Today is the first day of our new liturgical year, the first Sunday of Advent. A new color for the vestments and a new beginning. Both Catholic papers have editorials and articles to prepare our Christians for the new year. Catholics begin the new year with Advent, as world citizens, they will greet the new year on Jan 1st and again as Asians on Jan. 28th.Which one is of greatest importance is without doubt Jan. 28th. This year it will be a long holiday.
Each Diocesan Ordinary has a pastoral letter for the parishioners reminding them of what is necessary during this period of preparation. The love of God is the message and we are to respond. We need a new answer to the old message of evangelization: a more faithful response to the sacramental life of the Church.
The temptations of the world are many and great. Materialism and pleasure are always beckoning and the need to be vigilant. The Cardinal invites his diocese to remember the centrality of the Eucharist in our lives. Once we have deepened our faith life we go out to spread this love.
One of the editorials mentions a book by Cardinal Walter Kasper recently translated into Korean. The cardinal stresses we need to be the signs of hope and joy to the world. We have to remember what God has deemed important and participate in that work: for the good, justice, and truth.
Our society is thirsting for hope.The corruption and deceit have demoralized many and they are looking for hope. This way of life was shown to us by Jesus and his followers. We are to show the way to truth, justice, goodness, mercy, and hope.
In John's Gospel 13:35 we hear: love one another. He gave us the new commandment. By keeping that commandment people will know that we are disciples of Jesus. Pope Francis has asked us to be people of hope and be witnesses to the truth--prophets.
We need to be careful to not separate our religious life and our daily life. Our life is one, lived according to the Gospel. A norm that comes to us from the time of Jesus. We are Christians, honest citizens of the country. Let us be born anew during this Advent to be more merciful and hopeful messengers of the Gospel.
Korea in recent years has worked hard to become a more transparent society, corrupt free. Efforts made thru the social media complaining about the direction of society, the Board of Audit and Inspection have investigated and censured many in society. Illegal collusion in society has been uncovered and the recent law against corruption and the movement for an honest society has given birth to paparazzi and other irregularities. With these words in 'View from the Ark' column, of the Catholic Times, a college professor introduces us to a problem in society.
However, this movement for an upright society requires continual disclosures and punishment and yet according to Transparency International, Korea continues to be at the bottom end of the list of OECD countries for transparency. This is the reality for the last 7 years. We are not attacking the core reason for the problems and may be missing what is important.
According to sociologists special interests and universal interests are in conflict. Interests of the nation are important but the interests of individuals and the groups to which they belong prevail.
In this society with the spread of the idea that punishment will solve all our problems we are getting into dangerous waters. Many are retreating into their shells for self-protection and peace at any price thinking. Civil servants will be concerned only for themselves and this thinking spills over to the larger society.
A business enterprise some years ago was sold at a very low price and those in prominent positions let it happen because of the headaches that would develop if they took another path. They were fearful of the audits, investigations, possible future reprimands and avoided the responsibility. More serious is lack of conviction.
Some of the surveys made among civil servants found the majority feel a need for pride in their work: to bolster morale and foster conviction in pursuit of their goals.
Often in society, for a person to aspire to a greater good is difficult for the fear of repercussions that come with failure. Timidity and a lack of conviction is common. If one does nothing there is no failure, but also no resiliency.
Consequently, we have a large ship sinking and no one takes responsibility. Isn't this something that we have to guard against? We need to get rid of timidity and embrace conviction we need persons who are willing to be heroes.
The number of Catholics in many countries of the world continue to decrease and Korea is experiencing this trend. In 2010, 27.2 % of the Catholics were coming out to Sunday Mass. Each year we have seen a decrease. In 2015, 20.7 % attended Mass on average.
An article in the Catholic Times with grafts shows the readers what appears on the outside is not what we have on the inside. The numbers of Catholics continue to increase but so does the number of the tepid who for one reason or another leave the community of faith: they don't attend Sunday Mass.
In 1961 only 4.4% were considered tepid (left the community). This number increased to 11.4% in 1971, in 1985, 22.5% and in 2009 to 27.6 %. The method of determining who was tepid was to see the results of tickets that were given out twice a year before Easter and Christmas which period is called 'Pangong'. Those who have not gone to confession for three years are considered tepid. The bishops of Korea have decided that this was not a reliable standard and have dropped this method and look to the Sunday observance as a better gauge of practicing and not practicing.
The number of Catholics aged from 20~49 is similar to the percentage in the total population but those from 0~19 is far below that national average. Those over 50 years old are a larger percentage than the total national average.
Many of those from 20~30 who are tepid are not baptizing their children and if this continues by 2020 those who will be attending Sunday Mass will decrease to 13.8 %.
Many who have studied the problem feel the reasons are lack of satisfaction in the Christian's desire for a deeper spiritual life, lack of programs for those who have been baptized from 2-5 years, and a lack of concern for the baptized by the pastoral workers and the community.
Leaving the community is a personal decision and whether more concern by those in the community will stop the flow is problematic. In Europe, we have the Neo-Catechumenal Way and Chemin-Neuf (Going up the new road) movements which are helping to awaken the European Church.
Need a study of the reasons Christians leave the community. When those who enter the community, see little difference from the world or find it even worse than what they left, chances they will leave are great.
On
the front page of the Catholic Times, we have a Korean living in
Hong Kong who just finished hand copying the New Testament in four
different languages: Korean, Japanese,Chinese, and English. Obviously,
the task is not to have another copy of the Scriptures but a work of
love and a means to meet God in his word. He is now 71 years old and is
thinking of beginning again with a new language.
In
copying the Scriptures not once did he ever think of discontinuing and
considered it a grace from God. He was baptized while in Hong Kong in
his sixties. Hand copying Scripture is writing out each sentence of
Scripture by hand. A work which most of us would not be interested.
In
the interview with the journalist, he mentioned that he has spent at
times over 15 hours a day writing. He found the time to do it and it was
not difficult. It took him 3 years to accomplish the task. The
different languages all have the same meaning but different nuances were
discovered.
His
words of advice for those who are interested in beginning are many.
Without any preparation, he feels, many will not continue long in their
efforts. Those who want to begin should read the Scriptures at least
twice before beginning.
There are parishes that require the copying of the Gospel of Mark before baptism. Fathers
and mothers often give copies of the books, to the children as a
remembrance of what they think is important in life. It's a gift filled
with love and meaning, they hope the children will never forget. The
copied books become a precious remembrance of their parents.
Starting on the Feast of Christ the King we have the beginning also of Bible Week. This year will be its 32nd year--Nov. 20-26.The theme this year: "The Bible is God's food of mercy." The bishop, head of the committee on Scripture, uses the quote from Luke 6:36: Be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful," as the basis for his comments to the Christians.
With the many study groups in parishes, parishioners copying the Bible, reading articles on the Scriptures in the Catholic press, and spending time with the Scriptures privately the notion that Catholics don't read the Bible is not the reality.
St. Augustine heard the words: "Take and Read" which brought about his conversion. The Catholics of Korea are taking the Scriptures and reading which will deepen the faith of the Christians and make for a strong and mature Christianity.
'Looking Back in Anger' is a play by John Osborne an English play writer. In a column for the Peace Weekly, the writer mentions having seen the movie based on the play, which left him greatly moved.
The theme of this play has been reproduced here in Korea in dramas and movies. It was the end of the second world war and many in society were overcome with despondency, lack of hope. After the war, there was a feeling of loss, young people were depressed, uneasy, angry. This play gave rise to the new phrase, Angry Young Men, and new movements: the hippies, anti-war, and resistance.
Are we entering another one of these periods? We see angry faces all over the world. We saw the English say goodbye to the European Union with the Brexit vote. They cried out: "England First". Globalization, free trade, European Unity, policies on immigration were repudiated. Many other countries were feeling the same. The extreme left and right were advancing in many countries.
The recent American election had some of the similar anger expressed by the white voters. They wanted a wall between them and Mexico, a limit to Muslim immigration, they applauded racial prejudice. The voters turned their back on globalization. Isolation and exclusion don't make for a bright future and anger can bring future calamity.
Korea has not been protected from this anger. Difficulty in finding employment, tuition increases, rent prices, greed, and corruption of our leaders, feeble government, has provoked the repugnance of the citizens. Finally, they took to the streets.
Anger comes to the surface for many reasons: disillusionment, skepticism, frustration, sadness. Anger moves citizens to candle light processions, prayer, sacrifice, and desire to overcome the darkness that is all around. The large numbers point to solidarity, desire, and love. We see the birth of a new hope. Just anger, deeper, in many cases, than religion, becomes the small flame for a just future.
The writer climbed a mountain in the city and looked over the crowd that filled many of the streets in the center of Seoul. He could see the waves of light bobbing all over the center of Seoul. Look, at that great anger! Not isolation but solidarity, not despair but hope, not violence but peace, not sadness but a celebration. Sublimation of candle light into something beautiful. Initial anger was burned away and we were left with pure light.
It was lonely on the dark mountain. The wind was blowing the leaves and he heard a whispering. "For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night.You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass" (Ps. 90: 4-5).
In a bulletin for priests, the writer mentions his first year in a preparatory school preparing for entrance to the college seminary. During that one year, he experienced an educational method which he had never seen before or after.
Not once was he ever shown his marks. The rector did interview all the students and he remembers being told his weak points and where effort was necessary. He surmises this is what all the others would have heard.
Different tasks that were given to the students for the smooth running of the preparatory year were not given because of special talents, but a way of helping the student in his formation. If a student had difficulty getting up in the morning he would become the regulator, in charge of ringing the bell for rising and lights out. Those who would have problems with reading would be lectors and this was true of the other tasks.
Teams were formed for sports. Each day for an hour they would recreate together playing a different sport. It mattered little whether the student liked it or not. His past was not considered important but preparation for the future: changing attitudes would change behavior. No matter how inexperienced or lack of knowledge, with new learning one would gain confidence and become a new person.
A person with talent instead of just trusting on what he possessed, was to look at his weak points and humbly work to overcome them and let the Holy Spirit lead to a new way of being: not restrained by habits of the past and letting efficiency and functionality be the only motives. When one forgets the presence of God within him, the community to which he belongs is paralyzed.
When God gave his mission to Abraham he was already an old man and he chose Moses who had a speaking problem. Jesus also picked 12 who did not have the qualities we would see as necessary for the work. They learned by working on the job they were given to do.
Function is not as important as being. This concept is not easy for us to understand in this present world. When we continue learning, trust in God and trust in the movements of the Spirit we will be free and open to new experiences.
Pope Francis in his address in Rio De Janeiro at the World Youth Day said: "[Functionalism] Its effect on the Church is paralyzing. More than being interested in the road itself, it is concerned with fixing holes in the road. A functionalist approach has no room for mystery; it aims at efficiency."
Korean society has a great trust in qualifications (specs, specifications). We are lost in the world of functionalism. Our young people are overcome with this burden that society makes them face in finding a job. When we follow this way of the world in our parishes we are continuing to burden our young people.
Do we believe that God is leading us with his graces? When we do the whole community of faith changes and will not this change the atmosphere of the community to which we belong? "God chose those whom the world considers absurd to shame the wise; he singled out the weak of this world to shame the strong" (1 Cor. 1:27).
Infertility is a problem that many couples who want a family have to endure and up until the recent past efforts were made to look for the cause of the problem but with 'in vitro' fertilization came a big change in methods. Efforts to find the root causes are skipped and artificial reproductive technologies have taken over.
Infertility is considered by many as a symptom of an underlying disease. They don't only hinder fertility but also are the causes of long-term health problems. Infertility also, as we know, has many emotional problems.
Na-Pro Technology (Natural Procreative Technology) is a topic we have been hearing about recently in the Catholic press. A Catholic Hospital in Seoul has begun working with the new technology; an editorial and article in the Peace Weekly introduce readers to what is happening on the issue here in Korea.
In the Na-Pro fertility clinic of the hospital that started in May of this year, 8 women with a fertility problem, three of them within two months were pregnant. Previously one of them was unsuccessful with 'in vitro' attempts.
Last month the results of the Na-Pro fertility programs in other parts of the world and recently at the Na-Pro Fertility Clinic were introduced to a group of legislators interested in questions of life at a meeting of policy matters. A professor mentioned that not like many other infertility treatments Na-Pro has no side effects, easy to learn, and less expensive than the other methods.
The government is helping those infertile couples with the money needed to use the artificial methods and those at the meeting are hoping this will also extend to the Na-Pro method. In 2006 the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that Korea had close to 180,000 infertile couples and this increased to 215,000 in 2014.
Na-Pro's success rate is higher than artificial insemination and 'in vitro' methods and the Na-Pro Technology method is natural. Since it shows concern for the whole woman's health problems without artificial means, Catholics should find this attractive.
