Many things are handed down to us by our parents. One
is their belief system--their religion. Often considered of little value and discarded, but there are those that consider the practice of faith their most valued possession, or better
said, what possesses them.
Bible & Life in a
special section of the magazine has articles on the gift of faith
received from parents. A Salesian Sister recalls her life as a Catholic
and her earliest recollection was of the Easter Midnight Mass. She and her younger sister not able to overcome the
drowsiness fell asleep, using her mother's clothes as bedding, both
would sleep on the wooden floor.The mother would wake them at the
Gloria when the bells, both in and outside the church would ring, and
again at the end of Mass when the Eucharist would be put in the tabernacle. Here she was told Jesus arose from the dead. Now when she sees the
tabernacle light it is a sign of the resurrection.
The
church was just a few minutes walk from her house and they used the
church yard as their park. She would go to the church to study and even
nap. In the evening as the sun was setting her mother would ask her to
call her father for supper, and she would go up to the roof top to call him, he would be saying the rosary in the church yard.
Hearing his daughter's call he would go to statue of the Blessed
Mother, and she knew that the message had been delivered.
Her
family had not been Catholics for long, and the occasion was the
sickness of her older brother. The mother was preparing her offering of rice to give to the female shaman, and was told by the woman who was to be her godmother to give the offering to the bigger shaman at the
church. This was the godmother's way of introducing the mother to the
church. The brother was cured and the reason the mother entered the church and
the two girls were baptized. The grandfather and husband were adamantly
opposed but she went ahead, and the two girls became attached to the
church from an early age.
The father later on also was baptized,
and became a regular worker for the church; he even said if he came back to this world after death he would want to be a monk, this was not
received well by the mother who retorted she
introduced him to the church.
It was thanks to her
families example that she became a nun. In her middle years she was
afflicted with insomnia; during this time she ran across a passage in
Revelations: "Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do
what you did at first" (Rev. 2:5). When did she fall and need to
repent? She realized that she was not thankful for the many gifts that
she received, and was only concerned for what she didn't have and wanted.
In conclusion
she thanks Bible & Life for the opportunity to write about her
gift of faith. In writing the article she became conscious of all the gifts she received from God, family, her religious community, and all those she has been working
with, and is filled with gratitude.
"Whatever is received is received in the manner of the receiver" is
an aphorism from the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. We can change this
somewhat to say that whatever is given is given in the manner of the one
giving, especially when we are dealing with the mass media. We know how
much the media weighs the facts with the thumb on the scale. Not surprising, and expected, but does require wisdom when going to the media for information and
knowledge. Some media conveys more truth than others.
With Bible,
has an interview with a professor in the Press and Broadcasting Studies at the Anglican University. He was asked how does he see
the present situation in Korea with the mass media. He recalls the
days in 1985 and the purge of those in the media who were critical of
the government. When freedom of the press was returned in 1987
there was growth. The atmosphere was there for a segment of the press
to say what they thought was right. However, after 2008 many of those
who were connected with the government were in management positions
within the mass media, and spoke for the government. Certain aspects are
different but the professor says we have gone back in many ways to the
pre-democratic days.
In 2009 we had a change in the
law governing the press. In a democratic society the media to protect
its diversity, the press and broadcasting companies were forbidden to
have other business involvement. The Media Law of 2009 broke this
understanding, and we have collusion with big business which are now
able to own shares in the media. Alternative media is
fighting this, but they are small and the citizenry is not supporting
them, so their influence is small.
How do we
distinguish what is true and false? We have the responsibility and the
right to search out what is the truth in the media. It is difficult to
make this decision when it is only a one way transmitting of the news,
and the most influential media does the distorting. There is
criticism, however, and the need for the public to compare news reports with one or
two other reports, and support the news that is objective.
We
have to be actively concerned with what is important. Each person in
a democratic society should be able to enjoy their human existence.
We have to go beyond the idea of merely helping and protecting the
poor and have a new vision. The professor gives us the example from a
documentary (Barefooted Doctors) 2007, on the Cuban doctors who went to
East Timor.
Most of the doctors who had gone to
East Timor, left for their home country after a few months but
doctors from Cuba did not leave. "You came to serve, why don't you
leave like the other doctors?" They all, without hesitation answered:
"We did not come to serve. We are just doing our work the "East Timorese"
have a right to enjoy life." The idea of helping those who
are not as well off, was not part of their thinking. This,
the professor explains, is the way they were trained to become
doctors. They train those who are going to be doctors at government
expense. All is free. They work not as much for money but to realize
their potential as human beings, and to build a happy society.
The
professor shows us by his example the way the news is easily slanted by
the news media because of their ideological positions and collusion with
big business. The question he received was about free lunches in
schools and the way some of the media attacked with: "Are we going to
feed the rich with free lunches?" The press can use words and tone to
sway the readers with the way they choose to see the world. Objectivity
is not as important as pushing their agenda, and the professor gives us
the example of doctors from a poor country, who have one of the best
medical systems in the world and the way they see the world in which
they live. Being objective and conveying the truth is difficult, but deliberately, when
the media tries to protect their interests, and not the public interest, truth is sacrificed.
On the opinion page of the Catholic Times a Salesian recalls
the days as a young priest when he saw the harm students faced, because of ferocious competition. Many of them
to forget the scars, shame, frustration and sense of inferiority,
resorted to inhaling of glue and gas.
No matter how
much effort was made to make clear the harm to health, it did
not change behavior. He laments that society doesn't do more to keep
intoxicants out of the hands of children as they do with alcohol and
tobacco.
He also has problems with the mixed martial
arts matches we have in Korea. They are the kick boxing type of matches, that bring out the worse in those who are in the ring. It is not uncommon for the loser to be taken to the hospital after
one of the matches. One of the reasons some use to justify the matches
is the primitive instinct towards violence that some have, is neutralized by
watching the matches. Christians do not see it this way. One member of National Assembly, because of his interest and
activities, enabled the dropping of the matches from public television.
Money
is what energizes the culture of death and the two examples the writer
gives us are an infinitesimal part of the problem. Thanks to Pope
John Paul II in his encyclical Gospel of Life, we hear about the culture
of life and the culture of death. Without realizing what is
happening, there are many things we countenance as normal that are destructive to life.
Each
human life has value from its beginning to natural death. As Christians
we should be firmly and unconditionally on the side of life. Like the
priming water that was used in the pumps of the past to bring water up,
we should bring out the good from others by our words and actions that promote life. What we mean
by the culture of death is not difficult to surmise, if we allow our
natural feelings to control our thoughts and see reality as it is
without any rationalizations and pretexts.
He concludes
his article by reminding us that our indiscriminate desire for development feeds the culture of death. We devalue life. Pope Francis
mentioned while in Korea, "We need to fight against the culture of death
that profanes the dignity of our humanity." The writer wants us to boycott all
that is not on the side of life.
A Religious Sister who speaks about media literacy had just finished
her talk, and was leaving when a parishioner accosted
her. "That was a moving talk, Sister. Those who have fallen into this
immorality is not a small number even in this parish." " Not a small
number?" She was surprised at what the man said, and he in turn was
surprised by the Sister's question. She kept repeating to herself how
many was the many he was talking about? Are those who are reading these
words also surprised by her response?
Her article in With Bible
treats the subject of the digital world and how it relates to love and
purity. "What I say to you is: anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has
already committed adultery with her in his thoughts" (Matt. 5:28).
"Not a few?" many may think the Sister is just innocent, and those who wonder how
many are those who do not commit adultery? Carnal lust invigorates the
economy. Movies and dramas package immorality and make it attractive.
Extra marital encounters are construed in such a beautiful way in movies and dramas. Advertizing on any city street appeals often to the
lower instincts and we continue to say those who have lust in their
hearts have already committed adultery.How many hear these words and laugh?
SNS world is easily
accessed. We can quickly relate with many, and
discontinue contact with a simple click. A professor made a study, she
mentions, of those who habitually connect with the SNS world and found that the marital problems are many. No reason to fight and in this virtual world, we
can use symbolic words, which stimulate us more than the real world, but also makes the real world
unattractive.
Sister mentions a 7 year old child she knows who has an old doll, the nose is missing and the clothes
in the back have fallen off. The Sister once asked the child, wasn't it
time to take leave of the doll? The girl very strongly said how could she
part company with the doll that has been with her since she was a little
baby?
She mentions the movie Her that came
out in 2013. A man is going through a divorce and is in the dumps. He buys a new computer operating system which is one of the first artificially
intelligent systems. After installing the operating system he falls in
love with the seductive voice coming from the computer. This love is always the love that he always wanted to have. Is this what the future new technology is going to give us?
Lust
does not allow us to see the other as a person. When we have this
craving we lose our peace and prayer becomes difficult. When we have
immorality in the family we can't say there is love present. Is it proper for the single person to look lightly on the beam of purity shinning on our inner temples.
She would like to see all have the same mind as the seven year old child in the way she loved her doll. Our thoughts, feelings and even love is
being digitized. Purity relegated to
the past. She is asking her readers to give a nod of approval to her belief that purity is one of the best ways to go in search of God.
Efforts to give life to the small Christian communities in the parish
have been part of the on-going work of the Church for many years. Korea
succeeded with the apostolic movements it has accepted from overseas;
the Legion of Mary was one of the first and has been followed by most
of the other apostolic movements in the worldwide Church. They have done much to
make the church a dynamic growing community, amassing a great deal of
good will from the citizens of the country.
The Inchon
Diocese has now, after a two year period of preparation, decided to
introduce SINE (Systematic Integral New Evangelization) to the diocese
and the country. A priest and laywoman from Colombia and a bishop from Argentina, who
was born in Korea, are during the priest retreat, introducing them to the SINE to prepare them to begin the movement within the diocese.
The
Peace Weekly gave the movement space on the front page and explains
what the diocese hopes the movement will do. 40 of the 80 dioceses in
Colombia have accepted the movement and the results have shown that
the small parish groups are revitalized, those who have made the
program know who they are as Christians, have matured in their faith
life, and the clergy have become holier. They have seen the results and
recommend the movement.
A small group in each parish, made up of the priests and the team that
will be introducing the SINE to the parish, will first experience
the process for a year, meeting every week and what they experience is what they will pass on to those who will follow them. The
tools and materials used will be determined by the circumstances of each
parish community but the objective is a mature, conscientious, holy, mission orientated parish.
Korea has been working with small basic communities for over 20 years
and there have been difficulties but the work continues and the SINE,
says the director of the pastoral work in the diocese, envisions the movement
as a complement to what is going on within the diocese, and a way to satisfy the thirst that many have for a fuller spiritual life.
One of the weaknesses that is often
pointed out by those who have studied our parish life, is that many have
made their faith life an individual and private relationship with
Jesus, and the communities' influence on our life is not
prominent.This should help the communities realize how
important our personal maturity, our religious maturity, and the
interaction with members of the community is for the mission of the Church and the Christian.
Recently, a number of incidents in Korean society has exposed the friction between "superior" and "inferior" that caused rage among the citizens. A
columnist in the Peace Weekly gives us the examples of this
high-handedness on the part of superiors towards inferiors: customers at
department stores and parking lot attendants, security personnel and
apartment building dwellers. Once the abuse was communicated to SNS sites, those who have
been pointed out as non-feeling and cruel, were shamed. They responded: they have done nothing that warrants the shame
they have been made to experience. The customer is always right may have
something to do with this thinking.
A philosophy
professor at the Catholic University reminds the readers that even
before modern times this impudent behavior was not accepted. What is
the reason in our democratic society we continue to see this kind of
behavior in such a public way? There has to be another reason besides
the customer is always right.
Those in society who have
the money and positions of authority may think that what they are doing
for society in ways of service allows them to think they have control over the person. Our advertizing gives the illusion that if the
money is there you can have anything you want. No, there are things we can't buy. We can't buy the person who is serving us.
We
are introduced to the second formulation of Immanuel Kant's
Categorical Imperative: "Act in such a way that you treat humanity
whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely
as a means to an end but always at the same time as an end."
In our
society we can't solve all our problems alone; with our money we buy
products and services from others. With our purchasing power we can buy
what is offered but we don't buy the person. "I have used so much of
my money why do I get this type of treatment?" When we think we are buying the person we know what will follow.
In conclusion, the
professor tells us about a coffee shop where the customers are given a discount when they address the
employees by name and treat them politely. He hopes this kind of thinking begun in this one business will spread throughout all of society.
What words do we use most frequently during the day? In the family is it: busy, it's rough, thank you, sorry, I love you? How much time do we actually spend talking to other family members during the day? Would it be 30 minutes? 10 minutes? 5 minutes? One of the most important things we can do during the day is to relate appropriately with children. Will it be positive, constructive and warmly or will it be negatively, passively and angrily? The way children are addressed determines to a great extend their personality-- words written by a religious sister in the Diocesan Bulletin.
Recently Korean news has brought to the attention of the citizens not only in families do we have problems in the way children are addressed, but shockingly we have seen how teachers in pre-school programs and children centers, who should know better, and have been trained for their work, have used violence in dealing with the children as young as two years old. Videos have been released to the public on TV news, which have angered the nation. Only to be introduced to other pre-school programs where the same kind of violence was seen, prompting the government and parents to get involved.
The Peace Weekly editorial thought it important enough to give it space. To see this kind of violence with children so young, without any restraint, using the fist to punch a child was too much for the country. The teacher after punching the child without crying, the child picked up the food that was spilled, and the other children without being told went to a corner of the room staring at the teacher with fright. This was more than enough reason for those who saw the video to be angry.
The office of statistics has reported that each year about 200 cases of cruelty to students is reported and the majority of these are with pre-school children. The importance of this period in a child's education in character building is well known, and the need for teachers trained in child care is necessary.
At present without any experience in a class room, by the internet, listening to a series of lectures and getting the necessary credit points one receives second class teacher accreditation for pre-school.
The editorial mentions in Germany two years of special schooling, two years of classroom experience, and evaluation of personality and qualifications by a board is required, before they receive accreditation. More important than the one dimensional regulations to have CCTV in all the classrooms, is to make sure the teachers have the necessary qualification to be with children.
We are not conscious of the influence we have on others and the bad example we give to others by the words we use, our behavior, and moods should humble us, and make us aware of the harm that is done when money is the standard by which we judge what is permissible in the education of the young.
