Protestant Catholic Retreat

On the 13th of this month twelve Protestant and eight Catholic clergy met for three days in a Catholic Retreat House to promote Christian unity. Written up in one of the secular papers a few days ago, this second retreat was held in the  Kwangju Retreat Center at the base of Mount Jiri. The first retreat, at the invitation of the Protestants, was held last year at the Benedict Meditation Center in Pusan. 

Since 2000, Catholic and Protestant clergy have been meeting for lectures and discussion but last year they met for the first time for a retreat.  Also present  was the president of the Bishops Committee for Promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong. 

During the three days, they had six meetings  for  meditation and prayer in silence. It was time, they agreed, to experience their brotherly relationship rather than talk about what separates them. The first sermon was given by an Anglican priest. And a priest from the Kwangju Seminary gave a lecture on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. A Presbyterian minister said, "Last year at the retreat house in Pusan, I was deeply moved during the common retreat. I became familiar again with some of the religious exercises that we Protestants have lost. It is a time to reflect on our common religious tradition and our personal commitment to our faith.

They visited a Buddhist Temple, a 5-minute walk from the retreat center, where they heard a lecture on Buddhist ascetic practices.

An Anglican priest said there have been big changes in the atmosphere of the meetings. It is now very rare to see any open disparaging of the other in our meetings.

The day ended with the praying of the Holy Office.  In the beginning it was difficult but with the directions given by the leader of the prayer everything turned out correctly. In one of the prayer gatherings, one of the participants said, "During our meetings many words have been used but we have to hear God's word. We have to get over divisions and conflict, and come closer together and have a meeting of hearts."

Loving LIke Jesus Would Love

In one of the Catholic magazines, a priest-director of a diocesan counseling center for foreign workers recalls his experience with a Vietnamese worker who was near the end of his stay in Korea. Would he return to  Vietnam or become an illegal alien?  the priest wondered.

The young man entered Korea in 2005 and after working for just one month became sick. Afraid they would send him back to Vietnam, he dropped out of sight. It was in 2007, as an unregistered foreign worker, that he appeared at the counseling service to receive free medical treatment. We made arrangements, said the priest, for an operation at a government hospital. The exam showed there was blood in the brain so he was sent to a larger hospital for the operation. This required a lot of money and the counseling service had to ask for financial assistance to cover the costs.

After the operation, the young man's medical problems began to disappear, and although he had to continue taking medicine he only had to show up once a year for tests. His parents were invited to come to Korea to stay with him, and he was given a place to say while recuperating. His recovery was going well and our efforts on his behalf seemed justified.

But not everything turned out well, however. The relationship with his wife, who sacrificed in taking care of him, turned sour, and she left him to return to Vietnam.   His younger brother, who was in Korea, was also causing him problems with his erratic behavior.

Because the young man was an unregistered alien, the priest went to the immigration office to ask permission to continue with his therapy, assuring them he would stand as surety. He did this every year during the period of therapy, until he finally was given six months to prepare to leave the country. He agreed and said he would buy his own ticket. But from that day on he disappeared. 

No word has been received from him, and the priest has no idea what happened to him. He believes he is still in the country, but rather than checking with the office of immigration to find out for sure, he prefers to believe that he left the country. He admits to feeling at times like a fool, betrayed and used by  the worker, but most of the time he reminds himself that he didn't help the man to have him do his will. He  helped him because he believed he was doing the will of Jesus.  He felt he learned a great deal from the incident and is convinced that he  loved in the way Jesus would have wanted.

Toasting to Success With Poison

The Desk Columnist of the Catholic Times rarely has time for TV dramas but did see enough of the popular drama "Miss Ripley," which is now being viewed in Korea, to share his thoughts with his readers. The theme is taken from a 1960 French Film "Plein Soleil" (Full Sun) and also on events in recent Korean history.  The film focuses on the protagonist's pursuit of his dream world  until it all  comes crashing down.

The drama takes place in the  world of hotels, where one can find extraordinary success and failure, greed and love, all making for griping melodrama. Our heroine is the girl next door--no money, no school credentials nor any luck. So when something unfortunate comes her way all she can  do is run away or suffer outrage;  she has no recourse to society.

Without thought and unexpectedly she lied and lo and behold up until then no matter how hard she worked she was a nobody, but with the lie all the doors opened.

Laughable as it is and contrary to all the teaching of our popular moral codes, everything works out well. In this scenario, the ones who are deceived are the fools and the ones deceiving are the laughing victors.

Why is this  drama so popular in our society? He answers that it could be that society is familiar with the many irregularities of our mendacious society and waits for it all to fall apart. However, at the same time, our uncaring society helps to  foster this mendaciousness, knowing that material success is often achieved by the help of lies--a wonderful tool for the unscrupulous.

The drama is based on the French film in which a poor young man named Ripley kills his rich friend and replaces him in society with all the perks that  come with being someone who is rich. The film, based on a book, gave birth to the "Ripley Syndrome." The columnist explains that it is an attempt to make what you want the world to be, the world in which you live. You deny reality  and with your lies make that your  reality-- a pathological condition.

The columnist concludes that not only in society but in the church we have many Mr. and Miss Ripleys.  Why should this be so? The answer is simple. Those who are able to see and judge with the sensitivity of Jesus are few. The  Ripleys  of the world are making  a world  of sweetness with their lies and  are celebrating their success with a toast of poison.

Hwang Kan Church Fire

The word 'Hwang Gan'  caught my attention when reading the Catholic Times' editorial recently. It's the name of a parish that was built by one of our Maryknollers some 54 years ago. The church was almost completely guttered by fire on the 4th of this month; it was a case of arson by a man who wanted to commit suicide, a reckless act that stunned everyone.  Failing to kill himself, he was arrested. Fortunately no one was hurt. The incident caused much wonderment among the Catholics who witnessed the meaningless destruction.

The editorial uses the occasion to remind us that there is much we can learn from this random act of  destruction. It brings to mind that the act of this man who  was fighting  his inner demons and attempting suicide was not an act of a  person on the Galapagos Islands unrelated to society and Church. Something similar happened in 1998 when the oldest western style church in Korea was set on fire by a man who had been drinking. The editorial wants us to give thought to those who are having difficulty with life and feel left out from what is going on in society. It is our job, the editorial says, to wipe their tears and give them strength.

The number of suicides in Korea are many and not all have anything to do with the economic situation or societal problems but are caused by personal problems that can't be overcome with the present state of mind of the victim. The ripple effect of suicide is  great and the family of the individual would suffer the most possibly because of the failure to read the signs.

There is a history to any act that only God knows. The Korean Catholic Church is trying to sensitize or better to conscientize (  to make someone or yourself aware of  important social issues)  the Catholics on the role of the Social Gospel  in society. This is readily seen by the number of articles that have appeared in the Catholic press. This year is the 120th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (Of New Things). It was an attempt to clarify the Church's social teachings as society was trying to cope with the newly emerging industrial economy.

Pope Benedict XVI puts service to the poor and love of neighbor at the same level of essential activity of the Church as the administration of the Sacraments and the proclamation of the Word. This is what the Catholic Church in Korea will be working to inculcate in its new evangelization of Christians. 

Organic Farming in Korea

In the Catholic Times' "Window of the Ark" column, the  writer gives us something to think about for Farmers Day this Sunday. The Korean Catholic liturgical calendar pays tribute on this day to all the farmers of the world. Noah, according to the account in Genesis, after the flood was the first to  plant a grape vine. It was then a different type of farming from what we have now. And our columnist would like us to return to this environmentally friendly farming.

The ecological world thrives on balance among the various ecosystems, which is the natural state. Humans are the only ones that can break this harmony of  the environment. We can see much of the pollution that harms our environment, but when it comes to the pollution of the soil it takes a longer time for us to become conscious of what is happening. When we realize life that exists in the soil is 10 times greater than what we can see, we quickly appreciate its importance.

What Korea produces from its organic farming is less than 1 percent of the country's total food production. In Austria, it's 12 percent and in Germany 10 percent. When it  comes to raising livestock, farmers not using antibiotics would be under 1 percent. And about 90 percent of livestock manure does not go through a process of aging but is used fresh on the soil as compost. While this may seem that organic matter is being used, that is not the case. In reality, antibiotics, vaccines, growth promoting hormones, feed additives, and germicidal agents--all being excreted along with the fecal matter--are being spread on the soil.

Up until now, those using small amounts of pesticides, though otherwise farming organically, were considered organic farmers; this will change beginning in 2015 when there will be a strict understanding of organic farming.  During the last 10 years, organic vegetables  have grown 20 times from what was produced in 2001.  However, it must be acknowledged that inferior organic matter can be used as a fertilizer, and this can be harmful to those who eat the vegetables. The government will continue to help farmers who use environmentally friendly methods of farming.

For this change to take place as quickly and efficiently as possible, the city and the rural communities will have to come together and communicate their needs and intentions. Consumers and suppliers must have a common goal if we are to return to the way of farming of Noah and his descendants. The columnist would like to see our Christians take an active role as catalysts in bringing about this change. 

Catholic Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, Korea

The  Inchon  Diocese is building a Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, the first of its kind in the Catholic Church of Korea devoted exclusively to the arts,  a place where Catholic artists will be able to meet and share ideas. It will also be a sign, says the editorial in the Peace Weekly, of the Church's interest in building an infrastructure for the evangelization of the culture. The editorial mentions that although Catholics have gloried in their cultural assets and tradition, they have  little to show in its cultivation, structures, systems, or support compared to the other religious groups.

For over ten years solitary efforts have been made to work toward this day. The editorial thanks Father Paul Park Yu-jin, art director of the center, and others who have been working to realize this dream. There has been much talk about the evangelization of culture but implementing the talk has not been a prime concern.

Whenever the idea of a cultural center came up in the past, it was usually rejected by responses such as: "That is when you have a full stomach." However, culture in the world today is nearly as important as clothes, food and home; culture can change the way we think.

There is great hope for this new venture that will also serve as a research center for the arts. In an interview in the same issue of the paper, the director says, "The Cultural Art Center and research center will try to bring the spiritual values of Catholicism into our secular culture and art, and give Christian artists a spirituality that should influence their efforts."

The director, a priest, has been involved in this work since 1998 when he set up the Catholic Cultural Center to provide creative opportunities in music, dance, drama and other artistic fields. He has tried  with many different programs to celebrate and spread the inspiriting creativity of Catholic culture into  society. Affiliated with the center are the Catholic Symphony Orchestra, Liturgical Dance Team,  Theater,  Orchestra,  and  Chorus Groups. They are prepared for performances during any time of the year.

The Catholic Arts Center is a big dream and everyone who has worked to see the beginning of the project should feel great satisfaction. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 3. Completion of the Center is expected next year. May the expectations of those who have worked so hard for the project see the successful completion of their work.

A Personal Story of Depression

The  Catholic Times column on spirituality discusses the subject of acute depression. The columnist met one of his older priest friends and asked him about his bout with depression, which lasted about three months. Since he was looking back on something that had happened in the past the friend had no difficulty recounting this part of his 

history.

Looking back in retrospect he feels that what happened to him was the result of grace.  He was  building a church and was under stress. The church was finished and he had the blessing.  Right after the ceremony  he received notification of the death of a cousin  he loved greatly. The cousin died  very suddenly. He spent the time of mourning with the relatives at the home of the deceased.

On returning to his rectory he began to feel a heaviness in his body and he couldn't sleep. He went to his priest friends and did some drinking but nothing helped. He couldn't concentrate on anything he was doing. He would be critical with the parishioners and get upset quickly. He hated himself and cried a lot and even had difficulty in breathing. He goes on to say, "I decided to go to see a friend that I knew well, thinking he was a doctor but found out he was a psychiatrist."

The columnist  told the priest that what he did took a lot of courage. It's difficult for priests and religious to speak about their condition for they feel they can overcome whatever is bothering them with prayer and will power.

"Yes it did take courage," he admitted. " I am a priest but also human. If I stayed with the embarrassment and tried to hide what was happening to me I would only be hurting those with whom I came in contact. So I thought that since this came upon me suddenly, I would quickly take the treatment," he laughingly added, "and be over with it quickly." 

The priest in his pastoral work was always telling the parishioners  about hope and  joy, and here he was in the pits and was not able to speak about it to anybody. He recalls that after the ceremony of blessing of the new church he felt no joy, and after the visit to the home of mourning of his  cousin he went into the acute depression.

The columnist asked him if he ever felt like he wanted to die. The priest said that once when he was staying in a high rise building and looking down at the pavement, he did think that he would be free of his worries if he jumped. Since death will come, he wanted it to come quickly. He was not able to express his anger, which stayed within to grow and to harm him. In his self-examination, all he could see were his imperfections, belittling his values and himself.

He took the drugs for depression, the necessary therapy, and learned ways to express his emotions, especially  anger. It wasn't long before he was in control of his life. The bout with depression saved his life, he said.  He learned about his emotions and his faults and, even more importantly, now has a greater sympathy for those who suffer from depression. And he thanks God that everything that happened can in God's providence work out for the good.