Present Day Martyrs

Martyrdom has always been considered a way of showing our love for Jesus in the highest possible degree. Even though we are not threatened with  death, we try to imitate the martyr's zeal, deep faith, and  dignity. In the Desk Column for the Catholic Times, the writer mentions looking over the foreign  news items and was again conscious that religious persecution continues in our own day.

The Korean Church at the beginning had to endure four different persecutions. We have the 103 saints who are canonized and on the 16th of August, we will have 124 beatified; besides these, we have countless thousands who have no name. Today in most of the constitutions we have the freedom of religion as a human right, an understanding that a need to die for what one believes no longer is necessary, but  in Iraq, we see the Islamic State, fundamentalists, who have no problem in  killing Christians, confiscating their property and chasing them from their residences. The Chaldean Archbishop Amel Shanon Nona said the Islamic State is carrying out "religious cleansing."

She mentions that a representative of OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) said that 105,000 were killed because of the Christian faith on average each year. The situation in the Near East is the most serious. One research institute said the persecution in the Near East is the worst in the last 700 years. She quotes a London research group that says over half or two-thirds of the Christians   have been killed or made to flee their homeland in the last 100 years.  She says there are now less than 200 thousand who remain in the land of the Scriptures.

Pope Francis has mentioned the persecution and the seriousness of the situation. He said that there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years than in the times of the Roman persecution.

We as Koreans, she says, cannot overlook the persecution of religion in  North Korea. They say there is  freedom of religion but those who have studied the situation say that in 2013 to the present, we have over 1000 incidents of religious persecution in the North: most of them in the concentration camps. Open Doors Ministry lists  North Korea on the top of the ranking of countries persecuting Christians. She asks for prayers and the interest of her readers.

In a very short time, we will have 124 who will be called  Blessed. They considered their relationship with Jesus the most important thing in life and showed it by dying for what they believed. Korea is no longer asking us to give of our blood  in martyrdom, but we are faced with relativism, worldliness and materialism, which brings confusion into our way of thinking, and often  requires  the qualities of our martyrs.

On the Spot Experience

Many are the ways Christianity is criticized and its supposed flaws made known. Much of the criticism lacks understanding; some are justified, but one of the most damning and difficult to deal with would be the supposed  words of  Mahatma Gandhi: "I love Jesus but hate the Christians." He heard and saw the words and acts of the Christians, and they were not those of Jesus: they  looked down on the poor and discriminated, which he experienced in his own life.Those who have to do the dirty, dangerous and difficult tasks in society are our best critics. 

A priest writes in a bulletin for priests about his experience in working for one month in a factory.His parish priest gave permission during his last year in the seminary. He was short of stature and searching for work was difficult, seeing his small build, they  had no place for him, and finally, he ended up in the factory where his father worked. The experience was to be long lasting.

The first two days of work were no  problem but after a week, it began to take its toll; he came to the limits of his strength. His mother wanted him to quit, but he was determined to finish the month. It was not his desire to get to know the fellow workers of his father and his superiors, but he did. He was determined to see what was required of his father to support the family, and he felt deep sorrow for his father.  If it wasn't for the month, he would never have known what the father was doing in the workplace.

Looking  back on the one month he feels it was filled with grace. He experienced what his father did for over half a lifetime, his difficulties, the environment in which he worked and also at times experiencing personally the  exploitation in the workplace. At the end of the month on the bus to Seoul, he relaxed knowing it was all over.

He has participated in the work for fairness in the workplace and the rights of labor to unionize. Korea continues to be against regulations that hinder the business sector, which means they don't look with any joy on the workers unionizing.  One month as a worker was a great blessing. It is only those who have been sick who can sympathize with the sick those who know suffering who can feel with those suffering, those who are poor who can energize  the poor. This was the lesson learned from the one month.

We know that book learning, lectures and studies are important,  but there is nothing that can compare with on the spot experience. Korean bishops have gone to  fishing, farming, mining villages to learn about the  conditions these citizens have to live with. This has made their talks less abstract and bookish, and given them a better feel for the problems Korea faces.

One of the reasons we as Catholics are not as sympathetic to those who are having difficulty in making ends meet is that we have become a middle class Church. Many of those who are struggling are no longer at home within the household of faith, which will require more of us to identify more closely to those who are hurting in our society and to speak out. Without this understanding, we will lack the empathy needed to identify with the lowly in our society and make it more difficult to understand Jesus and his teaching.

Expectations On Pope Francis' Visit to Korea

The visit of Pope Francis to Korea is approaching. Listing only the formal events: the beatification of the 124 martyrs, Mass of the Assumption, visit to  the Flower Village, attendance at the Asian Youth Meeting, Peace and Reconciliation Mass, meeting with the  President-- there are over 20 events in which he will participate. The Peace column in the Peace Weekly invites us to spend time looking over the itinerary of  Pope Francis.

The columnist wonders whether there is a slight difference in what the Church of Korea thinks important and what the Vatican thinks important. The Korean Church considers the beatification on Saturday as central. In 1925, we had the beatification of the 79 martyrs, in 1984 the canonization of the 103 saints and  this year the beatification of the 124 martyrs: high points in our Catholic history.

We don't know what the pope and the Vatican thinks, but we can do some guessing.  During the five days, he will have two luncheons that have been made known publicly:  one is with 20  representatives of the young people at the 6th  Asian Youth Day on August 15th, and the other meal is with the Asian bishops on August 17th. This for the columnist seems to indicate where the pope's interest will be. The pope has shown an interest in evangelization of Asia, which would indicate the emphasis he is putting on the Asian Youth Day.

On August 18th, the Mass for Peace and Reconciliation at the Seoul Cathedral is the event the columnist shows the most interest. North Korean Catholics have been invited to attend the Mass. The North, at the least provocation is ready to shoot off rockets and missiles; one wonders if attendance is in any way possible. They will be attending the Asian Games scheduled for September in Inchon, which does hold out some hope. Unification of the peninsula is not something that we can do on our own, and the columnist believes Pope Francis will bring hope. 

Japan some 429 years ago, four teenagers in the Tensho embassy were  sent  to Rome where they met Gregory 13th.  340 years later one of our Catholics, Dr. John Chang Myun met with Pope Pius XI in the first  official visit of a Korean to the Vatican. The pope's visit to Japan was in 1981, but he has visited Korea in 1984, 1989 and this year will be the 3rd visit. Doesn't this mean that he has much to do in Korea? Pope John Paul II in visiting Eastern Europe was given some credit in bringing  about German unification.

The columnist is hoping Pope Francis' visit will help to prepare the unification of the peninsula. In the Mass at the Cathedral he will be talking to the separated families and the thought of this fills the columnist's heart with emotion. He is looking forward to the visit as a child would Christmas.

Wisdom of the Child

A priest in his spirituality column in the Catholic Times mentions having the task to write an article for a magazine and goes to a large book store to get some  background information on the topic. It was  a weekday and bustling with shoppers. That morning, a very hot day, he had too much cold water to drink and his stomach was giving him trouble. He began looking for the lavatory signs.

Near the section for children, he spotted the sign. Children were on the floor reading books, playing,   mothers reading, and in groups whispering to each other. The priest went into the lavatory took care of his needs and while washing his hands heard some of the children talking while urinating. He listened carefully to what was being said.

One child: "My mother has a name card!" Apparently, the child was proud of the fact in having a mother with a 'calling card'.

Another child answered: " My mother doesn't have a card."

Another child's voice: " Hey,  a card means that she has much to do outside."

"Why?"

"Don't you know? She is busy and doesn't have time to play with you. With a card, she has to be outside and work."

The lad who volunteered the information on his mother having a card: "I hope my mother uses up all those cards."

The priest was flabbergasted by what he heard. They were kindergarten aged, and they knew what a 'calling card' meant and how difficult the world was in  which  adults had to work. They were concerned about their mothers, and even little children  were talking like adults.

Most priests and religious do not have calling cards. When they do have a card, it is not for business purposes. He observes that those kindergarten children in the lavatory had a better appreciation of what a 'calling card' means than those who have one. Life should be more than work, so he finishes the article with a prayer: "Lord who has tied us together as a family, help us to use up our calling cards and  have more time with our families, Amen."

Influence of Culture On Us

The influence culture has on us is difficult to gauge. We are born into a culture and from the earliest years, it begins to form us. What we say or fail to say, what we do and don't do, what we consider polite behavior, can often be  predicted.  A vice principal of an elementary  school is an example in the Peace Weekly article  of how he was programed to act in one way but chose to act differently. The mission he gave himself was to be  concerned with those he was meeting daily.

With a simple word, we can energize or hurt another. The article begins with the words from a talk on Valentine Day of this year where Pope Francis talking to the young people said a healthy family requires the use of three phrases: "Thank you, I'm sorry, May I?" The  vice principal began using these  words in the position that he occupied at the school.

He mentions where he reprimanded a teacher for what he had done. This continued to bother him. The teacher from that time avoided the vice principal. In Korea, the senior and junior relationship is extremely strong and for an older person, and one with a higher position to apologize to a younger person, and of lower rank is difficult. He went to the class room  of the teacher and apologized for the hurt given by his words.

The teacher didn't know what to say hearing these words from the vice-principal. For the vice-principal to say he was sorry was awkward, to say he was sorry to a younger teacher was  embarrassing, but  as soon as the words left his mouth, he felt great relief. The teacher also was happy to have the relationship restored and told him of his relief.

The next day at home he told the family that he loved them. He was determined to use words that he had never used in the past. The wife with a smile on her face told him to refrain from using insincere words. She did admit: "We show that we love each other, by the way, we treat each other, but by expressing our love in words does help the respect and the care we have for each other."

That afternoon he ordered five pizzas for the teachers' room. They were puzzled  on what prompted the change in the vice-principal's behavior. He just wanted to show his appreciation for all they were doing, and they gave him a round of applause and were happy to see the change.

"Expressing with words what I had inside allows me to know myself. My family and those I work with daily are precious, showing thanks gives me great peace" these words of the vice-principal expressed his change of attitude.

We live according to the words we use, and they become our actions and way of life. In Sirach 18: 15-16 we read: "Like dew that abates a burning wind, so does a word improve a gift. Sometimes the word means more than the gift..." The article ends with the journalist lamenting the coldness and stiffness  of our society and a desire to see the more frequent use of kind words with  those we interact with daily.