Mass Is Not the Sermon

Sermons are an important part of the Catholic liturgy but they are not the heart of what happens at the altar.  And yet many will leave the church having decided that what happened during the Mass was boring; the sermon was uninteresting. The sermon receives more importance than it deserves. But even a poor sermon can add to our growth in the totality of the Mass. 
 
The whole Mass is a audio-visual sermon. A representation and memorial of the love that Jesus showed us by his life, death and resurrection while here on earth.  We are not present at Mass as passive viewers but as active friends of Jesus who want to deepen our relationship with him by listening to him, by talking to him, by questioning him, by spending time in understanding his call to discipleship. And by becoming one with him. With this  active understanding of the Mass, we have no time to be bored because we are offering the Mass with the priest.

The columnist writing on spirituality for the Catholic Times mentions a priest who was well-known for giving inspiring sermons. He gives us a  glimpse of  the thoughts of his friend when preparing his sermons. Though he spent a great deal of time preparing them and saw them as very important, and was able to move the hearts of the parishioners, the columnist said that the priest didn't accept the praise uncritically.

He explained: "If my sermons are all that they remember and yet they do not pay attention to what is happening at the altar, forgetting what is being represented and what we are remembering, and do not experience  the joy and happiness of the liturgy, then there's a problem. If all that is remembered after the Mass is the sermon, then I have the fear that I pandered to a desire to be popular. I'm saying with sugary words what they want to hear, and that is not what it's all about."

For a Catholic, the sermon should draw us closer to Jesus, but this is done through the whole of the Mass, and it should not depend on the quality of the sermon. If we are receptive and have a desire to grow spiritually then the reception of  God's grace in our hearts will not be prevented by a poor sermon.

It cannot be stressed enough that though sermons are important and nourish us, they are only part of what is happening at Mass. We are renewing again the relationship with our Lord and preparing ourselves for the work he has given us. The word 'liturgy' means unpaid labor exacted by lawful authority. Jesus asks us to get involved in this work. The word 'Mass' derives from the word of dismissal taken from the Latin.  Showing our thanks for the trust he shows us, we answer with gratitude, in the last words of the Mass: "Thanks be to God." Since we have been united with Jesus in the Eucharist, the gratitude can not be exaggerated. 

Knowing Oneself

"Know Yourself" words we know well, that have come down to us from the time of the Greek  philosophers; and very difficult to achieve. A professor of philosophy at the Catholic University, on the  education page of the Catholic Times,  prepares  a short meditation on the subject by using Kant's famous four questions.

Kant in his old age, looking back on his life, believed the subject of philosophy could be summed up by the answers to four questions. What can I know? What should I do? What may I hope? What does it mean to be human?  Attempting to give answers to these four questions he arrived at his philosophy.

To the first question, What can I know, he discusses the nature and scope of knowledge. To the second, What should I do, he discusses ethics. To the third, What may I hope for, he discusses religion and beliefs. The answer to the fourth question, What does it mean to be human, follows naturally from the answers to the previous three questions. With his 
answer to this last question, Kant believed he had summed up and answered all previous philosophical questions.

Humanity has tried to answer these questions over the centuries, speculating far and wide but not satisfied with the answers  kept on searching. Humans will continue to ask these questions until death intervenes, and when doubt appears they will look for better answers. It is from these questions that philosophy developed. There are all kinds of definitions for philosophy, but at the end it comes down to questioning our humanity and looking for answers. The results of our understanding will decide the way we will live, and in this sense all of us are philosophizing.

By philosophizing, we sometimes come to a new understanding of ourselves and look upon ourselves with different eyes. This enables us to see others differently and to initiate new relationships. A person, when viewed philosophically, becomes not merely another object but one I can love or hate. A stranger can become a neighbor, and a person hurting can become the stimulus for selfless giving.  The way I will understand and accept others will depend on how I understand myself. And my philosophy will determine, in many cases, how I will act.

Christianity is a revealed religion but many, without any reference to Christianity, have deduced many of its teachings from their own personal philosophies. "Faith implies reason and perfects it" would be the Christian formulation of how we are to arrive at a life enhancing philosophy. Or, put another way, how the supernatural  builds on the natural, or how grace, as St. Thomas said, builds on nature. In the  past philosophy was considered the handmaid of theology but there would be few philosophers today who would feel comfortable with theology let alone see philosophy as a handmaid. But whether handmaid or not, the Church teaches that both philosophy and theology are necessary for a proper understanding of the fourth question posed by Kant: What does it mean to be human?                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Meaning of the New Evangelization

The difficulties now being experienced in Korea because of the increased presence of foreign workers, interracial marriages, and the school-related problems faced by the children of these marriages, which has resulted in prejudice throughout the country, has gone all the way to the UN, says the priest-columnist writing for the Catholic Times. Korea once took pride in considering itself a homogeneous  people. "The white-clad folks, the unsullied virgin" was our thinking in the past. Today we are in a time where harmony and communication are seen as indispensable ingredients for creating a peaceful world, and the elitist attitudes of the past are seen as stumbling blocks in creating such a world.

The United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has pointed out that Korea has encouraged a belief in the superiority of their culture based on racial discrimination: "purity of blood" beliefs, using words such as  "mixed blood children," and similar derogatory descriptions, that have worsened social conditions within the country. The columnist wants us to now face the problems we have created by our prejudicial attitudes by emphasizing the need for better communication, using the example of people who have come to Korea from other cultures. 

There is little difficulty understanding how children of interracial marriages feel when they hear "mixed blood" and similar words.  There needs to be openness and magnanimity when relating with persons of another culture, he says, particularly when the culture and language is not easy to assimilate, as is the case with Korean. Understanding this simple fact will go a long way toward better communication with those who are struggling with the culture. 

The priest mentions the efforts that have been made to translate the words of Scripture correctly so that we, centuries removed, can understand them.  This requires that the translators know the culture of Jesus' time and the meaning they understood by the words they used; it's an important task.

The world continues to change and seemingly at an ever quicker pace, and new ways of communicating must be found if we are to achieve the peaceful world we all would like. This is especially true if we want to present the teachings of Christ to our generation. Pope John Paul II wanted  to achieve this goal with a new way of delivering the message: which he called the new evangelization. The message is the same, the way we expound it will be different.

If we do not know the young people in our society, we will fail to reach them, no matter how hard we try to communicate with them. It is imperative that we understand the typical mindset of the young and what they hold important if we want to communicate with them.

In the first chapters of Genesis, we read that there has been a confusion of languages and a failure to communicate because of sin. It exists everywhere and perhaps most disconcertingly in our families, where we often don't take the time to uncover the root cause of the problem.  We have been taught to listen and obey our elders, which is a beautiful part of  our culture but no one pays attention to this "old way" anymore. In today's society, the inter-generational divide between the young and the old is looming larger than ever before. If we think we can continue to transmit the message of the gospel as in the past, we will fail.

One of the biggest problems in transmitting the message is the reliance on an older, previously successful authoritarian attitude that no longer speaks to the young. The attitude that pervaded the Second Vatican Council was to open up to newer methods of communication to achieve peace and harmony among all people. To continue the old way of communicating is to go counter to the teachings of Vatican II and against what we mean by evangelization for our times. 

To the Korean Presidential Candidates

Taken from the Catholic  Bishops' Conference of Korea News Letter

A Question to the Candidates for the Presidential Election

Among the many questions posed to the candidates before the 18th presidential election on December 19, 2012, one which must be taken into sincere deliberation to find a proper answer is critical: "Should we give priority to the reconciliation of the two Koreas or should we solve first and foremost the problem of conflict and/or social polarization within South Korea?"

From the beginning, the present government with President Lee Myeong-bak came up with an inter-Korean policy which is almost impossible for North Korea to accept. The South Korean government said it would cooperate with North Korea, so that the North, having given up nuclear arms, could reach the mark of 3,000 USD on GNP per capita within ten years after opening its border to the outer world. Besides, the present government denounced the so-called "Sunshine Policy" of the two late presidents, Mr. Kim Dae-jung and Mr. Roh Mu-hyeon, arguing that those 10 years of their successive presidencies were lost and in vain. Consequently, the relationship between North and South Korea grew worse, as both Koreas entered into a phase of mutual defamation, disagreement, and even military conflict.

Those who argue for tougher measures against North Korea say that the Sunshine Policy contributed to increasing resources for the dictatorship and nuclear arms in North Korea and made the South dance in humiliation to the piping of the North. On the other hand, those affirming the Sunshine Policy assert that the government escalated the tension between the two Koreas with hard-line policies that resulted in the collapse of inter-Korean economic cooperation. It is said that North Korea yielded the mining rights on abundant minerals in its territory to the People's Republic of China (PRC), as North Korea inclined toward de facto economic and political subordination to the PRC in its struggle for bare survival under international pressures.

What the North Korean regime fears most is the North Korean people, not the military might of South Korea or of the USA. In fact, the North Korean regime as well as the conservative camp of South Korea might want to shun by all means the allegedly "dangerous" dĕnte between the two Koreas which started with the Sunshine Policy.

The North Korean regime might want to create more tension between the two Koreas with provocative means, if and when South Korea tries to spread the warmth of the Sunshine Policy to the North Korean people. At the same time, the conservative camp of South Korea would ask the government for more hard-line policies for the inter-Korean relationship on the pretext that such  measures are appropriate for North Korea.

It is not humiliation but tolerance that leads a strong and wealthy party to be generous enough to accommodate the mistakes of its counterpart. To accommodate North Korea with the spirit of infinite forgiveness and love for mutual benefits may well be the cross which our nation should bear. In this regard, I would like to ask the presidential candidates about their concrete policies or visions for the reconciliation of the two Koreas as the first step towards the unification of Korea.

Fr. Thaddaeus Lee Ki-rak
Executive Secretary of the CBCK

Life without Alcohol

Eating together they all raised their glasses in a toast but the glasses only held soft drinks. Not a drop of liquor to drink but the topic of conversation was entirely on drinking. They were members of the Sobriety Movement in the diocese of Seoul. The journalist who wrote the story that appeared in the Peace Weekly attended the meal. He began drinking during his first year of college and continued for the next fifteen years, mostly when eating out and attending many year-end festivities. Not once was he without a drink, he said, until that evening.

The drinking culture of Korea pervades all strata of society and is well-known. There have been changes in recent years because of the serious consequences from excessive drinking. And these efforts have met with some success. But he goes on to say that the practice of heavy drinking continues, usually when there is a business meeting or when friends get together.

He mentioned that when he goes eating with friends, even before the side dishes come out they have finished drinking one or two bottles of soju (the popular cheap distilled liquor). At the end of eating and drinking with male friends they often  go to a second and third place, changing the atmosphere but continuing the drinking and talking. This group, however, goes to  tea rooms or coffee shops. He admits that during the meal with the sobriety members, it was not easy to produce a pleasant atmosphere without the usual drinking. A worker at the Center said that all their meals and events would be of this type--no liquor would be served.

The priest who heads the Center recalled when going out meant just 'pour and drink'. In Korea, one usually does not pour his own liquor, and a little force helping others to join in the drinking is permissible. Nowadays, the eating and the drinking are separated, said the priest. And if you drink too much that is a reason for losing your job and, in the conglomerate world, a black mark against you when it comes to promotions.

The article mentioned two men who after they had stopped drinking found everything working for the good, One said his business began to take off and the other said he began a new life;  even the conversations were more memorable for he could remember them. He refuted the notion that liquor helps dialoguing with others.

The priest recounted his own story of heavy drinking and confessed that his parishioners over the years sent complaints  to the diocese about his drinking; the complaints were enough, he said, to fill three bags. Before he stopped not only was his spiritual life a mess but his mental and emotional life as well.

That evening, during the liquor-less meal, those present mentioned how difficult it was to give up their old way of life. They all said that the most difficult time is when they are celebrating a personal event or a promotion and have to refuse the drink that is offered. They have found that refusing a drink becomes easier when they admit to having an alcoholic problem or have learned to refuse politely. But probably the most successful strategy mentioned was to avoid the occasions where drink is being served.

That evening, without drinks being available, the journalist said it all came to an end in about an hour and a half, much less than it would normally have taken if there had been drinking. Drink does help intimacy because of the vulnerability and the exposure of one's humanity, both attractive traits, but there are other ways that this laudable result can be achieved. 

We need to find how to make living without alcohol more attractive to those who find it difficult to do so. Providing an example for others by living  alcohol-free, as the members of the Sobriety Movement attempt to do, is a first step in the right direction.

Ending the Hopeless Efforts to Extend Life

A doctor recounts the story of an old priest who found consolation in the hospice section of a hospital for the alleviation of pain from cancer. His father had died when he was only two years old so he doesn't remember his father. This left him alone with his mother. The church in the village was the refuge for the mother, and the son also grew close to the church community. One of his relatives was a religious sister and the thought did come to him of entering the priesthood and in high school this became his decision. He often said it was the prayers of his mother that enabled him to become a priest. A picture taken together with his mother when he entered the seminary is in his wallet and in a frame that continues to be on his desk at home. His mother was his father, teacher, friend and sweetheart. The person who would have been the happiest on the day of his ordination. But she  collapsed suddenly two month before his ordination and died shortly after.
 
Now in the hospital he would frequently call out to his mother when experiencing pain, wrote his attending doctor in the culture of life column of the Peace Weekly. Medically there was no more that could be done. The cancer had spread throughout the body and there was no medical way of controlling the pain. This is difficult, the doctor said, not only for the patient but for all those who are taking care of the patient. This common occurrence is frustrating for the medical profession and leaves most doctors with a feeling of helplessness.

He recounts the Greek myth of Alcyone and Ceyx.  The husband Ceyx went on a trip by boat and did not return. Alcyone went to the port daily waiting for his return and praying to the gods for his safe return. One of the gods felt sorry for Alcyone whose husband had died in a shipwreck, so he had Morpheus make her husband appear in a dream that would make clear what had happened to him. With this news she went back to the ocean and prayed for his heavenly bliss.

During the priest's pastoral days, whenever his mother was mentioned, all the Christians knew that tears would come to the priest's eyes. When he was diagnosed with cancer and became weak, the thought of his mother came often. When he was in pain he used to say that his mother would appear to him in a dream.

It was only when he relied on morphine that he was able to rid himself of the pain of cancer and get some sleep. It was at that time that the expression on his face would become peaceful. It was also at that time that 'Morpheus' allowed his mother to appear to him in sleep, as the daily dose of morphine was increased to get rid of the pain. Because of the morphine the priest would not regain consciousness. During this time of sleep in God's time, very naturally, the breathing and heart will stop.

The doctor said he noticed on the face of the priest a gentle smile, during his last moments. He had no doubts that the priest was seeing his mother at his ordination Mass and also at his first Mass, praying for her son.

Opposition of the I to the We

"The we disappears and the I appears before God" headlines an article that bemoans the distorted understanding of secularization that gives rise to individualism and passivity. Rather than discovering our authentic faith during the Year of Faith, the article contends that we are likely to find, under the banner of the new evangelization, according to many scholars and theologians in Korea, that the biggest obstacle to  our faith is an increasing individualism.

Individual  spirituality is making  inroads within the faith life of our Christians. Pope Benedict has alluded to this tendency in one of his interviews, saying that passive and individual spirituality can now be seen in the life of the Church. Korean scholars see personal profit, satisfaction, and the increase of excessive selfishness as derivative of this thinking. No matter how strong the idea of the holy may be, centering on oneself is growing stronger. Individualism can readily be seen in the globalization that is taking place in Korea.

Many see this drift towards individualism as the key in reading the future.  Religion is  influenced by this trend in society.  When religion is reduced to the private, the social elements are discarded.

One theologian says it's difficult to import the standards used in the West to determine the results of this transformation within Korean society. We can see the drift away from community by those who have ceased going to Mass and confession and have become tepid. This has been operative in the Church for sometime. Another scholar sees postmodernism and its stress on the 'me' against the 'we' as having a destructive influence on the understanding of religion for many.

One element of  this change is the reliance on religion to make one feel good and to provide blessings. One of the surveys made in 1998 found that most people when praying are interested in their own or family needs. In Korea with our folk religion, which is centered on the self, this modern tendency fits in well. And one scholar feels that it is developing into a worship of the self.

A Catholic Time's survey on spiritual life and community, first made in 1987, found that 73 percent of those surveyed thought community life important.  The same questions, asked  again in 1998, found that 63 percent considered community important. In the last survey in 2006, only 38.6 percent considered community important. A clear sign of a  continual drop in the way Christians see community life, and supporting evidence for those who see the tendency toward individualism. 
 
In conclusion, a leader in the the studies of Catholic culture says that although we have a statistical increase in the number of  Catholics, there is a decrease in identifying with the community, a lessening of religious sensibilities, and fewer people who are willing to sacrifice for a cause.
 
The mystery of church community and of a community of love as being essential to Christianity are goals that the Church has to address in its teaching, liturgy, and ways of living the faith as it moves forward into the future.