Farmers Sunday July 21st

The FTA (Free Trade Agreement) between countries is a serious area of contention for the farming community in Korea. The economic issues are complicated, but the results are not: the farmers always lose.  The government, seeing the benefits from free trade for big business, is willing to sacrifice the farmers, believing that in the long run all will benefit. Cheaper farmed goods will enter the country, and food expenses will decrease for all citizens.

Catholic editorials and articles have recently made readers aware that July 21st is Farmers Sunday, which is intended to bring the plight of farmers to public awareness. Korea's self-sufficiency in grain production is only 24.3 percent, as of 2011, one of the lowest in the world.  And because we see a likely change in weather conditions, future production may be no better than it is currently.

Farmers face numerous obstacles in their daily lives, as they work to bring food to markets throughout the country. Future weather conditions always pose problems, as will the movement toward free trade, which will allow cheaper food products to enter the county. If all the countries had the same playing field, there may be something to say for free trade  but that is not the case. Conditions in each country are different: lower wages and subsidies are the primary variables that do not make for fair competition.

The desire of the present generation for a comfortable life is going to make the farmer's life difficult. The city-dweller consumer will have a great deal to do in helping the farmers overcome their difficulties by motivating some of them to change to organic farming. People of faith should be taking a lead in this movement by supporting farmers who are making efforts to live and farm ecologically. Helping the farming areas to farm in a healthy manner is not only a question of producing food but also a means of fostering life.  

Consumer cooperatives, buying directly from the farms, contract production and education programs have done much to stimulate interest in the farming sector. However, as the editorial states, there are many more mountains to cross. Korea has only 254 parishes that are selling products from our farms, a very small number. The interest city dwellers  show farmers in buying their organic farm products will stimulate others to embrace the new methods of farming.  Non-organic methods of farming are much easier and the yield is greater than in organic farming, which means consumers of organic produce must be willing to help organic farmers overcome the difficulties, with their cooperation and willingness to pay more for organic products.

Be Slow to Judge

 Having a close relationship with another person doesn't mean we know that person. On the page of the Catholic Times devoted to spirituality, the columnist wants us to consider a flaw in the thinking of many of us: because we are close to someone we also tend to think we know the person. What do we really know, he asks, about the persons we know best?


The columnist tells us about a trip he made to his hometown with a number of priest friends. It was a remote fishing village and one of the villagers, who was closer to the columnist than to his own brother, came with a car to escort them to the village. On arriving at his house they quickly unpacked, put on comfortable clothes, and went out to some rocks overlooking the ocean. The scene was beautiful, and they became engrossed in pleasant chatting. Pyong Cheol, who had escorted them to the village and brought them to this spot on the ocean, suddenly said it was in this place that he caught over ten octopuses.

The columnist, thinking that Pyong Cheol was showing off in front his friends, said, "That's a whopper of a tale! You never know what's possible, even when surrounded by mountains. Are you saying  you know these waters like the women divers of Jejudo?"

Pyong Cheol, greatly surprised, said, "Is that the kind of person you take me to be? If I go  into the water and come back with two octopuses, what will you say?"

"If you can do that during my stay here, I will do anything you want, and if you don't catch any, you buy us our meal tonight."

Since the columnist already had decided to buy Pyong Cheol the meal that evening, for his kindness in picking them up, he couldn't lose the bet, whatever the outcome. The priests on hearing the terms of the bet responded with laughter and applause. 

Pyong Cheol  took off his upper garments, moved his body with a few light movements and splashed his way into the calm waters of the ocean, which at that point were not deep. The group sat looking at what would transpire, chatting about what would be eaten that evening, and enjoying the ocean breeze and the sun.  

Shortly, Pyong Cheol, off at a distance, came walking toward them, holding two octopuses, one in each hand. Catching octopuses with your bare hands is no easy task, but two of them! They all marveled at the feat. Pyong Cheol lived in an mountainous area quite a distance from the ocean, raising pigs. Who would have thought he would know how to catch octopus, the columnist wondered, which brought to mind the thought that one never can know another no matter how close we may be to that person. 

The priests gave Pyong Cheol a round of applause, and one of  them went to a nearby store to buy some hot pepper sauce and vinegar, prior  to enjoying the meal and ribbing the columnist on his bet with Pyong Cheol, who said he would telephone him the next day on what he wanted done.

The next day his friend's wife sent him a text message telling him that her husband was thinking of having him clean the pig pens, but thought it would not be proper to have a priest do such work. The wife then said, laughing, that her husband had excused him from the bet.

The columnist said he had learned a good lesson, and that he would be slow in the future to jump to conclusions, thinking that because he knows a person, he would  know what that person would do.

The Wisdom of Preparing for Confrontation?

The construction of the navel base in Jejudo is moving ahead, and the bishop of Jejudo, who is also the president of the Bishops Conference, expressed his thoughts on the matter, among others, when interviewed by the magazine With Bible. There has been opposition to the navel base from the beginning, and the Church has taken an active part in siding with the opposition, which would include the majority of the inhabitants on the island. Two government administrations and the present one have considered the navel base necessary for security, and also considered necessary because of the United States' military strategy in North East Asia. Though there have been many attempts to block construction of the navel base, after the last presidential election the work at the base continues as strongly as ever, around the clock. Since the government is adamant, using the power of government to back the construction, there is little that can be done. However, the bishop says they will continue to oppose the construction.

The bishop was asked by the interviewer: Since there are Catholics on both sides of the issue and you are the pastoral head of the diocese, what kind of attitude is necessary?

The bishop answered that from the beginning he was not giving his personal opinion on the issue. He was expressing the teachings of the Church, council texts, encyclicals and the teachings of the pope. Those who are following Jesus have the mission and the duty, he said, to work for peace.This teaching in Korea has been put on hold and has been given little thought because of the confrontation with North Korea, which has made security the number one priority.

Pope John 23 addressed this issue in Pacem in Terris, "There is a common belief that under modern conditions peace cannot be assured except on the basis of an equal balance of armaments and that this factor is the probable cause of this stockpiling of armaments. Thus, if one country increases its military strength, others are immediately roused by a competitive spirit to augment their own supply of armaments. And if one country is equipped with atomic weapons, others consider themselves justified in producing such weapons themselves, equal in destructive force....Hence justice, right reason, and the recognition of man's dignity cry out insistently for a cessation to the arms race. The stock-piles of armaments which have been built up in various countries must be reduced all round and simultaneously by the parties concerned." It has been over 50 years since these words were written but the Korean Church has been quiet on the issue, which is a dereliction of duty, the bishop said.

To the question: Why do the  priests get involved in social problems? The bishop answered that before they are social problems they are human problems. When a person's human rights are taken away and we do nothing, that is not the attitude of a disciple of Jesus. When a person made in the image of God is being hurt and the priest doesn't do anything, he is not doing his duty.This is why popes speak about social issues and why priests act accordingly. There are a few priests who are strongly politically motivated, and cause trouble, but those that bring this issue up do not understand Catholicism.

At the conclusion of the interview, the bishop said he hopes that Jejudo will be a place where we will be able to see peace in the way Pope John 23 described in his encyclical. The bishop wants us to see beyond the confrontation with the North. They are not only the same race but the same children of God. Even though it's difficult to understand the reckless provocative behavior of the North, he reminds us that they are left with little besides their pride, and if we can look upon them with magnanimity, he believes it may be possible to settle the confrontation. He hopes that all parties to the conflict will soon take the steps necessary to bring about a speedy and peaceful resolution.

 

The Art of Simplicity

A priest of the Seoul diocese, in a pastoral bulletin, mentions two books that argue forcefully that the current understanding of many that money makes for happiness is all wrong. Simplicity is the key to happiness, according to The Art of Simplicity by Dominique Loreau and How Much  Is Enough? by Robert Skidelsky and his son.

The books give us much more than a theoretical understanding of simplicity. Dominique Loreau, who lived the simple life, reflected on its meaning and it was her personal experience which gives strength and ongoing value to her words.  The words: "Blessed are the poor," used by our Lord,  seem to have a special meaning in today's world for some of our contemporaries.

Dominique Loreau, born in France, is an essayist who graduated from the Sorbonne in English Studies and has taught in England, the United States, Japan and in other parts of the world. She learned that the simpler she lived the more abundance she had. The memos she kept during those years became part of her book, which has sold over a million copies.

When we try to satisfy our greed, we lose the meaning of life.The priest gives us the table of contents, with  comments.

Articles: When we have more than what we need we are carrying a burden. Having  too much we become attached and do not advance.Isn't life a preparation to move us ahead?

House: Is not a place we store our unmovable objects, but a place to be refreshed.To be inspired and healed. A place where we return for  the essentials.

Time:  Is something we can truly make our own. We need not fear the future but only that we may lose the present.

Body: To eat little and keep our bodies agile is wisdom in action. To take care of the health of the body is equivalent to the value of a work of art.

Our consumer society is bidding us to have more, but the more we have the more twisted our life becomes; it is the paradox we have to face. The reason we are not happy is that we have too much. Let us, he says, put in order our possessions, our bodies and spirit. A simple life is able enjoy everything, being content to know the joy of the ordinary and the insignificant.

The book, How much is enough? confronts us with the fact that we are much better off materially than in the past but asks, Why is it that we are not happier? The book is a counter argument to our craving for more.

According to Keynes the demonic properties of greed and competition have to be restricted. The followers of neo-liberablism, however, have considered these the keys for a vibrant  economy.  For a good life, he concludes, we have to reduce the stress of work and to search for ways in which  incomes will  provide for a decent living for all.

Words to Ponder

Words of wisdom appearing on the front page of a bulletin for priests: 

Prayer is not like a spare tire we use when we have a problem,
but the steering wheel that steers us to where we should be going.

What is the reason the front window of a car is large but the rear-view mirror is small?
The past is not as important as the future, so we look ahead and move forward.

How is friendship like a book?
We can destroy it by fire in a few minutes, but it takes years to write.

All earthly things come to an end. When circumstances are favorable enjoy them, they will not always be so.
When circumstances are not favorable, don't worry they will not always be so.

An old friend is like gold, a new friend like a diamond. When the diamond appears don't forget the gold.
The diamond always needs a pedestal.

We often lose hope and think it's the end, but God speaks to us from above:
"Be at peace, it is only a  bend and not the end."

Have trust in God's power when your problems have been solved.
When they are not, God trusts in your capabilities.

A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Is there anything worse than being blind?"
"Losing your vision," he answered. 

When we pray for others, God listens to our prayer and gives blessings. Often when we are at peace, free of mishaps and happy, let us think of those praying for us.

Resentment: Serious Problem

There is a word in Korean often used when we direct our anger to another person or object without any reason: kicking a stone or some other 'innocent' object would be a familiar example. Recently, there have been reports of crimes causing harm to persons without any apparent motive on the part of the criminal. They appear to be random acts of anger perpetrated on someone for no reason, which has led many to fear simply walking the streets or being out at any time of the day or night. A priest, in a bulletin for priests, reflects on how this illusive but increasingly pervasive feeling is invading our lives, and a bit more often, he says, than we would like to believe.
 
A person at work, he relates, was scolded for doing something he shouldn't have done. It was a minor matter, but he was roundly reprimanded. Feeling gloomy and depressed, he left to take the bus to go home. It was raining and by the time the bus came he was soaking wet. On the bus, someone stepped on his foot, and when he arrived home, he found his two children fighting with each other, and looking around at their room all he could see was a mess. He blew up at them and, crying, they went to their room. In the kitchen his wife was preparing the dinner and, still filled with anger, he spoke angrily with his wife. Needless to say there was no peace in that family that night.  
 
He went to his room and reflected on the events of the day. He saw that his resentment toward his boss had carried over to his family, destroying the harmony that was present before he arrived; even the fighting of his children was a normal occurrence that would not have bothered him at other times. He quickly vowed to do something to fix the situation, and before long he was able to see himself honestly, which was God's grace working within him, as we Christians would like to express it.

Many of us have hurt others, but thankfully have realized it and made up for our insensitivity and the hurt we have given. Understanding what we have done is not difficult, but overcoming our self-centeredness and making amends is not so easy, and often requires an extraordinary act of grace, said the priest.

Everyone has the choice of following either our egotistical instincts or the voice of God, the choice often resulting in conflicting emotions. Our natural instincts may tend to move us in one direction and the voice of God in another. At times, what we call the voice of conscience leading us to do the good is not readily apparent.  Its influence on us, he says, will often depend on the disposition we have nurtured over the years.

Blocking out the voice of conscience, if we listen carefully, he says, will be the voice of our selfishness. Those who treasure material things and guide their lives without concern for others are going to have difficulty hearing the voice of conscience, and even if it is heard, he says, it will have little influence on their actions.
 
He concludes the article by saying that the tendency to be concerned about ones self is not bad; it is necessary for survival and for progress. But when that is the only voice one  hears then we are likely to have a serious problem, which often results in a life that is being interrupted continually by lack of peace and joy.

I am the Happiest Person in the World

In a diocesan bulletin, a priest writes that he made a trip to Panama, Central America, early this year because he read it was the happiest country in the world. After the visit, he said he could now be considered one of the happiest persons in the world, after meeting the "happiest people in the world."
 
The index used for determining happiness in this case he learned has nothing to do with possessions or finances. This realization brought to mind a poem by Sister Hae-in Lee- A Happy Face. (She has been struggling with cancer for many years.)
 
"Because I say I am having difficulty doesn't mean I am not happy. And because I say I am happy doesn't mean that I am not in pain, for sure. When I open wide my heart happiness comes with a  thousand faces--no, it comes with numberless faces, and I'm able to experience the joy of happiness. Where it hides I don't know, but with beautiful wings, furtively, the happiness appears. I am playing hide and seek with it as it pulls at my  heart strings, and today I am again happy." Poor as the translation must be, the meaning is clear: no matter the circumstances, happiness can be found.
 
The key to happiness, the poet is saying, is to open wide the door to our hearts.  When that is done the eyes naturally open and our thinking changes, and we can see the world and ourselves differently. I can then cry out truly, the priest writes, "I am the happiest priest in the world!" Just as we all can cry out, he says, "I am the happiest person in the world!"
 
However, there are many people who have closed the doors to their hearts. Our 'apartment culture', which tends to move us toward individualism and egotism, is influencing us, beginning, he says, by living with the doors to our homes being locked. When our doors are locked, our hearts also tend to get locked, he says. This is one of the reasons that many do not want people to come to their homes, and a reason there is so much difficulty in building small Christian communities. Helping to break this down is one reason we use parishioner's homes to hold small community meetings.  When we refuse to have others come to our house, we are refusing Jesus, he says. 

Christianity is a religion of revelation. In Korean, 'revelation' means open and seen. God so loved us that he opened himself to us; he gave us all of himself. This is what he wants from us. Our life, likewise, following God's example, should be open.  We don't want to refuse him entrance and have him "go to the stable."

If we open the doors to our homes we will be opening our hearts and opening ourselves to happiness. We will begin to live, the Church will begin to live, and the world will live. Happiness will be the natural result, and all of us will be able to cry out, 'I am the happiest person in the world'.