Community of Faith?

In preparation for the first Sunday of Lent, the Catholic Peace Weekly offers a reflection by the paper's columnist, a priest, and a professor on the preciousness of our faith.

There was a time when he was studying and providing education on the movement called 'Shincheonji,' which is considered a cult by most Protestants and Catholics alike.  

The doctrines of Shincheonji, such as its parables and eschatology, were problematic. Still, the way they gathered people to join the Church was shocking. He asked Shincheonji defectors who returned to Church what they liked so much. They said that the doctrines were new and interesting. Still, the most important thing was that the people there treated them warmly and cared for them like family, especially since they experienced being chosen and learned the hidden truth.

One of the significant characteristics of new and pseudo-religious movements is the strong bond between believers. While waiting for the imminent end, they shared hope within the community and experienced great happiness. Having returned to the Catholic Church, they ask: "Why aren't Catholic believers passionate? Why aren't they interested in God's word and lack confidence in salvation? Why is the community so indifferent and cold?"

Their belief that the end would begin when the 144,000 Shincheonji members were filled was wrong, but he thinks their 'eschatological faith' has much to teach us. They were deceived, but their good-willed desire and waiting for the coming of the Lord were not false. Instead, they remind us that the Christian faith was eschatological. The core of Jesus' gospel proclamation was the kingdom of God. That kingdom is not just the afterlife we can enter in the distant future but the eschatological rule of God the Father that has come here and now through Jesus. 

The apostles boldly proclaimed the gospel while forming an eschatological community with the hope of waiting for the Lord, who would soon come. For them, the end was not the end of the world that would occur in the distant future but the time that had already begun with the Lord, the end that the Lord who was to come would complete. Their faith was a faith that was awake to welcome the Lord who was knocking at the door and a faith that earnestly hoped that the Lord would overcome sin and death. The letters of the Apostle Paul are filled with teachings on the eschatological faith and the corresponding way of life to welcome the coming of the Lord.

What is our faith? Is it a faith that eagerly awaits and prepares for the coming of the Lord? Are we forming an eschatological community that shares our destiny and achieves deep communion and unity to welcome the coming of the Lord?

The Universal Church is currently celebrating a Jubilee. The 'hope' contained in the theme of the Jubilee, 'Pilgrims of Hope,' is the hope that the apostles who spent time with Jesus in the past had and the hope that the Church has kept for 2,000 years. That hope is a firm conviction in the presence of the resurrected Lord who lives and works within us and an earnest waiting for the coming of the Lord. This hope is based on the expectation that God will personally rule this world with love and mercy, justice and peace, life and health, reconciliation and unity, putting an end to the history of humanity that has been marked by death and illness, pain and sorrow, despair and frustration, fights and conflicts that have made people miserable.

To renew this eschatological faith, we must recover our sense of identity as beings who died in Jesus Christ and were resurrected in Him and given new life (cf. Rom 6:4). When we are newly armed with the conviction that the risen Lord has conquered sin and evil through the Church, overcomes death, and encourages his disciples with immortal hope, we will be able to powerfully bear witness to the world about the hope of Christians.

As we celebrate the Jubilee of Hope and this time of Lent, let's renew our sense of identity as Christians and be reborn as a community of faith filled with the desire for the coming of the Lord.

Learning How To Dialogue!

 

A Catholic Times editorial gave the readers the recent steps to implement the results of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. 

On February 19, the Bishops’ Conference held a national meeting attended by priests in charge of the synods of each diocese, religious, and lay delegates who discussed how the Korean Church will achieve the synodal church.

The synodal formation of laypeople and the formation of parish priests are the most important steps in building the synodal church. Along with priests, laypeople must experience the synodal spirit through ‘Dialogue in the Holy Spirit’ and acquire it as the foundation of church life. This participation requires a sense of mission responsibility from all the Church.

'Dialogue in the Holy Spirit' invites the Holy Spirit into the conversations, hoping to unite the participants to move from the "I" to "We" bringing us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The process of being open to what the Holy Spirit reveals, prayerfully meeting one another and building relationships through cooperative dialogue.

Realizing the synodal church requires fundamental changes. It is not an easy goal, so we should not be impatient. However, for such efforts to achieve good results, we must set visible goals with fundamental cultural changes in church and religious life.

We can describe the stages of this 'Dialogue in the Spirit', first with preparation in prayer and meditating on what one will say about the topics discussed when the opportunities are given. 

Second, after prayer in silence, each participant speaks and expresses their thoughts on the subject and listens attentively to the others' opinions. This is followed by silent prayer.

Third, each shares what resonates most with them and what aroused the most resistance hearing what was said. Always guided by the Holy Spirit. Each person is called to answer, “When listening, did my heart burn within me?”

Fourth, the last stage of the conversation in the Spirit is a free exchange among participants, dialoguing with one another based on what has emerged to discern and gather together the fruit of the conversation in the Spirit that has just taken place. We recognize points of commonality and differences between us. We hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us as a group so that we can move forward in a common direction. We ask ourselves: “What steps is the Holy Spirit calling us to take together?” Finally, we conclude with a prayer or song of thanksgiving to God.

There is hope in the Church that 'synodalitas' and 'Dialogue in the Holy Spirit' could now become major trends in the Korean church.”Most believers fail to experience the meaning of synodalitas and the value of ‘Dialogue in the Holy Spirit’"

In particular, it was pointed out that it is difficult to feel the effects of the synod because the opinions raised through the synod were collected into the “final document” and then conveyed to the believers over several years. During the long time it took to express opinions and hear the answers, interest and enthusiasm for the synodalitas inevitably cooled.

Participants in the national meeting said that one of the most important elements of forming a synodal church, in addition to establishing and activating ‘Dialogue in the Holy Spirit,’ is the training of its members, and that opening a ‘Synodalitas School’ could be a good idea to continue specific and practical efforts to spread the synodal spirit. They also added that the training of ‘facilitators’ who will lead ‘dialogue in the Holy Spirit’ should be conducted for priests, laypeople, and religious.

Where To Live and Die?

The Catholic Times gives the readers in View from the Ark Column a reflection on death and where to make the encounter when they still have the freedom to choose. The thoughts of a university professor.

Last fall, he went on a tour of elderly housing in Japan. After turning 61, he thought that the issue of elderly housing would soon be his problem, so he looked around carefully. It was a memorable trip where he kept thinking about where and with whom he would live, what he would do in his old age, and then die.

The first place he visited was a place near Tokyo.  It was a day service facility for the elderly located in a suburban area, and it was a cozy place where people of all ages, including the elderly, children, mothers,  and local residents, lived together.

The home for the elderly is operated by the Sony Group, which opened in June last year. It was a newly built facility in the middle of a residential area, so it was clean, and all services, including a dog robot companion, were provided. Still, he wondered if this interior-focused space was the best.

He also visited Yokohama City. It was a village where elderly welfare facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and service-type elderly housing were all combined on a fairly large site. In low-rise single-family homes, the elderly receive various services and live. The alleys and the bridges on the second floor connect all the houses, which he liked.

The place he liked the most was in Koto Ward, Tokyo. It is a two-story building located in an ordinary residential area, and it has a lot of rooms. It was built as a kindergarten in the 1970s and was once used as a funeral hall, but it was remodeled after being vacant for a long time and opened in May of last year. The first floor is a day service facility for the elderly, and it operates from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. On the wall of the central passage on the first floor is a Library, where local residents donate their books to run a bookshelf. The second floor is an after-school classroom for elementary school students from 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. There is also a play area for infants.

At 2:00 p.m., children who have just returned from school file into the central passage, greet the elderly, and go up the stairs to the second floor. The elderly receiving care read books to the children and helped change diapers for infants and toddlers. In the evening, when the elderly and children go home, the library owners enjoy their programs while drinking beer. Seeing many people using a small space for various purposes all day was impressive.

The places he visited included the uniquely named ‘Center' in Kanagawa Prefecture.  It is said that the name was given with the hope that the supermarket, which had served as a local center for a long time but closed in 2016, would be revived and become a village center in 2022. It consists of various functions, such as a senior day service, a childcare facility, a shared kitchen, a laundry research center, and a group home for the disabled. The building's design won the Japan Good Design Award.

Where should the elderly live to be happy in this aging society? Where among the places introduced above would be a good place to live and die? While visiting Japan’s senior housing, he thought of the ‘Care Farm’ in the Netherlands, which he had visited six years before. Care farms where dementia patients and adults with developmental disabilities can come and spend the weekends on farms with cows, horses, pigs, chickens, and colorful plants seemed like a great solution. He remembers thinking that care farms, where the elderly and the disabled receive care and live dignified lives by caring for animals, plants, and others, are the best housing for the elderly.

We live in an aging society. Where is the best home for an elderly person facing death? How will it be okay if they live and die? Who will they be with, and what will they do before they die? Let’s think about it. Where will we die? A good meditation for the beginning of Lent.

Hope In The Future!

The Now/Here Catholic website is beginning a new column by a long-time professor at the Diocesan Catholic University. The topics will deal with the 'Theology of Reading Life'. This first reflection is from the perspective of faith and theology. 

People live in their own time and space. He often thinks about this simple proposition. Time and space have a profound effect on thoughts and bodies. These days, his main concerns are life in old age and the reality of the Korean church. What does it mean to live in old age? How does one endure life in old age? How does one analyze and understand the reality of the church? What small things can he do for the change and renewal of the church?

He lives in Korean society. As a citizen, he has no idea what to do in this era. How should he behave with hatred, aversion, incitement, lies, and violence? How does he respond to the endless rush of capitalism that emphasizes identity as a rich person rather than identity as a human being and pursues only selfish pleasure and enjoyment rather than moderation and consideration for the common good? Whenever he comes across an explanation of artificial intelligence (AI), bio-industry, and quantum computers, which are called the three major ‘game changers’ of the future era, he feels dizzy. Where will the rapid development of science and technology take us? He has more anxiety and fear than hope about the future of society.

He is growing old as a priest of the church. It means that personal and ecclesiastical existence is stronger than social existence. The radius of thought and action focuses more on faith and church life. It does not mean that he gave up his role as a citizen. As Japanese popular thinker Uchida Tatsuru put it: “A sovereign is a person who thinks that there is a connection between his or her personal fate and the fate of the country.” However, he looks at the world through the eyes of faith and the church. As a believer and a church member, he participates in social life.

He does not know why self-consciousness about the passage of time and growing old becomes excessive in old age. The primary emotions about old age are regret, sorrow, and fear. In the reality of retirement, he feels like he is being robbed of the joy of work and accomplishment. The aging of the body makes him feel the exclusion of perspective. The premonition of death and extinction is sometimes daunting.

Can we consider growing old as “an act of enriching oneself in the sense that it is an act of experiencing a state of mind and body that has never been experienced before”? “Young elderly, that is, people belonging to the third stage of life between the ages of 65 and 84”. Can we live freely, without the greed and foolishness of our youth?

Sometimes, when he realizes that he will die someday, he feels suffocated. Looking at the starry night sky, he sometimes thinks that he is nothing more than dust in the universe and that life is just a result of chance. The church and theology’s explanations of the end and salvation are not convincing. Nevertheless, he believes and hopes. Isn’t faith more a will to believe than a conviction?

Old age, death, and even after death will all have their own meaning and some kind of solution. It is hope and trust in the mystery of existence and life. Despite the barriers of reality called death and extinction, there is faith and hope that there will be an ultimate solution to life and existence. That hope and trust may be based on humanistic intuition and reflection or on a scientific explanation of the fundamental operating procedure at the core of all life called ‘homeostasis’. Of course, Christians base their hope and trust on the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ and their faith as a gift of grace.

The answer is always common sense. Old age and death also have their own meanings. When we naturally accept them, we can live our old age freely and abundantly and face death well. “A life lived in a parting attitude is a creative life.”

We often witness discourses on the crisis of the church. However, discourses are simply discourses. The phenomenon of de-religionization and secularization still darkens the reality of the church and faith. In addition to challenges and threats from outside, the loss of power within the church poses a greater danger. The parish, the forefront of faith and church life, is losing its vitality. Are believers truly experiencing spiritual unity and communion with God in the Eucharist (Mass), the pinnacle of faith life? Are believers experiencing communion as well as human fellowship in the various events and activities of the parish? Are the parish’s religious education and devotional practices helping believers grow in faith and spirituality? Are the parish’s liturgy (sacraments), education, communion, and service activities functioning properly? It seems time to ask honestly and fundamentally to reconstruct the parish’s way of life in a direction that can specifically function in the present through the true inheritance of tradition and new interpretations.

Through parish life, believers should be able to feel and experience faith's true meaning and joy. Through parish life, believers should be able to learn and embody the beauty and meaning of community and the value and preciousness of the common good. The church should help believers deeply experience, learn, and practice the joy of faith and community through parish life so that they can concretely realize their religious beliefs in all places where they live and live a life that practices community values in the world. However, are today’s churches and parishes truly fulfilling such roles?

In a society where school education and the media are being ruined, religion should be the last bastion protecting community values and beliefs. However, ironically, in Korean society, we often see religion destroying community values. This is a sad reality. Is today’s church functioning as a sacrament that proclaims community values and beliefs against the rampage of capitalism and the unbridled gallop of selfish individuals and groups that have lost their sense of reflection?

Hope is gradually disappearing on an individual, church, and social level. What can and should the church and believers do in a world filled with only gloomy prospects for the future? Why did Pope Francis proclaim a Jubilee of Hope in these grim times? “When living seems like renewing sadness.” What does it mean to live with hope?

We must live by honestly asking questions, listening, conversing, learning, and studying. He hopes many small groups within the church will ask questions, listen, converse, and study. Talking about trivial daily responses amid a vast reality may seem regrettable. However, small daily lives always come together to form a vast world. Practice is not in grandiose slogans and ideologies. Love is always realized in everyday attitudes and behaviors.

Korean Independence Movement

On March 1st, 1919, Korea remembers the day the citizens declared their country independent from Japan and raised awareness of humanitarian ideals based on a code of conduct emphasizing peace and non-violence. An article in the Korean Times gives us some understanding of the meaning of the day and the difficulties faced by the Catholic Church at the time.

The Catholic Church in Korea adapted to the Japanese demand for separation of church and state and did not, in principle, support armed struggle involving violence through political non-intervention. In that sense, the Catholic nationalist movement focused on non-violent patriotic enlightenment movements that focused mainly on education and the press. However, there were cases where believers participated in armed struggle movements on a personal conscience level. Movements through education and the press expanded further after the Eulsa Treaty was signed  (Eulsa- Korea Protectorate Treaty)

When Japan announced the Private School Ordinance in 1908 and suppressed the national education movement, more than half of the church schools were closed. Nevertheless, the education movement led to establishing a few schools and contributed to the patriotic Enlightenment movement for modernization and the protection of national sovereignty. 

The media salvation movement through ‘Kyunghyang Shinmun’ and the national debt redemption movement also had great meaning in preventing Japanese invasion and recovering national sovereignty.

1904, when the Japanese attempted to seize land under the pretext of reclaiming wasteland, believers gathered at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul and held a prayer meeting to oppose it.   

Some consider this “the first social participation and national movement in modern times in which the Korean Catholic Church collectively responded to social issues outside the church.” Some people showed their patriotic spirit by participating in the anti-Japanese volunteer army movement with pride as believers. Representative examples include Ahn Jung-geun, who is known to have prayed to God every day while participating in the volunteer army war, and Kim Sang-tae, the leader of the Gyeongsang Province volunteer army during the Jeongmi volunteer army in 1907. It is said that he carried a rosary with him until he was captured and killed by the Japanese army.

In March 1919, the March 1st Movement took place nationwide, influenced by Emperor Gojong’s state funeral, the end of World War I, and U.S. President Wilson’s advocacy of the principle of national self-determination. Bishop Mutel and Bishop Demange were confident that the believers would not participate in this movement, but the believers did not avoid the national issue. They participated in the independence movement as individuals despite the church’s ban.

The first place to take action was the Seminary in Daegu. When 60 seminarians heard the news of the independence movement, they gathered in the playground and sang the “Independence Song.” Afterward, they copied the “Declaration of Independence” and prepared the Korean flag in preparation for the mass demonstration in downtown Daegu on March 8, but it was confiscated by the school. Upon hearing this, Bishop Demange, then Archbishop of Daegu, demanded “unconditional obedience” and announced that “those who participated in the independence movement will be expelled and the seminary will be closed.” However, the seminarians boycotted classes and planned to participate in the independence movement on April 3, but this did not happen. Eventually, Bishop Demange declared an early vacation out of concern for the student’s participation in the independence movement.

Students from the Yongsan Seminary also participated in the March 23 demonstration that year. The students tearfully appealed to Bishop Mutel, who admonished them to “maintain order,” saying, “We cannot turn away from our homeland trampled by the Japanese.” Still, Bishop Mutel prohibited them from participating in the movement “in the name of God” and postponed the ordination ceremony that year as a disciplinary measure. Those who participated in the movement had to leave the school. The seminarians’ participation in the March 1st Movement lost momentum early on. This shows their worries about giving up the March 1st Movement to become priests.

There is also an anecdote about the late Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan (Stefano), who attended Dongseong Commercial School Euljo (Soshin School) around the time of the March 1st Movement. Cardinal Kim revealed that he would often feel national resentment rising as he listened to lectures from his teachers about the atrocities of Japanese colonial rule and the awakening of the national spirit. When a subject in seminary asked, “As a subject of the Japanese Emperor, write your thoughts on the Emperor’s edict,” He hesitated and submitted the answer: “I am not a subject of the Emperor, so I have no thoughts on the Emperor’s edict. After that, the principal called me in, slapped me, and severely reprimanded me."

The March 1st Movement spread nationwide over time, and on March 10, Catholic believers participated in the Independence Movement in Haeju, Hwanghae Province, along with Protestants, Cheondogyo believers, and Buddhists. As a result, four Catholic believers were imprisoned. By the end of May that year, it is estimated that around 50 Catholic believers were arrested working for independence.  

The March 13 Independence Movement in Yongjeong, North Gando, was centered around the Catholic Church. At noon, when the church bell rang, more than 10,000 people gathered in Yongjeong City and began an independence movement called the “Independence Celebration.” When Kim Yeong-hak, the head of the Catholic Church, read the “Declaration of Independence,” the crowd reportedly chanted “Long Live the Independence of Korea.” They then began a street parade, but 17 people were killed when the Chinese police opened fire. In addition, there were armed resistance movements such as the independence movement by students of the symphony school in Daegyo-dong, a Catholic village north of the Amnok and Duman Rivers, and the attack on the Japanese police station by 30  believers.

Professor Yoon Seon-ja (Dominica) of Chonnam National University stated in Kyunghyang Magazine, “When looking only at the independence movement cases, most Catholic believers who participated in the March 1st Movement were Catholic believers in the public office,” and “This shows that the frequency and intensity of sanctions against believers by missionaries and Korean clergy were weaker than those of the parish church, and Catholic believers in the public office mainly participated in the independence movement.”

At the time, Catholic believers’ participation in the independence movement was inevitably limited within the structural system of the church centered on hierarchy and the dualistic faith structure that understood that the church’s involvement in real-world issues hindered spiritual life. However, some priests cooperated with the independence movement or supported it individually.

In her article titled “Activities of the Korean Catholic Church Before and After the March 1st Movement,” Professor Yun Seon-ja stated, “Although the participation of Catholic believers in the independence movement was a small minority compared to Protestantism or Cheondogyo, it was significant in that it took place in a situation where most foreign missionaries and clergy who were in charge of the Korean Catholic Church actively discouraged it,” and added, “The Korean Catholic Church should be evaluated positively in that it was centered around Koreans.”

Power of Spirituality

In its Philosophical Chat column by a Jesuit priest, the Catholic Peace Weekly gives the readers some ideas on spirituality and its various meanings.     

Spirituality is an important concept in philosophical counseling. It has strong religious overtones, and especially under the influence of Western Christianity, it generally means a life of believing in and following Christ.

Spirituality, a modern translation of the Latin word 'spiritualitas' is rooted in the ancient Greek word pneuma (πνεύμα), and initially meant breath, breathing, and spirit. In the Old Testament (creation story), humans are described as beings who come from the earth, receive God's breath (spirit), and gain life. According to this, humans can be considered special beings imbued with God's spirit from birth. 

Spirituality is a profound concept with multilayered meanings encompassing transcendence and immanence and is one of the core concepts of human nature that requires deep insight, especially in philosophy. 

As can be guessed from its etymology, spirituality basically means the principle of life unique to humans. As human nature, spirituality is based on the human spirit above all else. Human life goes beyond simple organic activities and performs the unique function of the spirit. At this time, its core principle is the principle of Logos according to reason and, further, the principle of transcendence that pursues the ultimate and absolute truth. Here, the characteristics of emotion-life, reason-logos, and spirituality-transcendence are revealed as unique functions and principles of the human spirit.

Humans are beings who ask questions by nature. Questions belong to the essence of the spirit. The unique characteristic of the human spirit is that humans do not follow instincts but maintain a distance from nature and objectify things; through this, they become conscious of themselves and grasp the essence of things. We call this kind of human mental activity thinking and cognition.

Questions seek knowledge. All things that become the object of knowledge are ultimately questions of existence. People often use the expression ‘not in the right mind’ to mean being very busy or unable to discern reason. Still, this expression implies that we lack spirituality to the point of avoiding the question of existence, which is the ultimate meaning of life. In fact, we live our lives so immersed in our daily lives that we forget philosophical questions. However, when a crisis comes, we ask serious philosophical questions again.

What triggers questions is our emotions, which are activated by external stimuli. When the familiarity and comfort of daily life change into unfamiliarity and discomfort, specifically in a limiting situation where we are driven into pain, hurt, frustration, and fear, we finally ask serious questions to find the reason and solution. However, questions triggered by emotions like this do not yet have their meanings clearly and distinctly thematicized, so we need the help of reason rather than emotion to understand them. This is because understanding the state of the anxious mind and grasping its meaning is not passive emotion but active reason.

However, the problem is that reason alone does not explain everything rationally. In the abyss of uncertainty and absurdity of life and existence, which are the stark reality, we recognize the limits of reason and constantly ask questions to transcend the sublime absolute values ​​and meanings that reason alone cannot understand. This is precisely the power of spirituality. 

Living With Hope In Difficult Times

The Korean website Catholic News Now/Here has an article by a religious sister, a Professor Emeritus at Holy Names University. She gives readers some important ways to view life.

They say it snows a lot in Korea, but in Alameda, California, where she lives, it has been raining hard for several days. Sitting in the corner of her cozy attic and feeling the wind blowing hard makes her happy but also guilty. She thinks of the homeless and the many undocumented immigrants who are hiding in fear of being deported. She feels sorry and wonders how to protect their humanity and dignity.

There is a sense of anxiety in the hearts of many due to the current chaotic and worrying behavior of President Trump. In this context, Spiritual Directors International held a special meeting on what we should do for those angry and afraid in the face of recent executive orders. In particular, how we should respond to the reality that our purpose of embracing diversity and difference may be threatened (in fact, one of the Trump administration's executive orders was to cut off federal support for DEI programs, which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and many who want a just society by embracing diversity have been hurt). 

We gathered on Zoom to share our feelings and listen to each other. Ultimately, we talked about how we cannot give up our values ​​no matter the situation and find opportunities to embrace and listen to people's anger and fears. 

While talking about this, they felt some new energy. Someone said that the message that this series of violent situations is forcing on them is that they feel powerless, so it seems essential to continue to make small gestures as resistance, like a flying bird flapping its wings. She nodded vigorously, and others in the meeting did the same. Then, they started to break free from the tense atmosphere and laugh a little.

The daytime moon in the blue sky comes to mind. Sometimes, God's calling is so unnoticeable and gentle that he's beside her and feels more grateful. 

Thinking about it, even though we have difficult times, in the end, a spiritual person, and therefore a person who pursues a human life can continue to laugh. In fact, we see an abundance of humor in many saints. On a cold winter night when her whole body felt frozen, Saint Teresa of Avila, struggling to pull up a carriage stuck in a puddle, said that God doesn't have many friends because he mistreats them. We are also familiar with the stories of saints who, seeing themselves as old and infirm and unable to move well, called themselves old donkeys and laughed at themselves.

In fact, living as a person of the Lord in today's secularized world requires caution when dealing with many difficult and disturbing things. Perhaps that is why Isaiah's confession, in which he groaned, "Oh, I am ruined!" when he saw his unholy and sinful existence while facing God, lingers in her mind. If God came to her and called her as he did  with Isaiah, she would respond like the prophet:  "Oh, I am ruined!"

She confessed to catching many fish because she cast the net as told, just like Peter in Luke 5. All her work, teaching students, writing books, and providing spiritual guidance while claiming it was her work on the path of following the Lord, was nothing more than casting her net where told.

Today, she returned after a meeting with a desire to live in a deeper community with her fellow nuns. Many nuns are now going to nursing homes, and she promised to work hard to build a smaller but deeper community of love.  She hopes to live anew with a humble heart and focus more on God.

The sight of the nuns who will soon be scattered and leaving the Bay Area, to which they have grown accustomed, is sad and beautiful. "We are people destined to sing about how we have always lacked love and our desperate hopes to become fishers of men from now on. So today, as we finished our meeting, we shared a delicious chocolate cake. And we whispered blessings for each other's old age. Ah! Until yesterday, we were ruined. So, from now on, let's fish for people and love."