Education for a New Level of Faith Life

With the passage of time, our faith life is becoming more individualistic and self-contained, according to an editorial in the Peace Weekly. Jesus came on earth to proclaim his kingdom and bring us salvation. When we put this call on hold, concerned only for personal peace, the central message of Christianity is being distorted.

Peace of mind is the natural first desire of many people; without it we will not be interested in the poor nor in working for the common good. These days life is difficult and the future unclear;  peace of mind can't help but be important. However, when one believes that by focusing on a personal spirituality we are becoming more spiritual, even though it often means moving away from the Church and its teachings, there is a misunderstanding of the meaning of spirituality, which always includes in some fashion communal life. Christians meeting at the table of the Lord and becoming one with the other members is no longer seen as important.

If we seek and rely on personal spirituality, it's easy to understand how looking for blessings is the upper most thing in one's thoughts. Looking for happiness and spiritual peace, we use God as a means to gain what we want. God becomes a means to achieve our earthly ends. This is superstition and not true religion.

Christians are not just to see the partial, individualistic goals, but to have a view of the whole. The desire for healing all manner of ills is a very important element in our society but it is not the central message of Christianity. Sermons to always address this  point  and desire to give comfort is not what the sermon is  meant to do. Why did Christ come to us, die on the cross and leave us with a mission has to be explained.

The limited, individualistic way of Christian thinking is not only a trait of Korean Catholics but a common trait among all believers. A seminary professor is quoted in an accompanying article as saying that Koreans have a desire to rid themselves of Han (unresolved resentment to some injustice received) more than having a desire to accept and understand the teachings of Christianity and truth. They have a great interest in the spiritual life but less interest on what exactly needs to be done to live this life. Because of a general uneasiness evident in our society, religion for many is seen as a way to resolve the uneasiness.

Those who have studied the problem make it clear that the Church is not interested in setting the blame for this limited understanding of Christianity, but is trying to lead its members to a more mature understanding. That many of our Christians are still looking for blessings is not surprising, but the work of the pastoral workers is to help purify the motivation of Christians, so they can move up to a new level of belief.

                                                                                                                 

Passion for LIfe

The word for insanity in Korean can be used both positively and negatively. Ordinarily, it is used in its negative sense, to be out of one's mind, but the writer on the open forum page of the Catholic Times prefers its positive meaning: having passion or enthusiasm. In our present society, he believes that without this "madness," as he calls it, you are not going to get very far.

To illustrate what he means, he refers to the time he interviewed a well-known vocalist whose life had been difficult, with many crisis and struggles from childhood on, she was the mixed race child born 56 years ago in Korea,  and yet when talking with her he was impressed by her enthusiastic demeanor. It was her passion for what she was doing, he said, that motivated her to be where she is today .

He asks: have any of us ever been madly enthused about something, feeling our heart bursting with joy, ecstatic with happiness? If you haven't, when it comes time to die, won't there be regret? he asks. To guard against this possibility, he suggests we use our time correctly.
 

How do we give ourselves over to this enthusiasm?  We first must scrupulously reflect and examine ourselves, he says, otherwise we will be seen as a person without sense. Our values and philosophy of life have to enter the picture. The object of our passion must not interfere with our home life, injure our health, or suddenly change our value system. To give ourselves passionately does not mean to leave our wits behind but to muster everything to achieve our goal, and then to go for it. He cites athletes as good examples of those who are passionately involved in what they are doing. There is a difference in doing something zealously and doing it with passion; it is, he says, a question of degree.

In the Gospels, we find Jesus with this kind of passion. He loved God and people with passion. Building up God's kingdom was his mission, giving everyone membership in this kingdom with his love and  words.  We have not chosen Jesus, but he has chosen us. His love and passion has taken hold of us, changed us, and is leading us into a faith life. Passion can change us. The original disciples became the dynamic workers that spread the gospel message throughout the world when they were moved by the love and passion they found in Jesus.

Some people say we are living at a time without passion, passion of the positive kind.  Let us be on fire with the passion that Jesus showed us. Passion is the symphony of life, the columnist lyrically muses. This symphony impresses heaven and moves the earth, oceans dance and the earth becomes jubilant. This earth is meant, he says, for those that are on fire with passion; the columnist would like to be one of them.

To Evangelize or Proselytize

In a democratic society, we respect the religious freedom of others and their right  to spread their teachings. Proselytizing has a bad connotation in English, so there is a need to avoid the word for the softer understanding of the word evangelizing. Catholics are asked to be sensitive when doing missionary work but also to understand the right and freedom to publicly profess, practice, propagate and to change one's religion.

Deception and coercive methods to win converts is to be repudiated for there must be respect for the conscience, the dignity and convictions of  others. Evangelizing is witnessing to our faith and respecting the freedom of the other.  As Pope Paul II said, we do not want to impose but to propose. A Peace Weekly editorial has brought to our attention the Shinchonji movement  of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. One person said that once they start teaching and using  the book of Revelation, there are few that do not accept what is proffered. The members of the movement are well-prepared, employing a one-on-one effort and interesting examples and parables. However, it should be a warning that not all that is done well and has sincerity as a motive is good for the health of those that accept what is being taught. 

The movement is using a hard-sell method that offends many but is justified, they say, because of the importance of what they are about. They were mostly interested in getting converts from other Protestant Churches  but this has changed, and Catholics are now being selected; Protestants, it is said, have hardened against them. Catholics, on the other hand, are not as prepared for efforts of this type and so the Catholic media has begun to publicize their teachings and the structure of the movement.The Peace Weekly in four installments will deal with the make up of the movement and the strategy they use to make converts. The Peace Weekly will also present ways of dealing effectively with them, giving reasons why people accept what is taught and offering a pastoral proposal, also noting that Korea has lately been a home for many of these apocalyptic religions.

The editorial mentioned a few problems that came from the Shinchonji movement. In one diocese, something happened among the clergy that the editorial found embarrassing to speak about.  In a  parish  two of the parishioners went over to Sinchonji, which caused much trouble before it returned to normal. All have a right to express their opinion and gain converts to their movement, but the means used should not be  overlooked.

An article that accompanied the editorial mentions what is necessary to receive an identity card for eternal life, and the requirements for entrance into the movement: introducing two others to Shinchonji, scoring at least 80 percent on the 500 questions that are asked at the completion of the introductory course, and getting those interested to go on for the advanced status by means that do not respect freedom.  Even after a person is accepted into the movement, more education is required, which the article mentions is frank and intense in divinizing the chairman  of the movement. A blog on the Sinchonji was presented on July 27, 1212.

An Environmentally Friendly Spirituality

The Eco-forum of the Seoul Pastoral Environmental Committee and the Catholic University, written up by the Peace Weekly, was recently held to discuss the thought of Thomas Berry (1914-2009), the Passionist priest who was internationally known as an authority in the field of ecology. The first presenter was a professor from Canada, a disciple of Berry's; the second was a Korean priest from the Catholic University.

Berry was not only a cultural historian but a critic of the intellectual and spiritual history of the twentieth century. His thought about ecology was not limited to the environment but influenced religion, politics and the arts.

He felt that we have destroyed so much of our environment that to continue to live as we have would bring on an ecological disaster. We have not understood the place of humanity in God's creation, he said, and by separating  ourselves from creation are destroying it. Humanity is not the center of the universe and even when we realized this, he pointed out, we didn't  appreciate the divine in the creation which gave rise to the environmental problems we are now experiencing.

Berry felt that it was necessary to have a spirituality that includes a functional cosmological vision, if we are to solve the ecological problem. How do we achieve this vision of the universe that would allow us to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong in our relationship with creation? Changing our actions that destroy the environment to actions that make it flourish.

We are all part of the cosmos, all related, all one family. Berry stressed that the  breath of God that has entered all of creation is what is drawing us to be one community.  After the universe's billions of  years of evolving, Jesus took on flesh and became one with us. He becomes one with all the matter of creation and shows the divine within creation.

Berry says that all creation has the right to exist, the right to seek its particular goal, and also the right to have what is necessary to achieve that goal. It is necessary, according to Berry, that the relationship  between the earth and humanity be mutually beneficial. This will require a vision of the universe that will encompass theology, economics and  morality.

In the second presentation, the priest mentioned that Berry considered Asian thought and religion as vital contributions to human thought and behavior.  A great deal of God's revelations can be found within it: wisdom which  can lead us into  the future. After the II Vatican Council, our theology in Asia had been concerned with inculturation, liberation theology, and feminist theology. It is now time to have an understanding of our ecological problems and seek ways to heal our environment with a theology that will serve this purpose. Thomas Berry, according to the priest, is one who can help us to achieve this goal.

Living With Hope

A million-book best seller helps greatly in bringing other books by the author to the attention of the public. Fr. Cha Dong-yeop, a priest of the Inchon diocese, wrote the best seller Blessing of the Rainbow, and now the Catholic Times reviews his new book, Return of Hope.

Father Cha is the founder and head of the Future Pastoral Institute. His new book treats  hope as the answer to our many problems.Those in their 20s and 30s, he says, have tasted the bitterness of the ever-present competition; those in their 40s, in search of success, have been overcome with fatigue and are worn out; and those in their 50s and 60s feel left out of society's mainstream.These characteristics are our self portrait, he says.To deal with these problems, he says, is to find hope in what appears to be hopeless situations. 

We are programed to be happy, to love and have peace, he says, but instead these values are trumped by a society that induces us to run after money and success.  The result is fatigue, overwork, and frustration; the antidote we are given is to seek solace and healing. For Fr. Cha, however, the answer is in the return of hope.

As sure as we are that  spring follows winter, we have to awaken the hope that remains within us, says Fr. Cha. We have been made in the likeness of God, with the capacity to love and create, as we continue the creation that God started. This ability is hidden within us but with our dreams nourished by hope it comes out to the light.

He makes a distinction between hopes and dreams: hopes being abstract affirmations of the future and dreams being formulations of goals to work toward. Hope is the more important of the two since it precedes the other as an affirmation of what lies deepest in us, and makes possible the ability to dream. Included with the hope, he says, are all the obstacles we encounter in life. When we are energized by hope, dreams materialize. The aim is to free the hope that is within everyone; too many have hope within easy reach, he says, and yet complain of its absence.

The spurs to hope can be found all around us,  and we do not see them and so keep on looking. We are so concerned about so many things that we miss the opportunities that come to us. The article concludes with the words of St. Peter (I Peter 3:15), "Should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours, be ever ready to reply...."   Christians have to be specialists in the field of hope, Fr. Cha reminds us.

Living an Environmentally Friendly Life

A journalist writing for the Catholic Times recounts opening his lunch box to find the usual egg on top of his rice, but for some reason it did not look the same as in the past: the colors were different for both the egg yolk and the white. He asked his wife and was told that she was not able to buy the organic eggs as in the past. She also mentioned that the outside of the eggs were clean in comparison to the organic eggs. Often the natural cuticle that covers the egg is washed away in cleaning the eggs, he said. These thoughts made him reflect on the recent opening of the Ecological Learning Center in the Pusan Diocese on April 6th.

Ecology and environment-friendly living is a frequent topic in the Catholic press. The diocese of Pusan has done something about living more conscientiously with the natural environment when they began construction of the Center in 2011, without any publicity. The intent was to search for the essence of creation and to see how it is to be lived in the here and now, and how to do this practically, by encouraging direct experience.

It will be a place of learning for those dreaming of going  back to the farm, a place for children to learn about nature, and for all of us to experience what is possible in a naturally friendly environment. Zero emissions is the goal:  energy sources are to emit no waste products that pollute the environment or disrupt the climate, and heating is to be all solar. They use Bacteria Mineral Water and have a building for recycling and an ecological pond.

Plans are to have a daily Mass, lectures on ecology, retreats, and meditations for healing. This year they want to begin with the school for ecology, followed by programs on how to experience what is presented, setting up a camp for children and providing training for those who want to return to the farm. The Center will have rice and dry fields and orchards, where hands-on  farming will be possible.

This is the first such Center in the country, built entirely from the finances of the diocese. It is an unprecedented effort to put into practice what many have simply talked about, providing a place where anyone who desires to do something about the environment can now do so, finding out first-hand what it means to have a friendly relationship to the environment.

Behind the efforts of the Center is their aim to provide the learning needed to live a simpler life, to anyone interested; which in practical terms means to live more poorly. But the Center not only intends to teach us the ways to relate to the  environment. It also intends to help us relate to one another more simply, and with more initiative and spontaneity.

Presuppositions for Renewal

Hooked on TV dramas, a columnist in the Catholic Times said he decided recently to watch some old re-runs of dramas he liked. He tells us about a scene where a brother decides to tell his younger sister that he was the one responsible, though accidentally, for her husband's  death. Forced by circumstances to tell his sister about his part in the death, he was prepared to confess but before he could she yelled "Don't tell me what you are going to say."

The sister had already surmised that her brother was involved and never got rid of the hurt in her heart. She was always playing with the idea of finding the culprit, and kept the resentment in her heart for the last twenty years. If he had confessed, she felt the last twenty years would have been spent in vain. She wanted either to have heard him confess when it happened and been forgiven, or to remain silent without the obligation of asking for forgiveness. The sister did not want to see his burden of guilt diminished, which was the reason for not wanting to hear his confession.

In a population of 60 million, it is not unheard of to hear this kind of story.  Although it is necessary that we are sorry for our own faults, the presupposition is that before it is brought to our attention by others, it is necessary to acknowledge what was done and be willing to freely take on the responsibility for the act. When we try to hide and avoid our responsibility, there is less of a chance of our being forgiven and receiving leniency.

The same is true in the sacrament of confession. All sins are forgivable, as long as we are sorry and the sorrow is genuine. We have all had that experience growing up. After doing something wrong and going to our mothers to confess, we often received a smile of approval, knowing all the while what we had done. A response quite different from the one from the sister in our example: "Don't tell me what you have done."

In a recent issue the Catholic Times commented on a survey of theologians, which indicated they saw a need for Church renewal. For a long time, there have been efforts to hide and avoid responsibility for the problems that have recently become public, such as the so-called  Vatican Leaks. This is also true in the West concerning the sexual abuse of minors. The efforts to hide and ignore the seriousness of what happened multiplied the seriousness of the problem and helped it to continue, resulting not only in the tragic consequences of making more youngsters vulnerable to abuse but also in the selling of church property in the effort to pay out the huge sums of money in penalty for what was done.

We have to learn the virtue of speaking, everywhere and at all times, the truth. Even before we are questioned by others, we have to examine ourselves, acknowledge our faults, and  make them known. To make our personal or communal faults known is the presupposition for renewal.  Pope Francis is aiming to do this for the Church. Is this not also what the Korean Church has to do?  Is this not the time for us as a community to strive for renewal and reformation? And to have this aspiration as an urgent topic for serious discussion?