In big business we see a mentoring system which works well. We have the older worker mentoring the young. The mentees are given the knowledge that their seniors in the work force have gained over the years. There is a relationship built up between the mentor and the mentee that is good for the individuals and for the company. This mentoring system is part of the strategy of the work place where the seniors help the juniors become competent in their work.
Within the Church an almost perfect mentoring system was handed down from ancient times. A priest, writing in the Catholic Times, laments what we have lost, and reminds us what it was.
The family would be responsible for teaching the newly added member of the family the Christian way of life. Baptism would incorporate the new member into a larger family of the faith and the parents would begin teaching the child. The family would feel a need for outside help and there you have the godparents to help in the raising of the child. And besides, when baptized you gave a child the name of saint whose example would always be there to spur the person on to imitate them in the way they imitated Jesus.
This system looked at objectively seems ideal and yet the reality we have is quite different. Those that follow the intentions of the mentoring system are few and what we have in the books has become a formality and without meaning, there are little results to show. No matter how wise certain programs are when they are done without meaning and perfunctorily the results are easily seen.
Tertullian said in the ancient Church that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the faith. In 1984 Pope John Paul canonized 103 martyrs. How many of our Catholics know and are familiar with the lives of these martyrs? He asks. We have another 125 that have been researched and are waiting for approval from Rome for beatification and canonization. These are all worthy examples to help us to be more serious followers of Jesus. And yet the writer feels that we show little concern for these elders in the faith.
This month is the month of the martyrs and we will begin the year of Faith next month. We need a new mentoring system. The Protestants have a one on one approach. The Catholic Church has recommended that we have a spiritual director but this is no easy step for many to make. We need help to travel the journey that we have been given and to do it with joy requires companions in the faith. He hopes that with the beginning of the 'Year of Faith' we will see some results in the new evangelization with a mentoring system that fits our present reality.
The loss of Christians to new religions is a common occurrence when there is a sudden change in the way of life of the citizens.
This is especially true in Korea, says a professor emeritus, interviewed
by the Catholic Times for its four page coverage of this issue.
Drawing on his life-long study of new religions, the professor believes that Korea provides a fertile breeding place for new religions because of the country's unique religious culture and the structure of its society. The rapid transformation of the culture has brought unexpected changes affecting the lives of many, says the professor, leaving them feeling uprooted, insecure, weary, and searching for a more meaningful life.
Another
reason cited by the professor: The established religions have not been
able to answer the desire for a
deeper spirituality, being more concerned with gathering new converts
and failing to respond to the needs of their own members when they feel
hurt, alienated and oppressed.
The new religions found their
reason-for-being, the professor says, in Protestant fundamentalism, with
its emphasis on doctrinal exclusivity, its interest in growth and
opposition to the mainline Protestant churches. The professor sees these
new religions as providing a quick and easy way of escaping what many
consider the heartless pursuit of materialistic goals, and returning us
to a world we once knew: open to mysticism, transcendence, and
spirituality.
The charismatic leaders of the new religions, with
passion and enthusiasm, are giving their members what they desire.
Their teachings, according to the professor, emphasize the emotional
content of belief rather than its intellectual content, which many find
easier to accept. He believes this feeling approach to ones faith should
prod the Catholic hierarchy to work at developing more fellowship as a
first step in answering the desire for more spirituality among its
members.
The professor mentions the well-known fact that these new religions find it easier to approach Catholics more than they do Protestants. The encounter with Catholics is not only easier but more productive, he says. Leaders of these new religions are quick to say that many of their members were once Catholics. The reason for this, according to the professor, is the failure on the part of many Catholics to make the connection between their personal concerns and their Catholicism. Protestants are also better grounded in Scripture than are Catholics, who often don't have an adequate understanding of Catholic teaching, he says. Furthermore, Protestants are instructed about heretical ideas, which makes it more difficult for the new religions to find a willing listener.
Although there are more than 5 million
Catholics in Korea, the professor feels that until Catholics understand
their faith in more depth, making it their own, the real number of
Catholics would be
much less. He recommends that the Church study the new religions, with
an eye toward cutting down the number of Catholics who leave the faith,
and also provide programs to debrief those who leave
these religions and want to return 'home'--all the while endeavoring to
make that home more welcoming for them than it had been in the past.
September is the month dedicated to the martyrs in Korea. When
Catholics hear the place names of the persecutions: Sinyu, Chonghai,
Ulhae--memories come to mind, bringing a heaviness to the heart. And the
memory of this time is not only distressful to Catholics but to all
those who know the history of martyrdom in Korea. A bishop emeritus
writing in a Catholic Weekly hopes this feeling of oneness with the
martyrs will not disappear but act to stimulate a more dedicated life.
The
Church is now researching, we are told by the bishop, the lives of
past and recent martyrs; news we all can be thankful for. In the past,
looking for answers concerning the deaths of Catholics who died at the
hands of the Communist in the North, from 1949 to 1952, was not
encouraged. The political stalemate in Korea required a more prudent
response, a desire not to put more live coals on a volatile situation.
The need for caution has for the most part disappeared, and the process
to beatify the 38 martyrs of the North is underway and nearing
completion. The bishop, who has been involved with the beatification
process, is asking his readers if they fully understand what is meant by
"martyrdom." Whether they believe there are martyrs today and not only
among Catholics. These are questions normally asked during the month of
the martyrs.
There are many reasons for the questions, he
explains. Today, there will be no "deny your faith or lose your head."
Today's martyrs, called by many the nameless ones, our gray martyrs,
will not be as easily recognizable nor their beliefs as clearly set
forth as they were in the past.
Nowadays, it's not easy, says
the bishop, to give up everything for one's belief or convictions.
Even when a person does sacrifice his or her life, whether actually or
by refusing the material comforts of life, the reason for the sacrifice
is often not apparent.
We are now more conscious, living in our increasingly
pluralistic world, that many of our citizens are being guided in life by
very different values from our own Christian values. This moral
discrepancy is an obstacle to our coming together and working for the
common good. Even giving witness to one's strongly held moral
convictions becomes difficult, and human actions, now often judged by
personal convictions, have lost their intrinsic meanings. Those who
speak out against the moral confusion are, like the martyrs we are
honoring this month, voices in the wilderness. Nobody seems to be there
to hear.
"Sharing
is the foundation of happiness. Sharing our material things is sharing a
little. Sharing our wisdom is sharing a lot. Sharing our love is
sharing everything"--a quotation that introduces the comments of the desk
columnist of the Catholic Times, who goes on to tell us about a
fortunate person, an orphan, who receives an unexpected gift.
Jerusha Abbott, the orphan and heroine of Jean Webster's novel Daddy Long-Legs and of several movie adaptations, including the Korean movie "Kidan Ajeossi, is the beneficiary of someone who decides to share. Jerusha, now 18 years of age and working at the orphanage where she was brought up, is told that a benefactor would help her financially and give her what is necessary to live during her college years; she has only to write him once a month, addressing the letters to a made-up name. He will never reply to her letters, which take up most of the novel, nor will she ever know his identity. She did catch a glimpse of him once, leaving the orphanage, but noticed only that he was tall and long-legged.
Though the
unselfish motive of the benefactor, content to give anonymously, is to
be applauded, the
columnist believes we all have a desire to know our "Daddy Long-Legs,"
to know who has helped us and to express our gratitude for what was
received.
All have different possessions to share. Some have an abundance of material things; others have wisdom and knowledge to share, while others little of these to share, but possess a loving heart. However, just possessing means little. Sometimes the sharing of love is the best way to know it was in our possession to begin with, and is the surest and the most direct way to experience happiness.
Jesus has shown us this kind of love, and we have been commissioned to show this love to others, but we often are content to express only a verbal 'thank you' for the love received--in whatever form it's given--without sharing it with others.
We
are by nature social creatures and cannot be truly satisfied without
relating and sharing with others. Sharing what we possess to help
others, and receiving from others what we need should be a second-nature
response. Being a "Daddy Long-Legs" to others is a win-win
situation for all of us.
We come across all kinds of obstacles in daily life. Some are called
stumbling stones; others are called stepping stones. Writing in a bulletin
for priests, a pastor reflects on the results such 'stones' may have in a
person's life.
A 90-year old grandmother in his parish, who
rarely misses Mass, met with him to discuss a problem in the family.
Among her
many children her daughter's husband died and shortly the daughter died, leaving the grandmother to raise their two children. One child, who attends
morning Mass with her, is mentally handicapped; the other had been in a
car accident 10 years ago and now solves his problems by
excessive drinking; both are unmarried.
The grandmother wanted
the
priest to make contact with city hall to find out what they would
suggest for her grandson's drinking problem. The priest did arrange for a
rehab program but when the grandmother talked it over with her grandson
and was told he was not interested, she asked the priest to cancel the
program. It was then that he began wondering whether the grandchildren
were stumbling stones or stepping stones for the grandmother.
If
we look, he says, only at the heartaches and the
worries, the grandchildren can be seen as stumbling stones.
If we look, instead, at this troubling situation as an opportunity to
bring added meaning into the grandmother's life, then the grandsons,
even though causing her much grief, can be seen as stepping stones.
In
each life there is bound to be many obstacles, but whether they become
stumbling stones or stepping stones will depend on the way
we accept the troubling situations. When we rest in the knowledge of
God's love, the priest says, stumbling stones can become stepping
stones.
Philippians (4:6-7) tells us "Dismiss
all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of
prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God's own peace, which
is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and
minds, in Christ Jesus."
It's helpful to meditate on the
chameleon-like nature of the obstacles that come into our life. When we
fully realize that how we behave is largely determined by how we see
reality, and while resting in the peace beyond all understanding,
turning stumbling stones into stepping stones will become commonplace.
Subsidiarity, a word
often used to refer to an important principle discussed in the social
gospel of the Church and sometimes causing confusion, is not difficult
to understand. Our dignity as humans is protected by this principle,
which is on the shortlist of important principles that should govern the
way we should see, judge and act.
Church teaching
explains the principle of subsidiarity in the following manner: "A
community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of
a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions,
but rather should support it in case of need and help to coordinate its
activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view
to the common good" (#1883 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).
The
Korean Church has worked to develop a sensitivity not only to the
subsidiarity issue but to all issues of justice that affect many of our
societal problems today. The lack of a Christian understanding of these problems has prompted the Church to begin conscientizing
our Catholics by bringing greater awareness of the social teachings of the Church through lectures, educational programs and publications. The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, identifies four
principles of Catholic social teaching that are valid always and
everywhere: human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and
solidarity. Let us look more closely at the principle of subsidiary as
explained by a diocesan bulletin.
When
a person or a group is able to handle a problem it should not be
interfered with by a group belonging to a higher order. This is
regarded as an obvious truth. When a child, for instance, is finally
able to tie his or her shoelaces,
the parents should stop doing it for the child.
Subsidiarity is opposed to certain
forms of centralization and bureaucratization.The
non-governmental groupings in society should be helped to foster the
common good and the participation of all the citizens. This
participation is an important component of the subsidiarity principle.
For the principle to work effectively, citizens
should have the education, the information, the right standard of values
and view of history that will contribute to mature citizenship, preparing them to select the most qualified people to work in
government. When this functions properly the higher ranks of society will be
helping the lower ranks to fulfill their rightful role.
Misunderstanding
the social gospel teachings becomes more likely when there is
"either/or thinking" instead
of "both/and thinking." When we are concerned with our brothers and
sisters,
this does not mean we cease being concerned with our relationship with
God. Matthew 25:32 gives us plenty of reasons why the two are seen as
one in the teaching of Jesus.
For most of us, the aging of the body is not something we can control,
responding to our bidding whenever we would like. When we see the
elderly full of energy and life despite their advancing years, all of us
take notice of this unexpected achievement. And that is what the
Catholic Times did recently with its interview of 86-year old Teresa
Hong, who has recently published her 17th book of poetry.
Although
she has had two serious operations recently, she continues her reading
and writing, and has no plans to stop. "When my hand is no longer able
to hold the pen, that may be the end to my writing," she says, adding a
"but" at the end, perhaps implying that even then she will find a way to
continue writing. She admits to having misgivings about much of what
she has written--and she has written since 1945--telling the interviewer
she no longer desires to hear her poetry read, though she is resigned
to these inevitable events. Her satisfaction now comes, she says, from
recalling 70 years of loving relationships with others; the joys, the
suffering, and the pleasures of life have all become part of her story,
and part of her poetry.
Whatever she has seen, heard and thought
during her long years of life have found their way into her poetry and
other writings. Writing for her is like breathing, she says, but she
never thought her writing had any great merit. Though people call her a
poet, and she accepts the title, all she is doing, she insists, is
answering the call to write, and the pages just follow naturally.
When
she finished her 15th book of poetry, she thought that was a sufficient
goal to have in life, but she has exceeded that goal by two. It was
during this time that she had the operations and was distressed that her
writing years might be over, but God allowed her to take pen in hand
again and continue writing. The pain and personal struggles she endured
during this time have been the miracle drugs, she says, that enabled
her to return to writing, purified and hardened.
More than the
energy that comes to her when she writes, it is her faith, she says,
that is all important, even though she has not been consistently
faithful. She is always conscious of the many graces she has received in
life, and grateful for being a life-long Catholic. After publishing
her last book of poems, all that is left, she says, is to prepare for
death with dignity and a firm resolve. Thankfully, she will leave behind a remarkable body of work for
all of us to reflect on and enjoy.
