Is the Church Obsolete?

Is the Church obsolete? A relic of the past that is no longer relevant in the modern world, especially for our young people? Looking over the statistics for 2010, a professor at Sogang University notes that although attendance of adults at Sunday Mass is low (30 percent), attendance of the young is even lower, much lower at less than 7 percent. The young people, he says, are leaving the Church quietly.

Expressing his opinion on the open forum page of the Catholic Times, he believes this situation could have been foreseen by the way the young students were not attending their Sunday school classes. They did attend while in grammar school, but on entering middle and high school the expectations to do well, along with the intense  preparations for the college entrance exams, was more important to them than attending Mass. More attention should be given, he says, to educating the parents on what is necessary for raising mature and responsible Christians.
 
The young are not only leaving the Church because of outside interests. Being Catholic, he says, no longer has the attraction it once did for many of them.  Compared to what it was like in the 70s, when large numbers of young people and the  well-educated  were coming into the Church, the numbers have steadily decreased. He reminds us of the saying that the Church in the West lost the workers in the 19th century, and the young in the 20th century. In Korea, we lost the workers in the 1990s, and can we now say we are losing the  youth in the 21st century?

When the young are no longer coming out to the Church and those who are in the Church are leaving, the future of the Church is not  bright. And the situation is no better with the religious orders, which have also experienced a decrease in numbers. Even among those who do show an interest, the quality of life and understanding of the commitment involved is not what it once was. This is not a good omen for the future of the Church. His recommendation is that the dioceses and religious orders need to work together, and fund the efforts to prepare for the future. We should not be content with one-time efforts or a display of energy, but draw up 10-year plans to do something about the situation.

The professor mentions two examples of young people who have joined together to affect change in the Church. In Korea, it's the Movement of Scripture and Faith Sharing, which has been going strong for over 30 years. Outside Korea, he mentions the Taizè Community meeting in Rome at the end of last year. 45,000 young adults  came together to pray with Pope Benedict XVI.

The common element in these meetings that he believes is responsible  for their success is having the youth in control of the meetings. Their input is encouraged and appreciated; they are not  there as guests but as the hosts--they are running the show.  A second element that makes these meetings a success is having God at the center. In the Taizè meeting they get together 3 times during the day to pray. They want something that the world cannot give, which prompted the professor to recall the words of St. Peter to describe the nature of their commitment: "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:69).

He mentions that when Pope John Paul II brought up the idea of having a Youth World Day, those around him tried to dissuade him. The young would not be interested, they told him. He went ahead with the idea, as we know, and with great success.

The professor ends his remarks by repeating that if the Church is not to lose the young people, they have to be the pastoral agents; they must be encouraged to come together to experience the power of the Scriptures. The only remaining question that needs to be answered is, Who will be the leaders of this movement in the future Church? 


 

Is Knowledge Power?

"Knowledge is power" said the 16th century philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon. And a fellow Englishman disagreed, saying "Knowledge is only possibility, action is power." The words of Francis Bacon are heard often, the other clarifying words are never or seldom heard. A writer in the open forum page of the Catholic Times agrees with Bacon's contemporary: Knowledge by itself is not enough. Personal experience of what is known is required.

Knowledge that is not put into practice is not full knowledge, says the writer. Putting into practice what we know is what is important. No matter the plans we may make or how intense our desires may be, if not carried out, the plans and the desires are worthless. It's an important consideration to keep in mind, he points out, now that we are again approaching the lunar New Year, a time for resolutions; such as how do we make more money, how do we achieve better health?

We may retort that it's better than having no plans. But is it? When the results are the same. Knowledge, with or without a plan, is power when we act from the knowledge we have.

Being fortunate to be living in the information age, we have access to the possibility of all kinds of knowledge.  All we have to do is go to our smart phones, find the relevant information we're looking for, and put it into practice. He quotes a Japanese writer who says that many have the knowledge at their finger tips, but only one percent put it into practice. How much of what we know do we actually put into practice?  he asks. Of course we explain our lack of action by saying we store it away to be used some day when necessary. Our writer calls the ones who do put into practice what they know the wise of the world.

The same can be said for our faith life. We are often told that what we believe, if not put into practice, is dead. We as Christians have to discern what is from God before we put it into practice. Knowing what God wants is important, and this knowledge comes to us in the words of revelation. Our prayers, we must never forget, should be listening prayer, if we are to find out what God wants from us now.

Putting into practice our knowledge will provide us with the strength to persevere through the inevitable hardships of life. Knowledge that is not put into practice is only self-satisfaction. Those who push on into action are those with courage and conviction, moving them in the direction of success. If we hope to catch fish by looking at the water and imagining the fish we are going to catch, we're  going to be disappointed unless  we spring into action and drop a  fish line into the water. And our faith life, without a similar action on our part, will  also be fruitless, without meaningful change, stuck in the old ways. With the beginning of the lunar New Year let us resolve to be not a person of knowledge only but a person of action.

Living the Spiritual Life

What does it mean to live spiritually? What change, if any, does it bring to our life? A columnist of the Catholic Times answers by saying that to live spiritually is to align oneself with the will of God. And he uses the marriage union to show how the divine gift of love that animates everything that exists transforms all our activities, and most intimately in the marital union. But when this love is seen, mistakenly, as arising from merely physical and mental causes, we are likely to have a marriage whose joy is limited to the bodily and mental dimensions. 

The mystery of marriage is best seen, he says, when the partners are aware of its spiritual basis, and gives thanks for the union. Without the spiritual, God is not at the center but only the two partners of the marriage, and the body and mental faculties tend to be over emphasized. To place the body and the mental faculties in the proper perspective, they need to be seen as a manifestation of the divine love being shared in the marital union. 

A large segment of our society seems to think that only the body and mental faculties are important. It's a problem not only in Korea but in all societies. From the beginning it was God's plan to have us grow in the spiritual, mental and bodily dimensions of life, but humanity has always been more interested in what was easily perceived, believing it to be all that exists.

To live spiritually, says the columnist, is like having all three wheels of a tricycle functioning perfectly. One wheel aligns all our activities, including our personal  problems, with the will of God. The second wheel opens our heart in loving response to our brothers and sisters. And the third wheel energizes us to work for the reconciliation of society and solving its problems. He feels that the wheel most often missing, and causing us the most difficulty, is the one that aligns us with the will of God.

In Korean culture the spiritual dimension was acknowledged even if vaguely. And over many school gates in years past were the three words: body, knowledge, virtue. Granted that virtue can be a very natural attribute with no spiritual overtones, but it was better than what is generally considered today's primary goals for our young people: dreams,  success and health. These goals are similar to the attempts to satisfy just bodily and mental needs in marriage, while paying no  attention to the spiritual dimension. Without acknowledging the larger, spiritual dimension of life which makes possible our wise  pursuit of all limited goals, life ultimately becomes meaningless.           

Teaching that Speaks to the Needs of the Listener

How often have we heard the complaint that sermons are dull and boring, that they do not address the daily life concerns of the parishioners, that they are concerned with theological issues having little meaning for many? A priest writing in a pastoral bulletin mentions the typical example of the well-meaning but overly scholarly sermon of a priest, having recently returned from studies overseas with a doctorate, talking at length on issues of little interest to the parishioners.

The writer mentions hearing of a similar incident recently. A young man working in a textile factory, when preparing for baptism class, was told about the sacredness of work. He quickly disagreed, saying, "Those are the kind of words you only find in books. For me, work is difficult and tedious. Those who talk about the sacredness of work would not be using the word 'sacred' if they had the experience of doing tedious and painful work." Without understanding the difficulties of workers, teaching catechism to workers, without presenting both the negative and positive aspects of the work environment, will be difficult, the priest said.

"Blessed are the poor" is another example of a Gospel truth that we have difficulty explaining to those who see nothing good about poverty. Those who have not known poverty but speak about the benefits of poverty, the priest said, will find their words not accepted. In his experience, those who have known poverty can see its positive contributions to a fulfilling life but know the serious problems that come with the lack of material goods.

Those who have experienced the small basic community environment--where discussions start with the truths of Scripture and extend into the practical affairs of their daily lives--frequently see a great deepening in their faith lives. This was also Jesus' method of teaching. Even those who did not have any education could understand what he was saying. This was also the way the wise of the East taught in the past. Today we have, he says, the Greek method of teaching, with its abstract reasoning and speculative meanderings.

He concludes his article by acknowledging that a theological presentation of the truths of the Church needs the input of people who are committed believers and are willing to delve more deeply into their faith experience. He feels we have a movement in Korea that is trying to bring this into being, but for a lack of leaders it seems to be losing steam. In the meantime, let us be content to speak in a language that is readily understood and practical, consigning our dull and boring sermons to the nearest wastebasket.  
  
Happy Lunar New Year!

The March For Life

We will soon begin Lent, a time for sacrifice. And with fasting and abstinence, we will reflect on the sufferings of our Lord, but always with an eye on the joys of Easter. Like the Israelites wandering for 40 years in the desert, we hope to never lose sight of the goal.

The editorial and desk  columnist of the Catholic Times asks us to meditate on the number 40. A few days after the inauguration of Obama for his second term, the latest March for Life took place in Washington. 40 years earlier, in January 1973, the US Supreme Court declared abortion constitutional, the so-called Roe v Wade decision. From that time on, we have had a March of Life, this year being the 40th.

And 40 years later, the opposition is still as vocal as ever and getting louder.Even with libertarian thinking, hedonism and the permissiveness of society, the number of young people marching in protest to Roe v Wade has increased, to the surprise of our columnist. Although the efforts have not brought much change in legislative action, there have been encouraging results.

Not only in Washington but Marches for Life have spread to other cities of the world and even to Korea. “These Marches for Life that are taking place across the United States are very important, not only for the country but for the whole world,” said Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, head of the Pontifical Academy for Life. The Holy Father, in his Twitter blog, also gave support to the March.

The columnist mentions Cardinal Francis Stafford, former archbishop of Denver, who is quoted as saying he no longer considers America his country because of the abortion issue.The cardinal said the legalization of abortion was the result of a flawed idea about freedom deeply rooted in American history.The Enlightenment taught that liberty was essentially a matter of choice between various options. The Christian teaching is that freedom is not the freedom to do what you want to do but to do what you ought. Freedom is realized in the  pursuit of virtue. This wrong understanding of freedom is the reason the U.S. government once denied the freedom and dignity of black people. 
 
And 40 years ago in Korea, on February 8, 1973, the Maternal and Child Health Law, which allowed abortion, was passed in Korea, two weeks after Roe v Wade. And in biblical times, Moses did not have the joy of personally entering  the promised land after 40 years in the desert. The marchers hope it will be different for them in the year 2013.

He concludes the column by praising the young people who took a 24-hour bus ride from Kansas to Washington to take part in the March. Now, 40 years after Roe v Wade, the columnist hopes that the sacrifice and efforts of the marchers will soon be rewarded with success.


 

Sunday School Teachers

Christian doctrine teachers have been given an important mission by the local parishes to form mature Christians. In addition to teaching doctrine (and perhaps more importantly) teachers  of doctrine are expected to be guides to the young in living the spiritual life, eradicating what endangers their spiritual growth as the teachers themselves accompany the young on their journey of the spirit.

A Salesian priest has traveled throughout the country giving retreats and conducting programs for these  teachers,  and now reports on what he has heard wanting to convey what he feels is necessary on their behalf. However, what should also be of interest, he says, is to help the teachers deepen their own faith life, and impress on them the importance of what they are doing, preparing them with possibilities for studies and seminars that will help them be better teachers.

Dealing with  teachers, we sometimes get overly involved, he says, with teaching methods and teaching tools, and yet what is important is to be concerned with the teachers themselves. It is easy to forget the crisis of faith that many may be having when faced with difficult student relationships. Instead of being a support to the students, the teachers may end up losing their faith, which leads us to reflect more deeply on the mission of the Church and the teaching mission of the teachers.

They began their teaching vocation in service to the Church, the priest reminds us. We should now do whatever is necessary to prepare them for this difficult journey of life, which is often filled, along with the gratifying moments, with painful experiences. Pastors especially should be concerned for the spiritual growth of these teachers, who are being intrusted with teaching our children to take their rightful place within the Catholic community. These teachers are a much valued and respected resource for the Church. The time and money spent in their proper formation will assure the health of the present and future Church.

 

Making the Liturgy Meaningful

"Active Participation in the liturgy is the way to a mature faith life" is the headline of the front page article in the Catholic Times. Even though the Year of Faith has motivated many dioceses to conduct surveys, schedule workshops, seminars and lectures, the article focuses on the importance of liturgy, which over the past ten years has become less important in the life of  the ordinary Catholic. During this time there has been a significant decrease in those coming to Mass and frequenting the sacraments. All agree that this sign of  weakness in Catholic faith life should be a primary concern of the Church.

If attendance at Mass is limited mostly to Sundays to fulfill the obligation to do so, and if the liturgy is not fully understood and received passively, the rewards will also be limited. However, there are many in the Church who feel that the fault lies less with lax Catholics and more with a liturgy that is no longer speaking to today's Catholic, and that this is a contributing factor to the large numbers who leave the community and become tepid.

For some Church observers the solution is a return to the Latin Mass, but here in Korea the movement for the pre-Vatican II Mass is not strong. The Novus Ordo Mass  that came after Vatican II is what most Catholics, having entered the Church after Vatican II, are familiar with. How then does one prepare the congregation to participate actively in the liturgy?

Critically important, according to the article, is the need to examine the way the Mass is celebrated and to awaken a desire on the part of both priests and parishioners to devote more time to grasping the full meaning of the liturgy, the "source and summit" of the Christian life. Toward this end, The Congregation for Divine Worship and The Sacraments is preparing a booklet to help priests celebrate the Mass more effectively so that everyone in attendance will be able to follow along. The prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Canizares, summed up this current effort to revitalize interest in the liturgy in the most forceful manner when he said that "the renewal of the Church will come with a renewal of the liturgy."