Knowing the Basics

"Everything we need in life is learned in kindergarten" is an insight often heard, suggesting that having a basic understanding of life is sufficient to live a good life. The desk columnist  of the Catholic Times would also like us to go back to the basics of our religion to improve our faith life. His reflection begins by noting that a drama on Korean TV, "The Chaser," which has become popular recently, is very entertaining, although it has no well-known stars and no romance, just a very simple story. But it  grabs the attention of the viewer, in his opinion, because it has the basics of a good drama: a captivating plot, well-crafted, with good acting and direction.

In studies and sports, and in many other endeavors, no matter the innate ability one may have, if we don't know the basics success is not possible. If a person in sports does not have the physical strength and know the basic requirements of the sport,  he will not go very far and will face frustration.

The basics are important in any field that one enters. In Korea, traffic accidents are mostly caused by failing to follow the basic rules of driving. It may not show up in the beginning, but one day it will.

In the spiritual life, when we are faced with tribulations and suffering, it will not be the techniques or abilities we may have that will overcome the difficulties. It will be knowing the basics: not trusting in yourself, but trusting in God and surrendering to him. It is getting to know Jesus and  doing what he wants; not merely going through some religious exercise. We have to truly live what we do; going through the motions, religiosity, is concern for the externals.

If we are to make head-way in the spiritual life, we need to check to see if we have the basics. This requires that we read and make an effort to live the life of a Christian. It means living not my way but God's way, searching for his will.  Without the basics, it is impossible to live the Christian life. It requires a love of God, continually relating with God in prayer, giving thanks, reading his word, and doing our utmost to live it.

Tossing the Ball

On the spiritual page of the Catholic Times, the writer reflects on the words of a colleague who told him that volley ball can help in living a more spiritual life. There is a great deal that  sports can teach us on the way to live, and although the writer never had much interest in sports, he understood what his friend was saying after seeing a volley ball game on television.

Two teams are facing each other on the court. The tall players at the net are ready to spike the ball into the opposing team's court. His friend mentioned how at  first his eyes where on the tall men on the front line, close to the net. They were the point scorers but he soon became conscious of the players who were tossing the ball to those at the net to enable them to spike the ball. His priest friend said that it was some time before he began to realize what was happening on the court.

The second line is there to toss the ball to the tall players in just the right way, with the proper height and speed, to make an easy spike of the ball into the opposite court for a point.  The players on the  opposite court prepare themselves to block the ball, with all players involved in the effort to keep the ball in play. But especially important are the players on the second line, whose task is not only to keep the ball in play but to toss the ball up to the tall players at the net to make the points.

When the writer first heard his friend speak about how watching a volley ball game can deepen one's spiritual life, he had smiled. But after watching a game on TV, he understood what he was saying.  The front line players, those actually scoring the points, were dependent on the second line, who with their knowledge and team play were actually in control of the game.

He transferred the volley ball strategy to the parish, and saw that many Christians, who are not very visible on the 'front lines,' are helping others who are more visibly involved by 'tossing' them whatever is necessary to come closer to God. They are not the leaders but are doing  whatever is necessary for the leaders to their job well.

Once this fact is pointed out to us, it's easily understood but also easy to forget. It is not always those in the limelight who are the important players. In life, our columnist   wants us to remember, there are many unacknowledged players who are tossing the ball to others on the front line who are making a difference.

Women in Korean Society

"The Lectures on Happiness," a popular column in the Peace Weekly, recently focused on the place of women in Korean society. Women, senior citizens, service and environment are often considered the primary topics of the 21st century, and the topic of women often holds center stage.

If you go to a restaurant around noontime, you will generally find that most of those present are women. You will find women crowding the markets and department stores. 60 percent of the money in circulation is in the hands of women. And although divorces among younger women have decreased,  divorces later in life have increased, and most of the divorces are wanted by women.
 
An estimated 70 percent of high-income  jobs, such as doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers, are held by women. A survey made in Japan of 115 companies with women on the board of trustees indicated that the price of the stocks increased by 96 percent after women were accepted as trustees of the companies. One entrepreneur is reported to have said that if 30 percent of company executives are not women, the company will fail, since women control the spending of money in most households. And who better to know, in his opinion, what women want then other women.
 
In Korea, in the political and social arenas, women are not a driving force. In the last parliament, women made up only 5.4 percent of the members, and in the present parliament, 12 percent are women. Although highly educated, women have found few leadership roles within society. This is also true within the Church. They are the majority of the congregation but are not the decision makers. 

The columnist believes the reason for this is the great concern for their children's education. After graduation from college, the women marry, have children and give up working.
 
Child psychologists say the brain at 3-5 years of age  is only 75 percent developed, so it is best not to fixate on any particular subject, such as reading the Korean script. But mothers often want to start their children early, and as a result the children miss out on other important areas of life.  He feels there should be more of an interest on learning how to live well and happily, and less attention given to spending astronomical sums of money on private education.

Mothers have their eyes fixed on getting their child prepared for entrance into a good college and often ignore the child's spiritual growth. He concludes the column with a lament that there is a lack of understanding of what is important in life. Striving to excel in school, unfortunately, trumps striving for politeness, order and service.

Alcohol in Korean Society

A priest from the Seoul diocese, who had a problem with alcohol when he was a navy chaplain, recently received his doctorate in the treatment of alcohol addiction. A secular paper, profiling his life,  tells us that he knew he was not able to overcome the problem on his own, and admitted himself to a hospital in 1988.  The following year he began helping those who were having difficulties with alcohol in the Seoul diocese.

The article was based on an interview with the priest in his rectory. Why did he start so late? he was asked. He said he felt he needed more knowledge than he had received from his formal education and from his experience. Those days had been difficult for him, he said, and for two months he was getting less than two or three hours of sleep.

The content  of his doctoral dissertation was divided into five parts:  dealing with one's actions, cognitive behavior-- reflecting on the past, the reality one faces in life, the healing powers of music, and of spirituality.

He mentioned that one of the groups of twenty he had conducted for three months had 17 members who overcame  the desire for a drink. With hospital treatment while they were  taking the drugs, they were able to refrain from drinking, but once they left and without follow up sessions, they often began drinking again,

Excessive drinking affects part of the brain that has to do with thinking and acting, so telling yourself to  quit is not going to work, and is the reason help is usually required.  He repeatedly mentioned that in Korea the culture does not make it easy to refrain from drinking.  When you go out to eat with your boss, for example, and he offers you a drink, it's difficult to refuse. The only way to avoid the difficulty is not to go out for that meal with the boss; after the drinking no one will remember, the priest feels certain, who should have been there and wasn't.

To the question what does Catholicism say about drinking, he answered by quoting some scriptural passages.  Catholicism is much more tolerant of drinking, but it is very clear that excess is not acceptable; moderation is the virtue that is taught.  It is not difficult to see, however, that Catholicism  is much more understanding of excess than Korean Protestantism. In the Korean culture, with its tolerance of excessive drinking, this may not be such a good thing.

Farmers' Day in Korea

Korean farmers are subsidized by the government, which means they can make a decent living but only with this help from the government. But the movement toward free trade continues, which is beneficial for the cities and big business but not for the farmers. How long will this last? There is no way of knowing for certain. The international price of rice is much cheaper now than Korean rice, and without the tariffs, the rice farmers can't compete.

As a result, many farmers fear the worse and are beginning to grow other crops in their paddy fields. They are now fearful of free trade with China, which would bring an influx of cheap vegetables and fruit from China, where labor and land prices are cheaper than in Korea.
 
The U.S.-Korea trade agreement has been signed, but an even greater and more traumatic situation would be free trade with China, because they are so close. The Catholic Church has worked to help the farmers with the "Save Our Farmland Movement," by setting up cooperatives, by offering help in marketing their produce to city dwellers, and by getting them started in organic farming.  The editorial in the Korean Times mentions the message of the bishop, president of the Peace and Justice Committee of the Bishops' Conference. The third Sunday of July was Farmers' Day Sunday, a way the Church keeps the Christians aware of farm problems. The disparity of the income of farmers compared to city dwellers is increasing, and without efforts to stem the tide this will only increase and force the farmers off the farms.
 
The government, as much as possible, needs to keep all the citizens happy, which is no easy task. But the effort to keep the farmers on their farms would be good for the whole country.  In the message to the Catholics on Farmers' Day, the bishop urged us to remember the early Christians and to strive for a similar humane and community life-style, especially to strive for solidarity with those on the farms. "We are all silently cultivating the land," he said. "Let us all learn from the farmers the value of life, labor, and the simple life-style."
 
It's not a case of helping only the farmers; we are helping ourselves as well. We are all one. We will all have the same future as the farmers if they abandon the  land. We will all suffer, not only the farmers. Consumers and producers must begin now to reach out to each other and seek for mutually beneficial solutions to this serious problem. 


 
 

Abuse of Religion

Koreans are spiritually sensitive people, which is the reason there are so many new religions appearing within the culture. Trying to keep the different denominations from splitting up and forming break-away churches is the constant concern of the Protestant Church. One break-away church given much publicity in the Catholic Press recently is the Shinchonji, Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ).

Shinchonji (shin:new, chon:heaven, ji: earth), meaning a new heaven and earth, was started in the 1980s by a pastor, now chairman, of the church, Lee Man-hee. He was born in 1931 and has been associated with the apocalyptic religions of Korea up until he started his own. The teaching of the church, put simply, centers around the belief that once there are 144,000 believers in the world the end will come, and only they will be saved. (Apparently, the above fact is not correct. One of the members of the Church has made this clear in his comment. I am sorry for the mistake.)

A Peace Weekly article tells the story of a woman who listened to her godmother and joined one of these Scripture groups conducted by Shinchonji. She had no idea that it was the Shinchonji Church and was greatly moved by what she heard. The courses were extremely interesting; parables and the importance of symbols were stressed in the teaching. She enjoyed the classes but just before she was to become a member of the Church, realizing it was not Catholic, she left. She said she was pleasantly addicted to what she had heard, and after she left no longer enjoyed listening to the sermons in the Catholic Church. Her life was now different, she said; everything was all mixed up. Since it was her godmother who introduced her to Shinchonji, she now has difficulty believing anyone. To get help she went to a group the Protestant Church has set up to give counseling to those leaving these cult-like groups.

The bishops and the dioceses have told the Christians to beware of those who say the bishops and priests approve of these cult teachings, and not to attend their classes. The Catholic Church has not been as infected as some of the other Churches, but these break-away churches do a good job of teaching, having charismatic leaders who are causing a great deal of havoc, not only in religious circles but within society.

Religion is not seen sympathetically by many in society because of the credulity, fraud, hypocrisy, lunacy and ignorance that they see related to things religious. This attitude is easily understood and puts a burden on Christians in our society. It's helpful to remember the words of St. Peter: "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence..." (1 Peter 3:15).

Mission Stations: Small Christian Communities

 Setting up small Christian communities is a concept the Korean Church has been working with for about 20 years. In the early years of the Church the primary interest was focused on building mission stations in the remote areas of the country where Christians would be able to meet together with a catechist. He would conduct the mission station liturgy and take care of spiritual needs. These were small Christian Communities. The catechist would function as lay deacons do in the present Church.

In the past most of the parishes would be responsible for large land areas because of the small number of priests. The understanding was that any Christian who lived 4 kms from the parish had no obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Consequently, Christians in these outlying areas of a parish would construct a building to be used as a mission station, or use a house that would serve to gather the Christians together on Sundays for the mission station liturgy.

These mission stations would not have a resident priest. The pastor of the parish to which the mission station belonged would visit the station once a month, and sometimes more frequently, for Mass, and be of help to the Christians for their spiritual needs.

In recent years the number of mission stations has decreased because more people have moved to the cities, the number of priests has increased, the ease of transportation and new and better roads. In many cases, the parishes would have vans picking up the Christians to take them to Mass and returning them to their homes after Mass.

Many of the mission station buildings are not in use today, and have fallen into disrepair. One of the journalists for the Catholic Times laments the loss of these mission stations, which have a great deal of history associated with them. There have been efforts to have the Catholics visit the remote mission stations--rediscovering mission station life-- to see what life was like for many of our ancestors in the faith.

Besides the stations that continue to be used, there are others that have become museums, and places were children would go for summer camp and retreats. To lose this memory of the past, some say, would be a catastrophe.