Monday, May 4, 2015

Keeping our Eyes on the Road to Virtue

A Salesian priest in the Catholic Times' View from the Ark mentions the experience he had  recently attending a general meeting of the members at their Roman headquarters. What he knew from the news he heard directly from those who were involved. One superior from France  mentioned the closing of monasteries because of old age, and the lack of vocations. One superior of a community was in his 90s.

France called the eldest daughter of the Church is in a feeble state. France is not alone, we have Spain, a country once in the vanguard for mission, and Italy the headquarters of Catholicism are all in the same state of lethargy.

The columnist mentioned that all the superiors of communities of the different countries were     grabbing him by the arm, asking for missioners to come to their country. Europe is in serious trouble. Overcome with secularism, materialism and a small birth rate has changed the environment, and the Korean Church is following them. The future of Korean Catholicism and religious life is not bright.

We need to have a check up on the health of  Catholicism. We are suffering from the hardening of the arteries. We need a lively conversation between the  pastoral worker and the laity, a bonding  between the rich and poor, communication between the young and old, the connection  between the city and country, they are far from healthy.  We do not see the problems in society, and are in search of only the sweet and a religion which is cheap, which darkens the future. We want to cut out the part of the Gospel with the passion; only interested in earthly blessings and what is good for the family. A very immature spirituality.

In the history of the Church we had many false prophets. They pretty much concentrated on some  common elements: reasonableness of absolute moderation, examination of oneself according to religious teachings, and not seeing the absurdities and cruelty in the world. With flowery words they  have confused many people. Today we have those who sing out the 'no disease and long life' mantra. Everything will turn out as we want, we are guaranteed heaven.

Who is the true shepherd and who is the hireling,  requires discernment on our part. The real prophet is only interested in transmitting God's message to the people. The true prophet was not afraid to use the rod,and warned against sin and debauchery.

What is the traditional teaching of the Church? A good pastor will tell us we are full of faults. In our lives we will be met with pain, failure, wanderings, twists and turns, but all the crosses have meaning.  We are invited to move with the cross one step at a time on the road to virtue. Even if we are sinners, he concludes, we trust in God's mercy and take courage, and keep on moving forward.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Sunday for Life



Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life) used the words 'culture of life' which has become popular in describing the movement for life: values that respects life from  conception to natural death.  

In the  first line of the encyclical the pope writes: "The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as 'good news' to the people of every age and culture." The second paragraph continues:  "Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase."

Today in Korea the first Sunday of May we celebrate 'Sunday for Life': Korean Church's way of promoting the culture of life. Both Catholic papers had  editorials on the Sunday for Life, and articles on the  subject. This year is the 20th year of promulgation of the encyclical.

One of the  editorials sadly admits that we have not seen any change in the life of the Catholics from 20 years ago.The teaching of the Church has not influenced the life of Christians. According to surveys made, only half of the Catholics accept completely the teaching of the Church. In the lives of many there is an estrangement between life and the teaching of the Church. What is being  taught is for happiness in life and this aspect probably needs to be emphasized. When values of life are disregarded like the tower of Babel, society is destroyed.

The bishop's committee for life has a  message for  Catholics on this Sunday: mentioned are many things Catholics can do to advance the culture of life and fight the culture of death. The Church has problems when one separates life from the act of love. It is not difficult for us to numerate the many ways we can do this in our scientific sophisticated society.

The bishop stresses with our scientific technology there is the danger birth and death  are for us to  control and manage; they are simply our possession, and we can choose to do what we please.

Sad is the reality that a  great number of Christians do not see  this as influencing who we are, determining the way we look upon life, and preparing the society in which we will live.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Catholicism from Cradle to Grave


Institutions have a bad press, and the multinationals probably more so. The Catholic Church seen only historically is the oldest and largest institution and multinational in the world. Depending on your viewpoint, one  can see it as corrupt, the whore of Babylon, reason for our problems; the world would   be better off without it. However, you have a  smaller number who see the Church as a messenger of good news, at service to the world, presenting us with an ideal of beauty,goodness, truth and oneness for earthly life.

Since it is made up of humans and not angels it will have the faults that we all have: as humans have evolved so does the Church. To return to a time in history, and see the failings and shadows and not see it in context, and prefer to remain there instead of seeing the growth in the Church, and the wisdom gained from the failures is not altogether honest.

Even those who have great dislike for Catholicism in their moments of objectivity have to say that many of the things they consider precious have come from the Church. It has influenced much of what we now live and breathe, and we need not see it as anything other than a human institution. Of course, Catholics see it more than a human institution.

A Peace Weekly columnist reminds us of the  English Labor Party's motto after the Second World  War:  to  guarantee from  cradle  to death  a minimum standard of living for all the citizens. They wanted to rid the citizens of their anxieties. Many other countries of the world had the same ideal, but we have still not seen the reality; it is a  ideal that  many harbor, whether facilitated by government or by society.

In a little different direction, the Church has a program from cradle to grave in helping one to open themselves to graces to live life fully in the here and now. We have the actions of Jesus in the Sacraments that accompany us from the cradle to the grave with many other helps to live a life full of meaning and joy. Excluding the material well being there is nothing like what the Catholic Church offers members of the community. Sadly, not even acknowledged by many who belong to the community.

In Korea only  20 percent are attending Mass on Sundays. Only 30 percent frequent the Sacraments. A lack of interest, busy in making a living, the attraction of material life and pleasure militates against wanting to be spiritually mature-- expense of church attendance can't be discounted. Temptations that  keep one from living life more fully and opening ourselves to the graces that God wants to give to all.              

Friday, May 1, 2015

With Courage Moving Ahead


A Salesian priest in the Catholic Times' View from the Ark mentions the  experience he had  recently in attending  a general meeting  of the  members  at their  Roman headquarters. What he knew from the news,  he heard directly from those who were involved. One superior from France  mentioned the closing of  monasteries because of  old age and the lack of vocations. One superior of a community was in his 90s. 

France called the eldest daughter of the Church is in a feeble state bringing much sadness to many. But France is not alone we have Spain, a country once the van guard of mission, and Italy its headquarters, are all in the same state of lethargy.


Superiors of communities of the different countries were grabbing the columnist by the arm asking for missioners to come to their country. Europe is in serious trouble. Overcome with secularism, materialism and a small birth rate  has changed the environment and the Korean Church is following  them. The future of Korean Catholicism and the religious life is not bright. 

We need a check-up on the health of our Catholicism. We are suffering from the hardening of the arteries.  We need a lively conversation between pastoral workers and laity, a bonding  between rich and poor, communication between the young and old, and a  connection between city and country. We do not see the problems in society, and are in search of what makes us feel good, a religion that doesn't cost,  darkens the future. We want to cut out the part of the Gospel with the passion. We are only interested in earthly blessings and what is good for family-- a very immature spirituality. 

In the history of the Church we have had many false prophets. They have pretty much concentrated on some  common elements: reasonableness of absolute moderation, examination of oneself according to religious teachings and preferring not to see the absurdities and cruelty in the world, confuse many with flowery language. Today we have those who sing out the 'no disease and long life' mantra, everything will turn out as we want; we are guaranteed heaven. 

Who is true shepherd and who is the  hireling  requires discernment on our part. The real prophet is only interested in transmitting God's message to the people. The true prophet was not afraid to use the rod to warn against sin and debauchery.

What is the traditional teaching of the Church? We  are full of faults. We will be met with pain, failure, wanderings, twists and turns, but all crosses have meaning.  We are invited to move with the cross one step at a time. We don't give up, trust in God's mercy, take courage and move ahead.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Failure to Understand the Gospel

'Catholics Protecting the Republic of Korea'  made known at a press conference, the list of 100 priests who they considered friendly to North Korea, against the United States and the Korean Government. The Catholics protecting the country made it clear they were not condemning the priests but only wanted them to repent and be converted. They are sick and tired of activist priests, and think they represent the ordinary believers.

Similar protests are seen in many other countries where those who see the social aspects of the Gospel as important as the spiritual. We are made up of body and soul and Jesus made it clear that the commandment to love includes God and our brothers and sisters. This  holistic understanding of the Christian message is understood by most, but here in Korea as in other parts of the world, many have difficulty when the Church speaks about social issues.

A large number of  Korean Priests  have been vocal on the side of the social Gospel from the time of the  democratization in Korea. Catholic Priests' Association for Justice played a big part in moving to democracy when they began in 1974. Sad, when we have Catholics fighting over what should be understood by all as integral to our message but  in the minds of many, it is not having problems with the way it is done, where a difference of opinion would be expected, but the confrontation seems to be religion has no place in the public square.They want the priests to stay with the spiritual.        

In the Pastoral Bulletin one of the priests whose name was on the list of one hundred writes about his feelings on seeing the list. He admits that in every group or organization you have a difference of opinion. If we are not to go contrary to our beliefs, we are free to express our opinions frankly.

However, there are limitations on what we  say,  especially when names are made known. Even in society to say something false about another is libel, and there are  criminal  penalties-- no small matter. In the list was the name of his bishop. Seeing the name of his  bishop he was astounded, and the names  of two other bishops were also on the list.

Looking over the 'Catholics Protecting the Republic of Korea', he gives us his thoughts on the subject. They want the priest to repent and be converted and he can't figure out what they have done wrong. He is willing to even put his priesthood on the line to defend his bishop. He has not heard one word, seen any action that was contrary to his  calling as a priest. How can one without hesitation show this kind of disrespect. 

What have these Catholics done for their fellow human beings who are on the periphery of society? His bishop, in a general meeting of the priests, has requested when he visits a parish every thing be done simply.  He asked the priests to put no burden on the parishioners when they are assigned to a parish or on their feast days. They are also giving 10%  of the income from  Mass stipends to help the poor. Does it make any sense to criticize this bishop. He's surprised to see how many Catholics have allowed this to continue. The language they use is far from what we would expect from those attending the same Mass. To the credit of the priests' association they have kept relatively quiet in the face of the criticism.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Living the Gospel in Retirement


A priest recalls the days he was studying at a Buddhist graduate school, whose students were either Buddhist Monks or devout Buddhist laity. Hearing there was a Catholic priest studying at the university, the news spread quickly, he was approached by many of the students with questions. Most of them were interested in who was responsible for priests after retirement. He writes about this in the bulletin for priests.

How did you arrive at the treatment for priests in their declining years? There was a great deal of curiosity about the lives of the priests after retirement. The Church takes care of the needs of the  clerics and religious in their retirement years. Was the answer given by the priest. Consequently, the priest does not have to save or do anything that would be contrary to Church teachings to make money.

Often priests give money as sponsors for different movements, donate to welfare programs, and assist people in need with their money, and at times they have little for their upkeep. However, there is no need to worry for the Church will take care of their needs in old age.

If the priest doesn't indulge in buying a luxury car,  and expensive hobbies, he has enough money to help others. He was proud to express himself in the way  he did to the Buddhist students, and hopes what he said was true.

Many of the faithful do not understand the life of a priest but priests do.There are many priests who live simply and are helping others and they do it without pride and no desire to make it known.They consider it a way of living the spiritual life and they don't see it as pitiable. It is the reason they became priests in the first place.

Recently there are priests that are having difficulty in their retirement. It all depends  on the way one wants to live. If what is received is less than they would like, they should start living the Gospel life. No matter how difficult the financial circumstances there is no need for priests to put money in the bank.

In conclusion: if someone should ask him now, who is responsible for a priest's retirement years? His  answer: " I am responsible for my retirement years." Structural provisions are in place but we need the  determination to live the Gospel life.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Today's Fortune

Catholic Times' column on spirituality, shows how easy it is to be moved and influenced by what we do not believe and even think foolish.The columnist, a priest,  on passing the  lobby of the monastery  saw one of the senior priests reading the newspaper.  

 "Father, what grabs your interest so early in the morning?"  The priest:

"Looking over the news I saw today's fortune column, and spent time reading it. What is your birth year,month and day? Let us see what they say?--  Be careful today to avoid a big disagreement."

The columnist knew the  priest would not be in the least  interested in fortunes, and here he was reading the horoscopes. It didn't make sense."Father when did you start becoming interested in horoscopes?"

"Heavens, I am just playing around, just  curious to see what people are reading and believing. I looked to see what my horoscope was and I am to leave by the North, and will meet a noble person.  Aren't we all noble persons? What are your plans? "

"I am on my way to the research center and just dropped in to say hello.  Have a good day." The columnist took leave of his fellow priest. He was to meet three of his classmates from the diocese. They were going to donate a gift to the research center. Three of the classmates met him at the center and they went to the market to see what was available. One of the classmates asked him:

"Father, pick the color and the design that you want."

The columnist suddenly remembered what his priest friend told him to beware of  disagreements, and answered: "They're all fine, no problem."

The classmate was surprised at his response.This was not the person he knew."Hey, you will be using it at the center, pick what you want."

The columnist continued to tell his friend it didn't matter what he bought they were all good. "You are giving it to me as a gift so it is proper for you to make the choice." That day he was getting into a fight with his classmate over what to buy. It was crazy, he was fulfilling what the horoscope had predicted could happen.

This prompted the columnist to give the whole  thing some thought. The words of his brother priest at the monastery indirectly influenced him that day. If he was moved by a positive mind in the way he was living, and was not tied and bound by the here and now, but had his eyes on what was eternal he would be more authentic, and know himself better.