In the Chinese State of Lu lived Hwang Tae-ra, who as a punishment had a foot cut off. He was not famous, a cripple and a public sinner and yet many followed him. In a bulletin for priests, the writer gives us some thoughts on which to meditate.
One of the disciples of Confucius asked his master how was it that Hwang had so many following him. The numbers following Hwang were similar to those following Confucius and Hwang didn't teach, or in anyway interact with his followers and yet they left with their heads filled with his teachings. The disciples asked: Is there a kind of teaching that comes without words? Who is the Hwang fellow?
The disciple couldn't figure out why the crippled Hwang had as many disciples as his own master Confucius without teaching, crippled and a public sinner. The disciple was using his eyes and ears to judge.
Confucius replied: "He is a saint. I am lazy and have not yet met him... one of these days I will make him my master. Not only the citizens of Lu but all the members of the human race I will lead them to Hwang."
His disciple surprised at the reply, asked: "Is he a greater teacher than You? What is it that makes him such?"
Confucius replied: He understands truth and lives a moral life. He knows the importance of life and death. Even if the heavens should fall and the earth caved in he would remain calm. He knows what you hear and see is not all that there is... He is a virtuous person from which comes freedom and peace. The loss of his foot is no more that having a lump of dirt wiped away from his pants." This was Confucius estimation of Hwang.
This reply did not satisfy the disciple and with continued puzzlement: "Teacher Hwang doesn't give any talks or discuss with his followers... how can one who is absorbed in his own improvement have such a great following?"
"When water is flowing you can't see your image. It is only water that is at rest that you are able to see your reflection is it not? People are attracted to this quietness." Confucius explained the attraction of Hwang. Spending time looking quietly at oneself, in silence and gazing into tranquility they see themselves more clearly and this is Hwang's way of teaching.
In conclusion, we are told that Hwang Tae-ra was a fictitious character that was used by a scholar some 2400 years ago in China to help those handicapped and show that they had within themselves the God-given light to live beautiful, profitable lives and help others.
Korea continues to lead the world in the number of suicides. A priest-professor at a Catholic University gives us his own experience in a WithBible article dealing with the problem.
At the very beginning as a new priest, he had an experience where a woman member of the parish came to him crying, for shortly before, after a fight with her husband, he left and hanged himself. She didn't know how she could go on living.
He didn't know how to react to the news. He had no idea what to say or do. He knew that it was a serious sin and the Church did not allow a formal funeral service. He was not able to console the woman. An older priest who was a friend of the husband went to the hospital, had the funeral rites and was a help to the family. Shortly after the women came to the rectory to thank him, she was moving out of the parish. He remembers he was not able to look the woman in the face.
Korea, he says, is not yet able to understand the seriousness of the problem or provide sufficient countermeasures. In 1995 we had 4,930 who killed themselves but from 2003 the numbers are well over 10,000 and lead the world.
Those that commit suicide usually are suffering from depression. During this period we had the foreign exchange and financial crisis which increased failures in business, difficulty finding work and family squabbles, giving rise to stress, depression and suicides.
Elders also have a higher rate of suicide than other countries: poverty, sickness, loneliness, can't be discounted. The breakdown of the extended family, the community network of the past disappeared with individualization, citification and industrialization all helping the alienation felt by many of the older generation. Many attempted to free themselves from their feeling of helplessness, uneasiness, and loneliness with liquor and pleasure but this was only temporary and the stress just increased and many took the extreme way out.
Suicide is a scar that is not easily healed. To take one's life is an offense against the creator of life, against the invitation and mission that was received and refused, and the love for God, others and oneself. However, because of the many extenuating circumstances, the Church recognizes that grave psychological problems, anguish, fear, suffering, emotional state can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide.
With this understanding, it is not only the person that we blame but more so ourselves for lack of interest and compassion on the pain suffered by many of those who take their own lives and our failure to be of help.
He concludes the article with an incident that happened to him a few years earlier. A woman whom he knew telephoned him, crying, to tell him that her daughter after giving birth, suffering from depression took her life. Because of his experience as a young priest and his immaturity at that time, familiar with the Church's teaching he went immediately to the hospital to console the family. He knew the hesitation they would have in notifying the faith community so he offered the funeral Mass at the hospital. He considered the efforts that he expended in showing concern for the family as a penance for his immaturity as a young priest.
Fidei Donum is the name of the encyclical of Pius XII published in 1957 which called on the bishops to share their priests with the countries in need, give financial assistance and offer prayers for the missions. Many dioceses have sent priests to areas of the world where vocations were scarce, these priests and religious remain attached to their dioceses.
Both Catholic papers continue to mention the work of these priests, religious and laypeople working overseas. In a recent editorial, the Church is proud they still are doing well with vocations to the priesthood. Korea has over 5,000 priests and they have over 100 being ordained yearly. This can change in the future but in 2016 the situation still looks bright.
This is not true in many parts of the Catholic World. Reflecting on itself the Church in Korea knows that it has been blessed. In the editorial, they mentioned the Catholic country of Chile and the diocese of Santiago where the Catholic population would be similar to Korea but have only about 500 priests and Korea has 5,000. They have only about 50 seminarians and this year no one was ordained. This is the ordinary situation in many countries.
When someone is hurting it is our duty to help. For a Christian, this is all the more an obligation. Up until the end of 2015 Korea has sent 99 priests to countries in need as Fidei Donum priests.
The Seoul Diocese has added a course in the seminary schedule to prepare priests who are interested in overseas work as missioners. This is now spreading to other dioceses: a very encouraging response for the future.
To leave one's country where one was hoping to serve, and volunteer for a foreign country where they will have to learn a new language and customs is difficult to do. The hope is that we will have more priests who will be willing to do this in the years ahead.
A basketball player needs to be tall, one who is short is just not going to make it. Height is going to determine failure or success. When it comes to studying, one has to have a good head to do well. A low IQ will determine the place in school standing and the school attended. With a low IQ, the chances of becoming a Nobel Prize winner are close to zero.
Those that achieve uncommon results in sports, arts or in literature are talented: Michael Jordan or an Albert Einstein. With this introduction, a columnist in the Peace Weekly gives us a meditation on glory and frustration.
However, those with extraordinary talents are not always successful. Those who are tall are not always good basketball players. Persons with high IQs are not always in the running for a Nobel prize. When the talent is there, the effort has to be put in the mix. All worldly success will require a lot of sweat and sacrifice. We often see that sweat and sacrifice make up for a lack of talent. On the other hand, those with talent without the effort and sacrifice will rarely go to the top. This has been proven in many studies.
Those who want to make it to the top of their field the columnist sees them spending over 10,000 hours of effort. These are the words of a neuroscientist. This kind of effort will require at least 3 hours daily of effort for 10 years. This was the case for those of our medal winners in this year's Olympics.
Effort and talent don't always bring success. Talent and effort bring medals to some but others have to drink the bitter cup of elimination. All that is provided is the possibility of success. There is no theory or way of measuring what will bring worldly success. There are too many variables that come into play at the place and time.
However, medals no matter from where they come are no guarantee of success in life. There is no way to predict what life will offer: a mystery which we face. Life is not composed of series of steps in merit to the desired goal. Correct answers are not easily found. Glory can come and go. The mystery in life is what gives it charm and savor.
In frustration, there is hidden hope and in glory, trials wait. The wise person faces the uncertainty of the ups and downs which come in life with humility and as a Christian with prayer.
Writing in the Peace Weekly Peace Column the columnist reviews his life briefly and recalls while in elementary school there were so many students they had to have a morning and afternoon session.
In middle school, he remembers hearing the phrase, family planning repeatedly. During this period the slogan was two children no preference between boy or girl. Looking back on the internet we heard: 'birth planning now and stability in the future.' 'Let's be praiseworthy parents with contraception now.' It was at this time that we had the Mother and Child Health Law enacted. This was opposed by the Church for justifying abortion. Korea has the lowest birthrate of the developed countries.
When he married and began working in the middle 80s, generally the social climate was for one child. This was followed with many slogans: 'One child and a thrifty life.' 'One child is all we need to have everything.' Speaking frankly: 'two is too many.'
Vasectomies were pushed at the military reserve training areas. The surgery was free and you would be excused from training. Many young fathers fell easily into temptation. For those who wanted a boy child after having a girl we heard the slogan: 'a daughter well raised doesn't envy ten boys.'
These slogans continued into the 90s. The columnist mentions that at this time he had two daughters and a son and was looked upon strangely. At this time, those with a third child were not given the benefits of insurance except in some Catholic Hospitals.
20 to 30 years have passed and the situation has completely changed. This didn't happen overnight. The government is working to strengthen the family, to help those who have no children and want children, and other policies to overcome the low birth rate. However, the columnist feels that prescribing medicine for a patient without determining the reason for the problem is not wise.
Prescriptions have to fit the problem and in Korea, it is necessary to prepare the citizens to accept and use the prescriptions that are being offered. The big problem is life and the way we see it. If we see the problems of society only as economic we will be blind to the more important value of life. Economics are important in living a decent, dignified life. This can't be overlooked but when money becomes more important than life something is wrong. He feels that it is precisely here that Korean society has a problem.
For the last sixty year economics was the all important element and we have not changed in this evaluation: consequently, the value of life has to come from the rear to the front.
The editorial and front page of this issue were devoted to family. A large color picture of a family from Spain in which 18 children were born, 3 died of sickness, appears prominently on the front page. Hopefully, these efforts being made to see family in a new way will bring change.
In nature, green vegetation appears weak; when it becomes impoverished those who like to eat are faced with problems. Keeping this in mind when all the parts of the ecosystem work together harmoniously all benefit. Industry also benefits when the ecosystem is healthy. In the 'View from the Ark' of the Catholic Times, a Catholic Medical School professor begins his article with the above words.
Society in this competitive system in which we live is continually searching for profits. Victors become blind to the groans of those they don't see on the peripheries.
One of biggest problems that confront the ecosystem is our large number of young people out of work which doesn't predict a bright future. They spend precious years of their youth looking for work. Depending on the workplace the ratio for work can be as high as 100:1 or 10:1. Many spend their time preparing for exams or getting the necessary specialty training they feel they need for their job: not a healthy situation.
What is of interest says the professor is the companies are in need of workers to fill spots. More than money lack of workers is a problem. He mentions a survey made in which the majority of the CEOs mentioned the lack of workers is the biggest problem. Why then do we have the problem with unemployment?
Most of the companies have the full complement of workers but they are not all that they want. Industry has looked for workers with the specifications they need it is time now to train and educate those they need.
In Korea, temporary workers number two-fold in comparison to other developed countries; full-time workers are half of the other OECD countries. It's not they don't need workers but they seek to fill the slots with cheap labor and this is the practice we have become habituated to in recent years.
During the years of economic development, the government helped the industrial sector with wealth. The accumulation of this wealth was to help the citizens to a better living. Consequently, it is now the time for industry to take an interest and not only be concerned with increasing profits but how to help the social ecosystem.
Companies have to start to see workers as persons with dignity and not to be used as instruments to increase efficiency and the margin of profit by making them temporary workers and all the other ways they keep them from become full-time workers. They have to begin training the workers for the jobs they need.
He concludes the article with the desire of pope Francis to see the start of a new ecosystem where he writes in Joy of the Gospel: "How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?"
A Korean layman, Kim Gu-jong, 1898-1984, was written up in the Peace Weekly in its series of outstanding Christians. Kim Gu-jong was from the Taegu Diocese and went to the newly established diocese of Pyongyang as a missionary catechist. Seoul was not able to send priests so the work lagged behind the Protestants.
The article mentions how the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers were given the Pyongyang area as their first mission in Korea. Maryknoll was established in 1910 as the Catholic Missionary Society of the United States to work in Asia. China was the first mission and Korea the second. Bishop Walsh, Maryknoll's superior on a visit to Bishop Mutel in Korea showed an interest in beginning work in the country. Taegu had been making plans to give one-third of their resources to begin a new diocese in the Pyongan Province but Bishop Mutel gave the area to Maryknoll and this was finalized by Propaganda Fide in 1922; Maryknollers came the following year.
At the start of the new diocese, workers were necessary. When Maryknoll accepted the work there were 7 parishes, three major seminarians, and eight minor seminarians and a priest from the Seoul Diocese. Consequently, Maryknollers were attentive to recruiting salaried catechists for the work. Catechists taught in the parishes and mission stations, spread news within the diocese, determined the situation of the parishioners and related with the citizens.
They were the hope for evangelization and the advanced guard to prepare the field. Fr. Kim Song-hak was a priest who was working in Pyongyang when it was part of the Seoul Diocese and when the priests returned to Seoul he remained to advise the Maryknollers. He had worked in Taegu before it became an independent diocese and recruited Kim Ignatius for Pyongyang as a catechist.
One of the parishes was selected and this became the place where the Maryknollers would study the language and customs of the country. Kim Ignatius was a leader among the catechists and helped to form many of the other catechists. They began one of the first monthly magazines in the Church. Ignatius was present in most of the new works. Pyongyang compared to the other dioceses led in the number of catechists, at least one and up to 15 in a parish: women outnumbered the men.
On 1935 Oct.10th for three days they celebrated the 150th anniversary of the beginning of Christianity in Korea. Pyongyang the youngest diocese was selected to host the event. Five bishops and the Apostolic Delegate were present. 6000 Catholics attended. When this group arrived at the train station many thought that the Apostolic Delegate was the emperor of Rome. Many of the Catholics of the mission stations would see a priest twice a year and this event brought the 5 bishops with many priests to the diocese making it a noteworthy event.
In a period of ten years, the Catholic population of Pyongyang had a three-fold increase.The Catholics grew in confidence with the experience gained from the celebration. Two of the daily papers in their editorials expressed how the Church was breaking down walls between the classes and inaugurating a new culture. The other mentioned the social work and with their beliefs, Catholics were able to overcome the difficulties and the history of persecution of the past: a good example to the citizens.
Demange, Florian(1875~1938), the first bishop of the Taegu Diocese while riding in the same car as the ordinary of Pyongyang John Morris, praised a one-time parishioner of the Taegu diocese, Kim Ignatius for a job well done.
