No Place for Racism

The editorial in the Catholic Times brings to our attention a Filipina, who became a naturalized Korean, a member of the  National Assembly as a proportional representation candidate when the Saenuri Party (New Frontier)  won a majority in the recent parliamentary elections. Reason enough to have her attacked on the internet with all kinds of racist remarks. The editorial does mention the brutal killing of a woman by an ethnic Korean Chinese worker at that time,  helped to inflame  the hate talk, but it admits that Korea has this deep feeling of aversion for the foreigner embedded in the society.

To express feelings of racial discrimination is not Christian and goes against our teaching. We have the words of our Lord, in Matt 25:35, "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me." We are urged to deal kindly with the immigrant. This attitude of dislike for the foreigner is not only against our humanity but also contrary to our faith.

We, as Koreans, in our recent history have been the victims of this kind of discrimination, both directly and indirectly. From the time of the Japanese occupation, we have experienced scorn, contempt and persecution. Emigrating to American and Europe, Koreans have experienced great sadness because of the discrimination and the emotional scars still remain with us. The very thing that we have experienced we now see evidenced in our society.

That a single incident can tarnish a whole people lacks all reasonableness. This kind of hate is violence by society. Clearly, to prevent crimes from happening efforts have to be made, but they should not be motivated by prejudice toward the foreigners.

Agencies that have made a study of these problems have shown that the crime of foreigners is much lower than those of Koreans. Therefore there is no justification for the dislike of the foreigner.

Efforts by the Church, both nationally and in each diocese, have been made to take care of the difficulties foreigners experience in adapting to a strange culture. This is not only done because of our similar humanity, but because of  the mission that we have as Christians to make a just society. This requires that we have a correct attitude towards the foreigner, and because of their marginalized status make them one of our first concerns, and not be miserly in our efforts to welcome them into our society.

Formation and Information in the Spiritual Life

Inviting us to a spiritual life, the columnist  in the Catholic Times reminds us that we are fugitives and aliens if our aim in life is worldly success or money. Looking at this style of life from a spiritual perspective we are escaping from God's world.

Looking at it from God's point of view we were created to be spiritual beings. This is the mystery of formation. If all that we are concerned about is our personal interests than we are fleeing from what we are meant to be. We are living a life not in consonance with the blueprint that is our default plan.

We have been made to live in harmony with all of creation, but many are not in harmony with this plan, either because of dullness or because we do not care to see otherwise.  We have been called to be God's people and his lover.

Consonance means form and the luster of formation. All of God's creation has a form or shape. A frog, a peach, all have their form and to intend the form that God endowed each creature is the work of formation. When the formation does not harmonize to what was meant at creation we have non-formation.

It is our duty to follow what God intended for our formation. This is the true meaning of life. What was my form as a baby, in middle school, what is it now, what will it be in 20 years? It may be good or not; it  is my job to make it good.

Of course, we are not talking about our exterior form, which can be changed with cosmetics, diet, and so forth.  We should take an interest in the exterior, but we are talking about the interior form. To achieve this we have to be concerned with formation, which is difficult. And the reason this is so, the columnist reminds us, is because information is required.

In all information there is an interior element which we should be of interest to us.  When we see the information of a flower blooming we should be able to see the formation that God has intended. This requires prayer and meditation.  

From the information we received we should be able to understand the formation that is required. This will change the way we see reality and we will desire liberation and to be one with God. We will desire to be in harmony with God's will and united with him. This, says our columnist, is the reason Jesus came to us.

Working for the Common Good

Embracing diversity in Korean society was the topic in the Catholic Times' column written by a diocesan priest. We see many issues that are disputed within society, which poses a problem when you have a need for policy statements for the whole of society. It is not like in the past where you had those for and against democracy; today it is environment, feminism, finding work for the young, all kinds of different societal issues that are taken up by the mass media and reacted to by the citizens.

Catholics, depending on age, gender, place in society, location, and interests, hold different positions on these issues. There was once  a solidarity among Catholics but today with social issues this is no longer true. Each one expresses strongly his individual position and this will continue to be the case.

Whether a fact or not, the priest wonders if this is the reason why many Catholics have difficulty with the Church speaking out on single issues so forcibly. There are  certain positive results for this approach: single issue confrontation gets better results, the issue is made clear, and we have less discord. In the process of  working for the truth  much is learned, all for the good. This was seen in the Church's involvement with the democratization issue in the past.

The problem here is that in a pluralistic society, when confrontational issues are disputed, we often see one segment of society against the majority. Discord can be settled with compromise and mediation but there is also conflict  that requires the selection of one of two  positions.

The first type of discord may have a political solution which can mitigate the discord. In the second case we have a choice for the truth or not. This calls for an intense battle. This dichotomy between good and evil is very clear for many Catholics  but we are not the only ones living in this world.

Different nations have come to an administrative decision; so what has to be contemplated is our response for the common good.

The columnist wants us to consider an "Enhancing Diversity Management"  approach to the problems. It is not simply adapting to the diversity, but to do all that is possible to work with what we have been given for the common good. This is understood not to compromise what we hold as true but to  make the effort to understand and respect the differences of others and to act as  people of faith. We are dealing with traits that are part of our calling: magnanimity, generosity and thoughtfulness.

He hopes that the 19th  National Assembly will be accepting of diversity as the leadership takes office.  The values of diversity, the market and culture are all to be considered, and also the opposing values, and to work toward a synthesis for the common good. He concludes with the hope of St. Paul that we work for the building of one community.

Understanding Lay Christians

The Korean custom during the  weeks before Easter is to visit the different parishes in a deanery for confession with the other priests of the deanery. It's a time for prayer and hours in the confessional, but also time for camaraderie among the priests, with good food and table conversation.

Writing on spirituality in the Catholic Times a priest talks about what was discussed during one of the meals. Each priest had much to say about the time they had spent in the seminary, their pastoral work and daily life--all interesting and enjoyable. There was also a touching admission by one of the priests who had left the priesthood, temporarily, because of serious conflicts in his life and worries that were too much for him to overcome. He opened a sandwich shop for over a year, he said, and learned a great deal about life, and big changes developed which continued after he returned to the priesthood.

He saw the life of the layperson differently. Selling sandwiches, he soon learned that there was going to be little income to live on. He wondered about the life of the Catholics who also had limited incomes and yet were asked to support the church. He was very thankful for what they were giving to the church. It was, he said, after hitting bottom, that he could  appreciate the life of the layperson.

The other priests, after hearing the confession of their comrade, saw with different eyes the service of the women who were preparing the meal and the refreshments for the priests during their breaks from the confessional. They were all moved by the words of the priest, which helped them to make an effort to live more simply and humbly. 

There have been interesting accounts of priests who have decided to spend time during their sabbatical year working, and one interesting  example was the priest who took the time to work as a taxi driver to learn about the life of the lay folks. It was an eye opener, he said, in many ways. The abuse and the kindness he experienced as a taxi driver helped him in dealing with his parishioners in a way that books would never be able to do.

 

Money and Church Attendance

Some years ago a priest, writing in a pastoral bulletin, attended  a village meeting of Catholics where a woman told a group of housewives what she told a neighbor about the expenses of going  to church. The neighbor wanted to know what the financial burden was for a family interested in going to church.

The woman explained all the possibilities: Sunday collections, monthly offerings, support for vocations, building fund, and so forth., but that it was all free will offerings; you give what you feel able to give, she made clear. The neighbor told her what she was giving, and that was the end of her interest in the church.

There are families that find it difficult to prepare the family with the necessary offerings each Sunday because of their limited income.  And when they attend they hear about the money that is needed, and this is stressful to many and makes going to church difficult.

One parish in the country levied each family 3,000 dollars for the building fund, which was the reason many stopped going to church. Money, the priest feels, is why many do not go to church.

The Church grew from the time of the persecution because of the poor that came into the Church.  After the Korean war it grew greatly, and for the most part because of the poor. There was not the pressure to give. However, the Church today, compared to that time, is rich and now the poor have been alienated.

In the West, half of the churches have been closed, and in many churches many of the seats are empty. First, it was the workers and the poor that left; after this the intelligentsia left. This is also happening in Korea, he says. Jesus had a special love for the poor and when we are not concerned with the poor, we are separating ourselves from Jesus.

It has been said by one of the dioceses that the reason for the money pressures on the Christians is the building programs. It is necessary to build because of the increase in the numbers but there are buildings that are large and luxurious, and some of them are not being used. It is a crime, the priest says, that this pain is being inflicted on the Christians.

The 50th anniversary of  many parishes and dioceses is being commemorated this year with building programs. In the Scriptures, the Jubilee Year was a year of liberation, freeing Christians from their many obligations; now the Jubilee year imposes more financial burdens, not giving joy but pain.  

Genghis Khan was a first class tactician when it came to leading his people, the priest said.  Better than thinking of plans to help the people, Genghis Khan said that it is wiser to take away some of the burdens they are presently struggling with. That would be more helpful than plans believed to be helpful.             

Prayer and Work (Ora et Labora)

The pray and work, (Ora et Labora) principles of the Benedictine religious life has remained with us for 1500 years, coming to us from the time of St. Benedict. Although the saint is not known to have used these words, his rule of life can be expressed with these words.

The diocesan bulletin has an article that introduces us to the life of the Benedictines in our own day. The writer is the novice master of the Benedictine monastery in Waegwan. Because of the influence Benedict had on European culture, Pope Paul VI, in 1964, proclaimed Benedict the patron saint of Europe. 

The novice master tells us that when he arrived at the monastery 20 years ago it didn't take him long before he knew what those two words meant. It was in that year that the Benedictines began  planting rice  fields without the use of insecticides. Their environmentally friendly approach to farming was a stark contrast to the neighboring rice fields. More than ten monks worked all day in the muddy fields, constantly fighting the weeds. 

There is also the work in the carpenter shop, making benches, kneelers, altars and other church articles.   Wood has to be dried, which takes two to three years of seasoning.

If this was all that the monks did, religious life would be difficult. At five o'clock, they wash up and prepare for chapel and prayers, often fighting the desire to doze. The old and young monks arrive together to the chapel, after the sweat of the day, with one heart and one voice praising God; you feel, said the novice master, that the prayer and the work are the same offering to God.

The chapel, the refectory and the different work areas become the life of the monks. They meet five times a day in the chapel, three times in the refectory, and in the different work places were they cooperate with one another. Without this rhythm in their lives there would be problems.

The novice master concludes the article by reminding us that the family dinner hour is disappearing: many parents and children no longer eating together. The result is a lack of dialogue, intimacy, and a lack of prayer. Isn't it important that there is a balance between work and prayer?  The monk feels that the Benedictine practice of combining work and prayer is an ancient wisdom tradition that should also become a part of our daily routine.
           

Humor Can Be Dangerous

Trying to be funny can be dangerous to your health, says the desk columnist of the Catholic Times. Expecting someone to laugh and fearing for your life at the same time is the topic he wants to explore in his column.

What is it they want us to laugh about? he asks. He goes to the Scriptures for some help in understanding what is meant. Jesus experienced all the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure, but we understand that he was too busy with his mission to enjoy making people laugh or to find reasons to laugh. He knew well the bitter chalice of the cross that awaited him, yet we get an inkling of his refined humor.

When asked on whose authority do you teach in the temple, he, in turn, asked them from whom did John the Baptist's authority come? From heaven or from earth? The question was cleverly phrased. When they could not answer he also refused to answer. He wore the white uniform of ghosts and walked on the water like a spirit hovering over the water. After the resurrection, he appeared to the disciples gathered in the upper room with the doors locked and asked, Are you in peace? The journalist  feels that they must have come close to fainting when he unexpectedly appeared. .

These incidents can be seen with some  humor, and yet they were filled with love for the disciples. Jesus showed his power and  concern for them. His humor was based on truth in God; without this it is difficult to understand the crucifixion and resurrection.

Jesus was open to his surroundings even though many were opposed to everything he stood for. He was quick to go beyond whatever prevented him from  showing love and mercy. Everybody,no matter where they were, had the possibility of experiencing freedom by taking his words and actions to heart.

We find in life those who want others to laugh and have to fear for their life. This is true especially for entertainers and comics who are often closely scrutinized for what they say. Some sensitive religious people can also overly scrutinize movies that are seen as slightly defaming of religion, with the result, sometimes, of inciting a movement to censor the movie. There are times when some religious symbols are made light of  with no desire to ridicule them, but some are moved to 'kill' the perpetrators.

What is the reason for this? Is it a case of a black and white approach to life? Or is it the difficulty of living in our competitive society? Are we losing the ability to laugh. One reason suggested by the columnist is a lack of love and, consequently, little toleration for others who are not like us, not accepting them with with respect and honor and an inability to accept their perceived weaknesses or foibles with humor. 

More disconcerting than our sometimes overzealous desire for knowing the truth is our fanatically unhealthy attachment to the truth when we finally believe we know the truth, disparaging truths that seem out of line with ours. In good faith we need to  respect the certainty of another, but selfishness cuts us off from the other by our lack of good will. Reasons for my certainty should allow me to acknowledge reasons and grounds for the certainty of the other. Rather than trying to convince the other by love, we condemn and use pressure in attacking the views of the other. This tires out both parties to the dispute. When we are asked to laugh, let us laugh and after we laugh it is not too late to return to the dispute, refreshed. 

Translating this column I liked what was said, but I wonder if all was said that could have been said and should have been said. An important topic, but one that  needed more words than were used, granting that the  attempt at the summary had serious problems, and yet I thought it worth the effort.