德 is the Chinese character for virtue. The ideogram explains clearly what is necessary for a natural human life in all its fullness: a good subject for meditation. Before economic development we often saw on school gates the Korean word for virtue: few school children would now know its meaning.
The left side ㄔcould be seen as a person walking: a leg and a foot. We can understand it as our bodily behavior. The top of the right side 十目 are the characters for ten and eye. Before we do anything, we have to use our heads and examine well what we do: right thinking. 一心, the character for one and heart. We need a singleness of purpose. Body, mind and heart need to work together in harmony.
When we make the sign of the cross, we acknowledge these three aspects of our earthly life, but we also add the spiritual, our souls which infuse all. We touch the head, the heart and the shoulders, our bodies. Thinking, working and practicing the virtues make us open to the gifts of Grace. As Christians, Jesus comes into our lives with his death and Resurrection and gives meaning to our existence.
An article in a diocesan bulletin a priest tells his readers before taking his medical exams, he feels some trepidation but when he receives word, there is no problem, he is elated and has boasted about his good health to the parishioners. One of the women responded: "Father, do you want to live a long time?" Receiving this question he was shaken and embarrassed.
Was he so lacking in other areas that he
had to brag about his health? He mentions, he exercises his body
each day. There is time for nurturing the mind and the spirit. He knows
that life is more than the body and just living a healthy life, but what
we do with the health that we have is what is important.
"Stop
worrying, then, over questions like, 'What are we to eat, or what are
we to drink, or what are we to wear?' The unbelievers are always running
after these things. Your heavenly Father knows all that you need. Seek
first his kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things
will be given you besides" (Matt 6: 31-33).
He
concludes the article with the phrases 'Well Living' and 'Well Dying'. When we live well we will die well, and for a Christian to live well does not mean a long life.
A TV drama was the talk of Internet news for some time. Philosophy professor in a Catholic University in his article in the Catholic Times, was surprised hearing the drama was a fantasy. He praises the writer, director and cast for their efforts in producing a drama that has moved the hearts of many viewers.
What is the reason for this interest and message conveyed? We see this with myths and classics in which reality, for the most part, is missing, but people return to them repeatedly. To hear the present drama is full of wisdom, may embarrass the writer and producer.
We are attracted to what we lack, and most don't know why. Do I really desire what attracts me, and consider it a good or is it others who gave me the desire? Rarely do we bother to find an answer. What we desire is it true and good? In many cases, we prefer fantasy, and relegate our daily lives to the back burner and search for beauty in the unreal.
Our lives may be seen as purposeless and empty, and in the world of drama, we try to fill the void. In the real world, love, fellowship, and even family are reduced to a question of finances. We don't find this ideal love in our lives, and envy and try to find it in the fantasy world.
What do we look for in drama? Entertainment, but if that is all, it's only temporary and merely sentiment. We want to love and trust like the heroes and heroines but are confined to the real world. However, continue to dream of a harmonious world, and see ourselves as narrow-minded and cowards.
If this is the case, in a drama, the actions and words quickly pass through our minds and leave us with an afterimage, and he would like us to see this as a mirror to look at ourselves who live in the real world.
There is a danger of living vicariously in watching fantasy dramas and movies. Creating our real world is more difficult but a Christian has a world view that makes the reality more exciting, and satisfying.
A broad understanding of the social teaching of the Church is the way a Christian sees the world, and wants to change it to correspond to the teachings of Christ. A professor at a Catholic University gives us a brief introduction to this Social Gospel.
"There are three stages, which should normally be followed in the reduction of social principles into practice. First, one reviews the concrete situation; secondly, one forms a judgment on it in the light of these same principles; thirdly, one decides what in the circumstances can and should be done to implement these principles. These are the three stages that are usually expressed in the three terms: look, judge, act" (Mother and Teacher, Pope John 23rd).
Christians are looking at themselves and God's word and wanting to change the world to correspond to this thinking, which is also the way we become more spiritual.
Narrowing the point of view, the social teaching is part of the magisterium of the Church's prophetic voice. The universal teaching office of the Church: "It is the expression of the way the Church understands society
and of her position regarding social structures and changes" (Compendium #79).
This teaching comes from the scriptures and tradition, revealed to us by God in our consciences, intellects and the natural law. "This is not a marginal
interest or activity, or one that is tacked on to the Church's mission, rather
it is at the very heart of the Church's ministry of service" (Compendium # 67).
This is why Paul VI established the Committee for Justice and Peace in the Vatican. "This doctrine in turn is integrated into the Magisterium of the
Bishops who, in the concrete and particular situations of the many different
local circumstances, give precise definition to this teaching, translating it
and putting it into practice" (Compendium #80).
Whether the Christian wants to follow the teaching or not is up to the individual conscience, but at least they should not speak out at the bishops for being 'followers of North Korea' and telling the priests 'they are involved in politics'. This is not the correct attitude of a Christian. At least, they should listen and have respect for the teaching, even if they are not able to follow it.
There are also many non-Catholics who have respect for this teaching and try to make it part of their vision of society. In the recent election in Korea, 77 Catholics were elected to the parliament, and the hope is they will be working for the common good of society.
Today is the Church's birthday: Happy Pentecost.
Writing in the Peace Weekly the columnist, a professor of spirituality, ends his 50-week series on spirituality and feels academically speaking, it is still a subject that is not well understood in Korea.
Christianity has a history of 230 years but for the first 100 years, it was persecuted. Up until 1950, our society was in great unrest. Catholics, for the most part, did their duties and had little time for anything else. It was with the opening of the Second Vatican Council that in the 1960s, we saw growth and activity in the mission of the Church.
At this time, we had according to the teaching of the council begun educating in scriptural studies and our tradition. Persons were studying scripture and theology; programs were started for the laity with the impetus from the Council.
With an increase in the number of priests in the 20th century even though they were attending Mass in Latin, parishioners were praying the rosary and memorizing their prayers; up until the end of the 20th century, there were no big problems in the spiritual life of the Catholics.
In the last part of the 20th century, he says we saw indications of heterodoxy which the Vatican pointed out, and we had a movement within the church to train specialists in spirituality. However, since we started late there are many issues that have to be faced.
Books published in the past were well written, moved the emotions: essays and miscellaneous writings but few were written on spiritual scholarship or the spiritual classics. In Korea, we have many spiritual classics that were popular before the Protestant Reformation translated into Korean but not well-known to our Catholics.
Efforts are needed to introduce Catholics to a mature spirituality and church authorities should help with finances. Living the spiritual life does not mean we ignore the study of spirituality.
His opinion is that we do not separate spirituality from Systematic Theology and make it only a part of Practical Theology as is done in Korea. St. Thomas Aquinas considered Spirituality a part of Systematic Theology.
Ideas in our heads are going to end up in our actions. When we do not have a foundation in spiritual theology, we will often lose our way, and our spiritual life suffers. We will not have love, peace and joy to motivate us to give ourselves to Jesus' mission.
In the Peace Weekly we have an article on 'unmixed politics' and 'mixed politics.' He begins with a village built only with Korean traditional styled houses, and a franchised coffee shop among the homes. A beautiful village surrounded by mountain peaks as in a folding screen. Does it fit to have a franchised coffee shop in such an environment? One response: "Let me think about it. Is being always consonant with the culture always the only answer?
The columnist mentions a wine store near his home that offers Korean makgoli ( a sweet alcoholic drink made from rice). When you order makgoli you get a bowl of ice chunks in water. Taken together, he says, you have an unique and original taste,you experience something different. Gently melting ice also melts the tiredness of the day. It adds elegance to the makgoli.
Drinking a cup of coffee we are introduced to a topic of conversation and drinking makgoli with ice water, we are introduced to the present times. We are living in a time of diversity: in a Global village. Multiculturalism is the reality, to think only of a traditional Korean drink in Korean style homes, limits us. With this thinking we have difficulty living in our world village. He doesn't want to say this hodgepodge like culture is a good, but we need an open mind and wisdom.
Coexistence and win-win thinking is the maxim of society in which we live: a time of fusion. Korean culture is spreading to other countries: Korea pop music, dress, food. What is the reason for this? Truth, originality and self- respect is maintained, but we are open to listening, and communicating with others. In politics those who stubbornly held to the purity of their case without compromise lost in the recent election.
When political platforms are broad it has great merit. To foster zeal, inbreeding is a help, but not always a good, as we know from history in cultural revolutions, and many of our recent political-isms.
We also have the opposite: politics is the art of the possible, and its own brand of pragmatism: "It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches the mouse." We have in the past alliances that helped to achieve the goals of the respective parties even though they were far from being sympathetic to the others' ideas.
Blending helps the creative buds to work. This slogan has long been used in industry and culture. We have to bring this into our political thinking. Understand what is different and work with it, and work so that everybody wins. I am always right and you are always wrong kind of camp thinking is not profitable with political realities. Conservative means you will have progressives and vice versa.
Koreans should be masters of this way of thinking. Look at the flag and the message is very clear: Yin and Yang thinking. We are blessed also to be peninsular, surrounded by water, where we have interchange and communication. We need to be an example to the rest of the world on how to get-along.
Catholic laity needs to be motivated to take their rightful place in the mission of the Church. Many articles in the Catholic press appear reminding us that one of the negative aspects of our Church culture is the powerful place of clergy in administration which makes it difficult for laity to find the will and desire to participate in roles of leadership.
In this recent issue of the Catholic Times, a committee whose work is to help the elderly in the church has a lay leader, and been working in the Seoul Diocese for the last ten years, responsible for the pastoral work among the elderly. The journalist who wrote the article mentions how necessary it is for qualified lay persons to get involved in all the different areas of church life.
14 members and a priest helper are on the committee responsible for the study and working among the elderly. The committee head has the qualifications for the work being a college professor, in the public welfare department at a university. Laity needs to find their place in the works of the church.
Society is aging, and the church members are aging quicker. The article mentions two issues that need to be addressed. One is to have words necessary to speak to the elderly about their situation of age, weakness and approaching death, that makes sense to those with a religious understanding of life. This requires them to go to the tradition and teaching documents of the Church.
Secondly, to make the pastoral workers understand the problems of aging and
how to deal with the aging. We are still at the beginning and need to find ways to mobilize those working in parishes to become interested in the problem.
The church has not come to terms yet with aging of members and lack of new births. Within ten years, we will experience negative effects of this change in society, and we need to start preparing, says the committee head.
A person with varied accomplishments, a factotum, is no longer admired as in the past. Our society demands we work together to achieve our goals and find those with specialties we need. We no longer live in a lone ranger type society; this also goes for the pastoral work and mission of the Church.
In Bible Life magazine, a priest reaching his forties writes about his struggle with disease, pain and death. At birth the amniotic sac broke, and he was delivered as a lump of bluish blood; the doctor gave up hope, and his mother was in a frenzy. His aunt gave his bottom two strong blows, and he responded with a weak cry: a story that continues within the family. Whether this was the reason, he doesn't know, but he was afflicted by all kinds of allergies and diseases. On his mother's side, the lungs were weak, and he spent a great deal of time in hospitals as a baby with asthmatic problems.
During seminary days, he was often in the hospital with pneumonia or in bed being treated by his classmate with rice gruel. Weak bones, he was disposed to many breaks in arms and legs. In the military twice during training he was sent home because of sickness.
After ordination, he can honestly say he gave consolation to many who were sick, and they weren't empty words. He took pride with his experience of sickness to help others and felt pretty good about what he could do. During a physical exam, they discovered a polyp in the stomach. No real problem, he was told, with the endoscope, they would easily remove it. During the procedure from the esophagus to the stomach, the lining of the upper GI tract was perforated. He was immediately taken to emergency room where they performed surgery, everything continued to go wrong and during one week, he underwent three different operations.
They told him he would have to wait for the perforation to heal, and would take three months. They made a hole on the right side of the stomach and fitted him with tubes to feed him. An assistant to the chaplain came to feed him three times by tubes and give him painkillers five times during the day. He was hoping God would take him.
His body temperature dropped suddenly; blood poisoning was the reason, and he was taken to St. Mary's hospital in Pusan. He was an army chaplain coming to the diocesan hospital which caused some commotion. The doctor on duty seeing the holes in the stomach and the tubes was astounded. Losing consciousness the priest was transferred to the hospice ward of the hospital.
With nutrient given by injection and continuous care he began to mend. Since he was in his own diocese, many came to see him. In the beginning, he welcomed them but the visits began to get on his nerves. He got a call from the soldier working as his office man, who apologized for not visiting: he said he could appreciate his pain and feeling. However, the patient was not happy to hear these words, and very brusquely told him so: "What do you know about how I feel?"
In conclusion, when his office man came to see him, he learned that during the priest's ordeal, he had an operation for cancer of the stomach, the stomach was removed entirely. When he heard what the office man went through he felt so embarrassed he embraced him. He was a much humbler man from his experience. He dropped the case against the doctor who operated on him, thinking of how the doctor must have felt, and he will never again tell a person he knows what they are going through but only close his eyes and bow his head, and try to share some of the pain of those he visits.
