Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Korean Bishops' Autumn Meeting

The recent Catholic news and editorials have taken into account the results of the Autumn General Assembly of the Catholic Bishops. Clearly and unambiguously the  bishops have opted for change, and shown a strong will for renewal that will begin with the bishops. They will leave behind luxury, stress a pastoral approach, 'go in search' and work to communicate and collaborate to make a Church for the poor.

One of the changes, different from the past, was an approach to problems that came from below, and not from above. The bishops worked with the results of  what the church members wanted to see changed, and the bishops agreed to be the first to change. They will approach problems with their actions more than words, in the manner of Pope Francis. One of the editorials are waiting to see how the bishops will be an example to the Church.

A survey by the bishops was distributed by e-mail, and on the bishops' homepage. +During Pope Francis' visit the  most memorable scene. +Words that  moved you the most in his talks. +The word that comes to mind when you think of Pope Francis. +After the visit of the pope the greatest need for     change. +What the members have to change.

The scene that moved many viewers was the pope's easy interactions with those he met, and the way he related with parents of the Sewol tragedy.The words 'sympathy' and 'communication' stayed with many. In the pope's talks his reference to 'remember and have hope' were meaningful. 'A poor church', and 'before suffering there is no neutrality' were mentioned. The 'comfortable' life of the religious hurts the Church was mentioned by many.

The prominent issue,receiving the  most interest was becoming a poor church where the poor would feel at home. The community of the faithful wanted to see changes in the  bishops'  manner of dialoguing and communication. They pointed out  a lack of vision and leadership, authoritarianism and self righteousness, and wanted a commitment to the  Social Gospel.

Clericalism and self righteousness of the priest was  mentioned by both groups as the biggest issue with the clergy. Also mentioned was a lack of spirituality and a prayer life, a wealthy and comfortable life style, hobbies that are luxurious, and working only with the wealthy. 

Religious have a need for  prayer and spirituality.  Narrow mindedness and a one way approach to problems were listed.

Laypeople were seen to  lack a prayer life  and spirituality. Lack of participation in the Social Gospel of the Church, factionalism and problems with getting along with neighbors were listed.  

The whole Church needs to be more conscious of the poor and become a Church of the poor. One of the editorials wrote we have become a middle class Church where the poor do not feel welcomed and all the members need to work in changing the image      with the  bishops out in front with renewal.                                                    

Monday, November 10, 2014

In Love With Time


One of our well known poets, Sister Claudia Lee Hae-in, writes in the Seoul Bulletin of her spiritual love of time. She begins each day with her new gift. 'Time' follows her through the day and urges her to love. Sister was diagnosed with cancer a number of years ago and continues the struggle.

Recently she had  some guests who came to the convent that she knew from the time she was in middle school. She had to go to her album to see the faces that had changed so much over the years. When a sick sister comes back to the mother house for rest, she recalls the appearance of the sister many years before in good health, and is overcome with a heavy heart.

When her readers see a picture of her taken from a  book during her youth and see her now, they are often taken aback, and express this disappointment;  she becomes confused. Not rarely after some thought, either to save face, or driven by necessity, she hears words similar to:  " I don't know why, but now I feel that I can be closer to you than ever before." These words enter deeply into her. 

All of us are changed by time, and nothing can stop it; we can learn to accept and embrace the change and find peace. She doesn't look into a mirror often, but when she does she sees the wrinkles, the white hair and realizes with force that she is old. In the refectory or the chapel when she looks around and sees the younger members of the community she reflects on the passage of time. Changing her thoughts from discontent and lament, to the future thanksgiving and joy is the wisdom gained from life. Therefore when she is tempted to blurt out: where in the world has the time gone, she pauses, and remembers how thankful she is for the time that she has. 

Unexpectedly she says, she is in the afternoon of life, but she is thankful looking forward to the precious time ahead in which she has been given the opportunity to love and is excited by the expected joy. She falls into a swamp because of laziness, and  struggles but she is determined to make the effort to prudently use the time that she has been given with all the strength available.

She is walking along the road of life and giving thanks. She will laugh again, forgive, and prays that she can continue to walk the way of a trainee, and  continue to love the time that will be given.

Getting older she will be living with the  weight of fear, there is nothing that she can say. Sadness, joy,  love and hate, she hopes that she can meet it all serenely...With the passage of time the book of wisdom comes to her daily.There is no need to go to the book case, for wisdom comes to her and gives her joy.The longer she lives the more thanks for the time she has been given. This has become her song.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Begin the New Habit of Reading


Reading was always considered a must in the educational process and still is.The column:'Electronic World and the Book World' in the Catholic Times revisits the importance of books in our lives. Books are a person's best friend was often heard in the past, but to day we see another kind of 'book' in a person's hand. Whether we have less reading today than in the past is not easily determined, but that the reading is different seems to be undeniable.

In her column, a religious sister quotes a prisoner who spent over 10 years in prison as saying it was his habit of reading that enabled him to prepare for an unknown future. Habits prepare our landscape and character. Neurologically speaking what we think about daily is forming who we are.We not only gain   knowledge by reading but our patience and endurance develops. The deeper our reading the deeper our thinking, and maturer the personality we project.

She believes that there is less reading not only among the children, but among college students and  adults. All that is necessary is to hear a discussion among the college students: lack of confidence, difficulty in expressing themselves in writing, no  gleam in their eye, no enthusiasm, at times she sees them as lifeless zombies. More surprising, when prizes are given and they receive stationery or daily commodities there is joy, but even an expensive  book brings disappointment. A book means stress, something oppressive, similar to receiving a text book. This has  to change she says.

One who likes to read will see a deepening of their powers of thinking. A person who has not developed the habit of thinking deeply will find themselves overcome with thoughts that  take away their peace of mind. Persons who are accustomed to deep thinking and reading will have intellectual joy and delight, much stronger than any pleasure of the body. 

Those who are addicted to SNS, she says, are on average distracted every 3 minutes which has an adverse effect on the mental faculties. She  recommends that  the young and the old stop as soon as possible playing with their smart phones, from clicking on the TV or computer as soon as one enters the house.Those who find it difficult to enjoy  10 minutes of leisure, stay away from  gossiping, day dreaming, and being  overcome with loneliness she wants to introduce them to reading. 

Open any book and start reading. You have lived up to now without any problems?  The problem is now. Start developing a new habit. Like exercise, you work to build up your strength and continue, it is the last fort to protect the brain from the digital world in which we live. Begin reading, without delay, and continue until your eyes will not permit it any more. 

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Problems with Neoliberalism

A religious sister columnist in View from the Ark introduces us to Jung Mo Sung a lay theologian who emigrated to Brazil from Korea in 1966 and is well known as a liberation theologian. He is a disciple of Franz Hinkelammert and Hugo Assmann who have influenced, she says, Pope Francis in the way he sees society. She reflects on a lecture she heard delivered by Jung Mo Sung.

Liberation theology shows the idolization of money.The fundamental problem with capitalism is the greed with which it is associated. Professor Sung  says the neoliberalism has entered our way of thinking and she was in sympathy with the way the professor examined and listed the problems associated with capitalism. She was familiar with neoliberalism but not with any depth.

From the time we get up in the morning what we see and hear incites our greed. Many go to the shopping centers not for what they need, but to satisfy their desires: others have it and we want it. We have not fully discovered the possibilities of our i phone 5 but we want to possess the new i phone 6. The catalyst that advances our capitalistic system is the desire to imitate. The financial system of the neoliberalism has entered deep into our lives and transformed itself into a religion. The shopping malls become elegant church buildings and the market transforms into a religion.

Religion is directed to the everlasting life. Churches say this is something we will achieve after death. But neoliberalism tempts us to believe that we will have it here and now. Everything we would ever want is here, now. The almighty market will be able to do everything for us. The present economic system is fostering problems between the rich and the poor. God of the market is being monopolized by a few and is making the life of the poor more difficult.

Neoliberalism is using sacrifice to put our minds at rest. "Without sacrifice we will not have salvation," which justifies the sacrifices that the poor have to make. The logic of competition accepts the  sacrifice of the poor as a necessary step. The poor become the sacrificial lamb for those who want to make an earthly paradise.

We have the freedom to determine what kind of life we choose to live. Who are we going to use as a model to follow?  Many choose to be rich as the idol to follow, which can't help but challenge the Christian, who follows our Lord.  Daily our cravings are provoked and Jesus continues to affirm: "No one can serve two masters; he will hate the one and love the other (Matt. 6:24).          

Friday, November 7, 2014

Knowledge in the Spiritual Life


Catholics do less studying than the members of other religions is a well known fact. Among Catholics this secret which is not a secret has been know for some time. The Desk Columnist of the Catholic Times wants us to reflect on this reality. Many of the  pseudo religions and our neighbors with religious beliefs know this, and make use of it in dealing with Catholics.

When the columnist was in school he remembers those that didn't have a taste for studies as they advanced in school were more frustrated and would be seen with those who did like to study. Was this a hope of learning something?  The chances of this are slight.

We know from the New Testament that Jesus did a lot of teaching to those who followed him. As a child the columnist remembers thinking how concerned God must have been to have sent his son to us. Jesus' big  task was to teach us, it was not to make us scholars but to  have us understand his kingdom. Not difficult to accept. 

Just looking over briefly sections of the New Testament we see Jesus teaching and  giving examples to his disciples. Teachings about the Kingdom of God, the overcoming of temptations, the need for prayer,forgiveness, teaching with parables and opening the eyes of his disciples with  understanding for his message were acts of  a meticulous father and teacher.

 Looking back on the life of Christ, even as a child Jesus showed us the efforts he made to study. He was in the  temple talking with the lawyers of the law and debating with the Pharisees and showing them where they were wrong.  

The word we use in Korean for study has its  origins in Buddhism. The columnist  tells us it meant to  clean, to improve to cultivate, especially efforts to do this in their meditation practices. The word analyzed: shows a workman, a person making efforts to be a full person, what one was meant to be.

There are many Catholics who put up a wall when it comes to study.To put it simply after baptism they do little to deepen what they have received. The God the Pharisees believed in was not the God that Christ was preaching. In the kingdom of God  we have entered at baptism we are meant to live with joy. We don't know why a person does not want to study, but what is easy to assume, he says, the joy of being in the kingdom here on this earth will not be as great without study.                                                                                                                                        

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Dereliction of Duty

A scholar on the culture of life writes in the Kyunghyang magazine about a  three day study and training program he conducted for 21 unmarried young people in their twenties. Before the program he prepared  a  questionnaire, and begins the article with some of the results.

Have you had an sexual experience with another? 11  said yes, 6 had a one night stand experience. Sexual relations are unrelated to marriage, 8 said yes. How long after relating with a person is sexual contact proper?  after marriage 3, after a year 3, after 6 months 1,  after 100 days 3,  one  month 2,  after a week 1, within one week having sexual contact, time is irrelevant 7.

The writer well versed in what is going on within our culture in matters of sex was greatly shocked at the results.They were active members of the community: teachers, choir members and altar servers, and yet 29 percent  had a one- night stand. This was hard to  believe. And asks do you think this is unique only to this parish?

The young people who are immersed in this culture pick up their understanding of sexuality from the culture: sex is for  pleasure. Religious beliefs and their parish activity have little influence on their actions. Before they are able to consider and make a judgement on good or evil, they have been exposed to TV, smart phones, and the internet. For many sex is something to enjoy and all that is necessary is the condom and contraceptive pills. But is it really that simple?

He goes into detail on some of the feelings of guilt that a Catholic would have and also the concern about the possibility of pregnancy on the part of the girl.Condoms are not 100 percent protection and this causes a great deal of worry on the part of the girl. A contraceptive  mind  will not be helpful in being recollected and having concern for the spiritual. Unless the young people can discern what the culture has done to justify the way they look on evil, the money that is spent in the pastoral care of the young will have little results.

He concludes the article with the observation that a vocation needs to be nurtured. A  priest needs at least 7 years of  nurturing. A religious needs about 10 years before final vows. Marriage is also a vocation and what kind of preparation do we give those who will be marrying? In Korea those preparing for marriage are required to receive 3 or 4 hours of education. He feels this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Church.The first step in the  pastoral  care for the family should begin with the preparation of our young people for marriage and have this systematized within diocesan and parish programs. 

"I don't know yet  who I will marry. But I don't want to betray the person that I will someday marry." A person who would say such words would be considered a fool, and be shunned in the world in which we live.  Therefore we need to begin to educate so we will have many more with the courage to speak out this way. This is the effort that the Church has to make.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Spectator or Participator

A celebrity in Korea was asked  how come he was so glib with his words. His secret was to read books and the newspapers. His family was poor so he never considered college;  his eloquence, he says, comes from reading. These are the words that the columnist, a religious sister, uses to begin her column on the making of hidden spectators on SNS.   

The power of words comes from a person's character. Word and life have to meet. When one speaks too much one doesn't have control over all the words spoken. When she lectures for a few hours, at the end she often feels empty. She says things that she herself is not able to practice and is filled with shame. She says a lot of good things but at the same time there are a lot of meaningless words that she utters. Isn't this the reason the pope said:"Those who don't abuse with the tongue are saints." 

SNS at present overflows with complaints and abuse. According to neurologists, she says, online is becoming overcome with negativity. The internet more than in real life is rampant with lies and fraud. One scholar went so far as to say that the more one is online we have an increase of negativity, and the possibility of encountering harmful relationships. The ability to control oneself will diminish, loneliness, depression, and  stress will appear because of the inability to control oneself.

How much of what we hear on line do we pass on to others? Ordinarily do we pass on the scandals we hear about celebrities and politicians?  When we are  face to face with others we do not find it easy to just blurt out, without thought, what we think, but why is it on SNS we have the ease of saying whatever comes to mind?

We are spectators that's why, she answers. A spectator knows what is going on in the  world and enjoys talking about it.  A spectator is mostly concerned about oneself. Sees from afar, whether it is the other, an incident or oneself there is no responsibility for what is seen. Only the emotion and thought is what is real: attached to one's feelings and unconcerned about the feelings of another. The words of a spectator are light and flippant. One is not  involved directly, just a sightseer and stays hidden in his or her place: not one to go on the stage for all to see.

With this in mind we can see how SNS helps one to hide in the group as a spectator. This is different from one who reads, who becomes a participant: meeting of the author and the reader.The participator is conscious of feelings and  takes responsibility for them, more than feelings, however, we have likes and dislikes expressed.  Experience and knowledge is chewed over, purified  discerned, chosen and put in order.The participator has to be responsible to himself quite different from the spectator.