A New Beginning In the Taegu Diocese

As we know, because of circumstances, environment, education and personality and many other factors, everyone tends to see the world differently. Members of the Catholic Church are no different. There is  always the dream that with our common Scriptures and Tradition we will have unity in essentials, freedom in accidentals, and charity in all things. But what is essential seems to elude us.

For  many years, the issues of justice and peace have been put on the back burner by some; others want you to see little else. While the teachings of the Social Gospel are not in doubt--they are an integral part of the message we have been given--there have been disagreements over the place and importance of justice and peace issues in our teaching.

To celebrate its 100 anniversary, the diocese of Taegu inaugurated a Justice and Peace Committee for the diocese All the other dioceses have in some form a Justice and Peace Committee. Taegu was the last to join, celebrating  with a Mass and  by reading a letter of congratulations from the head of the Bishops Justice and  Peace Committee. Below is a summary of the letter.

Congratulations on the beginning of the Justice and Peace committee in Taegu, and thanking God.  He thanks the ordinary of the diocese and all those connected in some way to  the committee. The Church with the  Gospel message  and mission to spread this message does so in a variety of ways but the justice and peace committee is an official structure for working  in the light of the Gospel.  Taegu in many ways has  promoted the Social Gospel but now with the new structure they will be more active in this area.

This new structure began under the prophetic leadership of  Pope Paul VI in 1967. It was during his visit to South America and seeing the poverty and injustices there that he  decided to begin  a Justice and Peace Committee  at the Vatican, and have it spread  throughout the Catholic World.

The Catholic Church in Korea, under the leadership of the Pope, began in 1970  its own Justice and Peace Committee. Gradually this spread to the different dioceses and during the  totalitarian rule of the army  these committees worked for human rights and democracy. These committees also worked in  areas of labor, finance,  politics, community, environment, life issues and international issues. They also taught the Social Gospel and gave them a means to judge the morality of what they saw in society. In 2004 the Church published, in Korean,  its Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

The bishop goes on to say in his letter that he  hopes that with this new start there will be more study of the Social Gospel and implementation of its teachings, helping our Christians not only to rest in their individual  piety but to  consider the common good, justice, and our solidarity in life as Christians.To be the salt and light of the world, he said, much is being asked of us.  And he again congratulates the diocese of Taegu, and prays that their efforts will be blessed by God.                                                                                         

Living the Paschal Mystery in Our Daily LIfe

A Catholic Times columnist recounts an incident that happened recently on a shopping trip to a market with his family. He told the children he would buy them the toys they wanted. But one of the children would not part with the toy when they arrived at the cashier counter to pay for them.

The older girl had no problem in giving the cashier her toy so she could see the bar code, but the younger son would not part with his no matter how they tried to convince him. They finally had to lift him onto the counter where the cashier could take the reading.

The child was afraid the toy would be taken away from him, prompting the father to reflect on his own problem in this area. To give up something we have now for something better is not always easy. Jesus, from the beginning of his life, gave up everything to become one with us. Kenosis is a word we often hear that expresses this emptiness. It is a prerequisite for us to be filled with God's gifts.

The columnist tells us that the Greeks have three important elements that teach them about life. The first is the railroad station where they learn there is a last station. Secondly, the ocean reminds them that there is a world out there bigger than the one we know.  Thirdly, when they see flowing water it reminds them not to get attached to things of this world.

He wants us to reflect on whether we are holding on to something too tightly. It could be my experience, my management of life, my knowledge, my record and results. We should practice, he says, putting them down. This should be our habitual practice to make a place for what God wants to give us.

In this season of Easter, living the  Paschal Mystery again becomes the perspective with which all is seen.  We have the example of our Korean ancestors in the faith who did not fear death but hoped for a new beginning. This is the rhythm of the Christian life. The mystery of all mysteries: to die so we can live. No Easter without  Good Friday. We die daily, practicing for the last death that is the transition to a new life, getting  rid of something so we can grow to greater maturity. This is the life Jesus showed us, and we renew it in every Mass we attend. This is the way of metanoia, this is the way of freedom and joy.

Ecumenicism Doing Well In Korea

Toward the end of May, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, visited Korea for meetings with Buddhist, Confucian and Protestant communities, and representatives of other religious groups. He was accompanied by Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, the secretary of the Pontifical Council. They were invited by the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue.

Korea gets high marks in efforts to be ecumenical  and having  respect for the different religious groups within the country. A brief conversation with the Cardinal was written up in the Peace Weekly.The archbishop responsible for ecumenicism and inter-religious dialogue for the bishops of Korea  was with the Cardinal during the 5-day visit.

The Cardinal noted that the world today is faced with  discord and factional strife among religions. There is no  reason, he said, to reject others because we are different. As a people, we have a great diversity in how we approach and see life, and religious people should acknowledge this difference and be able to work with it.

"Religious people," the Cardinal said, "should open their hearts and go in search of the common good, and work for the happiness of humankind. Dialogue means discovering  our differences and our  common points and fine tuning the differences so that we can come to some sort of agreement. The aim of religious dialogue  is to find a common understanding that will help bring happiness to humankind."

This dialogue is not only for religious leaders but for all religious people. All should be concerned with the problems we are facing and with our efforts to arrive at a common viewpoint which will help make a more just society. The Cardinal believes that the religions in Korea  already have a common understanding of family and the value of life.

He was impressed with the open mindedness of the Korean people to other religions. At the same time he was happy to see the pride they had in their Catholicism and hopes they will want to spread it to other parts of Asia. He also hopes that we will be able to form our communities so they will be attractive to those who come in contact with them.

The Church in Korea takes seriously this  dialogue among religions; the bishops realize this is an important issue in preparing for peace. A journalist who commented on the visit of the Cardinal said Koreans often say there is a similarity in feelings and an area of rapport between Buddhists and Catholics and with the Confucians; except for the ancestral tablets, the Church has no difficulty with the celebration of the rites. There is much in Korean Catholicism, he said, that should help bring us to a shared understanding among the different religions.

Where Is True Happiness To Be Found?

A professor at the Seoul University school of Education, who served in the past government as the minister of education, has some thoughts on happiness he wants to share. Writing in a Catholic magazine, he says that we all live with happiness and unhappiness, and the standard used to judge is different for each person. In most cases, the parents pass their standard of happiness on to the children. 

Nowadays, parents think that children will be happy if they have nice clothes, do well in their studies, and have  exceptional capabilities. More troubling is that some parents want their children to play only with the rich and not associate with the poor, also suggesting they stay away from problem families. It is reported, he said, that some grammar school children use as their standard for making friends how fine an apartment and car other children have.  

Material standards can only be temporary. Some parents see nothing wrong in cheating if you benefit from it. There  is a happiness that follows, but it is the selfish kind. If  by chance, after all the trouble in comparing yourself with others, you lose in the competition, you are left with frustration.

The writer mentions that as a child he spent most of his time at the church. This is where he studied and played; it was the meeting place in town and the only place where you could have fun. They gathered in groups of two and threes to play, and now, looking back, he sees it as his first experience of happiness that gave meaning to his life.

Happiness he tells us can be divided into three different categories. The first comes when when you have enough to eat, a place to sleep, and clothes to wear--satisfying  our natural instincts.  The second is the happiness that comes with the accumulation of money, honors, and success--the satisfaction of achieving material goals. The third is the happiness that comes when serving others--the satisfaction that brings joy and fulfillment in life. There are many who are examples of this way of life.

The professor feels that  society has been overly taken up with the first two: the pleasure and satisfaction of achieving personal and material goals in life. These are all good, he admits. To eat tasty food, have an abundance of financial security, and achieve your personal goals of self-fulfillment do bring happiness. They may give temporary bodily pleasure and emotional delight, but  do not satisfy the search for meaning in life--the craving of the inner life. With temporary satisfaction. we are always tempted to look for different ways to be satisfied, leading us into a vicious circle of failed attempts. 

When we are moved by an altruistic desire to help others, however, this is a value that does not disappear with time, as happens with most of our personal goals. The impressions of a mother raising her children , he reminds us, do not disappear with time but actually grow stronger. The professor ends his article by urging parents to teach their children where true happiness is to be found.
                                                                                        

                                 

"My Withered Spirit was Fired Up"

On May 1st I translated the first installment of an article in two parts and did not notice it was going to be continued. This continues the story of the priest who went to Lourdes on a pilgrimage.("Before Asking for a Miracle, First 'Believe'")

That night the priest returned to the shrine where he spent a great deal of time in prayer and meditation, after which he returned to his lodging. Next morning he got up early, said Mass with the sisters, and after breakfast hobbled over to the shrine. Saying the rosary, he waited for the submerging ceremony.  

After undressing and putting on a gown, he was led to the stone tub to be submerged. All he  could think of was how cold the  water was. That was his only thought.

At the end of the ceremony he remembered he did not thank God for the expected cure. With all kinds of thoughts running through his head, he decided to leave everything in the hands of the Blessed Mother and returned to his lodging.

After eating lunch at the convent and still hobbling, he was taken by the sisters to the railroad station in Lourdes. On the train, his knee hurt as before but his body and spirit were refreshed.

When he arrived in Lourdes the desire for a miracle was urgent but after one night and two days in Lourdes, he felt like an innocent child, able to pray with a purity which gave him much joy. After a tiring two days, he easily fell asleep on the train, and was just 30 minutes from Paris when he awoke.  He stretched, picked up his luggage and, as he got ready to leave, was surprised to find that he could walk without a limp.

"Why," he asked, "am I  no longer limping? My knee gave me a great deal of trouble and now the pain has disappeared" He did a little running in place and it hurt a little. When he arrived at the place of lodging, the knee no longer hurt. "Was that a miracle cure?" he wondered.

The writer, after listening to the priest's  movie-like story, told him: "You  have been blessed with a miracle!" The priest answered: "In fact, more than the healing of my knee, I was able to pray with a pure heart. My withered spirit was fired up. That is the real miracle."

Importance of Study

In the religious life of communities, study has always had an important place. We have the Benedictine tradition of work, prayer and study. We use our minds in search of wisdom, use our bodies to work and our hearts and spirit to pray and to practice the virtues. 
 
Consequently, it is not surprising  that  a word  Korean children often hear is 'study'. It may be the word they find most loathsome, according to the writer of the  Desk Column in the Catholic Times. Not only children but adults also hear the word, and it is not always welcomed for it implies  some fault is found with their behavior.

In jest, one often hears: "One more hour of study and the face of the husband changes." And "For three years you are nobody but you are changing who your husband will be." With words of this type, our high school girls are told to study not for itself but for what will likely happen if they do and if they don't; there doesn't seem to be any understanding of the value of study itself.  These two sayings are displayed on classroom walls in high schools for girls to prod them to study.  The message? The more you study, the better your chances of finding a husband that meets your standards.

The word for study comes to us from its use in Buddhism. It is the cultivation of the teachings of Buddhism, especially the earnest study of Zen meditation. For this reason study has to be done earnestly, getting rid of all distractions and, whether sitting or standing, giving yourself totally to the study at hand.
 
The word for study in Korean is made up of two Chinese characters: 工夫 (gong bu). The first character, with the two parallel lines, shows the joining  of heaven an earth, the effort to penetrate the truth of heaven and earth and humanity. The second character signifies man with his two hands outstretched and a topknot  on his head. The word contains the meaning that it is man's work. And even though the writer was somewhat embarrassed to say this, he explained that the Korean ancestors considered study as the means which enables a man to gain the ability and to fulfill the duty to feed and care for his family. It was also the way to cultivate a person who would be respected by society; in today's world, we would say "to become someone."

The writer reminds us that the parents of Jesus also told him to study. The way he related to the teachers in the temple and his disciples clearly shows that he studied. He has all the marks of a person steeped in the world of study. As in the world of Buddhism and Confucianism, study is an important part of what we do as human beings and as Christians.

In the last sentence of the second chapter of Luke there are the words: "Jesus, for his part, progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and men." Here we have the growth in wisdom, in the body and in grace; the  fourth, relating well with all our brothers and sisters.The lack of any one of the four leaves us less than complete. It is the sign of a whole person, and an important part of achieving this wholeness is the necessity of study.  

A Pioneer In Korean Sacred Art

One of the early Korean artists who was a pioneer in sacred art was Louis Pal Chang (1901-2001).The Catholic Times brings him to our attention in their series of articles on the Third Order of St. Francis. He became a Tertiary while in the United States, majoring in art at Columbia University.  It was at this time that he became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, following his older brother John Chang, who was the premier of the country before his civilian government was toppled by Park Chung-hee.

When Louis Chang returned to Korea from the US in 1925 he was already a leader in art education and administration. He laid the foundation for religious art in Korea, and with other artists, after the liberation, had the first sacred art exhibition in the country.  He started the art department at Seoul University and became its first president.

Many of his works, appearing in churches, convents and monasteries, were made for churches in the North, but only one has survived. In 1960, at the building of Hei Hwa Dong Church, he gathered  his students and was in charge of the plans for the church, and for selecting the sculptures.  This is the first Church built without the help of foreign missioners, and it is universally admired for its beauty.

When Korea had  no appreciation of inculturation in art, Louis Chang was depicting Jesus and Mary not only in Korean dress but with the colors and composition used in the traditional technique. He  followed  the iconography manner of painting but  developed a Korean type of icon.

Because of the difficulties experienced by his older brother and the turbulent situation in the country, he left for the  United States in 1964. While there he taught and continued painting until his death. He did return many times during his  years in the States for exhibitions and church events. He was selected in 1996 as "a great man of Seoul" and his sculptured bust can be see on campuses.

Louis Chang Pal passed away on April 8 a few days after his one-hundredth birthday. An exhibition was planed to celebrate his 100 birthday in the Korean Cultural Center gallery of New York but he died a month before the planned exhibition.

The Cathedral church in Seoul has his portrait of the twelve apostles with Paul and Barnabas, which he painted in 1926. He is one of the few who attended both the beatification ceremonies of the 79 in 1925 in Rome and of the 103 who were canonized in 1988. The painting in the Cathedral, begun after his return from Rome in 1925, is considered the first painting to be placed in a sanctuary of a Korean Catholic Church. 

Pal Chang was a deeply spiritual artist and a precursor in the sacred art of Korea, transcending in his art the distinction between East and West. He will be remembered fondly and many of his works inspiring our new sacred artists.