Learning to Live with Uncomfortableness

 

Living with a little joyful uncomfortableness, we will save the earth. These are the words of a seven-year-old  kindergarten student whose words appeared in a recent Peace Weekly article. For many years there have been many movements around  the world to cut down on our consuming habits, and we have seen some satisfying results. A  small segment of the population in Korea is making an effort to change the way they look at the  environment and to follow up with practical measures. .

The boy in the article  introduces himself as a member of a family of 5, with two older sisters, and then tells us what his family has done to live more environmentally conscious:

"We don't have a television. When my parents were out, I turned on the TV and it went on the blink. My father said that to fix it  would cost as much as to buy a new one, so they decided not to buy. In the beginning, it was difficult. I couldn't watch my cartoons but with the passage of time it was no big deal. My parents put a bookcase where the TV used to be, and very naturally our family came together to read. Now, if I don't hear my two sisters reading out loud in the evening, I find it difficult to go to sleep.

Our family has also become experts at saving electricity and water; it surprises our neighbors. When in the morning we go to the toilet to urinate, my sisters go first and I go last. When this is done we save a great deal of water, needing only three bottles of water the size of a milk bottle; that is all that is needed to flush in the morning.

We have also cut done the use of electricity in the same way. When our father turns off the computer, the girls do the same. It would be unheard of to have a light on in a room not used, or a cord still in the socket when the light or an appliance is not being used.  Mother says this will save about 20 or 30 dollars a month. We eat only food that is grown environmentally friendly, and do not drink any beverages from the market. And mother makes her own yogurt, which beats anything you can buy.

My father is a middle school teacher of English, but he's not sending us to any academies to learn English. He feels that a child should not have to spend all his time studying but have plenty of time to play.  He makes one exception about avoiding all academies, for he hopes to have a family band someday: I am going to an academy to learn the piano. My father is in charge of the church band. 

Do you know what makes our family different? We are putting into practice the joyful uncomfortableness I have learned in kindergarten. With a little uncomfortableness, we are able to save the earth from  getting warmer and  being  destroyed.  When the earth is sick, what is going to happen to us? he asks.

When  a child can know this, and be as concerned as he is, shouldn't everyone else as well?                                                                                                                                                               

Communities of Religious Sisters in Korea

A large parish in Seoul  is no longer able to have Religious Sisters working in the parish because of the decrease in the numbers entering the convents.  A pastor has tried visiting convents to help in recruiting more sisters, but they shake their heads, the sisters are no longer there, they say. Parishes have to use laypeople to do the work the sisters did in the past. An article in the secular Chosun Ilbo newspaper discusses the problem.

They mention a congregation of sisters with only 10 members and a short history, which has extended the entrance age to 40, to make it more attractive to older women,  but only one has entered in 10 years. One community with 35 members hasn't had an applicant for the last 4 years. Another community managing a children's home once had 6 sisters working in the home; this has  been reduced to two, with lay people taking the place of the sisters.

A graph shows that during the peak years, the early 1990s, 857 novices were in training. In 2012 only 210 were in training. Although the number of Catholics is increasing, the number of  total sisters is decreasing. In the year 2009, there were 10,199 sisters; last year 10,023.

However, the number of priests continues to increase. In the year 2003 there were 3396 priests. In 2012 this increased to 4578. Each year there is an increase of from 100 to 160.

There are 111 women religious communities in Korea, according to the article, and outside of the large communities, which continue to have applicants, almost  60 percent of the communities have had no applicants. The larger communities are having a larger proportion of those entering in the elderly category.  In one community that began with a membership of 140, forty have retired.

What has happened in the West, beginning with the 1960s, is now appearing in Korea. When the number of priests were down, the sisters' role became more important. Now with the increase of clergy and the welfare work of the Church and the country's own efforts, the need is not as pressing as in the past.

Another reason is that single women now have many opportunities to work in society. One of the proposals suggested to remedy the situation is to accept women who are older, or have lost their husbands because of death and have finished raising their family. But the time for this may have to wait for later, many believe. Today the opportunity to serve the poor and the handicapped is available outside the auspices of the Church. 

Not all the congregations, however, are having difficulty. There are communities of cloistered sisters who have a restricted number of members, and these communities have a waiting list for those who want to enter.

A teaching  sister at the Catholic University does not see this as all  negative. In the past, the opportunity of doing work for the underprivileged was limited. Now there are many, she reminds us, who, guided by Gospel values but not affiliated with any Church or religious community, are doing this much needed work.

What Comes First: the Nation or One's Faith?

The secular Chosun Ilbo newspaper carried a story of two Catholics the Church in Korea wants to make saints. One of  them, Hwang Sa-yong, was a member of the noble class who had the ear of the king and was on the fast road to world success but gave it all up for his religious faith that he accepted as a convert. The fledgling church was being persecuted by the Yi dynasty for its teachings against the traditional ways of the country. The Church was seen as subversive and the government wanted it eradicated. Hwang, who wrote his appeal for help on silk that was to be sent to the Bishop of Beijing, was asking the western countries for assistance. When his message was discovered, he was imprisoned and beheaded as a traitor.
 
Even a relative on his wife's side, the famous Chong Yak-yong, a Catholic who had great influence in the early Church and in the larger society, was mentioned in the article as agreeing that he had been a traitor to the country. But in recent years many have come to see him with different eyes, and he is on the new list  presented to Rome for canonization. A symposium on Hwang Sa-yong showed consensus that he died a martyr's death. The usual thinking is that he betrayed his county for his religion. But if we look closely at the history of that time, the article says we will come to a different conclusion.

One participant said Hwang was desiring to save the country, that he wanted a just society, and that the silk message was a call for the human rights of an oppressed minority, against the tyranny of the government. Another participant agrees that the majority of our citizens see Hwang fomenting military intervention and a traitor, but if we acknowledge that the  powers within the country were infringing on human dignity and the common good, he acted in self-defense of the rights of people.
 
Ahn Jung-geun, the other candidate for sainthood, while in prison in China after killing Ito Hirobumi, the Resident General of Korea, when asked by the Japanese police chief, how could a Catholic kill someone? answered "When someone takes away one's country and kills its citizens and we stand passively looking on, we are committing a greater sin." In his autobiography, he said he prayed daily that he would be successful and when he succeeded, gave thanks. However, Archbishop  Mutel (1854-1933), the Vicar Apostolic of Seoul, is quoted in the article as saying "A  Catholic does not take part in killing. Ahn Jung-geun is a person who has left his religious beliefs."

A different opinion was expressed by Bishop Rho  of Seoul, who in 1946 (the year the country was liberated from the servitude to Japan) said a Mass for the deceased patriot, which brought a change in the thinking about Ahn. In 1993, Cardinal Kim in his sermon at a Mass for Ahn said "He fought against the encroachment of the Japanese and to save the country. It was self defense." The Cardinal apologized for the way the Church had looked upon Ahn for so many years. The present archbishop of Seoul, who has formally begun petitioning Rome for the canonization of Ahn, has said "The patriot fought for independence; he wanted his act to be united with the ideals of Jesus, wanting to be his tool. He gave us a good  example as a Christian."

"What comes first: the Nation or One's Faith?" was the headline for the article. It was sure to make many of its readers give thought to something that would otherwise not have entered their minds; yet the martyrs had to deal with that question. Most of the readers of the secular press would find a contrast in the motivation of these two martyrs. Hwang seemed to put religion first, while Ahn found the motivation to fight for the country in his religion.

Working with the Youth

A pastor who works with young people writes in his Peace Weekly column on some thoughts that came to mind as he looked back on 14 years of priesthood. Many things have exceeded expectations but there have also been failures and frustrations. He thanks God for the good and for the humility he has learned from the not-so-good.

He has experienced both the mystical and the fearful, he says. There were times when he did little yet found many good things happening, learning a lot in the process. But there were times when nothing went well, and he felt lost and in need to trust in God.

Referring to the staggering number of suicides among the young today, he has, in his 14 years of priestly life, also seen the death by suicide of 4 of his parishioners with whom he was close. Faced with these cases, he said his confidence in himself wavered, feeling helpless and panicky.

When he sees the young, sponge-like, receiving the happiness and love that comes with living a life of faith, he has great joy. But for those that do not experience the fruits of living such a life, he understands, but regretfully.

He remembers a student, attractive and bright, who he hadn't seen for some time. He wondered what had happened and was told the student had gone to an alternative school; for he found it difficult to adapt to the public school system. He then recalled that he had been aware the student was having difficulty. The student was waiting for someone to listen, the priest surmised, someone to sympathize with the problems he was having, but apparently there was no one found.

He remembers saying to one troubled youth: "Is there something I am able to help you with?" The youth's response was clear and brief: "Father, whatever I say,  is it not true that you find it difficult to accept?" This was, he says, an instance where he felt helpless. But then added, there are always those moments when a young person, acting outside of the accepted standards of behavior, says: "Father, we seem to understand each other!" This, the priest says, comes as a big surprise to him.

He finishes the column by thanking all those who work  among the young, a very difficult task and at times verging on the dreadful, though with the possibilities of marvelous results. He wants to encourage them and be with them in prayer. We have to inscribe on our hearts that the  kingdom of God is made up of those who are young, he says. We have always another day to experience what the world will offer. We don't know what that will bring, but we trust in God.

Brothers and Sisters on the One Peninsula

A priest-columnist of the Catholic Times, working with refugees and writing his weekly column on reconciliation and unification on the Korean peninsula, has recently spoken of the need for unreciprocated love to resolve the issue.  The efforts of the South to show concern and love for the sisters and brothers in the North have often been frustrated, and yet the  columnist says this love is necessary if we are to see any results with reconciliation and unity of the country.

In his last column, he wrote about our ability to choose, which is an important  element in our daily lives. Those in the North are limited in their ability to choose in comparison to the South, he says. This is a reason why meeting those from the North for the first time can be confusing, especially when going to a restaurant with a recent refugee and asking them to choose from the menu. It's not easy for them to make their selections.

For a person who has never made a choice in their life, to be told: "Don't bother yourself too much, make a choice, you can worry about it later"--sounds easy but not for them. For them, choice is a matter of life and death, though difficult for us in the South to understand. We have no reason to consider those who have left the North as being less intelligent than we in the South, he says. They have made a momentous choice that most of us in the South have not been faced with: leaving home and friends and crossing over a number of borders for freedom.

The cause and effect of their choices meet here in the South as they live as refugees, making clear to them the difficulty of what they have done. There is little that makes their choice easy. We in the South should help make their choice less uncomfortable, the columnist urges, relieving them of much of the worry they may have in entering a different culture.  However, we in the South by accepting these refugees have raised a question of choice on our part. Have we, out of habit, made the welcoming of these refugees a question of choice? What should a Christian do? he asks.

When we as Christians do make it a matter of choice, we are going against everything that Christ has asked us to do, says the columnist. We are refusing to accept a member of our family, rather than loving those who are unable to reciprocate. Living with Jesus is not a matter of choice; even though we do not understand the mystery completely, we live it. Within that mystery  there is no reason for North-and-South-thinking--only the reason for living together as brothers and sisters.

Korean Legion of Mary

After the Korean War, 60 years ago, the Legion of Mary came to Korea, and in a short period of time its influence was felt throughout the country. Today, one out of every ten Korean Catholics is a full-time or auxiliary member, and they number one out  ten among the Legion members in the world. It is by far the largest apostolic group in our parishes.

In the 1950s, the country had been ruined by the effects of war; both society and the Church were making efforts to rebuild.  Lack of material and spiritual goods were a constant impediment, and a search for security and well-being was present everywhere.  Precisely at this time the Legion entered Korea, and stressing prayer was the cord that united us to God in those difficult times, reminisced the archbishop at the Mass celebrating 60 years of Legion growth.

The structure of the Legion follows the organization of the Roman Legion. At the parish level there is the praesidium, with representatives of the different parish praesidia meeting as Curia. Representatives of the different Curia would meet in a larger area and called  Comitium. Those selected to represent a diocese would be known as Regia. And in the country, or divided into  populous areas of the country, we have the  Senatus. The world headquarters in Ireland is known as the Concilium.

The Legion has done much to give our Christians an understanding of the spiritual life and how it is to relate with our love for neighbor. The Catholic papers gave space to the legion and the influence it has had on Korean Catholicism. The celebration in the diocese of Kwangju was attended by over 10,000 legion members thanking God for the blessings received and resolving to continue to say 'Yes' to God.

The accomplishments of members are impressive, owing perhaps to the fact that few groups within the parish ask as much from their members as does the Legion. The sermon given by the Ordinary of the Kwangju diocese mentioned the fiat of Mary as being the distinguishing characteristic of a Legion member. The importance of obedience to the Legion's mission can be seen by the way they conduct their meetings and in their apostolic activity.

The editorial in the Peace Weekly mentioned that few would deny the  influence the legion had on the growth of the Church of Korea. There is no other group, says the editorial, that expresses its obedience quite like the Legion. It has been like a tractor pulling along the rest of the Church in service and evangelizing.  The world can be a complicated place to live in, but our faith life should be simple, and the first step toward this simplicity, according to the editorial, should be the 'yes' of obedience.

In conclusion, the editorial mentioned that with a strong Legion, the Church also is likely to be strong. In the growth of the Legion, we will also have the growth of the Church. The basic foundation of obedience, as exemplified by the Legion, is central to our faith, and the editorial prayerfully hopes this journey together will continue.  

Who is the True Leader?

Most of the parents today want their children to grow up to be  leaders in society.  Who are these leaders in society? asks the columnist writing in the opinion page of the Catholic Times. Are they not those who have succeeded in life and have some influence in society? He says that in our world a person does not find it easy to be in a position of influence, to wield power over others, for  the mass media is always ready to put our leaders on the chopping block. Most of our leaders  have been elected to their positions of power, thus being beholden to those who have elected them.

Even those in high positions who are not elected are faced with the same situation, the columnist reminds us. Junior officials who are visited by senior officials no longer treat them, as in the past, with meals and perks. When this is done, much is made of it and the mass media is there to make news of the situation. This is seen as a sign of the democratization of the culture. Today, leadership that honors respect and service is what wins followers, without these qualities it is difficult to lead.

Politeness, respect and sincerity are stressed in the Analects of Confucius, in keeping with one of the principles of Confucianism: "Don't do to others what you do not want them to do to you." In Confucian philosophy, one should show concern for the other more than for oneself, to respect and serve the other humbly.

Though the respectful way the young behaved with their elders in the past is fast disappearing nowadays, our narrow thinking and concerns about the customer is being replaced by a concern for all citizens. Respect and service leadership is becoming the predominant social climate.  

Chondogyo, meaning "the heavenly way," is a native Korean religion. We are to respect others, they say, like we do the heavenly realm, which is another way of stressing the respect and service way of life. The columnist thinks that this central idea of Chondogyo may have a great deal to do with what it received from Christianity.  The washing of the disciples' feet is a prime example of this thinking, and is illustrated in other ways in the life of Jesus.

This has been a teaching for a long time, both in the East and in the West, but the journalist wonders how universal the idea is. The way the weak suffer daily at the hands of the strong, one is forced to conclude, he says, that all our talk about respect and service has had no more influence on how society operates than do mere slogans. If that is the case, the writer considers all that he has written  as mere slogans, less than the truth--"lies," he calls them. However, even if this respect and service leadership ideal has not done much to improve the conditions of the poor and suffering among us, he does proclaim that it has now spread throughout the world. Perhaps in time the reality will also spread throughout the world, and be the reality not only for the few of us but for all of us.