Pentecost

In the readings for the  liturgy of the Mass in  preparation for Pentecost, we are at the table talk at the last supper. As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us. Just as God loves Jesus, Jesus loves us. And just as Jesus is one with the Father, he wants us to be one with him; by sharing this love and oneness we are sharing in his joy. Jesus prays for us and leaves us with a message of love and unity, the Eucharistic Mission.

This is clearly the message of John's Gospel. It is easy to relegate it to the literary form of poetry and to forget it. The message of Pentecost is: yes impossible, but God can make it possible with the  message of this feast.

The word liturgy comes from a  word meaning 'public work'. In Korea, during the years of economic difficulty, the government would require citizens to lend a hand in building roads, helping in flood relief and doing whatever else was necessary for the  public good. This is the origin of the word in Greek: 'public doing'. In the same manner, at each Mass liturgy we are being sent out to do the public work Jesus has given us.

During this week of preparation for the feast of Pentecost, the Mass leaflet the Catholics use at Mass has a meditation on one of the readings that tells the tale of the frog in the pot of hot water. The frog can't stand heat, but the water is heated gradually over a long period of time so the frog doesn't realize the change in temperature, gets accustomed to the heat, but finally dies because of the heat.

In the readings at the last supper,  we are told that the world we are in is not going to be happy with the message we have received, and we will not be liked because of it. The meditation tells us  we should not get accustomed to what is happening in the society that makes us  forget the message we have received from Jesus.

Jesus calls us to his public work at each Sunday Mass.  He gives us our orders and message, sending us into the world to spread his message, armed with his promise of help.    

The Power of Blessings

In the  seminary during vacation time, we went to different areas of the country for on-the-spot mission experience. During that time one of the priests we worked with urged parents to bless their children and one another with the laying on of hands, a practice we were all familiar with. To bless is a way of sharing in a loving way with another, and we should probably be receiving and giving blessings more than we are accustomed to do. A priest-columnist of the Catholic Times recounts his experience in receiving  a blessing. 

When blessing, we have the  opportunity to humble ourselves, to trust and to rid ourselves of negativity, believing that we can be better than we are, a conduit of God's many gifts, and thankful for the opportunity to receive what we are about to bestow.           

On entering his favorite coffee shop recently, the columnist saw the owner on his knees before a woman who was giving him a blessing. He was interested in what was going on and asked the owner, who he knows well, what prompted the blessing.  It was a blessing for purification, the owner said, and introduced the woman, a Catholic, who told him she wanted to impart to the owner her feelings of sincerity and desired by her blessing to unleash the same feelings that were now hidden within the owner.

Moved by what she said, the columnist asked for a similar blessing.  The woman felt that the priest was not in need of such purification and courteously refused, but with the continual importuning of the columnist, telling her of his difficult personality, which made life difficult for those he lived with, she gave her blessing. From that day on, he felt changed and gave several examples.  

He took time from his work schedule to clean the corridors of the monastery where he lives. At the request of one of his fellow priests, without a word of displeasure, he went into the kitchen to prepare noodles and later, while washing the dishes, was aware that he washed them differently than he would have before the time of the blessing; it was, he felt, a small step toward holiness.

Striving for sincerity in all his actions had triggered a purification that affected how he behaved with others. There were fewer concerns about himself and more about the needs of others.  He urges his readers, and hopefully all of us, to bless and be blessed.

Growing in Spirituality

Spirituality is approached in a variety of ways and thus can be defined in a number of ways. For those who believe in God, it can be defined as maturity of life, the reason for existence, and the goal of life. Jesus is the model of how we should approach this goal. The columnist writing on spirituality for the Catholic Times delves into the hidden dimensions of the self to reveal what must be uncovered to attain spiritual maturity.

He uses the example of bricks used in construction work. Though all are all well made, in themselves they have little meaning. It is their relationship with other bricks  that gives them meaning.  A church building built with bricks is not just a gathering and piling up of bricks every which way, but its construction follows certain rules, especially at the corners; a skilled hand working with those bricks and following a plan can construct a beautiful building.

This is also true in life. We all have a multitude of memories, experiences, life fragments that can help us build our own internal temple. We have had many experiences in life from the time of infancy: failures, scars, joys and successes, and in the midst of all this there is the seed of God's grace, which is there to help us grow. Even when we do something wrong, the grace of God wants to move us to a new life. Unfortunately, we often forget this seed that is in us, opening our eyes to another reality.

Israel's history is an example of how difficult it is to discover this seed within us. The exodus from Egypt was not seen as freedom by the Jews. During the  later history of exile, slavery, the division of the country they sensed the presence of God but went back to their old ways.

Jesus came to teach us the harmony that exists between heaven and earth and to discover the hidden seed within that will enable us to live this harmony, while still dealing with the many fragments that have to find their rightful place in our lives. In doing so, we are building the internal temple, the home of the Holy Spirit.This spiritual life is not  destroyed by external misfortunes.  Even though we are weak human beings, we can be strengthened by looking for and finding the hidden seed within that will light our troubled ways. That seed does not bloom all at once but requires our constant care to nourish it.

Adversity Quotient

A series of articles in the magazine "Bible and Life"  are on the Adversity Quotient. We have all been exposed to the Intelligence Quotient, the Emotional Quotient, and the Moral Quotient, and now we have this latest measurement of personal functioning, the brain-child of Dr. Paul Stoltz, to tell us where we stand in terms of how we are likely to deal with, and hopefully overcome, adversity in our lives. 

The lead article reminds us of an obvious fact, that life is full of obstacles: accidents, sickness, deaths in the family, divorce, financial problems; these are among the major catastrophes but almost as troubling at times are the small things that pester us daily.

Using Dr. Stoltz's example of mountain climbing, the article divides the type of climber into three groups. The Quitter, who finds the climbing too difficult and can't wait to get to the bottom of the mountain, The Camper, who does not act like the quitter but is comfortable with setting up a tent when he sees the difficulty of the climb. The Climber, who overcomes all the obstacles to reach the top of the mountain.

In the Scriptures, it is not difficult to find the Climbers. Among them, the son of Jacob, who wanted to monopolize the love of his father and being hated in the process by his brothers. He overcame all his difficulties and saved the family. Moses, Job, and many others, especially Paul the apostle, can be mentioned. However, not only in our own Christian and Jewish history but in the history of the world, there are numerous examples of those who have overcame great obstacles to help many, and Korea has her own many examples.

All of us are faced with these obstacles and trials of life. Adversity can be the stepping stone to change in our lives, either for something better or for something worse. Whether we succumb to the difficulties or use the difficulties to overcome and go on will depend on us.

This e-mail was sent to this blog  for help in selling a DVD.  I am happy to reprint the request.

My name is John Martoccia, an independent filmmaker based in Utica, NY. In May of 2011, I released a film theatrically I produced/wrote/directed called "Vito Bonafacci" (http://www.vitobonafacci.com). So far, it has been shown in theaters in New York City, Cincinnati, and St. Paul, MN.  We are now proud to announce that it is  available on DVD. 

The film chronicles a man named Vito through a spiritual crisis where he comes to realize that his materialistic life is an illusion, and what is important in life is what he doesn't have. Thus leading him on a soul searching journey to understand life's purpose and a renewal of his Catholic faith. The film features a strong emphasis on the sacraments and what it really means to be Catholic in a corrupt world. 

Communication is Difficult

Communication is an area of life that gets a great deal of theoretical discussion. How do we communicate our ideas so they will be understood? A columnist in the Catholic Times reminds us how those who appear for the first time on a radio program have to be told to express their emotions by words and not by bodily gestures.

In order to express our feelings and our intentions when talking to others, there are many things that have to be remembered. In radio what is important is the spoken word, but visual media has another dimension besides the ears. With a smile, a great deal may be conveyed, and actions of course can also 'say' a great deal; with the proper action, one can convey what a thousand words cannot.

The viewer and listener's situation has to be considered when deciding what is appropriate communication. Some see all with a biased view, waiting for something that from their point of view is wrong, and can be condemned. With that kind of person one never knows if one has communicated with him or not, and in return, he may be perplexed by not being understood.

It seems, the columnist says, that it is getting harder to communicate with the passage of time. He laments that it has not been just a few times he has failed to communicate what he wanted to say.  The I-am-right-and-you-are-wrong type of attitude should give way to the attitude that we have different ideas on the subject.  He wonders if it is not unlike showing something to a blind person and talking to a person with a hearing difficulty.

Dishonesty, prejudice, lack of knowledge, wanting to be accepted by others, our own history, among many other distorting conditions are often responsible for our failure to communicate clearly. It would be helpful if all of us had the humility to admit this, and try, without condemning or ignoring  another's position, to search for a better understanding of what we hold to be true in order to communicate more effectively.
           

Marriage Requires More than Love

Statistics show that among OECD countries Korea has the highest number of  divorces, but this may mean less than it seems since we do have so many forgetting about marriage in the first place. Writing a column in the Catholic Times, a diocesan priest working pastorally with families gives us his understanding of the problem.

He has asked young people what they consider the most important qualities for a partner in marriage. A typical female response would be: "First of all, one has to make a good choice; one who is tall, good looking, capable, with a good personality is the  kind of  man I want to marry." A typical male response would be: "I want a girl who is thin, beautiful, good natured, cheerful, and cultured."

After these basic and mostly unrealistic expectations,  there is the interest in the mate's finances, the house, the place of  marriage, dress, and the other factors considered essential for marriage. It is understood that not having money problems will make for a happy marriage. But is that the case? the priest asks.

Love is not enough, he says, and notes that his maternal grandfather, who very much loved the priest's mother, did not allow her to do what she wanted. Do you think that his mother appreciated this great love of his grandfather? he asks. The grandfather did not consider his daughter's needs but only his own love. What one person thinks is love is often seen by the other as discomfort and pain.

The priest refers to Genesis 2:24: "This is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." God does not ask for love, he says, but that they be one. The partners to be married are brought up in different environments, circumstances, educational backgrounds, and understanding each other will require much effort. Questions that are helpful in reaching this understanding would be: Am I a suitable match for my mate? Can I make the effort to bring harmony and unity to the marriage? Can I overcome my own faults, and at the same time am I mature enough to accept the faults of my mate that I may see later in life? Otherwise, he counsels his young people, the unity will not be achieved.

The priest reminds Catholics that the Sacrament of Matrimony allows one to be open to the graces of God, for what is demanded is not easily achieved without  grace. We have to know what we lack and ask this from God. The priest laments that many young Catholics opt for marriage in a wedding hall instead of the church, which is a sign that the desire for the spiritual help necessary to make their marriage a holy union is missing.

Fair Play In Life

A Religious Sister writes about fair play in the column "'Window from the Ark" in the Catholic Times. Although she has little ability in sports, walking being her only exercise, she enjoys watching athletic events and sees them as miniature portrayals of life.

No one plays any sport with the intention to lose, winning is usually the primary goal. Tenacity and challenge are also incentives motivating those who pick up a sport, along with the desire to win. However, it is necessary that the winning comes with nobility. We are all moved by seeing a sporting event played properly following the rules. When this is the case, the winners and losers all receive a fitting round of applause. In life this is also true. Sister does not see sports separated from life.

She brings to our attention the news story of a gold medalist who was thought to have plagiarized in getting his doctorate. An editorial wanted the readers to understand that he wasn't a scholar, and to understand with magnanimity his position as an athlete. Sister was not happy with this attempt to understand what was done, and says that when we sympathize without objectivity we are not doing anyone any favor.

It is understood that we make mistakes but when we do, it is necessary that we face what was done, feel sorrow, and face the morrow with hope. When a serious mistake is made, and the embarrassment is so great that to say I am sorry is difficult, then at least it should be acknowledged in the person's deportment, in his eyes and attitude. This will be seen by others and forgiven. However, we don't often see this fair play attitude of sports in the game of life.

She sees lack of fair play permeating a great deal of society.  A few years ago when we  had an irregularity that some considered a blotch on the  reputation of the country, some thought it was a sign of patriotism to overlook what was done for the good of the country.  Sister sees this as a strange way of behaving; does this really benefit the country? she asks. Can this lying continue for long?  Thinking that it's good to hide from other countries our disgraces and embarrassments is rather to retreat into exclusiveness, nationalism and inferiority.

Sister concludes that plagiarism or other irregularities are not the big issue. The effort to hide what was done, she believes, is the bigger problem. That the young people are influenced by this way of acting is regrettable, she says; we will never accomplish anything by trying to cover darkness with more darkness. The pain and embarrassment that come from mistakes, when acknowledged, can often lead to a better tomorrow.