Korean Priest looks at American Catholicism

Many of our Korean Priests have now spent time in Korean Parishes in the States and gone on for degrees . They find it very easy to compare what they see to what they have in Korea and what they have heard from other parts of the world. Some see the conditions in the States as a preview for the Catholic Church of Korea.

Reading one such account I was surprised at what I thought was the accuracy of what he had to say. He was pastor of a Korean Parish and went on for a Doctorate in Theology while in the States.

He mentioned how in the States there is no embarrassment when politicians bring in Christianity, demanded by much of the electorate. This is not the way of Europe, even though it has a longer history with Christianity and a Catholic one. Catholicism due to its decline in Europe gave birth to secularism and was the object of attack from the ideology of the Enlightenment. Consequently he would see The United States as more Christian in the Protestant mode and more religious than Europe.

He goes on to say that Protestantism was a big part in the birth of the nation and capitalism went right along with it. In Europe modernization and secularization were born because of the decline of Catholicism. The Enlightenment was in opposition to Catholicism and for what it stood. In the States, to the contrary, Protestantism became the motivating drive for modernization, democracy and progress.

Catholicism was never the mainstream in the States. There has been prejudice against Catholics from the beginning. It was an immigrant Church from Europe, in recent years from the East and now many Catholics are coming in from Central and South America. In recent years we have the sex scandal of some priests having sexual encounters with minors; this was big news in the States which brought out some of the prejudice that was dormant.

The priest writer believes that not having been in the mainstream of American Society was and is good for the Catholic Church. In Europe, Catholicism was mainstream and dislodged to the periphery where it has little influence in the way things are done.

Catholics in the States are 1/4th of the population and 40% of these Catholics are Hispanics. The Protestants are the white mainstream. In looking over the History of the Church when the Church went mainstream the teaching was distorted. When it is on the fringe of Society the Church is able to speak and not be compromised by the political and cultural situation. He feels precisely because of the problems the Catholic Church faced, it was open to dialogue; the lay people activated to take an active part in the working of the Church. He wondered when the day will come in Korea when we will have a lay person teaching theology in the seminary. He hopes that the Church in Korea never becomes mainstream but feels it is leaning in that direction.

Practice of Discernment in Retreats

In our personal retreats there is often a need to discern to make a decision. Fr. John Meehan used his knowledge on directing retreats to explain a procedure which he left us in his writings. I have taken the liberty of changing some parts.

1) Discernment with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The entire context is prayer.
2) Discuss the question to make clear choices.
3) Understand the background.
4) State the reality clearly.
5) Study the word of God and learn what it says about the attitudes of Christ which relate to my discernment.

St. Ignatius of Loyola used and developed a method of discernment which he gathered from his reading of the Scriptures and his experience. Today through the continued development of the method , especially by the Society of Jesus, this discernment prayer has become even more powerful as a Christian prayer for decision making.

Ignatius added to the prayer a way of testing the inspiration of the choice made. This test is a major part of the prayer as is his other addition of beginning with a prayer to achieve holy indifference or openness to what ever choice the Spirit of God leads one into making. Since discernment prayer is important it often takes a long time. The time involved is directly related to the importance of the decision to be made. Minor decisions take little time, major ones can last for months.

Stage I : Prayer for complete openness

In my experience both with myself and others, the initial prayer for indifference to the outcome is often the most difficult one. To enter into this prayer I need first to look clearly at the options that I have and attempt to reduce them to two major ones .For example: a young man or woman can use this prayer to decide whether their calling or vocation is to a life of married love or to one of celibate love.

To begin the process of discerning, I need to pray for a full and deep understanding of both options as very good choices and as leading to a life of happiness and blessing. When I can honestly say that I am open to answering either option I know this prayer has been answered. Once this state is reached I am ready for the discernment proper.

Stage II: Discernment Prayer for Decision Making

1) The reasons why celibacy is a good choice for me.
2) The reasons why marriage is a good choice for me.
3) Why celibacy is not a good choice for me.
4) Why marriage is not a good choice for me.

All prayer begins best by calling upon the Holy Spirit to be with me and continue to help in my discernment. Included in my reasons are all those that I can think of which come from God's word in Scripture. I look carefully at the elements of my own character which point toward the ability to lead a celibate life. I need to look at my own interests, likes and dislikes, preferences in life style, ways of thinking, strength of my prayer life, ability to love others deeply, self discipline, love of self, others and God. The help of a spiritual friend is often very important in this prayer. When I am not able to find other reasons this prayer comes to an end.

I will spend a day checking through each set to discover whether I have missed anything of importance.Then with the help of the Spirit I enter into the process of making a choice and a decision.

Stage III: Prayer to test the Discernment.

St. Ignatius moved by the words of Scripture: IJohn 4:1-3, Mat 7:17, Gal 6:4,
searched the scriptures and discovered for himself a good test for the presence or absence of the Spirit. St. Paul provided the test for the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22: "The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness," Ignatius learned this and started to use it in his own prayer. I need to use it in my own discernment.

If the Spirit of God has been involved in my prayer and decision, these fruits will be present, in the depths of my spirit, soul or heart. Our spirit is like the ocean, very deep and teeming with life. As with the ocean, the surface will very often be in turmoil
while the depths are quiet. It is in these depths of my spirit that I need to test for the fruits of the spirit. Of all these fruits the one that is easiest to detect is that of peace. So peace becomes the test.

If the Holy Spirit has been with me in my discernment, I will discover peace with the decision. If I find peace there, my prayer is finished and I have decided with the Spirit.

On the other hand if down deep I am in turmoil upset, anxious or not at peace with the decision, then I have to begin again and continue my discernment prayer until a decision is made that leaves me at peace down deep.

Waiting With Hope

In His Own Words Fr. John Cioppa Maryknoller in Hong Kong.

In 1972 shortly after he was released from a Chinese prison Bishop James Walsh was at the Kai Tak airport waiting for a plane to take him to the US. He said, "Here I am waiting again. In 1950 I waited to be sentenced to jail, I waited for 20 years to be released, and now I am waiting again. I have spent half of my life waiting." He was not angry. He was just commenting , relaxed and smiling. "Waiting " for Bishop Walsh had become his spirituality. He had integrated waiting into his life. He was not anxious or worried. He had learned that waiting also meant hope.

Some researchers say we spend about 8 years of our life "waiting". A mother waits 9 months for her child to be born, another year waiting for him to walk and five years more before going to school. We wait to see the doctor. We wait to pay bills, wait for exam results, wait for job interviews and wait to get married.We even wait to die. I hope Jesus doesn't keep us waiting at heaven's door. Waiting brings fear and anxiety but it also brings hope and joy: a new child born, release from prison, high exam marks.

The Jews waited 500 years for the Messiah to come; 40 more years with Moses wandering in the desert and 50 years in captivity in Babylon longing to be back home in the Holy Land. Life for the Jews seemed to be one waiting after another. And as we know they are still waiting.

I believe waiting has a very profound meaning. It is a deep-seated longing for our hearts and souls to go home. Waiting is basically homesickness. We are restless and anxious and can never settle down because the place we are standing is not home. Saint Augustine put it well when he said, "Our hearts were made for God and they will not rest until they are again with God."

I thing that is what Advent is all about. It's a reminder that we are on a journey- a long journey back to the Father. We wander in a strange place searching for the road home. We long to be back again with our Father. If you have even been homesick, you know what I mean. Advent is a reminder that we live our lives in ambiguity. We live in the presence of God, yet live in the expectation of His coming again. We celebrate His coming but wait and long for Him to be with us again. Somehow deep in our souls there is a memory of being with God . Advent reminds us that we live in that memory hoping and anxious to be with God again. That was the feeling of Jesus when He was on earth and that is the spirit of Advent. A waiting with hope .That hope also brings peace and joy and that's what we celebrate on Christmas.

Waiting makes us uncomfortable and brings with it feelings of fear, anxiety, loneliness and helpless. But it also brings with it hope, joy and new life. Advent reminds us that we are homesick and our hearts will not be in peace until they are again with the Lord. Advent is not a sad time. It is a time of hope, a time to feel the peace and joy of the Lord who is here, but has yet to come.

The Korean Welfare System

It has been said, and it has the ring of truth, missioners are not the best ones to ask for an understanding of the environment in which they work. We probably identify too closely with the people and do not see the larger context. Be that as may, I have certain feelings about the Korean welfare system from my dealings with the Catholics over the years. I have heard criticism of the welfare system but from my experience in Korea, the welfare system is doing very well.

I can recall in the early 70s when a grandmother who was senile, was dropped off in front of our kindergarten in the town in which we had the parish. I saw her on my trip to the kindergarten and told the catechist to take care of her. The next day she was still there; I was upset but there was little he could do he said. We washed her and brought her to the nearby Catholic Hospital where they said her legs were frost bitten and have to be amputated. We went to the different government offices in the town but they could do nothing. That was one of the reason they moved the street people from one provincial district to another. They did not have the facilities.

What would I be faced with now that I had responsibility for this senile grandmother who couldn't walk? After much worry and gathering of information, the Sisters in the parish told me, if she could walk she would be accepted at House of Hope in Taegu were the Sisters were working. We bought artificial limbs and for a week taught her how to walk. In the end she was accepted and a big worry disappeared. In those days the Korean Welfare system was just not in place.

Today seeing what the welfare system is doing is just marvelous. The government I am told is trying to enhance the quality of life, reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality; what I see is the poor when sick go to the hospital, if they are without family they are given an allowance, the poor children in school are given computers. The Government also helps the private welfare sector once a program has been started with the buildings and personnel, if the conditions are met, they contribute to the operation of the facility. I do not hear any quibbling about it being run by a religious organization or not. The private and religious groups are also very active in this welfare system. I am very much impressed with what the Government has done over the last 30 years. There may be holes in the system but what I see is tremendous improvement over the past. May the treatment of the weak and poorer segments of our society continue to be a concern of those in Government.

Foreigners in KoreaㅡCatholic Missionaries

Back in the early 60s the missioner would ordinarily be the only foreigner walking the streets of the farming area in which he worked. He had one of the better looking houses in the area; one of the few cars travelling the roads seemed to belong to a senior civil servant, police chief or a missioner. The missioner excited widespread interest in those who passed his way. The word you heard was "American American," (미국 사람 미국사람) sometimes with a not too complementary adjective but most of the time just the word "American". I wondered how the other foreigners at that time liked to be called Americans. The Koreans had seen many foreign soldiers right after the Korean War and most of them were Americans.

If in the 60s foreigners where an odd sight to most of the Koreans especially in the country it is not hard to understand why during the years of persecution the Paris Foreign Missioners wore mourning clothes to disguise their appearance.

Coming into recent times the foreigner is no longer a stranger, even the children in the country do not bother to look twice. We have become a part of the Korean way of life. Korea is no longer a hermit kingdom or the home of a racially homogeneous people. This change came quickly and within a few years it will be 2 million foreigners living in Korea.

In the paper yesterday the front page carried an article reporting that the number of foreigners in Korea has topped 1 million. From the last time they made the count back in 2006 the increase was almost double. It seems that all the different groups have had an increase: different national groups, naturalized citizens, children of foreigners, illegal aliens, workers, overseas Koreans residing in Korea, students, and business people. However not mentioned were missionaries. Most of the missionaries that were here before the Korean War would have a decrease in the numbers working in Korea. The Maryknoll Society from the high mark, close to 100 Maryknollers have only 17 that remain in Korea. The Korean Church does not need us and some of the men, who have worked in Korea, have volunteered to go to China, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia and even Japan. (Click to see where we work) Those of us who remain try to help the Korean Church in areas where they accept us and most hope , health permitting , to remain until we return to our true home country.

Like a Little Child

From our Maryknoller in Hong Kong Fr. John Cioppa.

...I can see why Jesus loved children. He saw them as so genuine. At their stage of life they were still open and sincere and still so trusting. My two nieces gave me a greater appreciation of why Jesus chose a child as a model that we should imitate and learn from. The image He put forward as the ideal to strive for was not an image of a great hero or person of great strength or powerㅡ not even an old wise man or saint from the Old Testament. The image of true greatness was the image of a child and that's the secret of the spirituality of Jesus Himself.

I am sure we have all been moved by a mother holding a child in her arms or a child sleeping on its mother's shoulder. They are so full of trust. They have no reason to mistrust anyone or anything. It is only as we grow older that we learn to mistrust, becoming fearful and suspicious of others. Feelings of fear are natural especially in a situation of danger, and I' m sure Jesus experienced these some feelings of fear., We are told that he sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane when threatened with arrest, torture, and death. But He trusted His Father and prayed that famous prayer, "Your will be done" (Mk 14:36). Jesus experienced fear but His response was one of trust in His Father.

Another remarkable quality of a healthy child is a sense of wonder. Everything is new and surprising. I can still see the expressions on the faces of my nieces when the wind blew the leaves and flower during a rainstorm and when the rain stopped, running out to play in the puddles on the sidewalk. For a child everything is new and magical. As we grow older we lose that sense of wonder.Everything becomes ordinary and taken for granted. When the wind blows the leaves and flowers bend and when the rain is over there are puddles on the sidewalk. But our reaction is," So what?" Not so with the child. One of the ways of staying young is to try to preserve that sense of wonder. Nature is a good place to start. Just take a moment to become conscious of the world around us: the beautiful scenery, mountains, the astronauts living on a space station for three months. Eventually we too begin seeing everything as mysteries: the oceans, flowers, grass, trees. Then there are all the marvels of science, like taking a space ship to the moon. Jesus had a deep sense of wonder. He was enthralled by the beauty of the lilies of the field, the birds of the air (Mt. 6:28), and the wheat that grows quietly and invisibly while the farmer sleeps ( Mk. 4:28). In all these marvels of nature, Jesus shows the mysterious hand of God. He was a mystic and a poet

One final quality we associate with childhood is playfulness, laughter and fun. Children laugh so easily. They pretend they are gown-ups: doctors, nurses, teachers, mother, firemen or policemen. Jesus also noticed the kids playing in the marketplace, some singing the songs of weddings, others the songs of funerals ( Lk. 7:32). Unfortunately we tend to lose this playfulness as we g row up and become more serious.We often think of the saints as serious, humourless, quiet people. Not so. Just consider St. Francis. He used to sing to the birds and flowers and roll in the snow in wintertime. Some even say that Jesus wasn't a joyful person because the Gospels never say He laughed. When we see His great love for children, I am sure He smiled and laughed all the time.

Jesus' choice of a little child as a model provides us with an image of the kind of person we need to become if we are to become like Him. The image of a childlike joyful personality I think gives us a good idea of the person of Jesus Himself. And he told us to imitate His love as He imitates the love of the Father.

The next time you see children playing, or a new born baby or a mother holding an infant in her arms look closely to see if you can see Jesus.

Examination of Consciousness

Fr. John Meehan's points for making a private retreat.


One of the symptoms of addiction to alcohol and other substances is called a blackout. During this period a person seems to be going about their usual activities, working, driving, or anything else but they are not aware of what is happening and they do not remember anything about it afterwards. This happens at a very late state in the addiction, near the time when it becomes life threatening. In a lesser but almost as dangerous a sense, all of us suffer from symptoms similar to blackouts. I go through long periods of time without much awareness of what is going on. All too often I do not even bother to remember what happened today or last evening or anytime. My life goes on with little awareness and even less reflection on what I am doing and what life is doing to me. This life style is destined to lead to boredom, depression, and is perfect training to be the opposite of a wise person.

On the other hand, if I want to grow in wisdom, understanding, and love of life and living, I need to reflect on my own life. To know myself and learn from my own experiences is the beginning of wisdom and healthy living. Reflection and awareness are the most important qualities needed for the growth of my spiritual life.

Self awareness and self knowledge are the strong foundation for any growth in the spirit and for both wholeness and holiness. To aid my self awareness and self-knowledge I will make it a practice twice daily to make such an examination, both during and after my retreat.

This exercise develops awareness and draws my attention to the presence of God in my life. Twice a day for five or ten minutes I will stop whatever I am doing and take a few moments to center myself. I will become quiet and internally alert. Then I will gently place myself in the presence of the Spirit of God, for a minute I will rest quietly and then review my day to that moment. To do this exercise well I need to recall what has taken place in my day up to this time of prayer. I will ask two questions of each happening or activity that I remember: was God present? How was God present? For God's presence and action in my life, I will offer a prayer of thanks; for my lack of awareness and for my sins, I will say " I am sorry".

This is a good prayer to record in my journal . After some time it will be important to reflect back on the various ways in which God has been present in my life and how God has shown love and has influenced my life.

If this discipline is followed daily, several very healthy effects will come into my daily living. The most telling one will be growth in my awareness of the presence of God. This awareness will not only be of past things reflected upon but will also involve my own growing awareness of God's constant activity in my life. I will slowly become more and more conscious of God's actions and learn to be alert to them most of the time. I will with patience become aware of the divine activity in my life by breaking through the various obstacles that I have developed to block out much of God's grace.

Over time this discipline will aid me directly in developing the contemplative openness to see and experience God's working and presence at all levels of human experience. God actually gifts all of us with the graces of contemplation but usually I am too preoccupied and distracted to be aware of the opportunities. My growing awareness of the presence of God, will contribute much to breaking down the barriers that limit my full human development and my experience of the divine.