goes to the church to pray. The priest then asked what he suspected might be considered a foolish question: how should one pray? 

The brother said that those who know more than he knows examine themselves spiritually with the head and with whole-body pray. "I do not know how to do this," he said.  "I just sit my butt  in the church. Those who see me think I'm praying but it's not the usual kind of prayer. When we experience God's love, doesn't the body in some way respond? For myself, just sitting in the church for one or two hours is just fine.  I look at the cross, the tabernacle, the heavens through the open widows, feel the breeze, and speak to God with the feelings I have. I don't know how to pray, but I do know how to sit my butt in a church pew."

He added, "My body goes to where it wants, and what I feel with my body I present to God."

The columnist says that his own butt does not particularly like going into church to sit down. However, he hopes the day will come when his butt will want to do what the brother enjoys doing.

Importance of Prenatal Care and Natural Birth

We are so inundated by information in today's world, delivered in many different and attractive ways, that it's hard to keep up with even a fraction of it. And whether the information is true and helpful requires discernment on our part. So when the Catholic Times reviewed the book, First Hour Of Life Determines All of Life, by Doctor Lee Gyo-won, the title of the book must have raised a few eyebrows in doubt, even though it was noted that the doctor has studied the issue for many years.

Catholicamericaneyesinkorea mentioned the work of the doctor and the new book in August 20th of this year before it was published.

The doctor is highly respected and in the past three  years has assisted at the birth of over 400 babies by using his principles: prenatal care in harmony with nature and with love, and natural birth. For a Christian being in harmony with nature fits in well with the way we see  life.

The article mentions that most of the babies born in hospitals or other medical facilities come into the world surrounded by an atmosphere of fear. He sees this as a reason for many of the problems children have in growing up and in their years of schooling. Studies on Cesarean and induced births show a higher incidence with problems later in life.  You are programing the child's personality, says the  doctor, in the  first years of life, beginning in the womb, at birth and within  three years after birth. This has been proven to be the case by many studies.

For this reason society should provide preferential treatment for expectant mothers. Having births without trauma, the doctor feels is one of the most important things that can be done to change society. This is not about having smarter children, he insists, but simply to have normal, well-adjusted children. The problems of society at present can be properly addressed, says the doctor, if we start right at the beginning of life, with prenatal care and natural birth.

For Christians it is another lesson that whatever we do, it should be done with all the care and love that we can muster; the results of doing otherwise, although often unknown to us, can be seriously damaging not only for the individuals involved but for the long range health of society.

The Dream of a United Korea

A divided Korea is a sadness Koreans have to live with and have been doing so from the time of the Second World War. The United States and the Soviet Union were to temporarily occupy the two parts of Korea, the North and the South, divided at the 38th parallel, until a free and independent Korea could be established; unfortunately, we're still waiting for that day. 

The Peace Weekly, reporting on a forum conducted by the bishops' Committee for Reconciliation of the Korean people, noted that the topic under discussion was, "How  can the country be united in a skillful way?" Also noted was the overwhelming desire of the Korean people to again have a united Korea. One participant used the German unification as an example to imitate.

The Germans of the East and the West also desired unification. There was  a long period of exchanges between the two, with the East finally realizing that with unification they would be free and have a better life, which gradually enabled the East to be absorbed by the West.

The speaker was suggesting that if  we act as if we had unity, in fact, by the interchange of money, workers, skills, visits to the North,  this will mean that the political and structural unity will only be a formality when it comes, for the spirit of unity would have preceded. This is the way to erode the structures of the North.

In looking forward to a peaceful unification, however, we don't want to prepare for it by using force. This does not mean, he says, to accept all that the North are doing, but to continue communicating. The change of the structures in the North will ultimately take place. Exchanges and cooperation is the best way to ease into final unification. Another participant agreed that exchanges and cooperation are the best way to lessen the possibility of military confrontation. But to do what Germany accomplished in a peaceful way will be difficult, he said.

Our policy for the last 10 years has been to help the  North with capital and technology, said another,  but it is doubtful how much that has increased the chances for unity.  However, he agrees that it will have to come from the bottom up.

Catechism for the Young--YOUCAT

YOUCAT, the youth catechism distributed as a gift to all those attending World Youth Day last year, was recently translated into Korean. The book has been translated into 30 languages and has sold over two million copies worldwide. After six months of meticulous translation, the catechism can now be found in Korean bookstores.

The content of the catechism is based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and is written in the form of  527 questions and answers, and divided into four  categories: What Catholics believe and why (doctrine); how Catholics celebrate the mysteries of the faith (sacraments); how Catholics are to live (moral  life); how they should pray (prayer and spirituality). Each category is complemented with selections from the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and the saints. Also included are well-known maxims from many cultures, quotes from famous authors, and illustrations. 

The book, written for middle and high school students, appropriately uses language easy to understand, but is also suitable for those who are curious about the faith and want to know more. In compiling the text, an effort was made to ensure that the concerns of the young were addressed.
 
Fifty-two young people were brought together on two occasions to determine how the explanations should be expressed to make the most sense to the younger reader.


It is hoped that this  catechism will be an important  instrument in explaining the teaching of Catholicism to the young, especially during this Year of Faith. There are all kinds of efforts made to enter the world of the young to find appropriate ways to reach them. That the young were involved in compiling the catechism is an encouragement to many that the young will indeed respond favorably, making YOUCAT the next religious best seller in Korea.

Small Christian Communities

The small Christian community is an important way of energizing parish life, but to do this obstacles have to be faced and removed. This year is the twentieth anniversary of their formal acceptance as a pastoral method in Korea. Three dioceses met together  to prepare a future vision of  working with small groups. The positive elements are  the empowering of lay people, giving them the tools for fellowship and for sharing  Scripture with each other.

Problems:
- steps used in the group meetings are too difficult to follow
- what is said  does not always stay within the group and causes divisions
-  few attend
- the atmosphere is autocratic
- the young are missing
- interest depends too much on the pastor
- those who can lead are few
- adequate understanding of the small group  movement  is missing
 - failure to educate for attendance

Remedies:
-  find ways to move the hearts of those attending
-  use of better notification methods
-  empowering  the group leaders
-  find ways to deal with abuses
-  training new leaders and giving them a definite time limit as leaders

The small group approach is a good way to evangelize. The group members hear the word, share,  meditate, and are motivated to spread the word. The combined diocesan understanding was that these small group meetings are the seed bed for evangelizing, and the hope for the Church. The group meetings are not limited to the fellowship within the group but are to extend beyond their own borders to the world outside.

However, the problems associated with this are enormous; the world is dark and confused. Materialism and hedonism are rampant and continually influences us. Secular values are overcoming traditional values and the religious meaning of life is diminished. Within this environment,  people are losing the meaning of life and becoming disorientated. Being a light to the world is no easy task.

The  three dioceses  have  given us some tasks and proposals to consider: The words of Scripture and the Eucharist should be our strength in working to change the world.  Organizations and principles, the living of the faith, and examples of success should be shared  with  others. Small groups should look forward to seeing what we are faced with in the world and determine to do something about it.

In conclusion, they see the small communities as the future Church, putting into practice what the Council  expected of us: to be the light to the world. After twenty years, we are just beginning.

Koinonia (Fellowship)

Five  words from Scripture are sometimes heard in their Greek form, all referring to what a community of Christians should be doing: didache (teaching), diakonia (service), liturgia (worship), kerygma (proclamation) and koinonia (fellowship). All are important, but the one that needs to be stressed today is koinonia.

The need to encourage more fellowship is especially important today because our communities are larger and pastors are busier, and the individual tends to get lost as a nameless member of a congregation with few spiritual ties to other members of the community. 

In preparation for the Bishops Synod, starting on October 7th, the Catholic Church of Korea has emphasized the need to focus attention more on the internal life of the church. Many Catholics believe that the main goal of religion is to bring peace into our lives. Many articles have alluded to this belief, which suggests that the catechizing has not been successful. Although peace is something we all desire, for a Christian, it should not be the goal of life; peace is a by-product of doing God's will, which comes about naturally from a dying to ourselves so as to be born anew. If, instead, the motivation of the Christian remains peace of mind all else is of little interest and the essentials of Christianity will be missing. It can become a selfish pursuit and, ironically, the more pursued the less achieved.

The problem with making peace of mind the goal of Christianity is that Christianity then becomes an individualized pursuit, each person searching for his or her own personal fulfillment without feeling the need to connect with other members of the community: a loss of fellowship, of communication, of sharing that will ultimately bring about the loss of community. 
 
Loss of community brings with it a loss of faith-sharing among our Christians, which the Church has worked hard in developing over the years, but is conspicuously absent in the life of many Christians today. In the past all Christians would come before the priest as individuals or as a family two times a year, once before Easter and again before Christmas. The process demanded coming to the church and relating with others and the priest, in order to help the Christians to focus on the community rather than on themselves. They were asked to reflect on their lives as Christians. This pastoral approach, though it has been very successful in the past, is now no longer possible.

There are many suggestions in the Catholic papers and magazines on how to  deal  with the growth of the parishes and the lack of maturity among many of the Christians, which has worked against encouraging more community life. Jesus, when he selected his disciples, did not see them as fully formed but saw what they could become with the graces given and accepted. Koinonia, as experienced in community, can help a great deal in preparing the proper environment to enhance Christian growth, opening them even more to the graces God continues to bestow on us.